Day 1

Aloha! Today marks your arrival in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii! First you'll be warmly greeted by your trip leaders and then introduced to your new fellow venturers. Hard to contain your excitement, you'll quickly realize what an incredible trip you have in store for yourself. For our first day together, we'll be familiarizing ourselves with our new stunningly exotic location, and more importantly, with each other.

Day 2

Awakened by the warm Hawaiian sun, we will board an authentic outrigger canoe, growing closer as a team as we learn to paddle and communicate while navigating this traditional craft. Once we are on the water, we will paddle to a remote location and get some hands-on cultural experience learning about native crafts of Hawaii. These will make great souvenirs to bring back to the family! Our first full day together will really be an eye-opening experience as you begin to see what an amazing group you have and how incredible this location is.

Days 3-4

Shifting from the traditional to the contemporary, we'll take a couple of days to explore the shoreline on fun, sit-atop sea kayaks. Paddling the shoreline in the shallow, tropical waters that weave their way through the inlets and hidden coves that dominate this pristine environment, we'll be able to get a first hand perspective on both the shore-side wildlife and the colorful sea life below our paddles. Leaving the break on the beach, for the next two days we'll trade in our surfboards for water shoes and dry bags as we set out to explore the coast in our comfortable, tandem sea kayaks! There are few modes of transportation more perfect to explore the Kona coast than the sea kayaks we'll be paddling. While out in the water, we're sure to see marine birds, spinner dolphins, and hopefully the occasional sea turtle.

Days 5-8

Now it is time to get to work on our first service project: working with the renowned Kohala Center for conservation and environmental education. Here, we'll get our hands dirty while learning about the fragile ecology of this island environment in need. While we are working diligently, we may get the chance to encounter endangered Hawaiian birds.

Days 9-11

After our first taste of meaningful service, it's time to reward ourselves with a little bit of cultural recreation. Our next activity is one that's more native to the islands than any other, surfing! For the next three fun-filled days we'll hang-ten. First to learn the basics, we'll start by playing pupils to professional instructors and Hawaiian locals. After that we're on our own to test what we've learned and to see how many waves we can catch.

Days 12-14

Our next three days will be spent in the astounding Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Seeing a volcano erupt in person (from a safe distance of course) is an opportunity that few people have the fortune to witness. We, however, will! While in the park, we'll pay a visit to Kilauea to see this natural phenomenon; and afterwards, we'll have the extremely rare chance to tread on ground that's actually younger than ourselves!

Days 15-17

We'll roll up our sleeves once again -- this time contributing to the local island communities in need. For four meaningful and important days, we'll work with Habitat for Humanity and local island families on the construction of an affordable home for a deserving family. Seeing your immediate impact first hand while having the opportunity to interact and work with and alongside local community members is certainly a special occasion. This is sure to be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.

Days 18-21

After our service work, we'll celebrate by setting sail for the open sea in our own catamaran! The wonder of Hawaii's marine life will be center stage as we snorkel during the day viewing coral reefs, tropical fish, and giant sea turtles. Every day out on sea will offer something new and fascinating, and every night we'll dock ship and rest ourselves on the sandy beaches under the Hawaiian stars. We'll return to the land life just as our journey nears a close -- enjoying one last final tropical feast.

Day 22

Our night together will have been spent sleeping out under the stars and trying to make every last minute count. It's been a pretty unbelievable trip, and although you may not want it to end, your memories will be with you always. This morning, we'll wake up early to catch our flights home -- a tearful goodbye, reminiscing about the accomplishments, memories and lifelong friends made over this incredible adventure.

 

Please Note: This is a sample day to day itinerary based on service projects we have done in past years. Our service projects are put together carefully each year working with the local communities to find projects that will provide the greatest assistance for those in need. In order to be sure we are working on projects that will be both meaningful and substantive, the exact projects for each year are decided in late spring. Due to the dynamic nature of the needs of the communities, last minute changes are always possible, but they will be replaced with comparable ones.