Every guidebook has a mosquito section, and every mosquito section says roughly the same thing: wear repellent, cover your skin, avoid dawn and dusk. All true. And all useless if you actually want to enjoy your evening instead of spending it swatting at your ankles...
If you only have one day on the Big Island, you need a plan that respects distance and time. This island looks small on a map. It does not feel that way once you start the drive. A full day itinerary on the Big Island works best when you pick a region and stick...
We DO NOT recommend hitchhiking—Just had to get that piece of advice out of the way. Thumbing a ride is a mode of transportation that has slipped into legend for most places in the U.S. While we know plenty of people that successfully got around without much...
When it comes to vacationing, everybody has their preferences. Are you looking to unwind or to get your adrenaline pumping? Do you want to share your adventure with others, or is disconnecting from online life your goal? Hawai‘i has ample options for all types of...
Hawai‘i's reefs cover hundreds of square miles and are still growing. (Some colonies have been growing for thousands of years). But facts don't prepare you for your first face-down encounter with a healthy Hawaiian reef. What prepares you is knowing what you're...
There's a moment every visitor experiences on Maui, the Big Island, or Oʻahu — a rustle in the undergrowth, a flash of brown fur, and a quick, low-slung animal darting across the road before vanishing into the grass. Your first instinct might be to feel charmed. A...
If you're driving the road to Haleakala summit at dawn — which you should be, at least once — and a medium-sized goose steps calmly into your headlights and refuses to move, congratulations. You've just met the nēnē, Hawaii's state bird. Don't honk. It won't help....
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Hawaiian cuisine? (Sorry, but Hawaiian pizza doesn't count.) It's not just pineapple and teriyaki sauce. Thanks to the rise in foodie culture and shows such as Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, more people than...
When you think of iconic Hawaiian wildlife, what comes to mind? Green sea turtles (honu in Hawaiian), humpback whales (kohola), and maybe the Hawaiian goose (nene) are top choices for most casual visitors. (Heck, even the non-native day gecko often gets a shout out...
The Hawaiian language and culture carries many words and concepts that were shaped by the islands themselves. Living on remote volcanoes in the middle of the world's largest ocean required careful attention and discipline in order to survive. Before modern...