If you have to ask how much billfishing costs, you may not be able to afford it! Private charters run from $250 to $750 for an eight to nine hour day. Boats and skippers vary and, as usual, you get what you pay for. Three-quarter-day trips run six to seven hours and are offered by some boats. Half-day trips of four to five hours cost less, but may not be as good a value as the percentage of running time to get to the prime spots increases.

Given the use of a $100,000 boat, all the gear you need and a skipper, deckhand and mate, plus the price of 50 gallons of gas and insurance costs, charter skippers aren't rich. Prices

The island of Hawaii, usually called the Big Island, almost the double of all the other islands put together. From the geographical point of view is the most diverse of all, with deserts, rainforests, volcanoes, and, strange to say, white peaks of snow. The mountains create a huge barrier that blocks the north-eastern trade winds, making the western part of the island, the leeward, the drier of the whole archipelago. Along that stretch is the best beaches with water as well. The east coast, upwind, it's quite bumpy, beaten by the powerful sea, rainy and extremely rich in rainforests, deep crevasses and majestic waterfalls. Hotels and restaurants are mainly concentrated in Kona, Hilo