August 6, 2025 • 42 mins
Hawaii expert Marcie Cheung shares essential insights for planning your first trip to the islands, from choosing which island to visit to navigating transportation and experiencing authentic local culture. We unpack common misconceptions about Hawaii's geography, budget considerations, and practical tips for making the most of your Hawaiian vacation.
• Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island are the four main Hawaiian islands tourists visit
• Hawaii is expensive year-round – budget early for accommodation, flights, car rentals and activities
• Best time to visit is during the shoulder seasons: May-mid June and September-early November
• Plan one main activity per day rather than overscheduling your itinerary
• No ferries connect the major islands – island hopping requires flights and half a day of travel time
• Most islands require rental cars – book well in advance
• Hawaii is casual – pack light with swimwear, one nice outfit, and reef-safe sunscreen
• Take advantage of happy hour "pupus" (Hawaiian appetisers) to save on food costs
• Must-try foods include Spam Musubi and authentic shave ice (not snow cones)
• Experience Hawaiian culture through hula performances and traditional luaus
Guest - Marcie Cheung from Hawaii Travel with Kids and host of the Hawaii Travel Made Easy Podcast.
Show notes - Episode 66
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Planning your first visit to Hawaii.
In this episode, I'm joined byMarcy Chung, hawaii expert,
travel writer and frequentisland visitor, to share
practical tips, insider insightsand everything you need to know
before you go, from choosingthe right island to what to pack
and where to stay.
We've got you covered.
Hi and welcome to the GlobalTravel Planning Podcast.
I'm your host, tracey Collins,who, with my expert guests, will
(00:23):
take you on a weekly journey todestinations around the globe,
providing travel inspiration,itinerary ideas, practical tips
and more to help you plan yournext travel adventure.
Hello and welcome to the GlobalTravel Planning Podcast.
(00:45):
This week, we're diving intoeverything you need to know
before planning your first tripto Hawaii, one of the most
beautiful and bucket listdestinations in the world.
I'm joined by Marcy Chung, atrue Hawaii expert who's visited
the islands more than 40 times.
Marcy runs the popular familytravel blog Hawaii Travel with
Kids and hosts the Hawaii TravelMade Easy podcast.
(01:09):
She's helped countless familiesand first-time travelers and
visitors plan unforgettabletrips to the islands and she's
here to help you do the same.
So in this episode, we talkabout the best time to go, how
to choose which island orislands to visit, what to pack,
how to get around, where to stayand all the local tips you
won't find in a guidebook.
(01:29):
So, to start us off, I askedMarcy to introduce herself, tell
us where she lives, what shedoes and share why Hawaii is
such a special place to her.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, I'm Marcy and I live in the Seattle area of
Washington state.
I am a full-time travel writerand I have a Hawaii specific
website as well as a generalfamily travel website, and I've
been visiting Hawaii since I was10 years old and it really
captured my heart.
I'm obsessed with the food, theculture, the amazing scenery
and the spirit of Aloha, and Ieven just launched a podcast
(01:59):
called Hawaii Travel Made Easy afew months ago, and it's been
such a fun adventure.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Oh, that's fantastic to hear, marcy.
I'm gonna have to add that tomy podcast listens, for sure.
Now I have not yet been toHawaii.
I am very excited at some pointto visit.
Actually, I live on the eastcoast of Australia, so it's
actually not too far for us toget to either.
So I grew up with Magnum PI.
I'm obviously a bit older thanyou are, so I grew up with
(02:26):
Magnum PI and the helicopterflying over the islands, and it
always just looked so amazing.
So I'll be a first-time visitorwhen I do come.
So what would be the key thingsthat you would advise me or any
other first-time visitors toknow before they arrive in
Hawaii?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You bet.
Well, I would say that thebiggest thing is to make sure
that you know what island you'regoing to and that you've booked
all your things on the correctisland, because you'd be
surprised how many people thinkthat Honolulu and Waikiki are on
the big island.
They think that's the mainisland, but it's actually Oahu,
that's the main island.
So a lot of people get thoseconfused and I don't want you to
(03:06):
make that mistake for sure.
Or sometimes people bookactivities on other islands,
thinking it won't be difficultto get to.
But you do have to take a planeride from the airport which is
about a half a day.
Half of your day is at theairport to get there.
So we'll talk about islandhopping later on, but I would
definitely make sure that youunderstand just kind of, I guess
(03:29):
, the layout of Hawaii.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Okay, well, I have no idea, so I'm going to actually
put you on the spot here.
And actually a little bit aboutthe geography.
So how many islands are there?
Speaker 2 (03:39):
There's too many to count honestly, but there are
four main islands which are,which are oahu, maui, kawaii and
the big island, and thenthere's two, I guess, like
lesser visited islands, whichwould be molokai and lanai, and
then there's niihau, but that'sa private island and you have to
be invited to go there, andthen there's lots of tiny
(04:00):
islands, but those are the mainones people talk about okay, wow
, amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I honestly had no idea.
So there you go, tell firsttime visitors with absolutely no
idea about Hawaii.
So if I'm planning to visit,what would be the best time of
year for me to do that, and whatsort of factors should I kind
of consider?
I mean, like, is thereparticular peak times?
Is there better times forweather?
You know, is it more expensiveat certain times of year?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Absolutely.
Well, I will say it's going tobe expensive, no matter what
time of year.
I'll just put that out there.
I'll be very transparent onthat.
The most popular times areschool breaks, so that would be
June, july, august holidays, sothat would be in, you know,
december, and then also springbreak, which is in April.
(04:47):
So I would recommend going inthe shoulder seasons and that
runs May through mid-June, rightbefore school gets out, and
then September through the earlyNovember, right before all the
Thanksgiving travel deals andeverything or travel happens.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
And what about weather?
Is that a good time to travelweather-wise?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yes, those are actually really great,
weather-wise as well, andcrowd-wise and budget-wise,
because even though it isexpensive year-round, there are
usually you can find a littlebit more travel deals during
those times because it's not aspopular and so a lot of the
hotels are trying to get peopleto come stay with them, and
sometimes there's flight dealstoo.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Okay, that's good to know.
So how long should I plan tostay?
Don't tell me forever.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
You got me.
I always recommend seven to 10days for a first trip to Hawaii.
Obviously more if you can, butthat would be the minimum I
would say.
And you, coming from Australia,I would probably say two weeks
at least, just to kind of makeit worth your while and if I was
planning it as well.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
So would you, if I was there for two weeks?
Would you say do one island,two islands, three islands?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
yes, if you were doing two weeks, I would say you
could do two islands, but Iwouldn't do more than two
islands and you would probablybe fine just staying on one
island for the full two weeks,unless you had specific things
you wanted to see on otherislands.
And it kind of depends on yourtravel style.
If you like to do a lot ofthings, if you like a really
packed itinerary, you might feellike you've kind of done an
(06:22):
island in a week and then you'reready to move on and do
something else.
But if you like to kind of do alittle bit more relaxing or
hanging at the beach and kind ofmixing in some adventures, you
could easily spend two weeks andhave the time of your life on
one island.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So we've talked about the fact that there are several
islands and about you know ifI'm going to visit for a couple
of weeks, that I visit.
You know two or three,potentially two or three islands
, but I don't know much aboutthem.
You've just given me some ofthe names, which is really good,
but how would I decide whichones to visit?
So can you give us a kind ofquick rundown of the different
islands and kind of what appealsabout each of them?
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Absolutely Well, it really depends on what you like
to do on your trips.
So Oahu is probably the mostpopular island.
That's where you'll findWaikiki and Honolulu and that is
, I think Megan and PI.
At least the more recent one, Ithink, was filmed on Oahu I
can't remember about the olderone, but I also am pretty sure
(07:21):
it was Oahu, but that's the mostpopular island and about 80% of
the people who live in sure itwas Oahu, but that's the most
popular island, and about 80% ofthe people who live in Hawaii
live on Oahu and it's whereyou'll find the most attractions
, hotels, tours, kind ofeverything, and it's really good
for people who like to do a lotof things on their trips.
I guess it's where Pearl Harboris.
(07:42):
So if you're a history buff,that's um, a huge draw for a lot
of people.
Um, kulo Ranch, which is where,uh, a lot of movies are filmed,
including some of the JurassicPark, jurassic World kind of
movies.
Um, and I I think it's like ahundred movies have been filmed
there.
It's something crazy.
There's also Dole Plantation,if you were curious about
(08:02):
pineapples, the famous NorthShore Disney Aulani Resort for
people that are Disney fans, andthe Polynesian Cultural Center,
and they have a lot of hotelson Oahu.
So if you're going to Hawaii ona budget, you'll probably be
able to find something in yourprice point because there are so
many hotels available.
And then we'll move on to Maui.
(08:22):
That's probably the second mostpopular island for people to
visit and it used to primarilybe for honeymoons, but now
families go, solo travelers,couples, kind of everybody goes
there.
And that's where you'll findthe famous Road to Hana, which
is the drive that goes down toHana.
And the point of the driveisn't to get to Hana, it's the
(08:43):
drive itself, because there'sscenic lookouts, there's places
to get tropical fruit and bananabread and there's cool beaches
and there's just hikes towaterfalls.
It's pretty amazing.
It's kind of like the best roadtrip you can do in Hawaii.
And there's also HaleakalaNational Park, which is famous
for their sunrise, but you canalso go there for sunset and it
(09:05):
is.
It's just a spectacular placeand it's unlike anywhere I've
ever been, ever.
It's kind of like you're onMars.
It's kind of just hard todescribe.
It's just, it's just so unique.
And then Kauai this is where mymom lives, so we go to Kauai all
the time and that's whereyou'll find the Nepali coast,
which are those jagged mountainsthat go into the water.
(09:26):
It's really iconic.
You've probably seen photos ofthem before.
There's also Mount Waialeale,which is the wettest spot on
Earth.
So Kauai is known for being arainy island, but that's why
it's so lush and green andbeautiful.
So that's there.
And it's also the filminglocations for some of the
Jurassic Park the originalJurassic Park movie, jungle
(09:46):
Cruise.
