Latest / Hawaii Travel Podcast | Maui, Oahu, Kauai & Big Island Vacation Tips & Guide / 55 Big Island Miles With No Gas, Kauai Lifeguards Go Home at 6, and What's the Best Farm Tour on Maui?
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.
- 0:17Jennifer Davis: There's a forest on the Big Island where lava wrapped every tree in stone, and it's free.
- 0:22Jennifer Davis: Or there's a Maui bakery that's been open since 1916, and its best pastries are often gone by 10 in the morning
- 0:31Dan 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.
- 0:39Jennifer Davis: And by that time, it's too late
- 0:41The wireless coconut singers: jingle)Before you go there's things to know tune in to the coconut wireless radio
- 0:52Dan Schulz: Here's what we're gonna do.
- 0:53Dan 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.
- 1:05Dan Schulz: That's the magic coconut.
- 1:07Dan Schulz: When you hear that sound, that means you should pay extra close attention because we're moving on to the next tip.
- 1:12Dan Schulz: We have seven tips today, like we said.
- 1:15Dan Schulz: This is episode one oh seven Are you ready?
- 1:17Dan Schulz: Good
- 1:18Jennifer Davis: Four hours on a bus is a lot of garlic shrimp you're not eating.
- 1:24Jennifer Davis: If you're staying near Diamond Head on Oahu and wanna hit Shark's Cove, a shrimp truck, and Waimea Bay in one day, rent a car for just that day.
- 1:33Jennifer Davis: Becky wrote in with this exact plan, and we're guessing the bay she means is Waimea Bay.
- 1:38Jennifer Davis: The bus from Waikiki runs about two hours each way, and you'd spend around four hours of your day just riding if you did that plan.
- 1:47Jennifer Davis: By car, it's closer to an hour, depending on traffic.
- 1:50Jennifer Davis: Reserve the car the day before, check when the Waikiki rental office opens, and aim to be on the road by 8:30.
- 1:58Jennifer Davis: Go to Shark's Cove first because that lot fills early.
- 2:02Jennifer Davis: Then Waimea Bay and save Giovanni's Haleiwa truck for the drive home with time to order before it closes around 5:00.
- 2:11Jennifer Davis: A one-day rental also means you're not paying to park a car all week.
- 2:15Jennifer Davis: One heads-up, Shark's Cove has no lifeguard and winter surf can close the water, so check the Hawaii Beach Safety website first.
- 2:25Jennifer Davis: Do it this way and you're at a picnic table with a garlic shrimp plate, salty hair, and nobody checking a bus clock.
- 2:32Dan Schulz: I'll tell you what is so amazing about food, Jennifer.
- 2:36Jennifer Davis: what's that?
- 2:36Dan Schulz: you will literally change your entire trip and like, you know what?
- 2:41Dan Schulz: I'm gonna need to rent a car to pull this garlic shrimp biz it off
- 2:45Jennifer Davis: I know, right?
- 2:47Jennifer Davis: Yeah
- 2:47Dan Schulz: good tip though.
- 2:48Dan Schulz: I- I've been there before.
- 2:49Dan Schulz: That is a really good tip Your snorkel crew is hoping you brought some small bills If you're booking a snorkel boat, a whale watch, or any guided tour in Hawaii, put the tip in your budget now because it
- 3:07Dan Schulz: usually isn't in the ticket price.
- 3:09Dan Schulz: You wanna plan on about five to $10 per person for a two-hour sunset, whale, or snorkel trip, and about 15 to $20 per person for a snorkel day of four hours or more.
- 3:21Dan Schulz: For a family of four on a five-hour boat, that's 60 to $80 on top of the tickets.
- 3:26Dan Schulz: Private charters and tours run higher, around 15 to 20% of the price.
- 3:32Dan Schulz: Most crews and guides take cash, so tuck some small bills in a Ziploc bag the night before and keep it dry since this is a boat.
- 3:41Dan Schulz: Some boats do take Venmo too, and you can ask when you book whether the tip is already in the line price because some private charters build it in.
