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  • 55 Big Island Miles With No Gas, Kauai Lifeguards Go Home at 6, and What's the Best Farm Tour on Maui?

    55 Big Island Miles With No Gas, Kauai Lifeguards Go Home at 6, and What's the Best Farm Tour on Maui?
    2026/10/27
    OahuFour hours on a bus is a lot of garlic shrimp you're not eating.If you're staying near Diamond Head on Oahu and want to hit Shark's Cove, a shrimp truck, and Waimea Bay in one day, rent a car for just that day. Becky wrote in with this exact plan, and we're guessing the bay she means is Waimea. The bus from Waikiki runs about two hours each way, so you'd spend around four hours of your day just riding. By car it's closer to an hour, depending on traffic. Reserve the car the day before, check when the Waikiki rental office opens, and aim to be on the road by 8:30. Go to Shark's Cove first, because that lot fills early. Then Waimea Bay, and save Giovanni's Haleiwa truck for the drive home, with time to order before it closes around 5. A one-day rental also means you're not paying to park a car all week. One heads up: Shark's Cove has no lifeguard, and winter surf can close the water, so check the Hawaii Beach Safety website first. Do it this way and you're at a picnic table with a garlic shrimp plate, salty hair, and nobody checking a bus clock.All IslandsYour snorkel crew is hoping you brought small bills.If you're booking a snorkel boat, a whale watch, or any guided tour in Hawaii, put the tip in your budget now, because it usually isn't in the ticket price. Plan on about $5 to $10 a person for a two-hour sunset, whale, or snorkel trip, and about $15 to $20 a person for a snorkel day of four hours or more. For a family of four on a five-hour boat, that's $60 to $80 on top of the tickets. Private charters and tours run higher, about 15 to 20 percent of the price. Most crews and guides take cash, so tuck some small bills in a zip bag the night before, and keep it dry, since this is a boat. Some crews take Venmo, too. Ask when you book whether the tip is already in the price, because some private charters build it in. Tips matter most on small group tours, where the guide often bends over backward to make your day. Hand it over at the end with a thank you. You step off the boat sunburned and happy, the crew knows you noticed, and nobody is doing math at the dock.MauiThe Maui bakery locals drive up the hill for.If you're staying on Maui and want a breakfast worth setting an alarm for, skip the hotel pastry and head up to Komoda Store and Bakery in Makawao. The same family has run the business since 1916, and locals line up for the cream puffs, stick donuts, and guava malasadas. The shop makes hundreds of cream puffs a day and still runs out. It opens at 7 every day except Wednesday and Sunday, and the favorites are often sold out by 10, so go close to opening. Bring cash to be safe. Makawao is up in the cool Upcountry, about 45 minutes from Kihei and about an hour from Lahaina and Kaanapali, so treat it as a morning outing, not a quick stop. Check the hours before you drive, since hours can change. Order a cream puff and a guava malasada while you're there. Eat them on the sidewalk in the chilly morning air, with sugar on your fingers and a little cowboy town waking up around you, and you'll see why a bakery open since 1916 still has a line.KauaiKauai's lifeguards go home at 6.If you're headed to a Kauai beach, look for an on-duty lifeguard before you get in the water, because Kauai has had the highest drowning rate per person in the state for years. County lifeguards work from 8 AM to 6 PM at guarded beaches, so outside those hours even a beach with a tower has nobody watching. The ocean never clocks out. Walk up, make sure a guard is on duty, and ask what the ocean is doing today, because they know where the rip currents are and whether the water is safe at all. Take their advice, even if it means staying out. Watch the waves for 20 minutes, too, since calm stretches can hide big sets, but don't treat watching as permission to swim. Plan to be out of the water by 6. If a beach has no guard and no tower, enjoy it from the sand and save your swim for another day. Do that and you get a long, easy beach afternoon, with towels on the sand and your whole group still smiling at the end of the day.Big IslandTwo giant volcanoes, 55 miles, and not one gas station.If you're driving across the Big Island between Hilo and Kona, fill your tank before you start. Saddle Road runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, it has no gas stations at all, and Hilo to Kona takes about two hours. Between Hilo and Waimea, that's roughly 55 miles with no gas and no food. So top off in Hilo, or in Kona or Waimea if you're heading the other way. Buy water before you go, too, because there's no store up there, just lava and a very big sky. Don't count on your phone for the whole drive, so check your route before you leave. Try to drive it in daylight and skip it in a rainstorm, because the road is remote and visibility drops fast. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has no gas stations inside it either, so fill up before that drive, too. Start with a full tank and the road becomes one of the best drives in Hawaii, with Mauna Kea on one side...
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    12 分
  • Oahu’s Most Famous Hike Can Get You Arrested, The $2 Maui Treat Most Visitors Miss, and What’s the Best Luau on Kauai?

