We went to Hawaii!!!! Collectively, the four of us in our group did a large amount of research before the trip. Everything from Google searches, to YouTube videos, to conversations with friends and family who had been to Hawaii before, but even still there were unexpected situations that we encountered on our trip. So here are 7 things that you should know before going to Hawaii.
- The lei greeting when you get off the plane at the airport is NOT like what you see on TV. We were expecting a few hula girls in grass skirts and coconut bras, accompanied by a couple guys playing ukulele. Well that didn’t happen! (Eye roll) Basically, we had to book in advance and pay about $25 per person for a lady in regular ass street clothes to hold up a cardboard sign with our names on it, say aloha, hand us a paper to sign, and all but vanish. So save your money on this one, it’s not at all worth it.
- Don’t try to island hop for just a day. We stayed on Oahu for the majority of our trip and decided to fly to Maui for the day in order to do the Road to Hana. That experience was amazing, but we didn’t have nearly enough time to enjoy it to the fullest. We got started extremely early so that we could fit in everything, but most of the roadside stands didn’t open before around 9:00. So getting started early backfired on us in that way. And even getting started early didn’t give us enough time to see everything. Road to Hana needs at least two days in order to see everything. If we had it to do over again, we would use that extra day to explore more of Oahu and do Maui in a trip by itself.
- While the Pearl Harbor Memorial will likely be on your list of things to do in Hawaii, don’t plan it in the middle of a day packed with fun activities. The mood here was an overly somber one. I mean, people weren’t even talking. Your mood when you leave here will be a very sad one to say the least. I do encourage you to see the Pearl Harbor Memorial, just make sure to plan accordingly and give everyone time for their mood to recover afterwards.
- A GoPro is a good way to get loads of good pictures without letting the act of taking pictures cause you to miss out on the true experience. Get your photos for your memories, yes. But don’t get so hung up on getting the picture that you don’t take time to stop and take in the scenery. We got a backpack strap for the GoPro, set it to automatically take a photo every 30 seconds, and let it go. We also suction cup mounted it to the hood of the jeep and set it to record video while we were driving. We had to plug it up to an external power supply to keep it running all day, but got some amazing footage.
- Parking is nearly impossible around town in Hawaii, so it’s better to take some other form of transportation. There is public transportation to almost anywhere on the island, but this just wasn’t what we were looking for. We took a taxi on our very first trip away from the hotel, but quickly learned that this would get pretty expensive. (I also think our cab driver intentionally took the long way around in order to run up the meter. Not cool.) Uber is definitely the way to go. We got to and from our destinations quickly, safely, and cheaply, and we also learned some good info from the locals in the process.
- Prepare for price shock. (As in $82 for two medium pepperoni pizzas.) Everything is expensive in Hawaii. We were warned of this numerous times before we went, but that wasn’t enough. We were still shocked when we called to order that pizza on the first night.
- ABC Stores in Hawaii are not liquor stores, but are actually awesome one stop shops for everything from groceries to pool floats.
So there you have it. The knowledge to prepare yourself for your Hawaii trip and ensure that you have as much fun as we did. You’re welcome.