Category: Hawaii Hiking & Outdoors

Wind and rain are battering my lanai, rattling the sliding glass doors and my normally steady state of relative calm. A “Kona low” has settled in over pretty much the whole state of Hawaii and I’m scrolling through the photo gallery on my phone, unable to muster the gumption to do…anything. Pictures of a recent […]

Kilauea Volcano is again erupting on Hawaii Island, with a lava lake formed in Halemaumau Crater. Officials say that the lava is likely to remain contained within the crater. As new images and video of the spectacular event at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, something else is spreading from the volcano: vog in Hawaii has returned. […]

Hawaii residents and visitors from abroad flock to Hawaii Island, the Big Island, to witness eruptions at the Mauna Loa Volcano. Thousands of images and videos of the spectacular event are zing around the internet when that happens showing the full glory of an active lava flow. We want to point out that fire goddess […]

We’ll go out on a limb here and suggest that the kind of tree most commonly associated with Hawaii is the coconut palm. It’s a ubiquitous motif in picture postcards and paintings, on mu’umu’u and aloha shirts, even in the lyrics of some of Hawaii’s most beloved songs and movements in ancient hula. Fair enough. […]

Hawaii is home to a wide variety of native bird species. Many of them are on the Endangered Species List and some are “critically endangered”. Efforts are ongoing to protect these species, with limited success, across the state. Enthusiasts of birding in Hawaii, or simply “birdwatching”, have benefitted from conservation policies. Hawaii’s endangered forest birds […]

If you are a golfer and looking to play a round or two during your Hawaii vacation (as opposed to planning a full-on golf holiday), you’ll likely be overwhelmed by lavish photography of resort courses and fine dining in the clubhouse (and gob-smacking green fees) when searching Hawaii’s courses online. No wonder, as Hawaii is […]

In the Waianae Mountain Range, Mount Ka’ala is the highest point on Oahu at an elevation of 4,025 feet. The actual peak itself is inaccessible, as it is home to a critical and tightly secured radar station (a giant white ball, can’t miss it) operated by the Hawaii National Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration. […]

Here at Hawaii Aloha Travel, we have long advocated for visitor education tours and programs that focus on native Hawaiian ecology and culture. Helewai Eco Tours on Maui is exactly the kind of organization we recommend for visitors interested in getting more out of their Hawaii vacation than tan lines souvenirs. The project was founded […]

The annual Geminid Meteor Shower is at this moment heading toward planet Earth, set to streak Hawaii’s night skies on December 13-14. The celestial event is considered by astronomers and amateur stargazers to be the best of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. There is no better place to view the stellar spectacle than right […]

During a trip to Maui in late September, some of our group set out on a couple of hikes that were, simply, marvelous. There are countless hiking trails on the Valley Isle, but the Waihee Ridge Trail and the Waiakoa Loop Trail were chosen as our hiking destinations in Maui for a couple of important […]

The completion of improvements to the Koko Crater Stairs hiking trail made headlines in the local news media last week. It has become a popular hike for residents and visitors over the past few years. High traffic had degraded the trail, which is made of railroad ties. The trail is much safer now thanks in […]

A couple of weeks ago when settling in at a West Maui condo, I started looking into tee times at various golf courses in the area. Several are legendary, home to PGA events and some of the most dramatic views you’ll see in coverage of the pros on major networks. Green fees and club rental […]