    Oahu’s Most Famous Hike Can Get You Arrested, The $2 Maui Treat Most Visitors Miss, and What’s the Best Luau on Kauai?
    2026/10/22
    Seven Hawaii tips this week, from a famous Oahu hike you can’t do to a hundred-year-old Maui treat most people drive right past.OAHU The most famous hike on Oahu is one you’re not allowed to do If you’re planning an Oahu hike off a photo you saw online, make sure the trail is still open. The Stairway to Heaven, also called the Haiku Stairs, still shows up in old blogs and travel videos as a bucket-list climb. It’s been closed to the public since 1987. The city started tearing it down in 2024, and what’s left is still tied up in court. Police have cited and arrested people at the bottom for trying to sneak up. So skip it. If you’re up for a hard climb, put the Koko Head Stairs on your list instead. They’re on the southeast tip of Oahu, about 25 minutes from Waikiki, legal and free: 1,048 old railroad ties straight up the side of a crater, roughly 1,000 feet of climbing. There’s no shade, so start close to sunrise and bring extra water. Park at Koko Head District Park. At the top, you’re on the rim of an old volcano with Hanauma Bay below you, Diamond Head in the distance, and the whole south shore lit up in morning light.KAUAI Kauai’s alarm clock goes off at 4 AM, and you can’t hit snooze If you’re staying on Kauai, pack earplugs. You might want them around 4 in the morning. Kauai has wild chickens everywhere: parking lots, beaches, the lawn outside your hotel. Unlike Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island, Kauai has no mongoose population going after their eggs, so the birds are all over the place. And the roosters don’t wait for sunrise. Plenty start crowing at 3 or 4 AM, right outside your window. Put foam earplugs in your carry-on, or load a white noise app before you leave home. When you check in, ask for an upper-floor room or one away from the grass and the parking lot, where the birds hang out. Do that and the rooster becomes part of the soundtrack instead of your alarm clock. You’ve got a much better shot at waking up rested, coffee in hand on the lanai, while a very proud bird struts across the lawn like he owns the place.MAUI The rock you shouldn’t stand on at Maui’s 100-foot blowhole If you’re driving the north coast of West Maui, the Nakalele Blowhole is worth the stop, as long as you watch it from the right spot. Waves push into a lava tube under the rock and blast water out of a hole about the size of a tire, sometimes as high as 100 feet when the surf is up. People get in trouble by walking too close. In 2011, a visitor standing near the hole was knocked down by a wave and pulled in, and he was never found. The Maui Fire Department’s rule: if the rock is wet, waves are reaching it, so don’t stand there. Dry rock isn’t a guarantee either, because a big set can come out of nowhere. Stay well back from the hole and the water’s edge, watch from higher ground, and never turn your back on the ocean. The trail down from the pullout near mile marker 38 is steep and loose, so wear real shoes, not flip-flops. Do it right and you’re standing in the sun, feeling the boom through your feet, sometimes with a rainbow hanging in the spray.BIG ISLAND The Big Island lava tube with no lights, no fee, and no line If you’re staying in Hilo, there’s a better way to walk through a lava tube than the one everybody else does. Most visitors only see Nahuku, also called Thurston Lava Tube, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It’s paved and lit, and at midday you’re shuffling through in a line of people. Kaumana Caves is the wild version, about 15 minutes from downtown Hilo on Kaumana Drive, just past mile marker 4. It’s a free county park, open year round. You walk down steep stairs into a spot where the roof caved in, and two big tubes open up in front of you, one on each side. This lava came down from Mauna Loa in 1881 and stopped just short of Hilo. There are no lights and the floor is rough, so bring a flashlight or headlamp for each person, plus a spare, and wear closed-toe shoes. Stay near the entrance and follow the posted signs, because the tube runs under private land farther in. Then switch your light off for a few seconds. Cool air, dripping rock, and nobody else’s voice.ALL ISLANDS Your $90 interisland flight just cost $160 If you’re splitting your trip between two islands, add the bag fees before you call that interisland flight cheap. In April 2026, Southwest doubled its interisland bag fees for visitors. Now Southwest and Hawaiian both charge about $30 for your first checked bag and $40 for the second, each way. If you each check two bags, that’s $70 a person, and a $90 ticket becomes a $160 flight. For a couple, that’s $140 for a hop that’s over in less than an hour. Price the flight with your bags included, not just the fare. Then get the two of you down to one shared checked bag, keep it under 50 pounds to avoid an overweight charge, and carry the rest on. Leave bulky beach gear at home and rent it on the island if you need it. Going from ...
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    11 分
  • Where Your Rental Kayak Can’t Land, Haleakala Without a Reservation, and What’s the Best Boat Tour on Maui?