- 3:50Dan Schulz: Tips matter most on small group tours where the guide often bends over backwards to make your day.
- 3:57Dan Schulz: Hand it over at the end with a thank you.
- 4:00Dan Schulz: you step off the boat sunburned and happy, the crew knows you noticed, and nobody is doing math at the dock
- 4:07Jennifer Davis: The Maui bakery locals drive up the hill for.
- 4:13Jennifer Davis: If you're staying on Maui and want a breakfast worth setting an alarm for, skip the hotel pastry and head up to Komoda Store and Bakery in Makawao.
- 4:23Jennifer Davis: the same family has run the business since 1916, and locals line up for the cream puffs, stick donuts, and guava malasadas.
- 4:33Jennifer Davis: the shop makes hundreds of cream puffs a day and still runs out.
- 4:37Jennifer Davis: It opens at 7:00 every day except Wednesday and Sunday, and the favorites are often sold out by 10:00, so go close to opening.
- 4:46Jennifer Davis: Bring cash just to be safe.
- 4:48Jennifer Davis: Makawao is up in the cool upcountry, about 45 minutes from Kihei and about an hour from Lahaina and Kaanapali.
- 4:57Jennifer Davis: So treat it as a morning outing, not a quick stop.
- 5:01Jennifer Davis: Check the hours before you take the drive since the hours can change.
- 5:05Jennifer Davis: Order a cream puff and a guava malasada while you're there.
- 5:10Jennifer Davis: Eat them on the sidewalk in the chilly morning air with sugar on your fingers and a little cowboy town waking up around you, and you'll see why a bakery open since 1916 still has a line
- 5:24Dan Schulz: Kauai's lifeguards go home at 6:00.
- 5:27Dan Schulz: Try to remember that.
- 5:29Dan Schulz: If you're headed to a Kauai beach, look for an on-duty lifeguard before you get in the water because Kauai has the highest drowning rate per person in the state for years.
- 5:40Dan Schulz: County lifeguards work from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM at guarded beaches.
- 5:44Dan Schulz: So outside those hours, even a beach with a tower has nobody watching.
- 5:49Dan Schulz: But as you know, the ocean never clocks out.
- 5:52Dan Schulz: Walk up, make sure a guard is on duty, and ask what the ocean is doing today because they know where the rip currents are and whether the water is safe at all that day.
- 6:02Dan Schulz: Take their advice, even if it means staying out of the water.
- 6:06Dan Schulz: Watch the waves for 20 minutes too, since calm stretches can hide big sets, but don't treat watching as permission to swim.
- 6:14Dan Schulz: Plan to be out of the water by 6:00 PM.
- 6:16Dan Schulz: If a beach has no lifeguard and no tower, enjoy it from the sand and save your swim for another day.
- 6:24Dan Schulz: And if you do that, you get a long, easy beach afternoon with the towels on the sand and your whole group still smiling at the end of the day
- 6:33Jennifer Davis: Two giant volcanoes, 55 miles, and not one gas station.
- 6:40Jennifer Davis: If you're driving across the Big Island between Hilo and Kona, make sure to fill your tank before you start.
- 6:48Jennifer Davis: Saddle Road runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
- 6:51Jennifer Davis: It has no gas stations at all, and Hilo to Kona takes about two hours.
- 6:58Jennifer Davis: Between Hilo and Waimea, that's roughly 55 miles with no gas and no food.
- 7:04Jennifer Davis: So make sure to top off in Hilo or in Kona or Waimea if you're heading the other way around.
- 7:10Jennifer Davis: Buy water before you go, too, because there's no store up there, just lava and a very big sky.
- 7:17Jennifer Davis: Don't count on full reception for your phone the whole drive because sometimes there isn't any, so make sure to check your route before you leave.
- 7:26Jennifer Davis: Try to drive it in daylight and skip it in a rainstorm because the road is remote and visibility drops fast.
- 7:35Jennifer Davis: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has no gas stations inside it either, so fill up before that drive too.
