Category: Hawaii Travel & Vacation Info

Some time back we wrote about Downtown Honolulu’s emerging Arts District, an area where art galleries, theaters and urbane restaurants now are attracting sophisticated residents and vacationers. This is a relatively new phenomenon occurring in a place that has a history of … well, squalor. Adjacent to the Arts District lies the far more traditional […]

There are good reasons for renting a car on your Hawaii vacation. Even if you are part of a group that provides transportation to and from most of the venues on your itinerary, you’ll probably want to go off and explore on your own. Public transportation is pretty grim on the “outer” islands – Kauai, […]

It sounds like a kids’ game today, but in Ancient Hawaii, when kapu (taboos) were the law of the land, it was a desperate race for survival. It was easy then to commit a capital crime. You might have wandered onto land reserved for only chiefs. You might have eaten forbidden fruit or meat. The […]

If you’re very fortunate, you’ll be invited to a private luau at the home of a kamaaina family, people whose families have lived in the islands for generations. The music you hear will be authentic and touch your soul. The smiles you see will be authentic. The hospitality will be heart warming. And the food […]

### UPDATE March 8, 2016 ### “Pot Tourism” is a real travel industry niche, and Hawaii laws have yet to catch up with the statistically verifiable benefits of allowing marijuana to be available to responsible, non-medical proponents. In Colorado, for example, tax revenue from the legal sale of marijuana far exceeds that of the revenue […]

It’s pretty hard to avoid television, even on your vacation, even though there are accommodations in Hawaii with no in-room TVs. With that in mind, here are some observations about TV in Hawaii. As is probably true where you live, local television programming isn’t very good. There simply isn’t enough money for stations or entrepreneurs […]

A true Hawaii tourism hero Uncle Billy will be remembered. His name was Richard Wassman Kimi. He did not do a specific heroic thing, but what he did lastingly affected Hawaii tourism. Back in the mid-1950s, Kimi, who lived in Hilo on the Big Island, noticed that the tourists who came to the island arrived […]

Here in Hawaii, we know how to drink. Does that mean you should trust Hawaii hangover remedies?  Hawaii is a great place to drink with our friends, meet new friends, and celebrate… well, practically anything.  We gather around TVs in early-opening bars first thing in the morning to catch sporting events (time changes mean East […]

Okay yes, it is rainy season in Hawaii, but it’s really not a big deal. When you plan your vacation, you probably take into consideration the natural phenomena that might interfere with your comfort. There are non-skiing areas where heavy snow is inevitable. There are hurricane belts and tornado regions; rainy seasons and times of […]

One of the most common questions we are asked is whether there is gambling in Hawaii. The short answer is no however, there are many reasons why and many theories on this issue. Hawaii is only one of two states that has no legalized gambling of any kind. That means no lotteries, horse races, sports […]

Plan on it. It’s Hawaii’s most visited attraction for a reason. The USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor on Oahu lures 1,500,000 people a year, and nobody leaves the experience unmoved or uninspired. Plan on a half-day, and make it in the morning as early as you can (from 7:30). The later you arrive, the […]

Mount Everest, The Matterhorn, The Meteor Crater, Victoria Falls, Ayers Rock, The Great Barrier Reef, and The Grand Canyon; they’re the seven Natural Wonders of the World.  Each is pretty impressive in itself, but you have to go a long way out of your way to see any of them. Here in Hawaii, we have […]