Things to do in Hawaii
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Big Island Day Trip: Volcanoes National Park from Oahu
15 hours (Departs Oahu, Hawaii)
by Viator
Take a Big Island volcano tour from Oahu on a day trip to Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. The recent eruptions of Kilauea Volcano have captured the world's…Not LP reviewed
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'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i
'Imiloa is a unique, provocative look at the creation stories of two very different peoples: Native Hawai'ians and modern astronomers. This unusual combination wouldn't make sense except that it embodies the story of Mauna Kea, which is central to Hawai'ian mythology and is now home to the world's most important conglomeration of observatories.
You begin by walking through a recreation of Mauna Kea itself. Then you are introduced to the kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation story (which is chanted in Hawaiian), and to wider Hawaiian culture. This is followed by bilingual exhibits (in English and Hawaiian) on the Big Bang, and descriptions of ancient Polynesian voyaging…
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Mahukona Beach Park
Mahukona Beach Park has a rather ratty oceanfront picnic area and an abandoned landing. Once a key port for the Kohala Sugar Company, the landing was connected to sugar mills by rail. Today locals fish off it and use its ladder to get in and out of the water to swim or spearfish. Despite the name, there is no beach here.
Beyond the landing are interesting snorkeling and diving spots, although they're usually too rough in winter. Heading north, it's possible to follow an anchor chain out to a submerged boiler and the remains of a ship in about 25ft of water. You can rinse off at a shower near the ladder. The oceanfront picnic area has portable toilets, an unkempt wooden…
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Lumaha'i Beach
If Lumaha'i Beach looks familiar, it's where Mitzi Gaynor promised to wash that man right out of her hair in the 1958 musical South Pacific. It's just as spectacular in real life. Plan to stroll this mile-long sandy beach, with jungle growth looming on one side and tempestuous open sea on the other.
Forget swimming. There is no reef barrier and waves are almost always too powerful, with perilous shorebreaks.
There are two ways onto Lumaha'i Beach. The first and more scenic is a three-minute walk that begins at the parking area 0.75 miles past the 4-mile marker on the Kuhio Hwy. The trail slopes to the left at the end of the retaining wall. On the beach, the lava-rock…
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Wo Hing Temple
The two-story Wo Hing Temple opened in 1912 as a meeting hall for the Chinese benevolent society Chee Kung Tong. It provided Chinese immigrants a place to preserve their cultural identity, celebrate festivities and socialize in their native tongue.
After WWII Lahaina's ethnic Chinese population spread far and wide and the temple fell into decline. It was restored and turned into a museum in 1984. Inside you'll find period photos, a ceremonial dancing-lion costume and a Taoist shrine.
Whatever you do, don't miss the tin-roof cookhouse out back, which holds a little theater showing fascinating films of Hawaii shot by Thomas Edison in 1898 and 1906, soon after he invented…
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Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge
Birders will enjoy the scenic 2-mile drive through the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, which passes taro fields, banana trees, bamboo thickets, hau (hibiscus) trees and wild ginger across 917 acres of the valley.
Prior to Western contact, the valley was planted with taro. Then in the mid-1800s rice paddies were planted to feed the Chinese sugar-plantation laborers. After peaking as a major crop in the 1880s, rice eventually waned and today taro again predominates - though at only 5% of its original acreage. Hanalei's wetland taro farms produce two-thirds of Hawaii's commercially grown poi taro and also create a habitat for endangered Hawaiian waterbirds.
The refuge,…
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Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge
A bird-watcher's oasis, the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge harbors native waterbirds year-round and hosts migratory ducks and shorebirds from October to April. In the rainy winter months Kealia Pond swells to more than 400 acres, making it one of the largest natural ponds in Hawaii. In summer it shrinks to half the size, giving it a skirt of crystalline salt (Kealia means 'salt-encrusted place').
You can view the pond from the boardwalk on N Kihei Rd, as well as from the refuge's visitor center off Mokulele Hwy at the 6-mile marker. In both places, you're almost certain to spot wading Hawaiian black-necked stilts, Hawaiian coots and black-crowned night herons - all…
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Kukaniloko
Just north of Wahiawa is the area known as Kukaniloko, which marks a group of royal birthstones where Hawaiian queens gave birth to generations of royalty. The stones date from the 12th century. Legend held that if a woman lay properly against the stones while giving birth, her child would be blessed by the gods, and indeed, many of O'ahu's great chiefs were born at this site.
These stones are one of only two documented birthstone sites in Hawaii (the other is on Kaua'i). Many of the petroglyphs on the stones are of recent origin, but the eroded circular patterns are original.
To get to the site from town, go three-quarters of a mile north on Kamehameha Hwy from its…
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Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens
Joyce and Ed Doty moved to Kaua'i from California in 1982 and began landscaping the grounds of their home. Today the Dotys are in their 80s and their retirement project is a 240-acre extravaganza of Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, all meticulously groomed.