    Where Your Rental Kayak Can’t Land, Haleakala Without a Reservation, and What’s the Best Boat Tour on Maui?
    2026/10/20

    Episode 105

    Seven Hawaii tips today, including Haleakala without a reservation, a Big Island shore most kayakers never stand on, and the Oahu bus trick that caps your fares at $7.50.

    MAUI

    The Haleakala show that doesn't need a reservation

    If you're going to Maui and missed the Haleakala sunrise reservation, go for sunset instead. It's not the backup plan. Sunrise needs a $1 reservation for every car entering the summit area between 3 and 7 AM, and those go fast. Sunset needs no reservation at all. You pay the $30 entrance fee per car, good for three days, or show a park pass if you already have one. The park is cashless, so bring a card. The catch is parking. When the summit lots fill, cars get turned around at the gate, and in the busy winter season the park says to arrive at least three hours before sunset. So pack a dinner, head up early, and bring real layers, because it gets very cold up there once the sun drops. When the sun goes down, don't rush for the car. The road down is dark and winding, and the first wave of traffic is the worst of it. Stay a while. On a clear night, the sky over 10,000 feet goes from orange to purple to black, and then the stars come out, thick and bright, more than most people have ever seen in one sky.

    ALL ISLANDS

    Once a hurricane has a name, it's too late to buy this

    If you're booking a Hawaii trip for summer or fall, the plan to buy travel insurance only if a storm shows up doesn't work. Hawaii's hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. Most standard policies treat a storm as a known event once it gets a name. Buy after that, and losses from that storm generally aren't covered. In September 2026, Hurricane Lowell hit Kauai hard, and for a while officials asked visitors to postpone their trips. So buy your policy the same week you pay your first big deposit. Before you click buy, check two things. First, that it includes severe weather coverage, since that isn't on every plan. Second, the list of reasons it will actually pay for a cancellation, like a canceled flight or a hotel that can't open. Check what your credit card already covers too. It's a little homework, once. After that you can close the weather map and spend the rest of your planning months on the good stuff, picking beaches, booking dinners, and counting down the days.

    BIG ISLAND

    The Big Island shore most kayakers only see from the water

    If you're planning to kayak to the Captain Cook Monument on the Big Island, a rental kayak gets you across the bay but not onto the shore. Kealakekua Bay, south of Kona, is a protected bay, and every boat on it needs a state permit. Permitted rental kayaks can paddle the bay, and you can snorkel there, but you're not allowed to land at Ka'awaloa, the flat where the monument stands. Only a small number of guided kayak tour companies, listed on the Hawaii State Parks website, can bring people ashore. So if stepping onto that shore is the goal, you have two ways in. Book a guided kayak tour with a company on the state parks list. Or hike down the Ka'awaloa Trail. It's
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    12 分
  • The Hawaii Crosswalk Ticket (Spoiler, Not Jaywalking), The Waterfall Swim That Can Make You Sick Weeks After You’re Home, and What’s the Best Swimwear Shop on Oahu?

