*This story was originally published on Sept. 17, 2024. Today is World Manta Day, a day to celebrate these majestic marine creatures and raise awareness of the threats they’re facing. Swimming with manta rays on Hawaiʻi Island—specifically off the Kona Coast—is on a lot of travelers’ bucket list. It’s one of the most unique […]
It had been a long day. While I’d love to complain about a hectic schedule or long commute, I was actually exhausted from all the fun I was having. Once I checked into the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai, a sprawling oceanfront luxe resort that looks carved into lava rock, I felt immediately energized. I donned
The walk to the new premiere suite at the luxe Halekūlani threw me off. Instead of walking toward the main elevators, I was led toward the hotel’s spa, then down a dark hallway and around a corner. Just outside two huge double doors was a desk outfitted with a small lamp. “This is where your
August may mark the start of school in Hawaiʻi—but it’s also sea turtle nesting season. Since 2020 nesting activity by Hawaiian green sea turtles, or honu, has increased every year across the state—a hopeful sign for this threatened and protected species. But that also means there may be more hatchlings on Hawaiʻi beaches, and beachgoers
It’s pretty hard, especially in Hawaiʻi, to be wowed anymore by shave ice. But that’s what’ll happen when you try one from Chillest Shave Ice, a small shop that opened in May in Kaimukī on Oʻahu. Owner Aaron Wong crafts dreamy, cloudlike domes of snow-fine ice, soaked in syrups in unique flavors like creamy strawberry
This story was originally published on Sept. 26, 2017. Beginning in the 1850s, as the sugar industry grew and plantations began to multiply throughout Hawaiʻi, plantation owners—many tracing their ancestry to English and American missionary families—began importing contracted laborers from outside the Islands to supplement Hawaiian laborers. By the early 20th century, thousands of
This story was originally published on Feb. 24, 2014. “You didn’t pre-order?” As she says this, the woman behind the counter at Two Ladies Kitchen stares at me in disbelief. A line of customers winds behind me and out of the small downtown Hilo mochi shop and onto the sidewalk alongside bustling Kīlauea Avenue.
In 1927 a stunning Olympic-size saltwater pool opened on a stretch of Waikīkī Beach, dedicated to the 10,000 soldiers, sailors and other volunteers from Hawai‘i who served in World War I. It featured a grand beaux arts archway leading to an ocean-water swim basin, with bleachers, bathhouses and a panoramic ocean view. Fittingly, on opening
*This story was originally published on Jun. 24, 2015 Where did the Spam musubi originate? What does “manapua” mean? We traced the history of five Hawaiʻi comfort food favorites all the way back to their earliest origins to decipher the roots of their modern-day multicultural appeal. Malasadas These chewy, steamed or baked buns, filled
*This story was originally published on May 19, 2020. Every surf break on Oʻahu, even the ones that only emerge during historic swells, has a name. And these backstories can be intriguing, clever—or downright hilarious. Here are some of the stories behind Oʻahu’s surf breaks, thanks to the manaʻo (thought, belief, theory) of historian John
If you’re like us, you love to eat—and you don’t always put a price tag on that experience. So we put together some of the most splurge-worthy dining experiences you can have in the Islands, from a candlelight dinner in a treehouse to breakfast on the rim of an active volcano. Every spot is Instagram
*This story was originally published on Dec. 5, 2013. It’s not uncommon to walk right past an important archaeological site on Oʻahu and not even know it. It happens all the time in Waikīkī. Right outside of a police substation on Kalākaua Avenue, near the beachside statue of Hawaiʻi Olympian Duke Kahanamoku, stands a