It's where they set theanimated Lilo and Stitch.
There's chances are if you'veseen movies set in Hawaii, they
have been filmed partially onKauai.
It's much more low-key thanMaui or Oahu and they have a
great food scene on Kauai.
And then the last island I'lltalk about is the Big Island,
(10:10):
and this is where you'll findHawaii Volcanoes National Park.
So if you're going to Hawaii tosee an active volcano, the only
place you can find that is onthe Big Island.
So you would definitely want tospend part of your time on the
Big Island if you wanted to seethat.
There's also Rainbow Falls andBlack Sand Beaches and coffee
farms and just tons ofagriculture.
And most people stay in Kona orWaikoloa, which is on the west
(10:30):
side of the island, and I wantto say that this island is
massive, like it's called theBig Island.
For a reason it is massive,though, and so I would recommend
at least seven days justdedicated to the Big Island,
simply because the drive timeswill kind of eat up part of your
vacation.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Oh, it sounds amazing .
I have to say I think I'mhooked on Maui and Oahu.
Oh, I can't say it Oahu.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Is that how you say it, oahu?
Speaker 1 (10:59):
You're very good at pronouncing all the words.
I must apologize if I butcherthem hugely.
Now it sounds amazing all thewords.
I must apologise if I butcherthem hugely.
Now it sounds amazing,absolutely amazing.
I can just, I can picture it.
I mean, I'm a complete JurassicPark nerd anyway.
So just the minute, the minuteyou mentioned it, I just thought
oh, it's so beautiful, it wouldjust be so amazing to go.
So can you give us some tipsfor planning an itinerary to
(11:22):
Hawaii?
You know, how can I balance all?
You've mentioned some amazingthings there, but how can I
balance some of those thingswithout feeling overwhelmed when
it comes to sitting down andplanning an itinerary?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Absolutely.
So my advice is to always planone main activity per day.
It's really easy for people togo nuts and they'll end up in
the car for 12 or 14 hours justdriving around trying to see all
the things and take theirpictures and their video, and
then end up in the car for 12 or14 hours just driving around
trying to see all the things andtake their pictures and their
video and then hop back in thecar.
And I don't recommend that.
If you're looking for arelaxing vacation, that's great
for those, maybe like theinfluencers that are trying to
(11:54):
get a bunch of content and theywant to like just see it all and
do it all and just go, go, go.
That's great for those people,but it's not great for the
average person.
So some of those activitiescould be a luau or snorkeling
boat tour or a hike or a foodtour or circle island tour or
ziplining, some sort ofadventure kind of thing.
And then you can have backupactivities.
(12:14):
So that would be like hangingout at the beach or going to the
pool or maybe doing happy hourssomewhere or having a nice
dinner, and then you just kindof fit those activities around
your main activity per day andyou can kind of just decide how
everyone's feeling.
Sometimes people need a nap inthe afternoon, and there's
nothing wrong with that.
You're on vacation, so it'sbest if you don't have too many
(12:37):
scheduled activities where youfeel like you're on the go all
the time.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
It does sound fantastic.
I think I'm going to struggleto choose there, because you've
just mentioned some amazingthings to do and experience
there.
So what would be, you think,the most common mistakes that
first-time visitors make whenthey plan a trip to Hawaii and
how can they avoid them?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yes.
So I would say that the numberone mistake is they don't go in
with a realistic budget.
Hawaii is expensive and I thinka lot of people think that they
can do everything on theirbucket list at a really
reasonable rate and reasonableis relative and so I would just
highly suggest that people startwith like a spreadsheet or
(13:18):
notebook and start writing downthe non-negotiable expenses, and
that would be like where you'regoing to stay, your flights,
any like must-do activities,your car rental, anything like
that, and then you'll set asideanother little space for
estimated expenses, and thatwould be like your food, other
(13:40):
activities, souvenirs, gas, youknow, kind of whatever else you
might also need to be thinkingabout.
And I would say I say for surethat that's the number one
mistake.
A lot of people sometimes willgo into debt with their Hawaii
vacations because they want todo it all and they have this
YOLO attitude, and it's reallyimportant that you're just
really on it with your money,because that's a pretty big deal
(14:03):
, yeah, it sounds like it canmount up quite quickly as well.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
And then I would say the second biggest mistake is
that people don't consider thetime difference.
And so I live in Seattle andthat means it's about a two to
three hour time difference,depending on the time of year,
because they don't do daylightsavings time, so it's a little
tricky sometimes and so it'sonly a two or three hour time
difference for us.
But that means that my familyis up often at three in the
(14:29):
morning and we're normally earlyrisers, but there were really
early risers there, and so Iwould, I know not to schedule
like a luau or a nice dinner orsomething that night, because by
five or six we're fallingasleep at the table.
So that's something I cautionpeople to keep that in mind, so
that they're planning some ofthose nighttime activities for
much later in their trip Ifthey're coming from, you know,
(14:52):
the United States, and I'mtrying to think I can't even do
the math on Australia of whatthe time difference would be,
but I would just make sure thatyou do that before your trip,
but then also use it to youradvantage.
So, like on Maui, seeing thesunrise at Haleakalā is amazing,
and that is something that youneed to leave your hotel usually
about three in the morning togo, because you need to be there
(15:14):
before the sun rises, right.
So that's something great to doon, like your very first day,
because you're already going tobe up.
Everyone's going to be somewhatrested, you're you know you
need something to do, so it'slike the perfect day to do that,
or a sunrise hike or somethingelse.
Like, use that to youradvantage, but also like don't
let it.
Don't let it ruin your trip ifyou can't stay up for some of
these cool activities.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Now, that's a great idea, and I think, flying from
Australia we go across theinternational date line, so we
go back in time, which is alwaysa bit amazing.
I know last year we flew to LAand we landed before we departed
from Brisbane, I think in theend.
It was all a bit weird, very,very strange.
Are there any other mistakes,or are they kind of covered?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
most of them.
I think those are the main ones, the main ones.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, cool, now we'll talk about getting around as
well.
So you've mentioned about,obviously, a fantastic drive
that you can do, but do you haveto hire a car if you come to
Hawaii?
Is there public transportoptions or shuttles, or is it
basically you need a car If?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
you are staying in Waikiki, you can get away with
not having a car, and so that'sgreat for people, I think, who
are younger, who maybe can'trent a car or would have to pay.
You know really high rates forbeing a young driver.
You can do a lot of shuttlesfor luau's tours activities.
(16:37):
A lot of them have pickup inWaikiki and there's also the
Waikiki Trolley which you paymoney for, and they have lots of
little routes.
It's adorable, it's open air.
It's a really fun way ofgetting around.
It doesn't go everywhere, butit goes a lot of the touristy
places, which is nice.
There is a bus on Oahu but ittakes a really long time to get
around.
(16:57):
I know some people do it and ifyou are determined and that's
how you want to spend yourvacation is sitting on a bus, go
for it.
But the rest of the islands youreally really need to have a
rental car.
They do have transportation,but it's really set up for
locals and it's not going to goto the tourist attractions.
It's not going to go to theplaces you're probably going to
(17:17):
want to go.
So I definitely would recommendrenting a car and making sure
that's in your budget that youcan afford the rental car.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, and also just because you mentioned about
getting between the islands, sois that a ferry that you can
take the car on and get, or doyou have to fly between the
islands?
Speaker 2 (17:35):
There is no ferry.
That is misinformation.
There was a ferry years agothat failed miserably and their
website is still active, and sopeople think that they can book
this ferry.
But you cannot.
The only ferry they have inHawaii that is currently in
operation is between Maui andLanai, and you can do that for a
(17:57):
day trip or a couple day tripor something that's really short
.
It's beautiful, I do recommendit, but it's a passenger-only
ferry.
The only way to get from islandto island is with an airplane.
There are no bridges.
That's something else.
People think that there must bebridges.
There are no bridges to getfrom island to island.
(18:17):
You need to if you're going toisland.
Hop, you need to check out ofyour hotel, return your rental
car, go to the airport the twohours before your flight.
It's a regular airport, it'snot a special airport.
Then you go through security,you do all your stuff, whatever
you fly and a lot of times theflights are between maybe 25
minutes to up to like 90 minutesand then you need to land and
(18:40):
get your rental car and checkinto your hotel.
It's like a whole you know,half a day ordeal.
So it's a lot more.
It's just a bigger undertakingthan I think people realize.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah, I literally had no idea.
So that's why I honestlythought, oh, it's all right,
I'll just hire a car on oneisland and then, you know, get a
ferry and then, like you do inthe UK, you know like, go from
Scotland, go onto the Isle ofSkye and then back over on the
bridge that sort of thing.
(19:13):
So that's good to know that youcan't do that.
So you've got to factor that inwhen you're planning your
itinerary, because that's goingto take at least half a day out
of your of your trip to actuallymove from island to island.
So I guess you don't want to bein too many, too many island
hops, otherwise you're going tospend a lot of time doing that
right.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
I do know people that will every you know three days.
They're going to another islandbecause they want to see it all
and it is.
They really don't realize howmuch time they're just sitting
in these airports and they'renot experiencing Hawaii.
So that's why I always say youknow seven to 10 days, if you
can, just to enjoy enjoy Hawaii.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Well, I've already thought I'm just going to do two
islands for the first time,Perfect.
Now what about?
Are there any apps or tools oranything that you'd recommend
for getting around or bookingactivities in Hawaii?
And I know you've got a website, so share your URL, because
that would be great for peopleto check that out.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Oh, absolutely yes.
So my website ishawaiitravelwithkidscom.
I have information foreverybody it's not just families
and that I have hotel reviewsactivities, not just families
and that I have hotel reviews,activities everything I have.
I think close to a thousandblog posts on there.
I've been to Hawaii more than40 times.
(20:19):
I should have mentioned that.
So I have done so many thingsand I write about every single
activity because I want to helppeople.
I don't want anyone spendingmoney on a luau that's maybe not
amazing or an activity that waskind of boring.
I just want people to spendtheir money on the really cool
stuff, and there's so much coolstuff in Hawaii.
