Before we jump into what prompted this post, let’s review some Hawaii water safety recommendations. Ocean/Beach Safety Never turn your back to the ocean. When you are swimming or simply standing or walking by the shoreline, you never know when a strong wave might sneak up on you. The waves could appear to be predictable for many minutes before  a ... Read More »

As a guy traveling to Hawaii, I tend to pack light. While that does mean that I’m not always “styling and profiling” with an extensive vacation wardrobe, it does allow me to bring one important piece of camera equipment: a tripod. And, after I share with you 5 reasons why a tripod is a great accessory to take to Hawaii, ... Read More »

The Hawaiian word kokua means help or assistance. With Hawaii’s beautiful but fragile environment, we as visitors need to give our kokua to help keep Hawaii litter-free. A very easy way for us visitors to help keep Hawaii litter-free is to bring a reusable shopping bag. It’s not only eco-friendly, it’s practical, too.  As I have previously shared, we recommend you bring ... Read More »

Taking a sailing excursion for a sunset sail or dinner is a great way to end a day on your Hawaii vacation. Unfortunately, I’ve seen far too many people stuck in the interior of a catamaran with no view because they weren’t dressed properly. I want you to be able to enjoy the views and fresh air when you take ... Read More »

Though English is the primary language of Hawaii, the centuries-old Hawaiian language is still actively used. While you won’t need to learn Hawaiian for your vacation, I want to share some useful Hawaiian words and phrases to know for your trip. Aloha means hello, goodbye and love. You will generally hear it used as a greeting. Mahalo means thank you. ... Read More »

As I’ve been organizing nearly 700 photos that we took on our recent trip to Kauai, Maui and Lanai, something about our sunset photos started to become apparent. While the run-of-the-mill, sun, sky and ocean photos are nice, the sunset photos with something in the foreground are much more interesting. Let’s look at some comparisons. First, here’a sunset shot from ... Read More »

We probably check dozens of things like flight times, seat assignments, directions to hotels, hotel parking options, confirmations, etc. before each trip. Those things, we check out of necessity. For our vacation fun, there are three things that we consistently check within a week or two of our Hawaii vacations. We wanted to share these with you, in the hopes that you ... Read More »

Our trips to Hawaii have not always gone without a hitch. We’ve found ourselves nearly starving, almost without a rental car and in the urgent care. We laugh at these situations now, but at the time they weren’t funny. We’ve learned from our mishaps. In fact in some cases, our goof ups have resulted in advice-filled blog posts. In 2009 ... Read More »

In our many trips to Hawaii we’ve needed cold medications, pain relievers, antibiotic ointment, loads of Band-Aids and more. Most of the time, we’ve brought what we needed with us from home. Other times, we’ve had to go on a hunt to find what we’ve needed. Unlike here at home, there’s not a drugstore on every corner in Hawaii outside ... Read More »

Hawaii really is unique. Those islands way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean hold many surprises for visitors. I wanted to compile a list of the most surprising things about Hawaii. This list can help you be better prepared for your trip. It might even help you keep your eyes open for finding some of these amusing quirks. ... Read More »