    The Hawaii Crosswalk Ticket (Spoiler, Not Jaywalking), The Waterfall Swim That Can Make You Sick Weeks After You’re Home, and What’s the Best Swimwear Shop on Oahu?
    2026/10/15
    In this episode... a crosswalk ticket that has nothing to do with jaywalking, a Hilo waterfall that now charges, and five more things to know before your Hawaii trip.OAHU The Honolulu law most visitors break by the first crosswalk If you’re walking around Waikiki, a quick look at your phone in a crosswalk can get you a ticket. Honolulu’s distracted walking law covers all of Oahu. You can’t cross a street while looking at your phone or another mobile device, and checking the time counts. Tickets started in October 2017. Fines run from $15 up to $99 for repeat offenders, and visitors get cited the same as locals. Stop on the curb when you need your map, a text, or your ride app, and finish before you step off. Using walking directions? Put one earbud in and keep your eyes on the traffic. Ten seconds on the curb keeps you off the ticket list.BIG ISLAND The Hilo waterfall that now charges at the gate If you’re stopping at Rainbow Falls in Hilo, bring a credit card, because it isn’t free anymore. Since January, out-of-state visitors pay $5 per person and $10 per vehicle at Wailuku River State Park, home of Rainbow Falls and the Boiling Pots. The same fee started at the Kua Bay section of Kekaha Kai State Park on the Kona side. Children three and under are free, and Hawaii residents with ID skip it. Two adults in one car pay $20. One payment covers both Rainbow Falls and the Boiling Pots, so see both in the same visit. Cards only, no cash. And 14 Hawaii state parks now charge visitors, so check the state parks website before any park stop.ALL ISLANDS The waterfall swim that can make you sick weeks after you’re home If you’re planning to cool off in a waterfall pool or a stream, here’s one easy thing to know first. It’s called leptospirosis, and it’s very simple to avoid. When it rains, animal waste from rats, mice, and mongoose washes into fresh water, and the germs can get in through a cut or through your eyes, nose, or mouth. Hawaii sees more cases than any other state, mostly from October through February. The fix: skip swimming and wading in freshwater streams and ponds. The state is clear on that, and a bandage doesn’t change it. Beaches are still a great pick. Just skip brown or muddy water, and after a brown water advisory, wait 48 to 72 hours after the rain stops. If you feel flu-like in the month after your trip, with a fever, chills, a headache, or sore muscles, tell your doctor you were around fresh or muddy water. It’s treatable with antibiotics, especially when it’s caught early.MAUI The Maui beach you think you’re not allowed on If you’re on Maui and the best beach belongs to a resort you’re not staying at, good news. The beach doesn’t belong to the resort. Hawaii has no private beaches. The state holds the shoreline up to where the waves wash at their highest, so a resort can’t make the sand guests-only. What it can control is the way in, so look for the marked public beach access signs and stay off hotel lawns and decks. Parking is limited, so get there early. Bring your own towel and chair, because the pool and loungers are for guests. You don’t need a room or a day pass to use the beach itself. Parking may cost you, but the sand is yours.KAUAI The one empty day every Kauai trip needs If you’re planning a Kauai trip, build in some slack, because the island’s most famous places close more often than most visitors expect. Haena State Park and the Kalalau Trail were shut for about 14 months after floods in 2018, storm damage closed the trail again this March, and Hurricane Lowell hit in September. As of the state’s October 8 notice, all Kauai state parks are still closed except a partial reopening at Wailua River State Park, and Kokee Road and all Kauai camping are closed too. Check Hawaii State Parks before you book and again the week you fly, and call every tour company the day before. Keep one backup day with nothing reserved. A closure can still cancel a Haena or Kalalau reservation, so don’t make it your only plan. Travel officials ask visitors to adjust plans instead of canceling Hawaii altogether, which can mean moving your Kauai days or spending a few on another island. If you do go, eat and book local.BIG ISLAND Your hiking shoes are carrying something the Big Island can’t afford If you’re packing hiking shoes for the Big Island, the dirt on the bottom of them can kill a forest. Rapid Ohia Death was first found on the Big Island in 2014. It kills ohia trees, most of Hawaii’s native forest, and there’s no recommended treatment. Scientists found the fungus at 28 of 34 trailhead boot brush stations they tested. Brush the mud off your soles and gear before and after every forest hike, then spray the bottoms with 70 percent rubbing alcohol and let it soak at least 15 seconds. Pack a small brush and buy the alcohol at a drugstore when you land. Clean everything again before flying to another island. Moving soil, ohia plants, or ohia wood ...
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    12 分
  • The Souvenir That Costs You $5,000, The 2% You Didn't Order on Your Maui Dinner Bill, and What's the Best Helicopter Tour on the Big Island?

