Latest / Hawaii Travel Podcast | Maui, Oahu, Kauai & Big Island Vacation Tips & Guide / Your Kona Coffee Is 90% Not Kona, The Beach House That Isn't Legal, and What's the Best Luau on Oahu?
Transcript
- 0:02Jennifer Davis: Welcome to the Hawaii Travel Podcast.
- 0:04Jennifer Davis: I'm Jennifer Davis.
- 0:06Dan 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.
- 0:15Jennifer Davis: Take today's episode, for example.
- 0:19Jennifer Davis: There's a famous tide pool on Kauai that looks as calm as a bathtub in every photo, right up until a wave nobody saw coming sweeps people off the rocks.
- 0:30Jennifer Davis: Or the Oahu beach house you already paid for that the city can shut down before you even set foot in it
- 0:37Dan 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.
- 0:44Jennifer Davis: And by that time, it's too late
- 0:49The Coco Wireless Singers: Before you go...
- 0:51The Coco Wireless Singers: There's things to know...
- 0:55The Coco Wireless Singers: tune into the wireless coconut radio!
- 1:01Dan Schulz: Here's what we're gonna do.
- 1:02Dan 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.
- 1:11Dan Schulz: In between each of these things, you're gonna hear this sound.
- 1:14Dan Schulz: That's the magic coconut.
- 1:16Dan Schulz: When you hear that sound, that means you should pay extra close attention because we're moving on to the next tip.
- 1:21Dan Schulz: We have seven tips today, like we said.
- 1:24Dan Schulz: This is Episode one oh two Are you ready?
- 1:27Dan Schulz: Good Your Kona coffee might be 90% something else.
- 1:32Dan Schulz: In other words, your Kona coffee may be lying to you.
- 1:38Dan Schulz: If you're buying Kona coffee on the Big Island to bring home, you might wanna read the bag before you pay.
- 1:44Dan Schulz: A bag labeled Kona Blend can legally contain as little as 10% Kona beans.
- 1:50Dan Schulz: The other 90% can be coffee from anywhere in the world.
- 1:55Dan Schulz: The word Kona is printed big.
- 1:57Dan Schulz: The percentage is printed small.
- 1:59Dan Schulz: Hawaii passed a law raising the minimum to 51%, but it doesn't take effect until July 1st of 2027.
- 2:08Dan Schulz: So right now, a lot of what gets sold as Kona is mostly something else, and people who buy it go home wondering what the fuss was all about.
- 2:17Dan Schulz: So take a look for the words 100% Kona Coffee on the label, and read the percentage, not just the biggest word on the bag.
- 2:26Dan Schulz: All Hawaiian is not the same as 100% Kona.
- 2:30Dan Schulz: Better yet, buy it at the source, Coffee farms up the hill from the Kona Coast around Holualoa and Captain Cook offer tastings and sell bags right off the farm.
- 2:41Dan Schulz: Many will ship it home for you.
- 2:43Dan Schulz: You'll taste the real thing, trust us.
- 2:45Dan Schulz: You'll support a local farmer, And you'll bring home the coffee your friends think they're getting
- 2:51Jennifer Davis: the Oahu snorkel spot that sells out before you finish your coffee.
- 2:56Jennifer Davis: If you're planning to snorkel Hanauma Bay on Oahu, you can't just show up.
- 3:02Jennifer Davis: Non-residents need a reservation, and online tickets go on sale only two days before your visit at 7:00 AM Hawaii time.
- 3:12Jennifer Davis: The good time slots can be gone in minutes.
- 3:14Jennifer Davis: That's 10:00 AM Pacific and 1:00 PM Eastern in summer and an hour earlier in winter.
- 3:21Jennifer Davis: The bay is also closed every Monday and Tuesday.
- 3:25Jennifer Davis: Entry is $25 per person for non-residents 13 and older.
- 3:30Jennifer Davis: Kids 12 and under get in free though.
- 3:32Jennifer Davis: So pick your day, count back two days, and set an alarm for 6:55 AM Hawaiian time.
- 3:39Jennifer Davis: Book on the official City and County of Honolulu website and grab the earliest slot you can.
- 3:46Jennifer Davis: Your ticket does not save you a parking spot.
- 3:49Jennifer Davis: Parking is $3, cash only, and the lots fill up, so get there early.
