Latest / Hawaii Travel Podcast | Maui, Oahu, Kauai & Big Island Vacation Tips & Guide / Where Your Rental Kayak Can’t Land, Haleakala Without a Reservation, and What’s the Best Boat Tour on Maui?
Transcript
- 0:01Jennifer Davis: Welcome to the Hawaii Travel Podcast.
- 0:03Jennifer Davis: I'm Jennifer Davis.
- 0:05Dan Schulz: And I'm Dan Schultz, and this is the podcast where in every episode you're gonna get seven different little-known travel tips about Hawaii's main islands.
- 0:14Jennifer Davis: Take today's episode, for example.
- 0:17Jennifer Davis: Your rental kayak paddles you right past the one big island shore you came to see.
- 0:23Jennifer Davis: Or missing the Haleakalā sunrise could be the luckiest thing that happens to you on your whole Maui trip
- 0:30Dan Schulz: Plus, you're gonna get five more answers to problems that would have been just as annoying to run into without warning while you're already in Hawaii.
- 0:38Jennifer Davis: And by that time, it's too late
- 0:42The wireless coconut singers: jingle)Before you go there's things to know tune in to the coconut wireless radio
- 0:53Dan Schulz: Here's what we're gonna do.
- 0:54Dan Schulz: We're gonna be going from tip to tip to tip, all of them about solving problems you're not even thinking about yet while you're planning your Hawaii vacation.
- 1:02Dan Schulz: In between each of these things, you're gonna hear this sound.
- 1:06Dan Schulz: That's the magic coconut.
- 1:08Dan Schulz: When you hear that sound, that means you should pay extra close attention because we're moving on to the next tip.
- 1:13Dan Schulz: We have seven tips today, like we said.
- 1:15Dan Schulz: This is episode 105.
- 1:17Dan Schulz: Are you ready?
- 1:18Dan Schulz: Okay, then
- 1:19Jennifer Davis: The Haleakalā show that doesn't need a reservation.
- 1:24Jennifer Davis: If you're going to Maui and miss the Haleakalā sunrise reservation, go for sunset instead.
- 1:30Jennifer Davis: It's not the backup plan.
- 1:32Jennifer Davis: sunrise needs a $1 reservation for every car entering the summit area between 3:00 and 7:00 AM, and those go fast.
- 1:40Jennifer Davis: Sunset needs no reservation at all.
- 1:43Jennifer Davis: You pay the $30 entrance fee per car, good for three days, or show a park pass if you already have one.
- 1:50Jennifer Davis: The park is cashless, so bring a card.
- 1:53Jennifer Davis: The catch is the parking.
- 1:55Jennifer Davis: When the summit lot's full, cars get turned around at the gate, and in the busy winter season, the park says to arrive at least three hours before sunset.
- 2:06Jennifer Davis: So pack a dinner, head up early, and bring real layers because it gets very cold up there once the sun goes down.
- 2:14Jennifer Davis: When the sun drops, don't rush for the car.
- 2:17Jennifer Davis: The road down is dark and winding, and the first wave of traffic is the worst of it.
- 2:22Jennifer Davis: Just stay for a while.
- 2:24Jennifer Davis: On a clear night, the sky over 10,000 feet goes from orange to purple to black, and then the stars come out thick and bright, more than most people have ever seen in one sky.
- 2:35Jennifer Davis: You're not gonna wanna miss that
- 2:38Dan Schulz: Once a hurricane has a name, it's too late to buy this.
- 2:44Dan Schulz: If you're buying a Hawaii trip for summer or fall, the plan to buy travel insurance only if a storm shows up doesn't work.
- 2:51Dan Schulz: Hawaii's hurricane season runs June 1st through November 30th, and most standard policies treat a storm as a known event once it gets a name.
- 3:01Dan Schulz: buy after that, and losses from that named storm generally aren't covered.
- 3:07Dan Schulz: In September 2026, Hurricane Lowell hit Kauai hard, and for a while, officials asked visitors to postpone their trips.
- 3:17Dan Schulz: So buy your policy the same week you pay for your first big deposit.
- 3:21Dan Schulz: Before you click buy, check two things.
- 3:23Dan Schulz: First, that it includes severe weather coverage, since that isn't on every plan.
- 3:29Dan Schulz: Second, the list of reasons it will actually pay for a cancellation, like a canceled flight or a hotel that can't open.
- 3:37Dan Schulz: Check what your credit card already covers too.
- 3:41Dan Schulz: Eh, I get it.
