Aloha Reader, If you've ever opened Viator or TripAdvisor looking for one activity in Hawaii and closed the tab twenty minutes later because there were four hundred options and no idea which ones were actually worth it, this email is for you. These are all tours and activities I've personally done and genuinely loved, one from each island (and a couple extra), so you can skip the scrolling and just book. On Oahu, the Kualoa Ranch UTV Raptor Tour is one of the most fun things I've done on the...
24 days ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, I'll admit something. For a long time, I've been self-conscious about filming videos in my house here in the Seattle area. It felt like a mismatch, me talking about black sand beaches and shave ice while sitting in a room that looks nothing like Hawaii. I'm not in the islands 24/7, so I had to figure out a way to make the content still feel right even when I'm filming from home. So I carved out a corner of my home office and turned it into a little Hawaii backdrop. I spent a...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, I get asked a version of the same question all the time. People want to know how they can support Hawaii without booking a flight, especially during the months when a trip just isn't in the cards. My answer is always the same. Shop the businesses that are actually there. Over the years I've built up a pretty long list of favorites, mostly small and mostly women or Native Hawaiian owned, and I keep coming back to the same handful when I want something that feels like home. Here's...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Aloha Reader, I get asked about luaus more than almost anything else, so I finally sat down and ranked every one I've been to, island by island, on my Hawaii Travel Made Easy podcast. If you're trying to figure out which luau is worth your money and which one to skip, this is where I put it all out there. I started with Maui, since that's where I've been to the most, in Every Maui Luau I've Been To (And Everything Else Worth Knowing), Ranked Honestly. Then I did the same thing for Kauai, and...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, By now you've probably seen the news. Hurricane Lowell hit Kauai hard this week, with flooding, downed trees, damaged homes, and power out across much of the island. My mom lives in Kapaa, and I haven't been able to stop watching the video footage coming out of there. Her building came through okay, other than losing a few roof tiles, but I know plenty of her neighbors weren't so lucky. My heart goes out to everyone on the island right now, especially anyone dealing with real...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, I've noticed something in my consultations lately. More people are booking shorter Hawaii trips, but they still want to do everything. Multiple islands, every waterfall, every beach, every must-see spot from their Pinterest board. And when I ask if they're worried about all the driving that takes, they usually say no, they don't mind. Turns out this isn't just my clients. The state just released July numbers, and Hawaii lost more than 1 million visitor days compared to last...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, There's an update out of Kaʻū worth knowing if Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park has been on your Big Island list. As of this weekend, Hawaiʻi County's lease on the park ended after two years of negotiations with landowner Black Sand Beach LLC fell apart. County-managed services there, the parking lot, restrooms, and pavilions, are no longer being maintained. The beach itself and the coastline are still public. Hawaiʻi law protects shoreline access, and there's still a road at the...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, "I should have done this so much sooner." That's what Katie told me after our one-hour consultation. She's a planner, the kind of person who usually has every tab open and every spreadsheet color-coded. And even she said the call took more stress off her plate in sixty minutes than weeks of her own research had. I get a version of that message almost every time. People come into our call a little embarrassed, like they should have figured it all out on their own by now. They...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, New episode just went live today. My friend Kim Fidler took her family to the North Shore of Oahu for spring break. It was her kids' first time in Hawaii. She did not start with Waikiki. I sat down with her to get the full trip report — what made her choose the North Shore, what surprised her, what she'd do differently, and whether it was the right call for a first trip with kids. Thirty-eight minutes of real talk from someone who just got back. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen...
4 months ago • 1 min read