So my website is definitely agreat resource for that and I
have travel guides and all kindsof stuff on there tools.
(20:40):
But I wanted to talk about carrentals, since we keep bringing
that up, and the website that Iuse for car rentals is Discount
Hawaii Car Rental.
I find that they have the mostcompetitive prices and it is a I
guess it would be like a thirdparty portal where you're
renting your car from the normalcompanies Dollar, avis, budget,
(21:03):
all of that but they just havethe best prices.
So you just go up to yourregular ticket counter.
It's.
It's really easy, it's kind ofno fuss.
Um.
Costco is another great place.
If you are looking to do avacation package with your hotel
and um and your car rental, um,that's a great place.
You guys have costco inaustralia, right yeah, we do.
(21:25):
Yeah, just making sure I waslike I'm, because I, you know, I
live in the home of costco likeit was.
Seattle is the home of Costco.
Seattle is the home of Costcoand I just assume everybody has
a membership.
I just thought of that.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
No, we have Costco in Australia, costco in the UK,
perfect.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
So Costco, yeah, just making sure, and then I usually
book my activities eitherdirectly through, um, the, uh,
the company, and a lot of times,if you follow them on Instagram
, they will have some sort ofdiscount code if, um, they need
to fill up a tour or something,and so I always think that
that's a great thing to do, likeanything you're thinking about,
(21:59):
just follow them, and sometimesthere's deals or sales or
something.
Um, and then I also use Viatorand Get your Guide for
activities, um, because they'repretty easy to work with and
it's pretty easy to, you know,cancel if something doesn't work
out or whatever.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
So I don't know, I like using those no, they're
great tips and I just want toask, when I know we keep talking
about car rental, but do youhave to book that well in
advance?
Because that's something werecommend, like for the UK.
We kind of say you know, if youwant to, particularly if you
want an automatic, they're lessfrequent in the UK, so you need
to get in and book.
So would I have to book wellahead in advance if I went to
(22:37):
Hawaii, if I'm going, so we'rerecording this now in July, if I
was going to go, say inNovember, is it too late or
could I get whatever you'regoing to get?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
No, book your car rental now, I would say as soon
as you are booking your airfarein your hotel, just book that
car rental and a lot of timesyou can cancel it.
So if you decide maybe youdon't want it for your whole
time or I don't know, somethingchanges, you can always cancel
(23:06):
it but definitely secure it.
There are a lot of people whowait to, you know, to like just
a couple of weeks out beforetheir trip and especially if
you're there during the holidaysor summer, any kind of busy
time, they just they run out ofcars or you might be sitting at
the car rental place for hoursand hours waiting for a car to
be available and that's not howyou want to spend your vacation.
So just you know it takes Idon't know 10 minutes to book a
car rental.
Just do it now.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah, no, that's a really good tip.
Now, packing.
So this is all we always getasked about packing.
Packing is one of thosefavorite topics for people,
isn't it?
Now, what should I pack if I'mcoming to Hawaii, or what should
I not pack is also just asimportant.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
That's true.
So most people overpack forHawaii, hands down, they think
they need three different kindsof shoes.
They think they are going toneed a lot of dressy clothes.
They kind of go nuts and thenthey realize that they end up
wearing the same one or twoswimsuits every single day, with
some sort of cover up or shirtand shorts or something, and
then they use maybe one niceoutfit to go out for dinner or
(24:05):
to go to a luau or somethinglike that.
So I would definitely say, lookat your suitcase and see what
you can take out of it.
You will thank me for that.
So you definitely need swimwear, casual clothing Hawaii is very
, very casual.
It's great to have one or twonice outfits that you can reuse,
because you're probably notwearing it all day long.
(24:26):
You're probably just wearing itfor your one evening event.
Flip-flops for sure.
Closed-toed shoes that'ssomething that some people
forget.
If you're going, if you'redoing activities like zip lining
or I'm trying to think I thinkhorseback riding, things like
that you have to haveclosed-toed shoes, and so a lot
of people end up bringing orwearing their water shoes for
(24:48):
things like that.
But if you can just wearregular sneakers or something,
you'll be much more comfortable,I would say.
And then you definitely want ahat of some sort, and you can.
You know you can buy all thisstuff in Hawaii, but if you have
a favorite one, a sun hat isreally good, because you're
going to be outside a lot morethan maybe you're used to, so
it's really good to protectyourself.
(25:09):
Something that I do want tomention is that you have to use
reef safe sunscreen.
In Hawaii it is the law.
I mean, nobody's going to goand like search your beach bag
or anything, but it's for thecoral reefs and for the animals
and for just everything aboutthe habitat, and so it's pretty
(25:29):
easy to check and see ifsomething is reef safe.
So just kind of make sure yoursunscreen is when you go and
that's not for just swimming,it's for when you're hiking,
when you're doing everything.
Just that's your sunscreen thatyou're going to use in Hawaii
and you can get it there if youneed to, but I personally like
to if you're particular aboutyour brands it's best just to
(25:52):
get it ahead of time and bringit.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Okay, that's cool.
So now we've talked about thefact that it's quite expensive
in Hawaii, so I'm not preparedfor that.
I think I might have to save upa little bit before I come out,
but have you got some tips tosave money in Hawaii, whether
that's food or accommodation oractivities?
Have you got some ideas for usthat will help?
Speaker 2 (26:08):
I do for sure.
So thinking about food becauseI'm always thinking about food
is definitely take advantage ofthose happy hour menus.
It's not just for drinks.
They have what they call pupus,which are Hawaiian appetizers,
and they are delicious, and soit's a really fun way to just
you know whether it's just,whether you're by yourself or
you're with, you know a spouse,or you know a partner or you're
(26:30):
with a family you can just ordera bunch of them and you just
kind of have your own littlemini buffet and it's delicious.
And of course, the drinks thetropical drinks are amazing, and
even the mocktails, thenon-alcoholic cocktails those
are delicious as well, andthere's usually really great
deals.
So that's one thing I would saydefinitely check those out, and
especially like in Waikiki you,I mean they're just everywhere,
(26:51):
so it's pretty easy.
A lot of people hit up Costco.
Again, I'm talking about Costco.
They hit up Costco as soon asthey land.
There's usually one near theairport.
But I want people to reallythink about if they're going to
eat a Costco-sized portion ofwhatever they're buying for
their trip.
Maybe just hitting the regulargrocery store and getting what
(27:13):
you actually need.
It could be cheaper and it'sobviously better than wasting a
bunch of food too.
If you're staying in a condo andyou're going to be there a week
and maybe you're with four, six, eight people, it makes sense
to stop at Costco and get stuff.
A lot of people buy theiralcohol there because it is a
lot cheaper to stop at Costcoand get stuff.
A lot of people buy theiralcohol there because it is a
(27:34):
lot cheaper.
But you really have to thinkare you going to drink that
entire case of whatever you'vepurchased?
Are you going to drink thatduring your stay?
So if you're there two weeks,oh yeah, probably If you're
there four or five days, youmight want to rethink it and it
might not be saving you as muchmoney as you're thinking.
And we all know, like, if you goto Costco I mean those those
carts, add up it.
And we all know, like, if yougo to Costco I mean those those
carts out of, it's really easyjust to add a couple more things
.
Sure, you want some snacks, shewants whatever, and you have
like a $500 bill and so just becautious on that.
(27:58):
It's not saving you as muchmoney as you think.
And then I would say oh, ifyou're staying at a resort,
you're gonna want to make sureto see if you have the resort
fees and the parking fees inyour grand total, because those
can really add up, especiallythe parking fees.
I will say, if you're staying inWaikiki, sometimes it's $50 to
(28:19):
$80 US per night for parking,and so that's something that a
lot of people don't factor in,and so that's why, again, if you
don't need a car in Waikiki, ifyou choose to rent a car in
Waikiki, I would say maybe picklike the two or three days you
think you're going to explorearound the island on your own
and then rent the cars and thendeal with the parking, but you
(28:41):
don't need it for your wholeentire trip, and I've made this
mistake too because I like thefreedom.
But it really adds up and youwill be sticker shocked by the
end of it.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
It definitely sounds.
It, that's for sure.
Now, are there any specificareas or towns that you would
recommend for me as a first-timevisitor that it'll be good to
base myself in, to get thatfirst initial experience of
being in Hawaii?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Absolutely.
So I am a big fan of Waikiki.
I know some people think it'soverrated.
I think it is the mostconvenient place you can stay
overrated.
I think it is the mostconvenient place you can stay
and you, just as soon as youstep out of your hotel, you are
like I'm in Hawaii, like itscreams it at you everywhere you
go.
It has all of the vibes ofHawaii that you think and it is.
(29:28):
It's really vibrant.
So if you need to eat somethingat four in the morning when you
wake up crazy early, if youneed to eat something at four in
the morning when you wake upcrazy early, chances are
there'll be something open thatyou can go to.
If you ran out of something,there's a billion stores down
there.
The beach, waikiki Beach, isfantastic and it's, you know,
steps away and it's just reallyconvenient.
(29:49):
So I would definitely say don'tdiscount Waikiki, because it is
fabulous.
And then, if you're on Maui, Iwould say there's kind of two
areas that people usually stayin.
One is the Kaanapali, which isin West Maui, and that is.
It's a great like resort kindof area.
And then there's also Wailea,which is in South Maui.
(30:10):
Same thing, it's a resort area,and these are great for the
people that really want a beachvacation and they want to be
able to eat at the resort.
They want to.
You know, maybe, maybe, youknow, drive around a little bit
and see a couple of things, butmostly they just want to just be
.
Those are great places on Mauijust to do that oh, this sounds
(30:31):
fantastic, honestly, now, whatit really does.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Um, and Hawaii's been on my, my bucket list since I
was quite young, because Iremember I didn't even know
there was a second Magnum PI, sothat shows you how old I am.
When you said that, I was like,really, is that Now?
Are there any local customs,cultural norms or etiquette tips
that travellers should be awareof from visiting Hawaii for the
(30:57):
first time?
