Who knows Hawaiʻi better than YOU? Each year, we ask our readers to make their voices heard in our Best of the Best Readers’ Choice Awards. HAWAII Magazine announced this year’s winners in our March/April 2019 print issue. Once again, the list of winners is an essential traveler’s resource to the best of every island, […]
Snuggled in the southeastern corner of Oahu, Hawaii Kai is a hidden gem just 10 miles and a 25-minute car ride from Waikiki. Once a seaside wetland and ancient fishpond, Hawaii Kai was transformed into a residential community in 1959 by Henry J. Kaiser. While Hanauma Bay and Makapuu Lighthouse draw many to the neighborhood,
Fresh and juicy starfruit, $5 T-shirts, handcarved personalized surfboard plaques—the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet & Marketplace has it all. The swap meet—a popular spot for locals and visitors alike since 1979—offers row upon row of stalls wrapped around Aloha Stadium for your perusal, offering everything from shell lei to freshly baked banana bread. Just 20
Seemingly overnight—but really over the course of a few years—Kakaʻako has become one of Honolulu’s most thriving, vividly creative communities. The district, which was once made up of a smattering of mom and pops, auto body shops and a movie theater, is now inhabited by too-cool-for-school bars, extravagant restaurants, less extravagant but still really good
Don’t think Honokaa falls into the category of one of the Big Island’s many sleepy country communities. In fact, Honokaa’s got a lot going on, and you can spend hours on its main drag, Mamane Street. Whether you love to thrift—and who doesn’t—or just want to grab a filling vegan lunch, Honokaa’s here for you.
Kapaa is a charming Kauai town, known for its colorful, eclectic storefronts and rolling white sand beaches. Located on the southeast shore of the island, Kapaa is only about 9 miles from the Lihue Airport and takes roughly 20 minutes to reach by car. Once a part of Kauai’s plantation past, this bustling, historic town
Wailuku, smack dab in the middle of Maui, is a town that will make you fall in love with its bohemian boulevard and streets. The town has a certain charisma and character that beckons passing visitors and residents with its funky-fresh coffee shop, too-cool-for-school record store, bubbly boutiques and historic theater. Iao Theater is Hawaii’s
To call Lanai City a city might be a bit of an overstatement. It’s a town, and a small one at that. Give yourself an hour or two and you can probably walk the entirety of it. Fortunately, there’s a lot to check out, such as a movie theater, heritage center and some ono restaurants.
It’s early on a Thursday morning, the sun is just beginning to rise over North Kohala and I’m staring up at the king himself. Standing regally with his right arm outstretched, the King Kamehameha statue looks out over the small town of Kapaau, where he was born. The area itself is full of personality and
Hidden by rain forest off Mamalahoa Highway, the town of Volcano is easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there. It sits on the slopes of—you guessed it—Kilauea volcano, right outside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at a cool elevation of 3,750 feet. Once you lay eyes on the quaint country town and spend some
Laie, situated neatly on Oahu’s northeast coastline, has everything that makes a small town in Hawaii so great: small hole-in-the wall restaurants, family-owned businesses and world-class beaches just steps away from the main thoroughfare. Just don’t expect much open on Sundays, as the town has a large Mormon community. So if you’ve already checked out
Every January, the world’s greatest golf professionals come to the Waialae Country Club on Oahu to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii, the state’s largest charity golf event. Since 1999, the tournament has raised over $18 million for more than 350 local nonprofits. Through tournament host Friends of Hawaii Charities and the longtime support