The expansive grounds include 13 gardens, including the 'Formal Garden' where over 70 life-sized bronze statues romp in Norman Rockwell-inspired poses. A unique attraction is the Poinciana maze, where paths lead you to topiary and statues. Also on the grounds: a beach, a bird-watching marsh and a sprawling forest of around 60,000 South and East Asian hardwood trees.
The gardens are a tad contrived, as they lack the…
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Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility
Between Kekaha Beach Park and Polihale State Park, the beach stretches for roughly 15 miles. But there is only limited public access near the US Navy base at Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Navy barred access except to Kaua'i residents without felony convictions or to people with military connections.
The Navy is Kaua'i's largest employer and it controversially occupies and prohibits access to indigenous Hawaiian territory. Any move by the military to occupy more land generates fervent protest.
Barking Sands earned its nickname because on days both sunny and windy (with the planets lined up just right) the…
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Tunnels Beach
A hot spot for snorkeling and diving, Tunnels Beach is a wide, horseshoe-shaped fringing reef with fantastic underwater life viewable during calm summer seas. During such conditions, you can start snorkeling near the east point and let the current carry you westward. It's more adventurous (and less crowded) than Ke'e Beach.
In winter, high surf conditions mean a tubular break (hence the name Tunnels) for expert surfers and perilous risk for the rest of us. Dangerous rip currents prevail from October to May. It was here on October 21, 2003 that competitive surfer Bethany Hamilton, then 13, lost her left arm in a shark attack. Undaunted, Bethany resumed her surfing career,…
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Lyon Arboretum
Nature trails and a Hawaiian ethnobotanical garden.
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Hawaii's Plantation Village
The lives of the people who came to Hawaii to work on the sugarcane plantations are showcased by Hawaii's Plantation Village. The setting is particularly evocative, as Waipahu was one of O'ahu's last plantation towns, and its rusty sugar mill, which operated until 1995, still looms on a knoll directly above this site.
The site encompasses homes and buildings typical of plantation villages of the early 20th century. Period furnishings illustrate the lifestyles of the different ethnic groups - Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Puerto Rican and Filipino. The Chinese cookhouse (c 1909) was originally on this site, and the Japanese shrine (1914) was moved here;…
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Kilohana Plantation
Amid sprawling, manicured lawns, Kilohana Plantation is now a tourist magnet featuring Gaylord's restaurant, estate tours and one-stop upscale shopping. Sugar baron Gaylord Parke Wilcox, once the head honcho of Grove Farm Homestead, built the house in 1935. Trivia buffs take note: the Wilcox family was the model for James Michener's famous epic, Hawaii.
The 15,000-sq-ft Tudor-style mansion has been painstakingly restored and its legacy as one of Kaua'i's distinguished historic houses is unquestioned. Antique-filled rooms and Oriental carpets laid over hardwood floors lead you past cases of poi pounders, koa bowls and other Hawaiiana to a row of gallery shops.
Clydesdale…
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Lindbergh's Grave
Charles Lindbergh, who relished his privacy during the final years of his life, moved to remote Kipahulu in 1968. Following his death from cancer in 1974, Lindbergh was buried in the graveyard of Palapala Ho'omau Congregational Church. The inscription he selected for his simple grave ('If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uppermost parts of the sea…') is taken from Psalm 139.
The church with its 26in-thick walls and simple wooden pews dates from 1864. Take a look at its window painting of a Polynesian Christ draped in the red and yellow feather capes that were worn only by Hawaii's highest chiefs.
Lindbergh's spirit (and his desire to be out of the public…
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Ko'olau Forest Reserve
Hold on to your hat - now the real fun begins! As the highway snakes along the edge of the Ko'olau Forest Reserve, the jungle takes over with a one-lane bridge and waterfall offering drama at every other bend. Ko'olau, which means 'windward,' catches the rain clouds and squeezes out about 80in of rain annually on the coast and a mighty 200in to 300in up the slopes. No surprise - that makes for awesome waterfalls as the rainwater rushes down the reserve's abundant gulches and streams.
Paralleling the highway is the Ko'olau Ditch, a century-old system that carries up to 450 million gallons of water a day through 75 miles of ditches and tunnels from the rain forest to the…
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Kahalu'u Bay
Kahalu'u Bay is an easy-access snorkeling spot and a giant natural aquarium loaded with rainbow parrotfish, silver needlefish, brilliant yellow tangs and Moorish idol. At high tide green sea turtles often swim into the bay to feed or rest on the beach. They're endangered, so give them space. According to legend an ancient breakwater was built on the reef by the menehune (Hawai'i's mythical race of little people) and protects the bay.
This surf spot is popular with locals. It's normally a long-board wave, but when the surf is high Kahalu'u can harbor strong rip currents that pull northward into the rocks. If you're a novice, talk to a lifeguard about the day's conditions…
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Lydgate Beach Park
Families flock to the clean, safe, conveniently located Lydgate Beach Park, with calm waters in a large seawater pool protected by a stone breakwater. It's ideal for shallow swimming and beginning snorkeling. Beware of the open ocean beyond the pool, where currents are strong. Amenities include changing rooms, rest rooms, showers, drinking water, picnic pavilions, lifeguard and ample parking. The Eastside paved coastal path runs through the park.