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Absolutely Well, I will say I just I always want to
make sure people know thatthere will be an expectation to
tip money for anybody in theservice industry, so restaurant
workers, tour guides, anybodylike that, you know, bellhops,
whatever you will want to tipthem.
So just kind of make sure thatyou have US cash on you at all
times for things like that.
And then, culturally, a lot ofpeople get fresh flower leis at
(31:23):
luau's or at their hotel orwhatever, and they're amazing
and lovely.
But the number one thing youdon't want to do is throw it in
the garbage.
It's really disrespectful to dothat.
But you have this lei and yougo.
What am I going to do with thisgarbage?
It's really disrespectful to dothat.
But you have this lei and yougo.
What am I going to do with this?
I don't know what I'm supposedto do.
So what you're supposed to dois untie it.
You can cut it, whatever, andthen take all of the flowers off
of the lei and then you cansprinkle it in the ocean, on the
(31:46):
beach, somewhere in nature.
You're giving it back to natureand it's a great opportunity
for you to reflect on your tripand say, oh, thank you so much
Hawaii Like this was lovely,something like that is kind of a
nice little kind of way to endyour trip.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
I'd say oh, that sounds amazing.
Yes, I'm definitely up for thatand I just love the whole idea.
It just sounds fantastic.
And you talked about food,which is also one of my favorite
topics as well.
Now, what food and drink shouldI try in Hawaii?
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so I'm going to start offwith my favorite snack food in
Hawaii, which is Spam Musubi.
And I know some people aregoing to hear Spam and they're
going to cringe a little bit andthey go.
You know, I don't like Spam.
I've tried it.
It's not for me and that's fair.
However, it's different inHawaii.
So they grill it and they putteriyaki sauce on it, and Spam
(32:36):
Musubi is a slab of Spam on abed of rice and then it's
wrapped up in seaweed and it'sthe perfect breakfast, snack,
lunch, whatever you want.
It is so good.
My kids love it.
We make it at home all the time, but it's like the number one
thing that they want to eat assoon as we get into Hawaii.
And there's all kinds ofvariations.
Sometimes they put egg in it,sometimes you can get it with
(32:56):
kalua pork.
You can get all kinds ofdifferent musubis, but spam
musubi is like the classic onethat you like.
I feel like you can't say youwent to Hawaii if you didn't try
one, unless you're vegan orsomething.
I understand you get a pass,but like you definitely need to
try that.
And then the second thing Iwould say is you need to try
shave ice for sure.
So a lot of people think it'sjust a Hawaiian version of a
(33:18):
snow cone, and it's not.
Snow cones are horriblecompared to shave ice, because
it's finely, finely, finelyshaven ice and it's got usually
fresh fruit syrups on there.
Sometimes you can get it withmochi, sometimes you get ice
cream in it, sometimes you canget kind of like a coconut foam
on top.
There's just all kind ofdifferent variations and it is
(33:39):
so good and I mean you'reprobably not even gonna want to
share it, you're probably gonnawant your own, so you want to
make sure everyone gets theirown and there's just like so
many different flavors.
It's amazing and each placemakes it differently and we have
a rule in our house that everyday of our vacation we're
stopping to get shaved icesomewhere.
It's just a given.
We're going to do it, there'sjust no question about it and
(34:00):
it's perfect.
I feel like everyone shouldadapt that.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Well, I'm going to try both of those.
I actually like spam, so I'mokay on there.
Good, I'm right there, and Idefinitely want to try the
shaved ice, that's for sure.
Now, cultural, culturalexperiences, events and
traditions what should I do toexperience Hawaii that way,
because I'm sure there's lots ofthings that I can do?
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Absolutely Well.
Hawaii is one of those placeswhere, no matter where you go,
you're just going to beabsorbing culture, which is
fantastic.
But I was a former hula dancerfor 20 years and I have to say
that hula dancing is the numberone thing I would recommend
people experience, and thatcould be a free hula show at a
shopping mall.
A lot of times there's littlekids.
(34:40):
When they're learning how to dohula they perform at shopping
centers, so that's a great wayto kind of get a taste and learn
a little bit.
There's also restaurants andbars.
A lot of times they have liveHawaiian entertainment, which
usually means live music andhula dancing.
So that's another option.
Or you can do a luau, and thereare all kinds of different
(35:01):
luaus in Hawaii.
Some of them are phenomenal andsome of them are a little bit
touristy.
So make sure you do yourresearch to find the one that's
the best fit for what you'relooking for.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Well, I'm going to have to ask what is a luauau,
because I've heard of it but Idon't know what it is yes, oh my
gosh, I will totally tell youall about luau.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Okay, so luau's are traditionally.
There is a Hawaiian feast, so alot of times they're buffets.
But if you go to kind of theupscale luau's they'll do like a
plated dinner and that's thefood's really good.
And some of the food would bekalua pork, which is pig that
has been roasted underground inan oven and then it's kind of
(35:40):
like they shred it and it'sreally good.
And then you can eat it withpoi, which is a taro paste that
is kind of fermented.
So it's got a kind of a tangy,sour taste and a lot of people
try to eat it on their own andthey say it's awful.
But the key is you're supposedto be eating it with meat, so
you eat it with the salty meatand then it kind of has all the
flavors, it brings all theflavors out.
It's oh God, it's so good itsubs it.
(36:05):
It's so good.
And then there's a lot of timesteriyaki chicken.
There's usually some sort ofseafood there's loamy, loamy
salmon, which is like chopped uptomatoes and chopped up salmon,
and it's kind of like a cevichesort of thing.
So it's been kind of you know,cured or whatever, and so
everything is raw.
Some places will have poke, sothat's raw fish with a bunch of
(36:28):
seasonings and stuff like thatand that's really delicious.
And then there's usually a tonof dessert options that are like
tropical cakes and things likethat, and then usually fresh
usually a ton of dessert optionsthat are like tropical cakes
and things like that, and thenusually fresh pineapples on the
table for everybody.
So that's the food portion.
There's usually also some sortof pre-show entertainment and,
depending on what luau you go to, it can be something as simple
(36:49):
as like everyone stands up andlearns a little hula, or it can
be.
You know, you're watchingpeople climb coconut trees and
and husking things.
Or my kids have gone to somewhere they are husking their own
coconut and like scraping outthe meat and eating it and
drinking the, the coconut waterand like all kinds of like
really amazing hands-onactivities.
(37:10):
Um, that's what my kids always.
They want to know what thoseactivities are before we go
anywhere.
And then the big finale is thehula show, and that's depending
on what kind of luau you go to.
It could be just Hawaiianentertainment, or it could be
Hawaiian Tahitian, maori, whichis from New Zealand, and Samoan,
which is the fire knife dancingthat you probably see.
(37:32):
Anytime you think of a luauyou're probably seeing the knife
that has fire on both ends andthey're spinning it around and
it's really exciting andentertaining.
So whenever you're looking fora luau, you want to see what
types of entertainment they'reoffering, and some of them even
do.
There's one on Kauai that doesAsian entertainment as well, so
like from the Philippines andfrom Japan and from China,
(37:54):
because so many people came overto Hawaii during the plantation
days, and so Hawaii, just asit's such a mix of culture, and
so it's fun when you can findthe luau's that celebrate kind
of everybody.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Ah, they sound like so much fun, and so would you
recommend doing one if I wasthere for two weeks.
Or would you say, book a few?
Speaker 2 (38:17):
if I was there for two weeks.
Or, would you say, book a few.
So my family is crazy because Iam a former hula dancer.
We frequently do three or fourluau's.
However, it's not what Irecommend the normal people do.
I'm just obsessed.
Plus, I say it's for research,so we have to go experience them
all right for for my website,for my podcast, all that kind of
stuff.
So I would say, just pick one,because they used to be a lot
more affordable a few years ago,like pre-pandemic.
(38:40):
They are a little bit morepricey now.
So you're going to want to makesure you find the right one for
what you're looking for.
Some of them are like 600people are there, and so it
might not be your jam if youprefer more intimate event, and
some of them are like you know,50 or 60 people.
So it just kind of depends onwhat you're looking for.
You will find something thathas what you're looking for.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
Perfect.
So it's just making sure you doyour research so you find the
right one for you.
I guess yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
And my website is a great place to do that.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
I was going to say, and I know you have all that
information, so definitely checkout Marcy's website.
Now we're going to finish offwith a rapid fire round, so I'm
just going to say, I just wantyou to say the first thing that
comes to your mind when I saythis Favourite island for first
timers, oahu, best beach inHawaii.
I would say Waikiki Beach, hire, snorkel or surf, hike Sunrise
(39:35):
or sunset Sunrise.
One local word or phrase everyvisitor should learn Mahalo.
That means thank you.
Mai Tai or shave ice Both Shaveice.
I say shave ice.
Flip-flops or hiking boots,flip-flops Ah, sounds perfect.
(39:56):
Now, I always end my podcastwith the same question, so today
, same for you, marcy.
What would be the one tip thatyou would share with someone
visiting Hawaii for the firsttime?
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Yes, I would say go into it with the aloha spirit.
Start your vacation as soon asyou're at your airport heading
to Hawaii.
Treat everybody respectfullyand with a lot of patience.
You know kind of whatever youbring into your vacations, what
you're going to get out of it.
So just be kind to people, takecare of the environment, make
sure you're not making messes.
(40:29):
Just be kind and courteous.
It will take you far.
People in Hawaii are lovely andso if you can also show them
kind of that aloha spirit, theywill return it to you.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
That's fantastic.
Well, thanks so much forjoining us this week on the
podcast, marcy.
It's been fantastic to learnabout Hawaii.
As I say, it's somewhere that'sfascinated me for a long time,
so I feel like I've learned somuch and I'm going to go and
check out your website.
So, again, just share yourwebsite and your podcast and I
will put links in the show notesfor this episode at
globaltravelplanetcom.
(41:01):
Forward slash episode 66, butgo for it, Marcy.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Yes, my website is hawaiitravelwithkidscom and my
podcast is Hawaii Travel MadeEasy and you can find that on
Spotify, on Apple, on basicallyeverywhere that you can normally
listen to podcasts.