- 3:55Jennifer Davis: If you miss the online window, a few walk-up tickets go out when the gate opens at 6:45.
- 4:01Jennifer Davis: Everyone in your group has to be there to get them.
- 4:05Jennifer Davis: Get this right and you get some of the calmest, clearest beginner snorkeling on Oahu.
- 4:11Jennifer Davis: Miss it, and you get turned away at the gate
- 4:16Dan Schulz: Kauai's most famous tide pool has a locked gate for a pretty good reason.
- 4:23Dan Schulz: If you're staying on Kauai's North Shore, you'll see Queen's Bath all over social media, and those photos don't tell you the whole story.
- 4:33Dan Schulz: Queen's Bath is a tide pool on a lava rock shelf in Princeville.
- 4:37Dan Schulz: On a calm day, it looks like a giant natural swimming pool, but winter swells on the North Shore can top 15 feet, and one big wave can wash right over those rocks with no warning.
- 4:50Dan Schulz: People have been swept into the ocean there and drowned.
- 4:54Dan Schulz: The county locks the trail gate when the ocean gets dangerous, and it usually stays locked throughout the winter.
- 5:01Dan Schulz: People still climb around it though, and rescue crews still have to go get them.
- 5:06Dan Schulz: So if the gate is closed, it's closed.
- 5:09Dan Schulz: Don't go around it.
- 5:10Dan Schulz: When it's open, check the North Shore surf report and the posted warnings before you go.
- 5:16Dan Schulz: If there's any real surf, water surging over the rocks, or you're just not sure, just skip it.
- 5:23Dan Schulz: The trail gets slick and muddy after rain, so wear real shoes.
- 5:28Dan Schulz: Yeah, the pool is beautiful, but it's not worth your life or the life of the rescuer who has to come and get you
- 5:35Jennifer Davis: Your Hawaii hotel just got more expensive and the rate didn't change.
- 5:42Jennifer Davis: If you're comparing hotel prices for Hawaii, the number you saw last year is already out of date.
- 5:49Jennifer Davis: On January 1st, 2026, Hawaii raised its lodging tax.
- 5:54Jennifer Davis: The state portion went from 10.25% to 11%, and that was on top of a county tax and the general excise tax that were already there.
- 6:04Jennifer Davis: Stack them all up and you're looking at about 18.7% tax on your room.
- 6:11Jennifer Davis: On a $400 room, that's about $75 a night or more than $500 across a seven-night stay.
- 6:18Jennifer Davis: The increase alone adds roughly $3 a night on that same room, which is about $21 for the week, and it's not done climbing.
- 6:28Jennifer Davis: The state portion is scheduled to go up 12% in 2027.
- 6:33Jennifer Davis: So if you're working off a price you wrote down on a past trip or a quote from a few months back, add about 19% and check it again before you commit.
- 6:44Jennifer Davis: If you booked a while ago at a locked-in total, you're okay.
- 6:49Jennifer Davis: If you're still shopping, build the newer number into your budget now so the difference comes out of the planning spreadsheet instead of out of your dinners.
- 6:59Dan Schulz: The Oahu beach house that could get pulled out from under your feet without you even knowing it.
- 7:07Dan Schulz: If you're booking a vacation rental on Oahu, that cute beach house online might not be legal.
- 7:15Dan Schulz: On Oahu, renting a home for less than thirty days is illegal in most residential neighborhoods.
- 7:22Dan Schulz: Short stays are mainly allowed in resort areas like Waikiki or Ko Olina and Turtle Bay, plus a small number of permitted homes.
- 7:31Dan Schulz: Owners caught running illegal rentals can face up to ten thousand dollars a day, And booking sites pull listings that get flagged.
- 7:39Dan Schulz: When that happens, you're the one left scrambling for a new place, often when prices are highest and the good spots are already gone.
- 7:47Dan Schulz: So before you book, look for two numbers in the listing.
- 7:51Dan Schulz: One is a registration number or an NUC number.
- 7:56Dan Schulz: The other is a TMK, which is the property's tax map number.
- 8:01Dan Schulz: Legal short-term rentals on Oahu have to show both in their ads.
- 8:06Dan Schulz: If they're missing either one, keep looking.
- 8:08Dan Schulz: If they're there, check them on the City County of Honolulu short-term rental page and screenshot the listing, or stay in Waikiki or Ko Olina, where short stays are allowed.
