20 May 2025

Hawaii

We offer a wide choice of cheap flights to Hawaii together with Hawaii hotels, tours and self-drive itineraries.

Other USA Reviews

Crystal clear

For chill out time under a warm sun, Billy Crystal and his family wouldn't dream of missig their annual holiday on the Big Island of Hawaii.

1 Tunnels Beach, Hawaii 2 A proper Hawaii welcome 3 Dolphins in Hawaii

BILLY CRYSTAL IS IN HIS Beverly Hills office, a Western-themed space packed with movie memorabilia.

But his mind isn’t on Hollywood right now. It’s on Hawaii, specifically the Big Island, where he’ll soon venture with his family for their annual 10-day holiday. His seven-month-old granddaughter will join the family on the trip for the first time. Crystal has immortalised the baby in his first children’s book, I Already Know I Love You, which he wrote when his daughter Jenny was eight months pregant.

‘It’s a grandfather anticipating this new time in his life, this new life in his life,’ he said

The 55-year-old actor/comedian, whose office is also full of sports paraphernalia, turns his attention back to the Aloha State. ‘You can’t go wrong with Hawaii,’ he says. ‘The music is a little scary, but the weather’s always fantastic and the people are great. The whales are in the ocean and the sunsets are spectacular and it’s just, I don’t know, I just always feel very comfortable there.’

Can't go wrong with hawaii

When did you discover Hawaii?
‘I made my first trip there when I was making a movie called Throw Momma from the Train. We were shooting in Kauai. I only had like a half a page of dialogue, but I was there for 10 days. Kauai was beautiful. A little rainier than the other islands, but spiritually it was just really strong. We were in Princeville and Tunnels Beach.’

How did you discover the Big Island?
‘Someone said, “You should try the Mauna Lani”. And so we went, and just loved it. I like my privacy, and they have this separate area with bungalows. It was like being in a house, but you could still mingle with the hotel if you chose to. It’s a relaxed kind of hotel. It’s always felt like a home from home.’

Who’s the first person you call when you get to Hawaii?
‘The golf pro there. His name is Mark Jackson. He’s a great teacher, and Mauna Lani has two really challenging golf courses. The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is right next to the Mauna Lani. They have probably the best golf course and a great restaurant’

Any more rustic places?
‘Kona Village is just these little thatched cottages on a black-sand beach. There are no frills, no TV or anything, and one common dining room. It’s sort of a high-end Survivor. If you want to go and just do nothing but read and relax and go in the water, Kona Village is a great place to stay.’

What restaurants do you like?
‘We really like Roy’s. It’s not just Hawaiian. They have really great ribs. I remember the kids loved them. When I go there, it’s not about food. Because you eat healthy and there’s a lot of fish with two names. A lot of mahi-mahi. I always thought the language sort of sounds like a kid crying, trying to catch his breath. The Canoe House is a restaurant at the Mauna Lani that we’ve always liked.’

What’s your favourite Big Island beach?
‘Hapuna Beach is usually voted the best in Hawaii. It’s the way that the surf hits, and there are no rocks at the shore, so you don’t have to worry about any surprises if you’re bodysurfing.’

For a break from the beach, where do you go?
‘We go into Kailua. There are good movie theatres and there’s a great pizza place, Basil’s Pizzeria. It’s a little storefront, right near an art gallery shop. Really, really good New York kind of pizza.’

What about when you want to get back to nature?
‘When the kids were little, we went to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It’s been active since 1983, so there’s some lava flowing. Everybody should take the helicopter ride over the volcano. What’s spectacular about the lava is how it has hardened over the years - thousands of years, probably millions. There’s lava all over the golf course. Instead of staying out of the sand traps, you’ve got to stay out of the lava beds.’

Hawaii is known for whale sightings. Have you seen any?
‘You can see them from the beach. You can see them spouting and stuff, or sometimes jumping up. We’ve also gone in the Atlantis submarine off Kona. It’s a submarine that holds 30 or 40 people, and you go under for an hour and just cruise the bottom and look at the fish.’

What do you do when you get out of your lounge chair?
‘Swim with the dolphins at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. It’s a very interesting hotel. It’s connected by a waterway and you use a water taxi to get to your room. The dolphins are in a water park where, under supervision, you get in and swim with them. I did it last year. They were very intelligent. They asked me why Meg and I had never done a sequel to When Harry Met Sally.’

Do you ever travel with your co-stars?
‘One year we spent Christmas with Gary Shandling and Robin Williams on Maui, and we went to The Plantation House Restaurant. We went into the kitchen, just joking around. Finally the food came out, except Robin stayed in the kitchen because he had an audience. He came out a half hour later.’

Where do you go for the big-deal dinner?
‘Merriman’s. It’s a drive up near the volcano. Sometimes there’s even snow on the ground. Yeah, you know they can ski in Hawaii. Merriman’s is like going to somebody’s house. It has a lot of good fish, but clams in black-bean sauce is the big deal there.’

Hawaiian music

Do you drink the local cocktails?
‘If you start singing Hawaiian music, you know you’ve had a great mai tai.’

Any one memory of Hawaii that stands out the most?
‘The first time I went scuba diving I spent about 30 minutes underwater at about 45 feet. It was amazing, swimming through some volcanic tubes at Tunnels Beach in Kauai. The instructor said, “You didn’t see the sharks, did you?” I went, “What? Where?” And he showed us a video he had taken. There they were, following me, reef sharks. They’re not going to bother you, but they’re there. And they’re just sort of allowing you to be there.”

How do you end a perfect island day?
‘The best thing to do is go out on a boat. We rent a sailboat for a sunset cruise, have a glass of wine out on a calm sea and hover over all the fish I don’t catch and watch the sunset.’

0330·100·2220i 0330 calls are included within inclusive minutes package on mobiles, otherwise standard rates apply. X 0330 calls are included within inclusive minutes package on mobiles, otherwise standard rates apply. X