- 3:42Dan Schulz: It's a little homework, but you only have to do it once.
- 3:45Dan Schulz: After that, you can choose the weather map and spend the rest of your planning months on the good stuff, the fun stuff, picking beaches, booking dinners, counting down the days, et cetera.
- 3:56Jennifer Davis: The Big Island shore most kayakers only see from the water.
- 4:02Jennifer Davis: If you're planning to kayak to the Captain Cook Monument on the Big Island, a rental kayak gets you across the bay, but not onto the shore.
- 4:11Jennifer Davis: Kealakekua Bay south of Kona is a protected bay, and every boat on it needs a state permit.
- 4:18Jennifer Davis: Permitted rental kayaks can paddle the bay, and you can snorkel there, But you're not allowed to land at Kah ah wah LOH ah the flat where the monument stands.
- 4:27Jennifer Davis: Only a small number of guided kayak tour companies listed on the Hawaii State Parks website can bring people ashore.
- 4:36Jennifer Davis: So if stepping onto that shore is the goal, you have two ways in.
- 4:40Jennifer Davis: You can book a guided kayak tour with a company on the state parks list, Or you can hike down the Ka'awaloa Trail.
- 4:47Jennifer Davis: It's about 3.8 miles round trip, and it's a hard one.
- 4:51Jennifer Davis: The 1,300-foot climb comes on the way back up, usually in the midday heat with no restrooms, so make sure to start early, carry plenty of water, and pack out your trash.
- 5:05Jennifer Davis: Do either one and you walk right up to the white monument at the water's edge on a shore most visitors to the bay only see from a boat.
- 5:14Dan Schulz: After $7.50, every Oahu bus ride is free If you're getting around Oahu with a car, don't pay cash on The Bus.
- 5:25Dan Schulz: Since July 1st, 2026, cash is $3.25 every time you board with no transfers.
- 5:32Dan Schulz: So every bus change costs you again.
- 5:35Dan Schulz: But if you get a Holo card instead, that's where the action is.
- 5:39Dan Schulz: The card costs $2, and you can buy one at stores like 7-Eleven or a Foodland.
- 5:44Dan Schulz: You load money onto it.
- 5:46Dan Schulz: Your first pay tap is three bucks, and that starts a two-hour window of rides on The Bus and the Skyline train.
- 5:52Dan Schulz: Once you paid $7.50 in fares for that day, every single ride after that is free until the next morning.
- 6:00Dan Schulz: Load at least $7.50 so you're covered for a full day.
- 6:04Dan Schulz: Each person six and up needs their own card, and you tap every time you board, even after you hit the cap.
- 6:11Dan Schulz: On the day with four or five boardings, say Waikiki to Pearl Harbor, and then up to North Shore and back, cash runs you 13 to $16 per person.
- 6:20Dan Schulz: On the card, your fees stop at $7.50.
- 6:24Dan Schulz: That leaves real money for the best part of the ride.
- 6:27Dan Schulz: You step off in Hah-lay-EE-vah walk straight to the shave ice line, and order a big one.
- 6:32Dan Schulz: That's how I look at my trips, Jennifer.
- 6:34Dan Schulz: That's the most important part, is shoving shave ice into my fat trap.
- 6:40Jennifer Davis: The snorkeling habit that can cost you up to $1,000.
- 6:46Jennifer Davis: If you're snorkeling anywhere in Hawaii and you get tired, don't stand up on the reef.
- 6:51Jennifer Davis: That brown lumpy rock under you is often living coral, and one step can crack a colony that took years to grow.
- 6:59Jennifer Davis: Damaging stony coral is illegal in Hawaii, and fines can run from 250 to $1,000 or more.
- 7:07Jennifer Davis: Most people who do it aren't trying to cause harm.
- 7:10Jennifer Davis: They get tired or their mask fogs up, and they put a foot down without thinking.
- 7:16Jennifer Davis: So set yourself up before you get in.
- 7:18Jennifer Davis: Practice with your mask and fins over shallow sand first.
- 7:22Jennifer Davis: Wear a snorkel vest so you can float for a minute without touching anything.
- 7:26Jennifer Davis: Keep your fins up near the surface.
- 7:29Jennifer Davis: If you need a quick break, roll onto your back and float.
- 7:32Jennifer Davis: If you're getting tired, that's your signal to head back to the sand and get out.
- 7:38Jennifer Davis: Snorkeling this way changes what you see.
- 7:41Jennifer Davis: When you stop kicking and just hang there, the fish stop treating you as a threat.