- 7:42Jennifer Davis: Start with a full tank and the road becomes one of the best drives in Hawaii with Mauna Kea on one side, Mauna Loa on the other, and miles of empty lava fields all to yourself
- 7:55Dan Schulz: Oahu has a trail where giant birds have the right of way If you're hiking to Kaena Point on Oahu between November and July, stay on the trail because you're walking through an albatross nesting ground.
- 8:14Dan Schulz: These seabirds, called moly, have wingspans of about six and a half feet, and the state calls this the only protected area in the world where hikers can walk besides nesting albatrosses without a guide.
- 8:30Dan Schulz: On land, they're clumsy, so give them some room.
- 8:34Dan Schulz: No dogs, no drones, no camping.
- 8:37Dan Schulz: Dogs, cats, and mongoose have killed chicks here before.
- 8:42Dan Schulz: Storm damage this fall has closed the trail from the Waiʻanae side, so plan the Mākuleʻa side on the North Shore, and check the state park website first.
- 8:52Dan Schulz: It's about two and a half miles each way with shade, and there's not any restrooms, there's not any drinking water.
- 8:58Dan Schulz: And keep in mind, the park closes at 7:00 PM, so bring a water and bring a hat.
- 9:04Dan Schulz: If a bird is sitting on the trail, wait for it instead of walking off the path.
- 9:09Dan Schulz: the point is also a sacred place in Hawaiian tradition, so walk quietly.
- 9:15Dan Schulz: Go in winter and a fuzzy chick might be sitting in the middle of the trail looking at you like you're the visitor
- 9:21Jennifer Davis: That's cute.
- 9:23Jennifer Davis: Lava swallowed a Big Island forest, and you can walk through what is left for free.
- 9:30Jennifer Davis: If you're staying around Hilo on the Big Island and have a free morning, add Lava Trees State Monument to your list because most visitors have never even heard of it.
- 9:40Jennifer Davis: It's a small park less than three miles southeast of Pahoa off Highway 132, and admission is free.
- 9:48Jennifer Davis: In 1790, lava flowed through a wet forest and wrapped around the trunks of ohia trees.
- 9:55Jennifer Davis: The trees burned away, and the lava hardened into hollow stone towers that are still standing today.
- 10:02Jennifer Davis: A paved loop trail about .7 miles takes you right past them in around 30 minutes.
- 10:10Jennifer Davis: Give yourself 45 minutes so you can stop for photos.
- 10:14Jennifer Davis: There are restrooms and picnic tables but no drinking water, so make sure to bring your own.
- 10:20Jennifer Davis: The park is open in daylight only, so don't save it for the end of the day.
- 10:25Jennifer Davis: look into the hollow towers for the marks of the bark pressed into the stone.
- 10:30Jennifer Davis: Walk it slowly with moss on every trunk and huge ferns all around you, and it feels like a forest that got frozen in time
- 10:39Dan Schulz: All right, coconuts, couple things before you go.
- 10:42Dan Schulz: We would like to know what you think the best farm tour is on Maui.
- 10:47Dan Schulz: You can search the Hawaii Travel Podcast on Facebook, find that post and tell us, and we read every one and we do answer back.
- 10:55Dan Schulz: And we understand that was a lot of stuff to cover.
- 10:57Dan Schulz: We went through seven tips, and if you want all seven of these tips in one place, all you have to do is email aloha@hawaiitravelpodcast.com and just put episode 107 in the subject line, and that cheat sheet is in
- 11:13Dan Schulz: your inbox in about two seconds
- 11:15Jennifer Davis: By the way, that same email works for anything else.
- 11:19Jennifer Davis: Tell us where you're going, not just the island, the actual thing: the hike, the rental car, the luau you booked.
- 11:26Jennifer Davis: We'll find the one way people mess it up, and we'll tell you how not to.
- 11:30Jennifer Davis: Good luck with your planning.
- 11:32Jennifer Davis: Thanks for listening
- 11:33Dan Schulz: And we'll see you in the next one