I'm there.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
Brilliant.
Oh, thank you so much, Marcy.
You've been fantastic to talkto this week.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Thanks for having me, this has been lovely.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
Thank you for joining us on this episode of the
Global Travel Planning Podcast.
For more details and links toeverything we discussed today,
check out the show notes atglobaltravelplanningcom.
Remember if you enjoyed theshow, please consider leaving us
a review on your favoritepodcast app, because your
feedback helps us reach moretravel enthusiasts, just like
you.
Anyway, that leaves me to say,as always happy global travel
(41:52):
planning.
Planning your first visit to Hawaii.
In this episode, I'm joined byMarcy Chung, hawaii expert,
travel writer and frequentisland visitor, to share
practical tips, insider insightsand everything you need to know
before you go, from choosingthe right island to what to pack
and where to stay.
We've got you covered.
Hi and welcome to the GlobalTravel Planning Podcast.
I'm your host, tracey Collins,who, with my expert guests, will
(00:23):
take you on a weekly journey todestinations around the globe,
providing travel inspiration,itinerary ideas, practical tips
and more to help you plan yournext travel adventure.
Hello and welcome to the GlobalTravel Planning Podcast.
(00:45):
This week, we're diving intoeverything you need to know
before planning your first tripto Hawaii, one of the most
beautiful and bucket listdestinations in the world.
I'm joined by Marcy Chung, atrue Hawaii expert who's visited
the islands more than 40 times.
Marcy runs the popular familytravel blog Hawaii Travel with
Kids and hosts the Hawaii TravelMade Easy podcast.
(01:09):
She's helped countless familiesand first-time travelers and
visitors plan unforgettabletrips to the islands and she's
here to help you do the same.
So in this episode, we talkabout the best time to go, how
to choose which island orislands to visit, what to pack,
how to get around, where to stayand all the local tips you
won't find in a guidebook.
(01:29):
So, to start us off, I askedMarcy to introduce herself, tell
us where she lives, what shedoes and share why Hawaii is
such a special place to her.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, I'm Marcy and I live in the Seattle area of
Washington state.
I am a full-time travel writerand I have a Hawaii specific
website as well as a generalfamily travel website, and I've
been visiting Hawaii since I was10 years old and it really
captured my heart.
I'm obsessed with the food, theculture, the amazing scenery
and the spirit of Aloha, and Ieven just launched a podcast
(01:59):
called Hawaii Travel Made Easy afew months ago, and it's been
such a fun adventure.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Oh, that's fantastic to hear, marcy.
I'm gonna have to add that tomy podcast listens, for sure.
Now I have not yet been toHawaii.
I am very excited at some pointto visit.
Actually, I live on the eastcoast of Australia, so it's
actually not too far for us toget to either.
So I grew up with Magnum PI.
I'm obviously a bit older thanyou are, so I grew up with
(02:26):
Magnum PI and the helicopterflying over the islands, and it
always just looked so amazing.
So I'll be a first-time visitorwhen I do come.
So what would be the key thingsthat you would advise me or any
other first-time visitors toknow before they arrive in
Hawaii?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You bet.
Well, I would say that thebiggest thing is to make sure
that you know what island you'regoing to and that you've booked
all your things on the correctisland, because you'd be
surprised how many people thinkthat Honolulu and Waikiki are on
the big island.
They think that's the mainisland, but it's actually Oahu,
that's the main island.
So a lot of people get thoseconfused and I don't want you to
(03:06):
make that mistake for sure.
Or sometimes people bookactivities on other islands,
thinking it won't be difficultto get to.
But you do have to take a planeride from the airport which is
about a half a day.
Half of your day is at theairport to get there.
So we'll talk about islandhopping later on, but I would
definitely make sure that youunderstand just kind of, I guess
(03:29):
, the layout of Hawaii.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Okay, well, I have no idea, so I'm going to actually
put you on the spot here.
And actually a little bit aboutthe geography.
So how many islands are there?
Speaker 2 (03:39):
There's too many to count honestly, but there are
four main islands which are,which are oahu, maui, kawaii and
the big island, and thenthere's two, I guess, like
lesser visited islands, whichwould be molokai and lanai, and
then there's niihau, but that'sa private island and you have to
be invited to go there, andthen there's lots of tiny
(04:00):
islands, but those are the mainones people talk about okay, wow
, amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I honestly had no idea.
So there you go, tell firsttime visitors with absolutely no
idea about Hawaii.
So if I'm planning to visit,what would be the best time of
year for me to do that, and whatsort of factors should I kind
of consider?
I mean, like, is thereparticular peak times?
Is there better times forweather?
You know, is it more expensiveat certain times of year?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Absolutely.
Well, I will say it's going tobe expensive, no matter what
time of year.
I'll just put that out there.
I'll be very transparent onthat.
The most popular times areschool breaks, so that would be
June, july, august holidays, sothat would be in, you know,
december, and then also springbreak, which is in April.
(04:47):
So I would recommend going inthe shoulder seasons and that
runs May through mid-June, rightbefore school gets out, and
then September through the earlyNovember, right before all the
Thanksgiving travel deals andeverything or travel happens.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
And what about weather?
Is that a good time to travelweather-wise?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yes, those are actually really great,
weather-wise as well, andcrowd-wise and budget-wise,
because even though it isexpensive year-round, there are
usually you can find a littlebit more travel deals during
those times because it's not aspopular and so a lot of the
hotels are trying to get peopleto come stay with them, and
sometimes there's flight dealstoo.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Okay, that's good to know.
So how long should I plan tostay?
Don't tell me forever.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
You got me.
I always recommend seven to 10days for a first trip to Hawaii.
Obviously more if you can, butthat would be the minimum I
would say.
And you, coming from Australia,I would probably say two weeks
at least, just to kind of makeit worth your while and if I was
planning it as well.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
So would you, if I was there for two weeks?
Would you say do one island,two islands, three islands?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
yes, if you were doing two weeks, I would say you
could do two islands, but Iwouldn't do more than two
islands and you would probablybe fine just staying on one
island for the full two weeks,unless you had specific things
you wanted to see on otherislands.
And it kind of depends on yourtravel style.
If you like to do a lot ofthings, if you like a really
packed itinerary, you might feellike you've kind of done an
(06:22):
island in a week and then you'reready to move on and do
something else.
But if you like to kind of do alittle bit more relaxing or
hanging at the beach and kind ofmixing in some adventures, you
could easily spend two weeks andhave the time of your life on
one island.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So we've talked about the fact that there are several
islands and about you know ifI'm going to visit for a couple
of weeks, that I visit.
You know two or three,potentially two or three islands
, but I don't know much aboutthem.
You've just given me some ofthe names, which is really good,
but how would I decide whichones to visit?
So can you give us a kind ofquick rundown of the different
islands and kind of what appealsabout each of them?
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Absolutely Well, it really depends on what you like
to do on your trips.
So Oahu is probably the mostpopular island.
That's where you'll findWaikiki and Honolulu and that is
, I think Megan and PI.
At least the more recent one, Ithink, was filmed on Oahu I
can't remember about the olderone, but I also am pretty sure
(07:21):
it was Oahu, but that's the mostpopular island and about 80% of
the people who live in sure itwas Oahu, but that's the most
popular island, and about 80% ofthe people who live in Hawaii
live on Oahu and it's whereyou'll find the most attractions
, hotels, tours, kind ofeverything, and it's really good
for people who like to do a lotof things on their trips.
I guess it's where Pearl Harboris.
(07:42):
So if you're a history buff,that's um, a huge draw for a lot
of people.
Um, kulo Ranch, which is where,uh, a lot of movies are filmed,
including some of the JurassicPark, jurassic World kind of
movies.
Um, and I I think it's like ahundred movies have been filmed
there.
It's something crazy.
There's also Dole Plantation,if you were curious about
(08:02):
pineapples, the famous NorthShore Disney Aulani Resort for
people that are Disney fans, andthe Polynesian Cultural Center,
and they have a lot of hotelson Oahu.
So if you're going to Hawaii ona budget, you'll probably be
able to find something in yourprice point because there are so
many hotels available.
And then we'll move on to Maui.
(08:22):
That's probably the second mostpopular island for people to
visit and it used to primarilybe for honeymoons, but now
families go, solo travelers,couples, kind of everybody goes
there.
And that's where you'll findthe famous Road to Hana, which
is the drive that goes down toHana.
And the point of the driveisn't to get to Hana, it's the
(08:43):
drive itself, because there'sscenic lookouts, there's places
to get tropical fruit and bananabread and there's cool beaches
and there's just hikes towaterfalls.
It's pretty amazing.
It's kind of like the best roadtrip you can do in Hawaii.
And there's also HaleakalaNational Park, which is famous
for their sunrise, but you canalso go there for sunset and it
(09:05):
is.
It's just a spectacular placeand it's unlike anywhere I've
ever been, ever.
It's kind of like you're onMars.
It's kind of just hard todescribe.
It's just, it's just so unique.
And then Kauai this is where mymom lives, so we go to Kauai all
the time and that's whereyou'll find the Nepali coast,
which are those jagged mountainsthat go into the water.
(09:26):
It's really iconic.
You've probably seen photos ofthem before.
There's also Mount Waialeale,which is the wettest spot on
Earth.
So Kauai is known for being arainy island, but that's why
it's so lush and green andbeautiful.
So that's there.
And it's also the filminglocations for some of the
Jurassic Park the originalJurassic Park movie, jungle
(09:46):
Cruise.
It's where they set theanimated Lilo and Stitch.
There's chances are if you'veseen movies set in Hawaii, they
have been filmed partially onKauai.
It's much more low-key thanMaui or Oahu and they have a
great food scene on Kauai.
And then the last island I'lltalk about is the Big Island,
(10:10):
and this is where you'll findHawaii Volcanoes National Park.
So if you're going to Hawaii tosee an active volcano, the only
place you can find that is onthe Big Island.
So you would definitely want tospend part of your time on the
Big Island if you wanted to seethat.