- 7:46Jennifer Davis: They go back to eating, and you get to watch a whole reef carry on right under you like you were never there
- 7:53Dan Schulz: A lot of times with me, the fish look at me as I roll onto my back,
- 7:57Jennifer Davis: Угу
- 7:57Dan Schulz: I pull out my shave ice and then I start eating the shave ice as I'm floating there.
- 8:01Dan Schulz: They're like, "Look at that fat seal.
- 8:03Dan Schulz: Is he eating shave ice?"
- 8:06Dan Schulz: Kauai's sea caves only open up part of the year If you want to see Kauai's Napali Coast by boat, the month you go decides what kind of trip you get.
- 8:18Dan Schulz: Napali is seventeen miles of cliffs, valleys, and sea caves on Kauai's northwest shore, and no road runs along it.
- 8:27Dan Schulz: From about May through September, the ocean there is usually calmer.
- 8:31Dan Schulz: That's the season for rafts and small boats that can sometimes slip inside the sea caves for snorkel stops, and for summer-only departures from Hanalei on the north shore.
- 8:41Dan Schulz: Even then, cave visits depend on the day's conditions.
- 8:46Dan Schulz: From fall into spring, big winter swells roll in.
- 8:50Dan Schulz: Trips can leave harbors on the south and west sides, and more of them get canceled because of rough water.
- 8:56Dan Schulz: Winter has its own reward, though.
- 8:58Dan Schulz: Humpback whales start showing up around November, and midwinter is the best stretch for seeing them.
- 9:04Dan Schulz: So match the boat to the month.
- 9:06Dan Schulz: If you have a summer trip, book a raft or a small boat for the caves and snorkeling before you fly.
- 9:12Dan Schulz: For a winter trip, pick a catamaran and go for the whales.
- 9:15Dan Schulz: Then you're gliding under green cliffs taller than skyscrapers, waterfalls spilling into the ocean, watching for a tail to come up off the bow.
- 9:25Jennifer Davis: Fruit you've never heard of: two mornings a week in Hilo.
- 9:30Jennifer Davis: If you're spending time on the Big Island, plan one morning in Hilo around the farmers market.
- 9:36Jennifer Davis: The Hilo Farmers Market sits at the corner of Mamo Street and Kamehameha Avenue, right across from the bay.
- 9:43Jennifer Davis: It runs from seven to three.
- 9:45Jennifer Davis: Some vendors are there every day, but Wednesday and Saturday are the big days when around 150 vendors set up.
- 9:54Jennifer Davis: This is where you find fruit you won't see back home: rambutan, which looks like a hairy red ball and tastes like a sweet grape, lilikoi, which is passion fruit, apple bananas, smaller and tangier than the ones at your
- 10:07Jennifer Davis: local grocery store, plus honey, flowers, coffee, and hot food to eat while you walk.
- 10:15Jennifer Davis: What's out depends on the season, so go early, bring small bills, and ask what's good today.
- 10:21Jennifer Davis: Some vendors might cut one open and let you try it.
- 10:25Jennifer Davis: Eat your market fruit here instead of packing it for the mainland, since most fresh fruit can't go to the mainland without inspection and treatment.
- 10:33Jennifer Davis: And that's fine because the best way to eat it is standing right there in the morning sun, sticky fingers and all, already planning to come back Saturday
- 10:42Dan Schulz: Well, all right, you coconuts, couple of things before you go.
- 10:46Dan Schulz: We wanna know what you think is the best boat tour on Maui.
- 10:50Dan Schulz: Search Hawaii Travel Podcast on Facebook, find that post, and tell us.
- 10:54Dan Schulz: We read every one, and we answer back.
- 10:56Dan Schulz: And we get it.
- 10:57Dan Schulz: That was a lot to remember for this episode, so let's make this easy, okay?
- 11:02Dan Schulz: If you want all these seven tips in one place, all you have to do is email aloha@hawaiitravelpodcast.com.
- 11:10Dan Schulz: Put episode 105 in the subject line, and that cheat sheet is gonna be in your inbox faster than you can Roll on your back and eat some shave ice."
- 11:19Jennifer Davis: By the way, that same email works for anything else.
- 11:22Jennifer Davis: Tell us where you're going, not just the island, but the actual thing.
- 11:26Jennifer Davis: The hike, the rental car, the luau you booked.
- 11:29Jennifer Davis: We'll find the one way people mess it up, and we'll tell you how not to.
- 11:34Jennifer Davis: Now good luck with your planning
- 11:35Dan Schulz: Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you in the next one