“An hour in the garden puts life’s problems in perspective.” This is on a sign posted on the door of Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden’s visitor center. I’ve only been here a minute, but I can already understand the sentiment on a spiritual level. Ever since my girlfriend, Kaila, and I crossed the the Ko‘olau Mountains on […]
UPDATED, March 9 2021: Starting March 15, Diamond Head State Monument will be open six days a week, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. except on Wednesdays. Quietly, and without much grandeur, Diamond Head State Monument reopened on Dec. 18, 2020 after being closed for nine months. The hike, and its views, remain unchanged
Ask anyone who’s driven past Hanauna Bay on Oʻahu recently—or better, anyone who’s waiting to get inside the nature preserve in East Honolulu—and they’ll tell you: It’s beyond crowded. Since Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve reopened on Dec. 2, 2020, there have been long lines of cars along Kalanianaʻole Highway waiting to get into the parking lot.
Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail Photo: Catherine Toth Fox What’s new: No more than 10 people are allowed per group unless from the same household. Access the trail through the Keaīwa Heiau State Recreation Area, which is open daily until 6:45 p.m., though certain picnic tables are blocked off to allow for social distancing. Pros: Since it’s a loop,
Joe Au-Franz remembers a recent ring hunt he’d been on at Waikīkī Beach. “I knew I was going to find it because I pulled a nickel and a pull tab. You always pull a nickel and a pull tab because they sound like rings,” he says. “So I knew if they lost a ring here,
Ho, ho, who’s that jolly old man surfing into Waikīkī Beach on an outrigger canoe? Why it’s none other than jolly old Saint Nick, making his annual visit to Waikīkī Beach before starting his monumental trip to deliver presents to all of the good keiki (kids) around the whole world. Normally, Santa would be greeted a massive crowd of excited kiddos
After nine months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Diamond Head State Monument in Honolulu will reopen on Thursday, Dec. 17 with significant changes to ensure public health and safety. Here are the new rules if you want to venture up the popular hiking trail: You must always wear a mask in the park. You
O‘ahu has a few coastal communities where you can shop, eat and hit the beach all in the same day—and without a car. But Kailua, the once-sleepy community on the island’s Windward Side, is arguably the most diverse, with art galleries, hip coffee shops, beachy boutiques, world-class beaches and the largest wetland in the Islands—all
UPDATED, April 26, 2021: Starting today, you can book your visit via this website. This online system will allow you to select a show time up to 48 hours ahead of your planned visit to the nature preserve. For instance, beginning Monday the public can begin reserving a time slot for Wednesday. Reservations will remain
Each year Honolulu-based Mana Up Hawaiʻi hosts a 12-week accelerator program for Hawaiʻi entrepreneurs, helping them bring their products to market. The program culminates with a Product Showcase event, where participants present a 3-minute pitch to a crowd of 1,000 people at T Galleria by DFS in Waikīkī. There’s food, live entertainment and a marketplace where attendees
In April, there was widepsread panic—OK, maybe it was just me—that POG, the beloved drink that combines three tropical juices, was going to be discontinued when the parent company of Meadow Gold Hawaiʻi, which produces the drink, filed for bankruptcy. Turns out, Meadow Gold announced it would continue to produce POG in Hawaiʻi. Whew!
It’s been more than seven months since the popular farmers market at Kapiʻolani Community College on Oʻahu shut down due to COVID-19. In the meantime, other farmers markets—ones run by the Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau Federation and the handful operated by FarmLovers Markets on Oʻahu—remained open, since farmers markets are considered essential businesses. But the KCC market, which