There's also Rainbow Falls andBlack Sand Beaches and coffee
farms and just tons ofagriculture.
And most people stay in Kona orWaikoloa, which is on the west
(10:30):
side of the island, and I wantto say that this island is
massive, like it's called theBig Island.
For a reason it is massive,though, and so I would recommend
at least seven days justdedicated to the Big Island,
simply because the drive timeswill kind of eat up part of your
vacation.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Oh, it sounds amazing .
I have to say I think I'mhooked on Maui and Oahu.
Oh, I can't say it Oahu.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Is that how you say it, oahu?
Speaker 1 (10:59):
You're very good at pronouncing all the words.
I must apologize if I butcherthem hugely.
Now it sounds amazing all thewords.
I must apologise if I butcherthem hugely.
Now it sounds amazing,absolutely amazing.
I can just, I can picture it.
I mean, I'm a complete JurassicPark nerd anyway.
So just the minute, the minuteyou mentioned it, I just thought
oh, it's so beautiful, it wouldjust be so amazing to go.
So can you give us some tipsfor planning an itinerary to
(11:22):
Hawaii?
You know, how can I balance all?
You've mentioned some amazingthings there, but how can I
balance some of those thingswithout feeling overwhelmed when
it comes to sitting down andplanning an itinerary?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Absolutely.
So my advice is to always planone main activity per day.
It's really easy for people togo nuts and they'll end up in
the car for 12 or 14 hours justdriving around trying to see all
the things and take theirpictures and their video, and
then end up in the car for 12 or14 hours just driving around
trying to see all the things andtake their pictures and their
video and then hop back in thecar.
And I don't recommend that.
If you're looking for arelaxing vacation, that's great
for those, maybe like theinfluencers that are trying to
(11:54):
get a bunch of content and theywant to like just see it all and
do it all and just go, go, go.
That's great for those people,but it's not great for the
average person.
So some of those activitiescould be a luau or snorkeling
boat tour or a hike or a foodtour or circle island tour or
ziplining, some sort ofadventure kind of thing.
And then you can have backupactivities.
(12:14):
So that would be like hangingout at the beach or going to the
pool or maybe doing happy hourssomewhere or having a nice
dinner, and then you just kindof fit those activities around
your main activity per day andyou can kind of just decide how
everyone's feeling.
Sometimes people need a nap inthe afternoon, and there's
nothing wrong with that.
You're on vacation, so it'sbest if you don't have too many
(12:37):
scheduled activities where youfeel like you're on the go all
the time.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
It does sound fantastic.
I think I'm going to struggleto choose there, because you've
just mentioned some amazingthings to do and experience
there.
So what would be, you think,the most common mistakes that
first-time visitors make whenthey plan a trip to Hawaii and
how can they avoid them?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yes.
So I would say that the numberone mistake is they don't go in
with a realistic budget.
Hawaii is expensive and I thinka lot of people think that they
can do everything on theirbucket list at a really
reasonable rate and reasonableis relative and so I would just
highly suggest that people startwith like a spreadsheet or
(13:18):
notebook and start writing downthe non-negotiable expenses, and
that would be like where you'regoing to stay, your flights,
any like must-do activities,your car rental, anything like
that, and then you'll set asideanother little space for
estimated expenses, and thatwould be like your food, other
(13:40):
activities, souvenirs, gas, youknow, kind of whatever else you
might also need to be thinkingabout.
And I would say I say for surethat that's the number one
mistake.
A lot of people sometimes willgo into debt with their Hawaii
vacations because they want todo it all and they have this
YOLO attitude, and it's reallyimportant that you're just
really on it with your money,because that's a pretty big deal
(14:03):
, yeah, it sounds like it canmount up quite quickly as well.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
And then I would say the second biggest mistake is
that people don't consider thetime difference.
And so I live in Seattle andthat means it's about a two to
three hour time difference,depending on the time of year,
because they don't do daylightsavings time, so it's a little
tricky sometimes and so it'sonly a two or three hour time
difference for us.
But that means that my familyis up often at three in the
(14:29):
morning and we're normally earlyrisers, but there were really
early risers there, and so Iwould, I know not to schedule
like a luau or a nice dinner orsomething that night, because by
five or six we're fallingasleep at the table.
So that's something I cautionpeople to keep that in mind, so
that they're planning some ofthose nighttime activities for
much later in their trip Ifthey're coming from, you know,
(14:52):
the United States, and I'mtrying to think I can't even do
the math on Australia of whatthe time difference would be,
but I would just make sure thatyou do that before your trip,
but then also use it to youradvantage.
So, like on Maui, seeing thesunrise at Haleakalā is amazing,
and that is something that youneed to leave your hotel usually
about three in the morning togo, because you need to be there
(15:14):
before the sun rises, right.
So that's something great to doon, like your very first day,
because you're already going tobe up.
Everyone's going to be somewhatrested, you're you know you
need something to do, so it'slike the perfect day to do that,
or a sunrise hike or somethingelse.
Like, use that to youradvantage, but also like don't
let it.
Don't let it ruin your trip ifyou can't stay up for some of
these cool activities.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Now, that's a great idea, and I think, flying from
Australia we go across theinternational date line, so we
go back in time, which is alwaysa bit amazing.
I know last year we flew to LAand we landed before we departed
from Brisbane, I think in theend.
It was all a bit weird, very,very strange.
Are there any other mistakes,or are they kind of covered?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
most of them.
I think those are the main ones, the main ones.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, cool, now we'll talk about getting around as
well.
So you've mentioned about,obviously, a fantastic drive
that you can do, but do you haveto hire a car if you come to
Hawaii?
Is there public transportoptions or shuttles, or is it
basically you need a car If?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
you are staying in Waikiki, you can get away with
not having a car, and so that'sgreat for people, I think, who
are younger, who maybe can'trent a car or would have to pay.
You know really high rates forbeing a young driver.
You can do a lot of shuttlesfor luau's tours activities.
(16:37):
A lot of them have pickup inWaikiki and there's also the
Waikiki Trolley which you paymoney for, and they have lots of
little routes.
It's adorable, it's open air.
It's a really fun way ofgetting around.
It doesn't go everywhere, butit goes a lot of the touristy
places, which is nice.
There is a bus on Oahu but ittakes a really long time to get
around.
(16:57):
I know some people do it and ifyou are determined and that's
how you want to spend yourvacation is sitting on a bus, go
for it.
But the rest of the islands youreally really need to have a
rental car.
They do have transportation,but it's really set up for
locals and it's not going to goto the tourist attractions.
It's not going to go to theplaces you're probably going to
(17:17):
want to go.
So I definitely would recommendrenting a car and making sure
that's in your budget that youcan afford the rental car.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, and also just because you mentioned about
getting between the islands, sois that a ferry that you can
take the car on and get, or doyou have to fly between the
islands?
Speaker 2 (17:35):
There is no ferry.
That is misinformation.
There was a ferry years agothat failed miserably and their
website is still active, and sopeople think that they can book
this ferry.
But you cannot.
The only ferry they have inHawaii that is currently in
operation is between Maui andLanai, and you can do that for a
(17:57):
day trip or a couple day tripor something that's really short
.
It's beautiful, I do recommendit, but it's a passenger-only
ferry.
The only way to get from islandto island is with an airplane.
There are no bridges.
That's something else.
People think that there must bebridges.
There are no bridges to getfrom island to island.
(18:17):
You need to if you're going toisland.
Hop, you need to check out ofyour hotel, return your rental
car, go to the airport the twohours before your flight.
It's a regular airport, it'snot a special airport.
Then you go through security,you do all your stuff, whatever
you fly and a lot of times theflights are between maybe 25
minutes to up to like 90 minutesand then you need to land and
(18:40):
get your rental car and checkinto your hotel.
It's like a whole you know,half a day ordeal.
So it's a lot more.
It's just a bigger undertakingthan I think people realize.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah, I literally had no idea.
So that's why I honestlythought, oh, it's all right,
I'll just hire a car on oneisland and then, you know, get a
ferry and then, like you do inthe UK, you know like, go from
Scotland, go onto the Isle ofSkye and then back over on the
bridge that sort of thing.
(19:13):
So that's good to know that youcan't do that.
So you've got to factor that inwhen you're planning your
itinerary, because that's goingto take at least half a day out
of your of your trip to actuallymove from island to island.
So I guess you don't want to bein too many, too many island
hops, otherwise you're going tospend a lot of time doing that
right.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
I do know people that will every you know three days.
They're going to another islandbecause they want to see it all
and it is.
They really don't realize howmuch time they're just sitting
in these airports and they'renot experiencing Hawaii.
So that's why I always say youknow seven to 10 days, if you
can, just to enjoy enjoy Hawaii.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Well, I've already thought I'm just going to do two
islands for the first time,Perfect.
Now what about?
Are there any apps or tools oranything that you'd recommend
for getting around or bookingactivities in Hawaii?
And I know you've got a website, so share your URL, because
that would be great for peopleto check that out.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Oh, absolutely yes.
So my website ishawaiitravelwithkidscom.
I have information foreverybody it's not just families
and that I have hotel reviewsactivities, not just families
and that I have hotel reviews,activities everything I have.
I think close to a thousandblog posts on there.
I've been to Hawaii more than40 times.
(20:19):
I should have mentioned that.
So I have done so many thingsand I write about every single
activity because I want to helppeople.
I don't want anyone spendingmoney on a luau that's maybe not
amazing or an activity that waskind of boring.
I just want people to spendtheir money on the really cool
stuff, and there's so much coolstuff in Hawaii.
So my website is definitely agreat resource for that and I
have travel guides and all kindsof stuff on there tools.
(20:40):
But I wanted to talk about carrentals, since we keep bringing
that up, and the website that Iuse for car rentals is Discount
Hawaii Car Rental.
I find that they have the mostcompetitive prices and it is a I
guess it would be like a thirdparty portal where you're
renting your car from the normalcompanies Dollar, avis, budget,
(21:03):
all of that but they just havethe best prices.
So you just go up to yourregular ticket counter.
It's.
It's really easy, it's kind ofno fuss.
Um.
