All 392 national parks will have free admission during National Park Week, starting this Saturday, April 17 through Sunday, April 25, 2010. Parks will also offer additional family friendly activities and special offers on tours, lodging, food, and souvenirs.

National Park Week, a program of the National Park Service, is an opportunity to engage families and communities in America's Great Outdoors, reconnecting them with nature and creating close to home opportunities for people to get outside, be active, and have fun.

There will be hundreds of family friendly events on Saturday, April 24, for National Junior Ranger Day. Each child participating in Junior Ranger activities will receive a certificate, patch, or pin.

Normally, 146 of 392 national parks charge entrance fees ranging from $3 to $25. The other 246 do not charge for admission. The fee free waiver for National Park Week does not include other fees collected in advance or by contractors--such as fees charged for camping, reservations and use of concessions.

In Hawaii, the three parks that normally charge for admission but which will be free during National Park Week are:

• Haleakala National Park including both the summit area and Kipahulu area (usually $10 per vehicle)
• Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (usually $10 per vehicle)
• Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park (usually $5 per vehicle)

A listing of all parks that will offer free admission and promotions is available at www.nps.gov/npweek.

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On April 24, 2010, visitors to Waikiki will get a big helping of Hawaii's unique culinary tastes when the 8th Annual Waikiki SPAMŽ Jam returns to the 50th State.

This Saturday, from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the Waikiki SPAMŽ; Jam will fill Kalakaua Avenue in the heart of Waikiki with one of the largest street festivals in honor of Hawaii's love affair with the lovable luncheon meat.

Do you like SPAMŽ so much that you'd consider trying it in just about any form? Well, consider SPAMŽ Katsu, SPAMŽ Won Ton, SPAMŽ Pan Lau Lau, SPAMŽ Ravioli, SPAMŽ Tacos, SPAMŽ Poke ... They're dishes worked up by participating restaurants in last year's SPAM JamŽ.

Read more about the 8th Annual Waikiki SPAMŽ Jam .

For the second straight year and third year out of the past four, Hawaiian Airlines earned the nation's number one ranking for overall quality in 2009, according to the findings reported today in the 20th annual Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study.

Hawaiian was also the top-ranked airline in the annual AQR study for 2006 and 2008, and was not included in the report for 2007.

Now in its 81st year of continuous service for Hawaii, Hawaiian is the state's biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of passenger air service to Hawaii from the state's primary visitor markets on the U.S. mainland.

Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities (10) than any other airline, as well as service to the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides more than 150 daily jet flights between the Hawaiian Islands.

Read more...

As ecotourism or green tourism becomes a more sought out way to spend vacations, ziplining has become one of the fastest growing eco-friendly activities throughout the world.

Ziplining gained popularity in Costa Rica in the early 1990's when several companies began to offer "canopy tours" through the Costa Rican rainforest.

On Maui there are three companies that offer zip line adventures. The first Maui zip line or Maui zipline company was Skyline Eco-Adventures. This was followed several years later by Kapalua Adventures. The most recent entry in the Maui zip line business is the Piiholo Ranch Zipline.

Find our more about these three Maui zipline companies.