    The Souvenir That Costs You $5,000, The 2% You Didn't Order on Your Maui Dinner Bill, and What's the Best Helicopter Tour on the Big Island?
    2026/10/13
    Seven Hawaii rules nobody warns you about, and what they'll cost you if you find out too late.BIG ISLANDTwo Hours Up the Mountain, and Some Drivers Never See the TopIf you're planning to catch sunset from the top of Mauna Kea on your own, don't assume your rental car will get you there. The paved road only goes as far as the Visitor Information Station at 9,200 feet. Past that, it's eight more miles of steep, unpaved switchbacks, and rangers check vehicles there. No 4WD with low range, no summit. Here's the part that catches people off guard: even if your rental is an SUV, most rental contracts ban driving that summit road. Call your rental company and ask, in those words, "Is Mauna Kea summit driving allowed?" Get the answer before you book. If the answer is no, book a guided summit tour instead. Expect to pay $240 to $315 per person. Either way, plan to leave the summit by 30 minutes after sunset, because that's when rangers close it for the night. Skip this check and you'll drive up to two hours up Saddle Road, sit through altitude acclimation at the visitor center, and still get turned around at 9,200 feet.MAUIThe 2% You Didn't Order on Your Maui Dinner BillIf you're eating out on Maui, read your bill before you tap your card. Some restaurants have started adding a "kitchen appreciation fee," usually 2% to 3% of your total, as a separate line at the bottom of the check. It's not printed on the menu. It's not a scam. It's a real fee, usually meant to support the kitchen staff. But almost nobody expects to see it. The name changes from place to place: kitchen appreciation, hospitality fee, service fee. Before you tip 20% on top, scan the bottom of the check for one of these lines. If it's there, ask your server whether it's separate from the tip or meant to replace part of it. Skip this and you could end up tipping twice for the same thing.OAHUBlue Skies at the Trailhead Don't Mean the Stream Stays SafeIf you're hiking to a waterfall on Oahu, like Maunawili Falls, Kaʻau Crater, or Lulumahu, check the sky over the mountains, not just the sky above you. Hawaii's valleys are steep and narrow. Rain falling miles upstream can turn a shin-deep stream crossing into a dangerous flash flood in minutes, even while the trailhead stays sunny and dry. Flash floods have killed 19 people statewide over the last 23 years, and hikes like these cross the same stream more than once, so a flood can trap you between rising water on both sides. Before you start, check the National Weather Service Hawaii page for any flash flood watch or warning. On the trail, watch each crossing for three signs: the water turning muddy or brown, a rumbling sound of rocks rolling underwater, or the water rising against a rock while you watch. Any one of those means don't cross. Get to higher ground and wait it out. Skip this and the crossing that was ankle-deep on the way in can be waist-deep and moving fast on the way back.ALL ISLANDSThat Fruit You Bought on Your Last Day Probably Isn't Flying Home With YouIf you're heading home from Hawaii with fresh fruit in your suitcase, don't count on it making the flight. Every bag leaving the islands for the mainland, Alaska, or Guam, checked and carry-on, goes through a USDA agricultural inspection before you board. Untreated produce doesn't pass. That papaya or mango from a roadside stand gets pulled and tossed at the inspection counter, no exceptions. Pineapple is the one people usually get right, because most gift shops sell it boxed and treated for travel. If you want to bring fruit home, buy it pre-packaged for exactly that purpose. Eat the rest before you get to the airport. And if you're carrying anything agricultural you're unsure about, like flowers, leis, seeds, or plants, declare it at the counter. It's free and fast, and it's the only way to know before you're standing at the gate without the souvenir you paid for.KAUAIThe One Road on Kauai That Can Turn a 15-Minute Drive Into an HourIf you think a small island like Kauai can't have real traffic, you haven't met the Kapaʻa Crawl. One road, Kuhio Highway, connects the whole east side, and it funnels straight through the town of Kapaʻa, where several stoplights sit within a few hundred feet of each other. The backup regularly adds up to an hour to a drive that should take fifteen minutes, especially in the morning and late afternoon. There's a bypass road behind town that can save you up to 30 minutes, but it still feeds back into the same highway. If your day has a hard start time, like a reserved hike, a boat tour, a dinner reservation, or a sunset you really want to see, and your route touches Kapaʻa, build in 30 to 60 minutes of buffer. Skip this and "we'll just leave a little early" turns into missing the thing you planned your day around.ALL ISLANDSThe Souvenir That Comes With a $5,000 Price TagIf you're tempted to pocket a piece of lava rock or a jar of black sand, put it back. This isn't just the old "Pele's curse" ...
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    12 分
  • Your Kona Coffee Is 90% Not Kona, The Beach House That Isn't Legal, and What's the Best Luau on Oahu?