Costco is another great place.
If you are looking to do avacation package with your hotel
and um and your car rental, um,that's a great place.
You guys have costco inaustralia, right yeah, we do.
(21:25):
Yeah, just making sure I waslike I'm, because I, you know, I
live in the home of costco likeit was.
Seattle is the home of Costco.
Seattle is the home of Costcoand I just assume everybody has
a membership.
I just thought of that.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
No, we have Costco in Australia, costco in the UK,
perfect.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
So Costco, yeah, just making sure, and then I usually
book my activities eitherdirectly through, um, the, uh,
the company, and a lot of times,if you follow them on Instagram
, they will have some sort ofdiscount code if, um, they need
to fill up a tour or something,and so I always think that
that's a great thing to do, likeanything you're thinking about,
(21:59):
just follow them, and sometimesthere's deals or sales or
something.
Um, and then I also use Viatorand Get your Guide for
activities, um, because they'repretty easy to work with and
it's pretty easy to, you know,cancel if something doesn't work
out or whatever.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
So I don't know, I like using those no, they're
great tips and I just want toask, when I know we keep talking
about car rental, but do youhave to book that well in
advance?
Because that's something werecommend, like for the UK.
We kind of say you know, if youwant to, particularly if you
want an automatic, they're lessfrequent in the UK, so you need
to get in and book.
So would I have to book wellahead in advance if I went to
(22:37):
Hawaii, if I'm going, so we'rerecording this now in July, if I
was going to go, say inNovember, is it too late or
could I get whatever you'regoing to get?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
No, book your car rental now, I would say as soon
as you are booking your airfarein your hotel, just book that
car rental and a lot of timesyou can cancel it.
So if you decide maybe youdon't want it for your whole
time or I don't know, somethingchanges, you can always cancel
(23:06):
it but definitely secure it.
There are a lot of people whowait to, you know, to like just
a couple of weeks out beforetheir trip and especially if
you're there during the holidaysor summer, any kind of busy
time, they just they run out ofcars or you might be sitting at
the car rental place for hoursand hours waiting for a car to
be available and that's not howyou want to spend your vacation.
So just you know it takes Idon't know 10 minutes to book a
car rental.
Just do it now.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah, no, that's a really good tip.
Now, packing.
So this is all we always getasked about packing.
Packing is one of thosefavorite topics for people,
isn't it?
Now, what should I pack if I'mcoming to Hawaii, or what should
I not pack is also just asimportant.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
That's true.
So most people overpack forHawaii, hands down, they think
they need three different kindsof shoes.
They think they are going toneed a lot of dressy clothes.
They kind of go nuts and thenthey realize that they end up
wearing the same one or twoswimsuits every single day, with
some sort of cover up or shirtand shorts or something, and
then they use maybe one niceoutfit to go out for dinner or
(24:05):
to go to a luau or somethinglike that.
So I would definitely say, lookat your suitcase and see what
you can take out of it.
You will thank me for that.
So you definitely need swimwear, casual clothing Hawaii is very
, very casual.
It's great to have one or twonice outfits that you can reuse,
because you're probably notwearing it all day long.
(24:26):
You're probably just wearing itfor your one evening event.
Flip-flops for sure.
Closed-toed shoes that'ssomething that some people
forget.
If you're going, if you'redoing activities like zip lining
or I'm trying to think I thinkhorseback riding, things like
that you have to haveclosed-toed shoes, and so a lot
of people end up bringing orwearing their water shoes for
(24:48):
things like that.
But if you can just wearregular sneakers or something,
you'll be much more comfortable,I would say.
And then you definitely want ahat of some sort, and you can.
You know you can buy all thisstuff in Hawaii, but if you have
a favorite one, a sun hat isreally good, because you're
going to be outside a lot morethan maybe you're used to, so
it's really good to protectyourself.
(25:09):
Something that I do want tomention is that you have to use
reef safe sunscreen.
In Hawaii it is the law.
I mean, nobody's going to goand like search your beach bag
or anything, but it's for thecoral reefs and for the animals
and for just everything aboutthe habitat, and so it's pretty
(25:29):
easy to check and see ifsomething is reef safe.
So just kind of make sure yoursunscreen is when you go and
that's not for just swimming,it's for when you're hiking,
when you're doing everything.
Just that's your sunscreen thatyou're going to use in Hawaii
and you can get it there if youneed to, but I personally like
to if you're particular aboutyour brands it's best just to
(25:52):
get it ahead of time and bringit.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Okay, that's cool.
So now we've talked about thefact that it's quite expensive
in Hawaii, so I'm not preparedfor that.
I think I might have to save upa little bit before I come out,
but have you got some tips tosave money in Hawaii, whether
that's food or accommodation oractivities?
Have you got some ideas for usthat will help?
Speaker 2 (26:08):
I do for sure.
So thinking about food becauseI'm always thinking about food
is definitely take advantage ofthose happy hour menus.
It's not just for drinks.
They have what they call pupus,which are Hawaiian appetizers,
and they are delicious, and soit's a really fun way to just
you know whether it's just,whether you're by yourself or
you're with, you know a spouse,or you know a partner or you're
(26:30):
with a family you can just ordera bunch of them and you just
kind of have your own littlemini buffet and it's delicious.
And of course, the drinks thetropical drinks are amazing, and
even the mocktails, thenon-alcoholic cocktails those
are delicious as well, andthere's usually really great
deals.
So that's one thing I would saydefinitely check those out, and
especially like in Waikiki you,I mean they're just everywhere,
(26:51):
so it's pretty easy.
A lot of people hit up Costco.
Again, I'm talking about Costco.
They hit up Costco as soon asthey land.
There's usually one near theairport.
But I want people to reallythink about if they're going to
eat a Costco-sized portion ofwhatever they're buying for
their trip.
Maybe just hitting the regulargrocery store and getting what
(27:13):
you actually need.
It could be cheaper and it'sobviously better than wasting a
bunch of food too.
If you're staying in a condo andyou're going to be there a week
and maybe you're with four, six, eight people, it makes sense
to stop at Costco and get stuff.
A lot of people buy theiralcohol there because it is a
lot cheaper to stop at Costcoand get stuff.
A lot of people buy theiralcohol there because it is a
(27:34):
lot cheaper.
But you really have to thinkare you going to drink that
entire case of whatever you'vepurchased?
Are you going to drink thatduring your stay?
So if you're there two weeks,oh yeah, probably If you're
there four or five days, youmight want to rethink it and it
might not be saving you as muchmoney as you're thinking.
And we all know, like, if you goto Costco I mean those those
carts, add up it.
And we all know, like, if yougo to Costco I mean those those
carts out of, it's really easyjust to add a couple more things
.
Sure, you want some snacks, shewants whatever, and you have
like a $500 bill and so just becautious on that.
(27:58):
It's not saving you as muchmoney as you think.
And then I would say oh, ifyou're staying at a resort,
you're gonna want to make sureto see if you have the resort
fees and the parking fees inyour grand total, because those
can really add up, especiallythe parking fees.
I will say, if you're staying inWaikiki, sometimes it's $50 to
(28:19):
$80 US per night for parking,and so that's something that a
lot of people don't factor in,and so that's why, again, if you
don't need a car in Waikiki, ifyou choose to rent a car in
Waikiki, I would say maybe picklike the two or three days you
think you're going to explorearound the island on your own
and then rent the cars and thendeal with the parking, but you
(28:41):
don't need it for your wholeentire trip, and I've made this
mistake too because I like thefreedom.
But it really adds up and youwill be sticker shocked by the
end of it.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
It definitely sounds.
It, that's for sure.
Now, are there any specificareas or towns that you would
recommend for me as a first-timevisitor that it'll be good to
base myself in, to get thatfirst initial experience of
being in Hawaii?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Absolutely.
So I am a big fan of Waikiki.
I know some people think it'soverrated.
I think it is the mostconvenient place you can stay
overrated.
I think it is the mostconvenient place you can stay
and you, just as soon as youstep out of your hotel, you are
like I'm in Hawaii, like itscreams it at you everywhere you
go.
It has all of the vibes ofHawaii that you think and it is.
(29:28):
It's really vibrant.
So if you need to eat somethingat four in the morning when you
wake up crazy early, if youneed to eat something at four in
the morning when you wake upcrazy early, chances are
there'll be something open thatyou can go to.
If you ran out of something,there's a billion stores down
there.
The beach, waikiki Beach, isfantastic and it's, you know,
steps away and it's just reallyconvenient.
(29:49):
So I would definitely say don'tdiscount Waikiki, because it is
fabulous.
And then, if you're on Maui, Iwould say there's kind of two
areas that people usually stayin.
One is the Kaanapali, which isin West Maui, and that is.
It's a great like resort kindof area.
And then there's also Wailea,which is in South Maui.
(30:10):
Same thing, it's a resort area,and these are great for the
people that really want a beachvacation and they want to be
able to eat at the resort.
They want to.
You know, maybe, maybe, youknow, drive around a little bit
and see a couple of things, butmostly they just want to just be
.
Those are great places on Mauijust to do that oh, this sounds
(30:31):
fantastic, honestly, now, whatit really does.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Um, and Hawaii's been on my, my bucket list since I
was quite young, because Iremember I didn't even know
there was a second Magnum PI, sothat shows you how old I am.
When you said that, I was like,really, is that Now?
Are there any local customs,cultural norms or etiquette tips
that travellers should be awareof from visiting Hawaii for the
(30:57):
first time?
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Absolutely Well, I will say I just I always want to
make sure people know thatthere will be an expectation to
tip money for anybody in theservice industry, so restaurant
workers, tour guides, anybodylike that, you know, bellhops,
whatever you will want to tipthem.
So just kind of make sure thatyou have US cash on you at all
times for things like that.
And then, culturally, a lot ofpeople get fresh flower leis at
(31:23):
luau's or at their hotel orwhatever, and they're amazing
and lovely.
But the number one thing youdon't want to do is throw it in
the garbage.
It's really disrespectful to dothat.
But you have this lei and yougo.
What am I going to do with thisgarbage?
