A student group I belong to on the mainland is doing a luau fundraiser and this year's chosen theme is The Leis of Hawaii.

If you bought a ticket to attend, would you expect a lei to be bestowed upon you when you arrived to the event?

I just got a deal for Costco for four nights. $1400, including a rental car for the entire time for this hotel. Something doesn't seem right. Is there something wrong with it? We're just looking for a nice safe, clean place that has plenty of beach chairs and a nice sandy beach

Hi everyone! We are staying on Oahu, Kauai, and Maui. We are set on staying at the Outrigger Waikiki resort.
However, we've also booked the outrigger properties Kauai Beach Resort and Maui Honua Kai.
Here's the thing. I think I'd like to save a little money Bc I don't need the resort and spa. I want a nice place that's right on the sand, that's very clean and very safe, and near everything. It would be great if they had a bar and a restaurant. Are there places near these hotels that I could stay and maybe save a little bit of money? When we are at the hotel, we are going to be sitting on the beach, so really all we need are umbrellas and chairs. The rest of the time we are going to be out exploring. There's probably a good chance we wouldn't even use the pool. So I'm thinking there's gotta be something for us out there.

We’re on Kaua’i for the next five days. I understand the secret falls hike is closed until further notice, but wanted to see if it would be worth renting Kayaks for Wailua River anyway? Are there any other waterfalls we should check out instead? Thanks in advance!

Planning to snorkel and hike - I’d prefer not to have to bring sandals, water shoes and hiking shoes - dreaming of a hike/water or sandal/water hybrid, but perhaps this doesn’t exist? Or maybe I don’t even need water shoes? I’ve never used them on Oahu or Maui. But I have read they are needed on Big Island.

I’ve seen some styles like that combine, but just wondering what others have used/recommend?

Thank you :)

Hey all - to all the fishermen in Hawaii: how good is the fishing, from the shore, off the Big Island, in end of December/first week of January? I was thinking of bringing my own fishing pole from mainland US on my trip to Big Island and do some shoreline fishing. Just want to catch some good fish to cook and eat. What common species would i get? Also considering doing a fishing charter if they'd be able to ship the fish back to my home in Mainland US. Not sure how that would work

When we were visiting, my spouse had said that it looked like it was so fragile that it would probably be gone eventually…

I went skydiving for the first time this week and man the feeling was unreal. I have some serious post skydiving depression now! Really debating booking it one more time before I leave. It’s $200 here in Hawaii but $400 back home in Washington 😭

Heading to Maui in January and wondering if there are any true deep-water/pelagic tours. I’ve done trips like this on other islands and would love to see if it’s possible on Maui.

Hoping to look for species beyond humpbacks - pilot whales, sperm whales, false killer whales, sharks, etc. and potentially swim/snorkel in deep blue water where safe and legal.

Any recommendations for tour operators?

We are visiting Big Island in November. My 6 and 7 year old kids would love to see the manta rays but are not comfortable getting into the water. I see that some companies offer ride along option during manta ray snorkel. Which one that you tried as a ride along was good for viewing manta rays closer to the boat?

Hi! Going to land in Kona and drive right to Hilo and staying there for a couple of days, then driving back to Kona and flying out. Looking for activities on either side and specifically and most helpful, a delicious, authentic, fancy place to have dinner for a special celebration. Would be great if it was near the ocean. So my ask here is suggestions for either side of the island and best restaurant to have a celebration in Kona!! Tysm

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I do not have a medical card from my home state as it isn't legal so I usually get thca or delta 9 gummies.

I saw that you can get a 329 card but that looks like it only applies to people who live in Hawaii or have a card from their home state.

Does anyone know if you can find thca or delta 9 in Oahu or if you can get a 329 card as a non resident without one from their home state?

Looking for kona village a rosewood resort reviews is it worth it??

Work trip on Big Island end of of April and looking to schedule about 10-14 days total and do a few of the islands. Was thinking Kauai and Maui? And looking at the one hotel and the Waldorf for Maui? Thoughts?

I did Oahu about a year ago with some friends and loved it. Downtown is fun but definitely more touristy which I'm not the biggest fan of. I'm an outdoors person so the North shore was amazing, and then the hikes were also fantastic. We did crouching lion, koko krater, pillbox hikes, did some snorkeling in turtle bay.

I want to visit Hawaii again and I am deciding if I should do Kauai or Big island. this trip will be the first week in January for about 9 days. I really love the idea of the lushness and the mountains in Kauai. Seems like great hiking. Big island seems more flat with not much hiking. I have been studying up on some of the posts on this reddit board, but I wanted to ask this question on here to get some direct advice - what would be the better island for someone in my shoes? I am in my mid 20's so maybe if there were a bit of nightlife that I could go on a weekend that would be cool. But really I am going for a nice vacation and adventure. I really loved the mountains in Oahu, and thats why Id like to do kauai. I also do not like touristy and resort stuff. which is why i was told to avoid maui since it seems like mostly resorts.

