After 33 days of reader voting and the elimination of 30 other coast-to-coast cities and national parks, the final two vacation spots in USA Today’s Best American Destinations contest are finally face-to-face: Honolulu, Hawaii vs. Yellowstone National Park There’s just two more days to vote for the ultimate winner. You could win a $2,000 airfare […]
HAWAII Magazine reader Bonnie Burchett e-mailed us with a question about the disappearance of a Waikiki evening tradition she enjoyed: Why don’t they light the torches in the evening on Waikiki Beach anymore? You ask, we answer. There’s good news for Bonnie and everyone else that enjoyed this Waikiki sunset ritual: The torches will be
When gathering the best ingredients for making a meal you can’t beat buying local. And no matter where you are in the world, farmers markets are a great place to start looking. In Hawaii, dozens of weekly farmers markets have sprung up in communities statewide in recent years making it convenient to skip a trip
Hawaii’s early Polynesian settlers were among the first people to take to the ocean to master the art of he‘e nalu or “wave-sliding.” The sport the world now recognizes as surfing was especially popular with Hawaiian royalty, or alii. Their first plank boards were shaped from trees. The larger the waves you surfed, the more
Live Hawaiian music. Great local food. A gorgeous Waikiki sunset. Hawaiian monk seals after dark. All of the expected ingredients should be in place for the Waikiki Aquarium’s annual summer concert series Ke Kani O Ke Kai—Hawaiian for “the sound of the ocean.” The 13th summer season of evening concerts mixed with nighttime tours of
Congratulations! It’s a boy! Now he needs a name. Oahu’s Sea Life Park welcomed a new addition to its marine life family on Feb. 27—a healthy male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin born to longtime Dolphin Cove residents Laka and Kaleo. The growing young ‘un will finally get his public debut at the park on June 26.
After months of secrecy and swirling industry rumors, EDITION Hotels has revealed that the first of its planned international chain of luxury boutique properties will bow in Hawaii this fall. The Waikiki EDITION—the debut property of Marriott International and global hotelier Ian Schrager’s EDITION “lifestyle hotel” partnership—will open in October in a former wing of
It’s the most colorful moment of Kamehameha Day. Every June 11, Hawaii celebrates the first king of its united island kingdom, King Kamehameha I. King Kamehameha Day is a holiday for most of the people in the state, but not the hardworking HAWAII Magazine staff. Our staff photographer, David Croxford, was on hand to capture
Hawaiian Airlines will add twice-weekly nonstop flights between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Kahului, Maui, to its mainland U.S. flight schedule, beginning Oct. 3. Flight times for the new route will be: • Las Vegas, Nev. – Kahului, Maui Departure: 6:25 p.m. (West Coast time), Sundays, WednesdaysArrival: 9:25 p.m. (Hawaii time), same day • Kahului, Maui
King Kamehameha Day is this Friday, June 11. It’s a state holiday, honoring King Kamehameha the Great, who unified the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810 and was its first monarch. Ceremonies statewide will pay tribute to the king’s legacy with lei draping of Kamehameha statues on Oahu and the Big Island, parades and other cultural
The Lantern Floating Hawaii ceremony—one of the Oahu’s most visually breathtaking annual events—returns on Monday evening, May 31, to Ala Moana Beach Park. If you’ve never seen it in person, it’s a must-attend—Honolulu’s version of Toro Nagashi, a Japanese tradition, which translate literally as “lantern offerings on water.” Each Memorial Day at sunset, more than
We continue to get inquiries about the fate of Waikiki’s International Market Place. For instance, reader Bob Brethour wrote: The last I heard the International Market Place was going to disappear, and then there was some doubt. Could you please provide an update? From Pat Pattison in Australia, we got a somewhat plaintive email: My