In 1994 thousands of local volunteers helped build the enchanting Kamalani Playground at the northern end of the park. This massive 16,000-sq-ft wooden castle has swings, slides, mirror mazes, a suspension bridge and other…
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Contemporary Museum
Occupying an estate with 3.5 acres of tropical and meditative gardens, the Contemporary Museum is an engaging modern-art museum, with views of Honolulu below. The cafe has healthy nibbles from salads to sandwiches, and you can just pop in for lunch without paying the museum admission. Admission to the museum is free every third Thursday of the month. The estate house was constructed in 1925 for Mrs Charles Montague Cooke, whose other former home is the present site of the Honolulu Academy of Arts. A patron of the arts, she played a founding role in both museums.
The main galleries feature changing exhibits of paintings, sculpture and other contemporary artwork by local,…
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Wai'oli Hui'ia Church
A popular site for quaint church weddings, Wai'oli Hui'ia Church was built by Hanalei's first missionaries, Reverend and Mrs William Alexander, who arrived in 1834 in a double-hulled canoe. Their church, hall and mission house remain in the middle of town, set on a huge manicured lawn with a beautiful mountain backdrop.
The pretty green wooden church retains an airy Pacific feel, with large, outward-opening windows and high ceilings. The doors remain open during the day and visitors are welcome. A Bible printed in Hawaiian and dating from 1868 is displayed on top of the old organ. The Wai'oli Church Choir, the island's best, sings hymns in Hawaiian at the 10:00 Sunday…
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Lapakahi State Historical Park
Lapakahi is part of a marine conservation area and certain sections are sacred. Follow the 1-mile loop trail (unshaded) past the remains of house sites, canoe sheds and fishing shrines. Learn how fishers used lift nets to catch opelu (pan-sized mackerel scad), a technique still practiced today, and how the salt used to preserve fish was dried in stone salt pans. Try 'o'o ihe (spear throwing) and 'ulu maika (stone bowling).
Lapakahi was a remote fishing village 600 years ago. Fish were plentiful, and the cove provided a safe canoe landing year-round. Eventually some of the villagers moved to the wetter uplands and began to farm, trading their crops for fish with those who…
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Malaekahana State Recreation Area
Swimming is generally good year-round here, although there are occasionally strong currents in winter. This popular family beach is also good for many other water activities, including bodysurfing, board surfing and windsurfing. Kalanai Point, the main section of the park, is less than a mile north of La'ie and has picnic tables, barbecue grills, camping, rest rooms and showers.
You'll feel all sorts of intrepid pride when you discover the wild and rugged beach, just north of town, in the Malaekahana State Recreation Area. A long, narrow strip of sand stretches between Makahoa Point to the north and Kalanai Point to the south with a thick inland barrier of ironwoods.
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National Tropical Botanical Garden
If plants aren't your thing, National Tropical Botanical Garden might inspire you to develop that green thumb. NTBG, a nonprofit working to propagate tropical and endangered species, manages five gardens (three on Kaua'i, one on Maui and one in Florida).
In Po'ipu's NTBG, don't miss the 80-acre Allerton Garden, a stunning landscape masterpiece, showcasing giant Moreton Bay fig trees (seen in Jurassic Park), an 'undulating' fountain, golden bamboo groves, pristine lagoon and valley walls blanketed with purple bougainvillea during summer. In 1870 Queen Emma, the wife of Kamehameha IV, lived in Lawa'i Valley - and her summer cottage still stands today. The garden's namesake…
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Ali'iolani Hale
The first major government building constructed by the Hawaiian monarchy in 1874, the 'House of Heavenly Kings' was designed by Australian architect Thomas Rowe to be a royal palace, although it was never used as such. Instead, the Italianate building houses Hawaii's Supreme Court and was once home to Hawaii's legislature. It was on the steps of Ali'iolani Hale, in January 1893, that Sanford Dole proclaimed the establishment of a provisional government and the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. Peek inside to find displays on Hawaii's judicial history dating back to the time of Kamehameha the Great.
Outside, a bronze statue of Kamehameha the Great stands in front of…
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Mission Houses Museum
Containing three of the original buildings of the Sandwich Islands Mission headquarters, the Mission Houses Museum is authentically furnished with handmade quilts on the beds, settees in the parlor and iron cooking pots in the stone fireplaces. The first missionaries packed more than their bags when they left Boston; they actually brought a prefabricated wooden house, now called the Frame House, around the Horn with them!
Designed to withstand cold New England winter winds, the small windows instead block out Honolulu's cooling trade winds, keeping the two-story house hot and stuffy. Erected in 1821, it's the oldest wooden structure in Hawaii. The coral-block Chamberlain…
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Big Island Day Trip: Volcanoes National Park from Oahu
15 hours (Departs Oahu, Hawaii)
by Viator
Take a Big Island volcano tour from Oahu on a day trip to Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. The recent eruptions of Kilauea Volcano have captured the world's…Not LP reviewed