A Trip to Hawaii Without Leaving Your Chair

Switch on your VCR and join us on a journey to Hawaii that could take days in person.

On this armchair trip we’ll eavesdrop on the major islands and sneak a glimpse of developing attractions on Molokai.

So roll the tape.

“HAWAII” (Rand McNally VideoTrips, Best Films and Video Corp., 55 minutes, 1986). This is a noble effort to show the highlights of the four major islands of Hawaii--Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii, plus a brief overview of Molokai--in less than an hour. Some attractions are given just a brief glance, but the good film quality and narration sprinkled with humor, legend and history make it a pleasant hour for the armchair traveler and a helpful tool for the first-time visitor.

Oahu, the most-visited island, is shown first with familiar scenes of crowded, high-rise Honolulu and Waikiki Beach, “where boy meets girl, grandmas meet the hula and middle-aged men suffer through days of holding their stomachs in.” Other sights include Diamond Head, Iolani Palace (the only royal palace in the United States), Bishop Museum, Punchbowl Cemetery, Sea Life Park and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

A drive across the island takes viewers to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center, the North Shore surfing beaches and Waimea Falls Park. Throughout, there are the requisite scenes of shoppers and souvenirs, luaus, hula dancing and night life. Information is given on many golf courses and their availability.

Kauai, the Garden Isle, with more than 400 inches of rain a year on its peaks, is the most verdant of the islands. The video visits three major resort areas--Poipu/Lihue, Wailua/Kapaa and Princeville/Hanalei--and takes a helicopter ride through “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” magnificent Waimea Canyon.

Other highlights include a boat ride on the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto, a stop at Kokee State Park, Kilauae Lighthouse and aerial views of the isolated beaches along the majestic Na Pali Coast.

Maui offers still another face of Hawaii. Most of the action is in the historic whaling town of Lahaina. Low-rise shops, restaurants and discos line the main street. Other sights include the Pioneer Inn, built in 1901; the old whaling ship, Carthaginian II, with its small museum, and the Whaler’s Marketplace. The Lahaina & Pacific Railroad, a restored relic of the sugar-cane era, is shown carrying passengers six miles to the high-rise hotels at Kaanapali.

Viewers visit beautiful gardens and accompany bike riders down the side of the dormant volcano, Mt. Haleakala. They also drive past the Iao Needle and visit the town of Hana and the nearby Seven Sacred Pools. Lahaina also is where viewers take off for a brief visit to Molokai.

The Big Island of Hawaii combines a bit of everything found on the other islands, plus a few extras of its own: active volcanoes, mountains with snow for skiing and Porter Ranch, the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the United States.

Other sights include a visit to orchid gardens, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, black-sand beaches and a marlin fishing trip. Across the island at Kailua-Kona there are stops at the King Kamehameha Royal Compound and a drive along the Kona Coast to the Capt. James Cook Monument.

The final segment of the video is a roundup of travel information on transportation, weather and accommodations. The film shows a selection of hotels, with descriptions of their special features. These are not paid commercials. Though of little concern to the armchair traveler, trip planners should be reminded that these hotel selections were made in 1986.

Tapes are available from Best Films and Video Corp., P.O. Box 1179, Gillette, Wyo. 82716, toll-free (800) 248-7477. Price: $19.99.

“HAWAII” (Fodor’s Video Travel Guide, 1988, 75 minutes). Fodor’s video format follows the style of its travel guidebooks.

The first of three segments (about one-third of the video) is a typical travelogue giving the viewer a look at many of the islands’ popular tourist attractions. Most can be seen in any video on Hawaii, including Rand McNally’s “Hawaii” (see above).

What makes this video different is that it emphasizes practical information provided by authorities in the field. It gives tips on such things as the care of valuables, exchange rates, use of credit cards and traveler’s checks. Another segment helps business people master communications devices such as fax machines and telexes. This is followed by facts on weather, clothes, inter-island transportation, package tours and photo opportunities.

Some of the information provided is general to all Fodor videos and not applicable in this case. For example, railroad information provided is irrelevant as Hawaii has no railroad system.

The video concludes with an extensive guide to hotels, from moderate to super-deluxe. The list provides hotel location and information on amenities such as restaurants, wheelchair access and pools. These are not paid commercials.

Also provided is a helpful pocket guide that indexes items on the videotape. It contains maps and a glossary of Hawaiian terms.

Tapes are available from Doro’s Video Guides, Random House Inc., Order Entry Department, 400 Hahn Road, Westminster, Md. 21157. Call toll-free (800) 733-3000. Price: $19.95.

“DESTINATION MOLOKAI” (Destination Molokai Assn., 15 minutes, 1989). The beauty and attractions of the relatively undeveloped Hawaiian island of Molokai are given comprehensive, if brief, coverage in this tourist promotion video. For travel planners, the narration provides information on transportation to and on the island, and maps locate the principal sites. (Note: Air Molokai has discontinued service since the video was filmed.)

There are scenes of lush tropical foliage, waterfalls, nearly deserted beaches, open plains and aerial views along the 3,330-foot sea cliffs, the world’s highest.

Viewers also are shown a selection of hotels, cottages, inns and condominiums, given information on their amenities as well as some of the activities available. These include helicopter tours, boat cruises, horseback rides, a mule ride down to Father Damien’s old leper colony on Kalaupapa Peninsula and a hike to Hawaii’s tallest waterfall in the lovely Halawa Valley, where trekkers cool off in the pool at the bottom.

Other sights covered are the 13th-Century fish ponds, the royal coconut grove, petroglyphs, a macadamia nut farm and Molokai Ranch Wildlife Park.

The video concludes with a quick tour of the main street of Kaunakakai, Molokai’s largest town.

The film quality is very good and the video is a useful source of information for those considering a visit to Molokai, “The Friendly Isle.”

Tapes are available from Destination Molokai, 1600 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 923, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, (800) 367-4753. Price: $9.95.