It's really disrespectful to dothat.
But you have this lei and yougo.
What am I going to do with this?
I don't know what I'm supposedto do.
So what you're supposed to dois untie it.
You can cut it, whatever, andthen take all of the flowers off
of the lei and then you cansprinkle it in the ocean, on the
(31:46):
beach, somewhere in nature.
You're giving it back to natureand it's a great opportunity
for you to reflect on your tripand say, oh, thank you so much
Hawaii Like this was lovely,something like that is kind of a
nice little kind of way to endyour trip.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
I'd say oh, that sounds amazing.
Yes, I'm definitely up for thatand I just love the whole idea.
It just sounds fantastic.
And you talked about food,which is also one of my favorite
topics as well.
Now, what food and drink shouldI try in Hawaii?
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so I'm going to start offwith my favorite snack food in
Hawaii, which is Spam Musubi.
And I know some people aregoing to hear Spam and they're
going to cringe a little bit andthey go.
You know, I don't like Spam.
I've tried it.
It's not for me and that's fair.
However, it's different inHawaii.
So they grill it and they putteriyaki sauce on it, and Spam
(32:36):
Musubi is a slab of Spam on abed of rice and then it's
wrapped up in seaweed and it'sthe perfect breakfast, snack,
lunch, whatever you want.
It is so good.
My kids love it.
We make it at home all the time, but it's like the number one
thing that they want to eat assoon as we get into Hawaii.
And there's all kinds ofvariations.
Sometimes they put egg in it,sometimes you can get it with
(32:56):
kalua pork.
You can get all kinds ofdifferent musubis, but spam
musubi is like the classic onethat you like.
I feel like you can't say youwent to Hawaii if you didn't try
one, unless you're vegan orsomething.
I understand you get a pass,but like you definitely need to
try that.
And then the second thing Iwould say is you need to try
shave ice for sure.
So a lot of people think it'sjust a Hawaiian version of a
(33:18):
snow cone, and it's not.
Snow cones are horriblecompared to shave ice, because
it's finely, finely, finelyshaven ice and it's got usually
fresh fruit syrups on there.
Sometimes you can get it withmochi, sometimes you get ice
cream in it, sometimes you canget kind of like a coconut foam
on top.
There's just all kind ofdifferent variations and it is
(33:39):
so good and I mean you'reprobably not even gonna want to
share it, you're probably gonnawant your own, so you want to
make sure everyone gets theirown and there's just like so
many different flavors.
It's amazing and each placemakes it differently and we have
a rule in our house that everyday of our vacation we're
stopping to get shaved icesomewhere.
It's just a given.
We're going to do it, there'sjust no question about it and
(34:00):
it's perfect.
I feel like everyone shouldadapt that.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Well, I'm going to try both of those.
I actually like spam, so I'mokay on there.
Good, I'm right there, and Idefinitely want to try the
shaved ice, that's for sure.
Now, cultural, culturalexperiences, events and
traditions what should I do toexperience Hawaii that way,
because I'm sure there's lots ofthings that I can do?
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Absolutely Well.
Hawaii is one of those placeswhere, no matter where you go,
you're just going to beabsorbing culture, which is
fantastic.
But I was a former hula dancerfor 20 years and I have to say
that hula dancing is the numberone thing I would recommend
people experience, and thatcould be a free hula show at a
shopping mall.
A lot of times there's littlekids.
(34:40):
When they're learning how to dohula they perform at shopping
centers, so that's a great wayto kind of get a taste and learn
a little bit.
There's also restaurants andbars.
A lot of times they have liveHawaiian entertainment, which
usually means live music andhula dancing.
So that's another option.
Or you can do a luau, and thereare all kinds of different
(35:01):
luaus in Hawaii.
Some of them are phenomenal andsome of them are a little bit
touristy.
So make sure you do yourresearch to find the one that's
the best fit for what you'relooking for.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Well, I'm going to have to ask what is a luauau,
because I've heard of it but Idon't know what it is yes, oh my
gosh, I will totally tell youall about luau.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Okay, so luau's are traditionally.
There is a Hawaiian feast, so alot of times they're buffets.
But if you go to kind of theupscale luau's they'll do like a
plated dinner and that's thefood's really good.
And some of the food would bekalua pork, which is pig that
has been roasted underground inan oven and then it's kind of
(35:40):
like they shred it and it'sreally good.
And then you can eat it withpoi, which is a taro paste that
is kind of fermented.
So it's got a kind of a tangy,sour taste and a lot of people
try to eat it on their own andthey say it's awful.
But the key is you're supposedto be eating it with meat, so
you eat it with the salty meatand then it kind of has all the
flavors, it brings all theflavors out.
It's oh God, it's so good itsubs it.
(36:05):
It's so good.
And then there's a lot of timesteriyaki chicken.
There's usually some sort ofseafood there's loamy, loamy
salmon, which is like chopped uptomatoes and chopped up salmon,
and it's kind of like a cevichesort of thing.
So it's been kind of you know,cured or whatever, and so
everything is raw.
Some places will have poke, sothat's raw fish with a bunch of
(36:28):
seasonings and stuff like thatand that's really delicious.
And then there's usually a tonof dessert options that are like
tropical cakes and things likethat, and then usually fresh
usually a ton of dessert optionsthat are like tropical cakes
and things like that, and thenusually fresh pineapples on the
table for everybody.
So that's the food portion.
There's usually also some sortof pre-show entertainment and,
depending on what luau you go to, it can be something as simple
(36:49):
as like everyone stands up andlearns a little hula, or it can
be.
You know, you're watchingpeople climb coconut trees and
and husking things.
Or my kids have gone to somewhere they are husking their own
coconut and like scraping outthe meat and eating it and
drinking the, the coconut waterand like all kinds of like
really amazing hands-onactivities.
(37:10):
Um, that's what my kids always.
They want to know what thoseactivities are before we go
anywhere.
And then the big finale is thehula show, and that's depending
on what kind of luau you go to.
It could be just Hawaiianentertainment, or it could be
Hawaiian Tahitian, maori, whichis from New Zealand, and Samoan,
which is the fire knife dancingthat you probably see.
(37:32):
Anytime you think of a luauyou're probably seeing the knife
that has fire on both ends andthey're spinning it around and
it's really exciting andentertaining.
So whenever you're looking fora luau, you want to see what
types of entertainment they'reoffering, and some of them even
do.
There's one on Kauai that doesAsian entertainment as well, so
like from the Philippines andfrom Japan and from China,
(37:54):
because so many people came overto Hawaii during the plantation
days, and so Hawaii, just asit's such a mix of culture, and
so it's fun when you can findthe luau's that celebrate kind
of everybody.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Ah, they sound like so much fun, and so would you
recommend doing one if I wasthere for two weeks.
Or would you say, book a few?
Speaker 2 (38:17):
if I was there for two weeks.
Or, would you say, book a few.
So my family is crazy because Iam a former hula dancer.
We frequently do three or fourluau's.
However, it's not what Irecommend the normal people do.
I'm just obsessed.
Plus, I say it's for research,so we have to go experience them
all right for for my website,for my podcast, all that kind of
stuff.
So I would say, just pick one,because they used to be a lot
more affordable a few years ago,like pre-pandemic.
(38:40):
They are a little bit morepricey now.
So you're going to want to makesure you find the right one for
what you're looking for.
Some of them are like 600people are there, and so it
might not be your jam if youprefer more intimate event, and
some of them are like you know,50 or 60 people.
So it just kind of depends onwhat you're looking for.
You will find something thathas what you're looking for.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
Perfect.
So it's just making sure you doyour research so you find the
right one for you.
I guess yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
And my website is a great place to do that.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
I was going to say, and I know you have all that
information, so definitely checkout Marcy's website.
Now we're going to finish offwith a rapid fire round, so I'm
just going to say, I just wantyou to say the first thing that
comes to your mind when I saythis Favourite island for first
timers, oahu, best beach inHawaii.
I would say Waikiki Beach, hire, snorkel or surf, hike Sunrise
(39:35):
or sunset Sunrise.
One local word or phrase everyvisitor should learn Mahalo.
That means thank you.
Mai Tai or shave ice Both Shaveice.
I say shave ice.
Flip-flops or hiking boots,flip-flops Ah, sounds perfect.
(39:56):
Now, I always end my podcastwith the same question, so today
, same for you, marcy.
What would be the one tip thatyou would share with someone
visiting Hawaii for the firsttime?
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Yes, I would say go into it with the aloha spirit.
Start your vacation as soon asyou're at your airport heading
to Hawaii.
Treat everybody respectfullyand with a lot of patience.
You know kind of whatever youbring into your vacations, what
you're going to get out of it.
So just be kind to people, takecare of the environment, make
sure you're not making messes.
(40:29):
Just be kind and courteous.
It will take you far.
People in Hawaii are lovely andso if you can also show them
kind of that aloha spirit, theywill return it to you.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
That's fantastic.
Well, thanks so much forjoining us this week on the
podcast, marcy.
It's been fantastic to learnabout Hawaii.
As I say, it's somewhere that'sfascinated me for a long time,
so I feel like I've learned somuch and I'm going to go and
check out your website.
So, again, just share yourwebsite and your podcast and I
will put links in the show notesfor this episode at
globaltravelplanetcom.
(41:01):
Forward slash episode 66, butgo for it, Marcy.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Yes, my website is hawaiitravelwithkidscom and my
podcast is Hawaii Travel MadeEasy and you can find that on
Spotify, on Apple, on basicallyeverywhere that you can normally
listen to podcasts.
I'm there.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
Brilliant.
Oh, thank you so much, Marcy.
You've been fantastic to talkto this week.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Thanks for having me, this has been lovely.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
Thank you for joining us on this episode of the
Global Travel Planning Podcast.
For more details and links toeverything we discussed today,
check out the show notes atglobaltravelplanningcom.
Remember if you enjoyed theshow, please consider leaving us
a review on your favoritepodcast app, because your
feedback helps us reach moretravel enthusiasts, just like
you.
Anyway, that leaves me to say,as always happy global travel
(41:52):
planning.
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