    Your Kona Coffee Is 90% Not Kona, The Beach House That Isn't Legal, and What's the Best Luau on Oahu?
    2026/10/08
    Welcome to the Hawaii Travel Podcast. This is the podcast where in every episode you're gonna get seven different little-known travel tips about Hawaii's main islands. Plus, you're gonna get five more answers to problems that would have been just as annoying to run into without warning while you're already in Hawaii. And by that time, it's too late.Ready? Let's jump in!1. Your Kona coffee might be 90% something elseIf you're buying Kona coffee on the Big Island to bring home, you might want to read the bag before you pay. A bag labeled "Kona Blend" can legally contain as little as 10% Kona beans. The other 90% can be coffee from anywhere in the world. The word Kona is printed big. The percentage is printed small. Hawaii passed a law raising the minimum to 51%, but it doesn't take effect until July 1, 2027. So right now, a lot of what gets sold as Kona is mostly something else, and people who buy it go home wondering what the fuss was all about. So look for the words "100% Kona Coffee" on the label, and read the percentage, not just the biggest word on the bag. "All Hawaiian" is not the same as 100% Kona. Better yet, buy it at the source. Coffee farms up the hill from the Kona Coast around Holualoa and Captain Cook offer tastings and sell bags right off the farm. Many will ship it home for you. You'll taste the real thing, you'll support a local farmer, and you'll bring home the coffee your friends think they're getting.2. The Oahu snorkel spot that sells out before you finish your coffeeIf you're planning to snorkel Hanauma Bay on Oahu, you can't just show up. Nonresidents need a reservation, and online tickets go on sale only two days before your visit at 7 AM Hawaii time. The good time slots can be gone in minutes. That's 10 AM Pacific and 1 PM Eastern in summer, and an hour earlier in winter. The bay is also closed every Monday and Tuesday. Entry is $25 per person for nonresidents 13 and older. Kids 12 and under get in free. So pick your day, count back two days, and set an alarm for 6:55 AM Hawaii time. Book on the official City and County of Honolulu website and grab the earliest slot you can. Your ticket does not save you a parking spot. Parking is $3, cash only, and the lot fills up, so get there early. If you miss the online window, a few walk-up tickets go out when the gate opens at 6:45 AM. Everyone in your group has to be there to get them. Get this right and you get some of the calmest, clearest beginner snorkeling on Oahu. Miss it and you get turned away at the gate.3. Kauai's most famous tide pool has a locked gate for a reasonIf you're staying on Kauai's North Shore, you'll see Queen's Bath all over social media, and those photos don't tell you the whole story. Queen's Bath is a tide pool on a lava rock shelf in Princeville. On a calm day it looks like a giant natural swimming pool. But winter swells on the North Shore can top 15 feet, and one big wave can wash right over those rocks with no warning. People have been swept into the ocean there and drowned. The county locks the trail gate when the ocean gets dangerous, and it usually stays locked through the winter. People still climb around it, and rescue crews still have to go get them. So if the gate is closed, it's closed. Don't go around it. When it's open, check the North Shore surf report and the posted warnings before you go. If there's any real surf, water surging over the rocks, or you're just not sure, skip it. The trail gets slick and muddy after rain, so wear real shoes. The pool is beautiful, but it's not worth your life, or the life of the rescuer who has to come get you.4. Your Hawaii hotel just got more expensive and the rate didn't changeIf you're comparing hotel prices for Hawaii, the number you saw last year is already out of date. On January 1, 2026, Hawaii raised its lodging tax. The state portion went from 10.25% to 11%, and that was on top of a county tax and the general excise tax that were already there. Stack them all up and you're looking at about 18.7% tax on your room. On a $400 room, that's about $75 a night, or more than $500 across a seven-night stay. The increase alone adds roughly $3 a night on that same room, which is about $21 for the week. And it's not done climbing. The state portion is scheduled to go to 12% in 2027. So if you're working off a price you wrote down on a past trip, or a quote from a few months back, add about 19% and check it again before you commit. If you booked a while ago at a locked-in total, you're fine. If you're still shopping, build the newer number into your budget now, so the difference comes out of the planning spreadsheet instead of your dinners.5. The Oahu beach house that could get pulled out from under youIf you're booking a vacation rental on Oahu, that cute beach house online might not be legal. On Oahu, renting a home for less than 30 days is illegal in most residential neighborhoods. Short stays are mainly allowed in resort areas like Waikiki, Ko Olina, and Turtle ...
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    12 分
  • The Big Island Hike You Can't Walk, The $460 Seat You Lose to Rain, and What's the Best Catamaran Cruise on Maui?