- 8:21Dan Schulz: a few minutes of checking keeps you from losing your only place to sleep
- 8:26Jennifer Davis: How close is too close to a big island sea turtle?
- 8:31Jennifer Davis: If you're going to Punalu'u Black Sand Beach on the Big Island, You'll probably see green sea turtles sleeping right there on the sand.
- 8:40Jennifer Davis: It's one of the best turtle spots in Hawaii.
- 8:43Jennifer Davis: It's also where a lot of people get way too close.
- 8:47Jennifer Davis: Sea turtles are protected by federal and state law.
- 8:52Jennifer Davis: Touching, chasing, or bothering one is illegal, and the fines can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
- 9:00Jennifer Davis: The guideline is to stay at least ten feet away, on the sand and in the water.
- 9:05Jennifer Davis: Hawaiian monk seals sometimes rest on this beach too.
- 9:08Jennifer Davis: Give a resting seal fifty feet.
- 9:11Jennifer Davis: If it's a mom with a pup, make it a hundred and fifty feet.
- 9:15Jennifer Davis: There are only about sixteen hundred monk seals left, so if you see ropes, cones, or a volunteer, s- please stay behind them.
- 9:23Jennifer Davis: For some native Hawaiian families, the honu is an aumakua, a family guardian, so a crowd around a sleeping turtle feels like disrespect, and quite frankly, it is.
- 9:36Jennifer Davis: So use your phone's zoom, not your feet.
- 9:39Jennifer Davis: Never stand between a turtle in the water.
- 9:42Jennifer Davis: You'll still get a great photo, the turtle gets its nap, and you leave knowing you did it right
- 9:49Dan Schulz: The part of Maui people are skipping for no good reason.
- 9:55Dan Schulz: If you're planning a trip to Maui and someone told you to skip West Maui because of the fire, that advice is out of date.
- 10:03Dan Schulz: The August 2023 fire destroyed much of Lahaina town, but the resort areas just up the coast, Kaanapali, Napili, and Kapalua are open to visitors.
- 10:15Dan Schulz: The beach snorkeling and the sunset dinners are all there too.
- 10:18Dan Schulz: And on August 1st of 2026, the main stretch of Front Street in Lahaina reopened to cars for the first time since the fire.
- 10:28Dan Schulz: With more than a dozen businesses back, The north end of town has been open for a while with oceanfront spots like Star Noodle, Mala Ocean Tavern, and Aloha Mix Plate serving guests.
- 10:39Dan Schulz: So don't just cross West Maui off your list.
- 10:41Dan Schulz: Book a few nights in Kaanapali, or Kapalua, or at least plan a full day there.
- 10:47Dan Schulz: Check that the places you want are open before you go.
- 10:50Dan Schulz: Take the Lahaina bypass when it fits your route.
- 10:53Dan Schulz: Stay out of the fenced areas and neighborhoods still being rebuilt, and don't stop to take photos of empty lots.
- 10:59Dan Schulz: Many West Maui businesses are counting on visitors right now.
- 11:03Dan Schulz: Spend at locally owned places and you get a great Maui day while helping a town come back All right, you coconuts, a couple things before you go.
- 11:13Dan Schulz: We would really love to know what you think is the best luau on Oahu You can search the Hawaii Travel Podcast on Facebook, find that post, and tell us.
- 11:25Dan Schulz: We read every one and we answer back.
- 11:27Dan Schulz: And that was a lot to remember this episode, so we're gonna make it easy for you.
- 11:32Dan Schulz: If you want all seven of these tips in one place, all you have to do is email aloha@hawaiitravelpodcast.com.
- 11:40Dan Schulz: then just put Episode one oh two in the subject line, and the cheat sheet will be mailed to you instantly.
- 11:48Dan Schulz: By the way, that same email address works for anything else
- 11:52Jennifer Davis: tell us where you're going.
- 11:53Jennifer Davis: Not just the island, the actual thing.
- 11:55Jennifer Davis: Tell us the hike, the beach, the rental car you booked, or the luau that you're planning to attend.
- 12:01Jennifer Davis: we'll find the one way people mess it up, and we'll tell you how not to
- 12:04Dan Schulz: Good luck with your planning and thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you in the next one