I wanna SUP Ala Moana like in my old days when I use to go in the mornings and afterwork with a hardboard mount on atop of my 1998 Isuzu Oasis. Where I can rent a board there for a couple of hours. Prefer hard or iSUP is okay. Staying at the Park Shore in Waikiki from this Friday to Monday.

Would like to go in June 2027. Does anyone have planning advice? Is there a certain time booking is less expensive or that there is deals?

Holiday deals or spring deals for summer. was thinking Costco also.

Family of 5

I’m planning a Hawaii trip with my family for second week in February. My family wants to go somewhere that we can surf and snorkel. I started surfing less than a year ago and my boyfriend started a few years before that. My brother has gone a handful of times but isn’t experienced. Basically, I’m looking for somewhere safe with relatively small waves. Sandy beaches are preferred of course.

Reading other posts it seems like Waikiki is a good spot for us. We were originally looking at the big island. Is that a no go for our time of year?

Outside surfing and snorkeling would be great to find a place with good food and other stuff to do too. Also, my family really doesn’t like crowds and will likely be turned off by anything too crowded. Online it looks like Waikiki is super crowded/touristy/a bunch of resorts or hotels bunched together. Any other recommendations on any island for easy surf locations in Feb other than Waikiki?

Had an odd experience at Kaumana Caves today, haven’t seen a similar post and wondering if anyone else has run into this person.

A group of 4 (including myself) stopped by the caves after a day in Hilo. We were immediately greeted by a guy (\~late 30s-early 40s) looking for cans from our car. We gave him a couple of our empties. He then went onto give us instructions about the cave entrances & told us to “leave our phones in the car because they would go dark” (important later). We did not oblige, walked across, and entered the caves. He continued wandering the parking lot.

We went into the caves for a short exploration \~15-20 mins total. When we came back we were chatting as a group outside and our friend from the parking lot came back.

He engaged us again about the cave etc, so we asked a couple questions about depth to the skylight. Instead of answering, he took a totally different direction. Started talking about the private property aspect (which we never passed or said we passed), how there are unconfirmed reports of people essentially impersonating police, handcuffing people, seemingly kidnapping them. handcuff conversation went interesting direction. It was very, very odd… to the point we later joked as a group that it felt like a confessional.

At first I took him as a slightly odd dude who was really into caves, but after the second interaction it became a little eerie. Has anyone else seen this guy around or an interaction similar?

tl/dr: Went to caves, guy lingered by car and told us to leave devices behind, seemed a little sus but fine, came out and started talking extensively about potential kidnapping and unconfirmed reports in caves.

Tuesday
Diamond Head Hike 8am
Ala Moana Beach Day
Casual dinner
 
Wednesday
Waikiki Beach
Shower/freshen up
Waimea Valley (included with Luau)
Toa Lua Luau 5pm
 
Thursday
Kualoa Ranch 11am
Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden
Lanikai Pillbox Trail
Lanikai & Kailua beach
Rest
Dinner
 
Friday
Hanamua Bay Beach (if we can get tickets)
Makapukuu Lighthouse Trail
Waimanalo Beach
Rest
Fireworks at Hawaii Hilton 730pm
Barefoot beach café - dinner / casual - open to suggestions
 
Saturday STILL TBD
North Shore Day
Waimea Bay Beach Park
Sunset Beach
 
 

My husband and I are visiting Maui this week (staying near Makawao until the 16th and then Kihei through the 20th) and are looking for hiking suggestions. We hike often but tend to stick with trails in the 3-10 mile range and under 1500 feet of elevation, which seems like a tough combo based on what I’m seeing for hikes in the area.
Would love any suggestions that fit that general description (either full trails or sections of longer trails). We are not planning to do the road to Hana.
Thanks!

Hi! Does anyone have personal experience doing a night manta tour as a ride-along passenger? I will be visiting the Big Island next month and want to book a manta ray night snorkeling tour. But we have at least one person in the group who is not comfortable swimming and would prefer to stay on the boat the entire time. I imagine that their experience could vary quite a bit depending on the size of the boat and how far away the lights are from the boat. One company told me it is a 50/50 chance for ride-along guests to see the mantas if the water is at all choppy. I want to make sure it is a great experience for all of us, so very much appreciate your suggestions!

We are hoping to book a tour out of Keauhou as it is my understanding that this is one of the best spots for seeing mantas. Ideally, we would book a tour with a rebooking guarantee in case we do not see any mantas. And I suspect a small boat/group will improve the viewing chances for our non-swimmer.

I am very tempted to book Alanakai‘s canoe tour even though they don’t offer a rebooking guarantee because it seems like this may offer one of the best viewing option for our non-swimmer. And it seems like a very cool company/experience in general!

Another option I am considering is Iruka Hawaii tours (which goes out of Honohokau) as they have a floating mat with a clear window that children and non-swimmers are allowed to sit/lay on top of. Although, they said they aren’t able to guarantee space on the mat. Anyone familiar with this experience?

Thank you!