    The Big Island Hike You Can't Walk, The $460 Seat You Lose to Rain, and What's the Best Catamaran Cruise on Maui?
    2026/10/06
    Welcome to the Hawaii Travel Podcast. This is the podcast where in every episode you're gonna get seven different little-known travel tips about Hawaii's main islands. Plus, you're gonna get five more answers to problems that would have been just as annoying to run into without warning while you're already in Hawaii. And by that time, it's too late.Ready? Let's jump in!All Islands Four Islands in Seven Days Is a Tour of Five Airports If you're planning your first Hawaii trip, you're probably trying to fit in too many islands. On a map they look close. Maui to the Big Island is about 35 to 40 minutes in the air. So people book seven nights and try to see four islands. Here's what that actually costs. Every island change eats the middle of a day. You check out, drive to the airport, return the rental car, drop bags, get through security, fly, land, wait at baggage claim, pick up another rental car, drive to the new hotel, and check in. The state asks travelers to arrive 90 minutes early for interisland flights. Do that three times in a week and you've spent most of three days moving instead of being anywhere. For a first seven-night trip, pick one island. Two at most. If you do two, fly into one and home out of the other so you're not backtracking, and leave real buffer between the interisland leg and your mainland flight, because a separate ticket won't protect you if you miss it.Kauai The Helicopter Money You Lose by Booking the Wrong Day If you're booking a Kauai helicopter tour, know what you're risking before you pick the date. A doors-off flight out of Lihue runs about $345 to $460 a seat, and more if someone in your party needs a second seat for weight. If the company cancels for weather, you get a refund or a reschedule. If you cancel, it's different. Several Kauai operators require 48 hours notice and charge the full fare inside that window, including no-shows. Booking sites and large groups can have their own rules. So find the cancellation policy before you pay, not after. And book the flight for early in your trip. Day two or three gives you room to rebook if weather scrubs it. Book it for your last morning and a rainy day costs you the tour and the money. Also read the doors-off rules before you pay, because there are age minimums, weight limits, and camera restrictions, and they weigh passengers at check-in.Maui The Snorkeling Warning Sign People Swim Right Through If you're snorkeling on Maui, learn the warning signs before you get in the water. Hawaii researchers studying snorkel deaths found something that surprises people. In a survey of snorkelers who nearly died, almost none had inhaled water. They ran short of oxygen. Most of them reported calm water and good visibility, and many were experienced swimmers. Researchers are still working out exactly why it happens. What they do know is the warning signs: sudden shortness of breath, unusual tiredness, weakness in your arms, or confusion. So snorkel with a buddy, never alone. Pick a lifeguarded beach and check conditions before you go. Test your mask in shallow water first, and stay close enough to shore that you can get out easily, without standing on the reef. And if you feel short of breath out there, get out of the water immediately and get help, even if it looks perfectly calm. That feeling is the warning. It's not something to push through.Oahu What the Shrimp Truck Advice Online Gets Wrong If you're driving to Oahu's North Shore for garlic shrimp, bring cash and go on a weekday morning. The trucks in Kahuku are worth the drive, but two things people repeat online aren't quite right anymore. First, everybody says Giovanni's is cash only. Some reports now say cards work with a processing fee added. Payment practices change, so bring small bills either way and don't find out while standing in line. Second, Giovanni's isn't the only truck, and it has the longest wait. Fumi's, Romy's, and Famous Kahuku Shrimp are all on the same stretch of Kamehameha Highway within a few minutes of each other, and Fumi's runs a family shrimp farm. Plates run roughly $12 to $20 depending on the truck. So go late morning on a weekday if you can. If the line at Giovanni's is thirty people deep, drive two more minutes. And know that most plates come shell-on, so it's messy, and worth flagging if anyone in your group has a shellfish allergy.Big Island The Big Island Hike Your Guidebook Doesn't Know Is Illegal If you're planning to hike down into Waipio Valley on the Big Island, you can't. As of September 2026, you're not allowed to walk down. The county closed Waipio Valley Road in February 2022 after a study found rockfall and slope problems, and it's been renewed over and over since. The rule bans pedestrians completely. It bans ATVs and horseback. The only vehicles allowed down belong to Hawaii County residents, county-permitted tour operators, and Native Hawaiians exercising traditional rights, and even those need low-range four-wheel drive. Renting a ...
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