On first glance, it doesn’t look like much—a small ditch on the side of the road, only about 50 feet long, in the town of Waimea, Kauai. Most people who take the short detour to get here are more ...

The next time you go to Kapaa, listen to the locals. The 8-mile drive from the Lihue airport to the district’s historic center was the only set of directions I had upon arriving to Kauai, and turns ...

To the naked eye, it looks like plaid, but locals can spot palaka prints from miles away. Palaka, known for its signature white woven pattern atop a solid color—typically red, blue or green—has been a ...

Located in one of the most iconic hotels in Waikīkī, it’s no surprise that Accents at The Royal Hawaiian Resort isn’t just another sundry shop. Opening in 1927, The Royal Hawaiian was one of the first ...

Former president Barack Obama is the only U.S. president born in Hawaiʻi—and the Islands are still a special place for him. At least once a year—and often more, now that he’s no longer in the White ...

Did you know back in the ’70s, Diamond Head on Oahu was the outdoor venue for a big music festival that was Hawaii’s equivalent to Woodstock? (Or depending on your age, to Coachella.) Remembered ...

On a trip to Kauaʻi, I woke to the sun illuminating the sky above Kalapakī Beach. From my lānai, I watched locals heading out for morning swims while families wandered onto the sand to begin their day ...

Thanks to a history full of sugar cane production, the mai tai has become synonymous with Hawaiʻi, even though the tiki cocktail didn’t originate in the Islands. To celebrate this National Mai Tai Day ...

The quaint Kauaʻi town of Kōloa stretches from Old Kōloa Town all the way to Poʻipū on the island’s sunny south shore. It was the site of Hawaiʻi’s first commercial sugar mill, which opened in 1835, ...

There are too many places to eat in Wahiawā for us to cover them all, so we’ve listed our five favorite spots below. Everything you’d want from a hometown diner, Koa Pancake House serves local-style ...

Our readers love Hanalei Bay—and so do we. Situated on the North Shore, Hanalei Bay tops our list of the best beaches on Kauaʻi in 2026. Year after year, the beach is a favorite among HAWAIʻI Magazine ...

White rice topped with a hamburger patty, sunny-side-up eggs and smothered in brown gravy—that’s Hawaiʻi’s iconic loco moco. It’s a humble dish believed to have originated in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island.