Hula, surfing, Kona coffee and Spam musubi are all at home in Hawai‘i. But did you know we have the only commercial vanilla farms in the U.S., or that cowboys roamed the Islands before the Wild West? Here are five things that are distinctive to Hawai‘i that you may not have known about. (We didn’t, either!) Rock-Walled Fishponds According to Hawaiian moʻolelo […]
*This story was originally published on Feb. 4, 2021, and updated in January 2026. Romance and Hawaiʻi seem to go hand-in-hand. If you happen to be in the Islands for Valentine’s Day—lucky you!—here are some of the most romantic beaches, lookouts and places in Hawaiʻi. 1. Watch the Sunrise at Lanikai Beach Imagine watching the
Most locals know the concept of the ahupuaʻa, a land management system that extends from mauka (mountains) to makai (ocean). About a decade ago, the Koʻolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club installed signs marking the ahupuaʻa in the Koʻolaupoko district on Oʻahu—roughly Waimānalo to Kahuku. That inspired an islandwide program—a partnership between community organizations and the state—to identify the physical boundaries of
It’s not at every hotel that, after mailing a coconut (yes, you read that right), you can hop on a beach bike and ride along a shoreline path to dinner. But that’s what it’s like at Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort, a luxury retreat originally built in 1961 on a lava field fronting storied Kahuwai
*This story was originally published on Jan. 15, 2025, and updated in January 2026. The muʻumuʻu has come a long way from its reputation as a gaudy house dress. In fact, it’s very in vogue these days. So much so, January is Muʻumuʻu Month in Hawaiʻi. It started 11 years ago by Kauaʻi designer Shannon
*This story was originally published on Dec. 12, 20218, and updated in December 2025. Who says there’s no winter in Hawaiʻi? Here are 12 ways to enjoy the winter season across the Islands. 1. See Sand-ta Claus at Sheraton Waikiki View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sheraton Waikiki Beach
*This story was originally published on Dec. 3, 2024, and updated in November 2025. A languid afternoon, a tray of desserts, maybe a glass of Champagne. That’s how I want to spend the holidays. And afternoon tea service, especially the ones on Oʻahu, offer all of that—and sometimes an ocean view. Here are six
*This story was originally published on Oct. 31, 2024. Years ago, I went on a ghost tour with Native Hawaiian storyteller Lopaka Kapanui, visiting haunted spots on Oʻahu. It was early evening, the sun had long set. We were standing in a remote area on the windward side of Pali Highway. And this is
Five years after closing his award-winning restaurant—which had been a HAWAIʻI Magazine reader favorite—local chef Alan Wong is moving to Kāhala. The Kāhala Hotel & Resort, to be exact. The James Beard Award-winning chef and pioneer of the Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine movement will open Alan Wong’s at the luxe hotel in early 2026. The restaurant
It’s been four years since Hilo-born chef Sheldon Simeon published his first cookbook, “Cook Real Hawaiʻi,” putting local favorites like pork adobo, wok-fried poke and Spam musubi on a culinary pedestal. And he’s been busy. The two-time “Top Chef” finalist, who continues to run Tin Roof in Kahului, Maui, earned a James Beard Award nomination in
*This story was originally published on Jan. 25, 2020, and updated in October 2025. What’s in an outdoor name? Many people know the story of how Diamond Head got its English-language name—19th-century British sailors initially mistook calcite crystals on its slopes for the precious stone. The Oʻahu volcanic crater’s original name, however, was Lēʻahi,
