Hawaii, Island by Island

Over 12 nights, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, driving yourself between private guides. Pearl Harbor with a historian and the engine rooms of the USS Missouri, petroglyphs and a sunrise canoe on the Kona coast, then Haleakalā at dusk or dawn on Maui.

Length: 12 nights
Pace: Three stays
Style: Culture, volcanoes, self-drive, helicopter
Route: Honolulu to The Kona coast, Hawaiʻi Island to Wailea, Maui

HonoluluThree nights
The Kona coast, Hawaiʻi IslandFive nights
Wailea, MauiFour nights

Days 1 to 4 · three nights

Honolulu

A historian leads a private day at Pearl Harbor and through historic Honolulu. Aboard the USS Missouri, the Chief Engineer's Tour takes groups of no more than 10, aged 10 and over, along Broadway to a fire room, an engine room and the plotting room that fired the big guns. The historian can also take you through the Pacific Aviation Museum and, on request, behind the scenes aboard the submarine USS Bowfin. On request, a visit behind the scenes at a traditional ukulele workshop, followed by a private lesson. A cultural practitioner sails with you for two hours on a double-hulled Polynesian canoe.

Where you stay

ESPACIO The Jewel of Waikiki

ESPACIO stands on Kalākaua Avenue with Waikiki Beach in front, and each of its nine suites takes a full floor, reached by a private elevator. Butlers and a 24-hour concierge look after each suite, Mugen serves Japanese-influenced cooking, and the spa sits above the ocean.

The long silhouette of a distant volcano above a layer of cloud at sunset.

Days 4 to 9 · five nights

The Kona coast, Hawaiʻi Island

A short flight to Kona and a car for the coast. A five-hour private walk across the lava fields, sunset and stargazing on Mauna Kea, and a helicopter over Kīlauea, or on request a day on the ground in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park with a volcanologist. A day with a cultural guide at Kaloko-Honokōhau and in Kona town. At Kona Village, a guided petroglyph tour from the Kaʻūluola Cultural Center, a sunrise paddle by outrigger canoe on Kahuwai Bay with the Kilo Kai team, and the Island Roots Dinner, a communal feast on the Imu Grounds.

Where you stay

Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort

Above Kahuwai Bay on the Kona coast, Kona Village spreads free-standing, thatch-roofed hale across 81 acres of lava fields. The Kaʻuluola Cultural Center leads petroglyph tours and palm weaving, and Moana cooks from the resort's own farm and the sea.

The sun rising over a sea of cloud, seen from a high volcanic summit.

Days 9 to 13 · four nights

Wailea, Maui

A flight to Maui and a car for the island. A farm and food tour Upcountry, with a private bean-to-bar chocolate session and tasting behind the scenes at Hawaii Farm Project on request, an evening at a luau, and a private sunset at the summit of Haleakalā with a forest walk; sunrise instead needs a park reservation for the 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. entry, released up to 60 days ahead. On request, a private hula lesson with a Kumu Hula on the stories and history behind the dance, and one evening a multi-course dinner over an open fire outdoors, cooked by a Maui chef who fishes, dives and hunts for the ingredients himself. On request, an Upcountry morning with ranchers: a horseback ride, cooking outdoors and the tricks of the ranching trade. At the hotel, outrigger canoes go offshore, and in whale season humpbacks pass Polo Beach.

Where you stay

Fairmont Kea Lani

Fairmont Kea Lani is an all-suite and villa resort on 22 acres along Polo Beach in Wailea, with lava tide pools to explore at low tide. Hawaiian cultural programming includes a canoe experience, and Kō cooks Hawaii Regional cuisine.

Arranged on request

Below decks on the USS Missouri

The Chief Engineer's Tour, an hour for no more than 10 people aged 10 and over, runs along Broadway to Fire Room 4, Engine Room 4 and the aft plotting room.

Petroglyphs at Kona Village

A guided tour from the Kaʻūluola Cultural Center to the island's ancient petroglyphs.

Sunrise on Kahuwai Bay

A sunrise paddle by outrigger canoe along the Kaʻūpūlehu coast, guided by the Kilo Kai team.

Kīlauea with a volcanologist

A private day in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park with a volcanologist, on the forces that built the islands. Arranged on request.

Island Roots Dinner

A communal feast on the Imu Grounds at Kona Village, cooked from Hawaiʻi Island produce.

A fireside dinner on Maui

A multi-course dinner cooked over an open flame at an outdoor setting, by a Maui chef who is also a fisherman, spear diver, hunter and sommelier and sources every ingredient himself. Arranged on request.

Subject to availability.

Ways to make it yours

Two or three nights on Kauaʻi, with a private ride along the coast led by a local paniolo, a Hawaiian cowboy, or on Lānaʻi.
The Captain's Tour of the USS Missouri as well: the wardroom, Radio Central, the captain's in-port cabin and the Conning Station.
Snorkelling off Polo Beach in Wailea, with humpbacks offshore in whale season.

This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.

Made around you

Most travel is bought. This is designed.

Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.

The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.