[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: We are gonna be talking about what to know before you visit Hawaii, and this is kind of an updated list. I think the first thing you gotta know is gotta know when to come to Hawaii. Now it's possible your ability to travel is limited to work and school schedules and that's all good. But if, if you're someone who can come, whenever it's helpful to consider your goals for the trip to help you schedule.
[00:00:25] So if you wanna whale watch while you're in Hawaii, you're gonna want to come like December-ish to April-ish. You'll be able to do some whale watching. Then spring and summer obviously have the highest rates, and fall, winter are some of the lowest. Rates, obviously besides some of the big winter holidays, Christmas, new Year's, stuff like that.
[00:00:49] Some of the times that I love recommending people to visit Hawaii is late January, February, March can start to get pretty wet, but also [00:01:00] September, like late September, once school goes back in. In October are pretty good areas to visit. The next one is be prepared to slow down , especially if you're heading to the islands from the mainland, which I know most of you are.
[00:01:16] Each island has its own pace and you know, Waikiki in Honolulu for instance, is a faster pace and obviously a. Larger city Honolulu, but uh, try to have the mindset of being a guest rather than a tourist. And plus, you're on vacation, so remember to slow down. What I mean by being a guest rather than a tourist is a guest, is someone who is coming with a posture of wanting to learn the culture, wanting to experience the culture, wanting to ask questions, just wanting to get a feel of the.
[00:01:53] And to be kind of immersed in the culture. Now, the word tourists, it's [00:02:00] not a negative word. What I mean by it, by that is, you know, tourists is having the mindset of going to a place to just kind of switch off, get on vacation. Whereas being a guest is, yeah, you can still do those things, but it's, it's just being more self in the, in a more so in a posture of being a learner of culture.
[00:02:21] Rather than just getting your checklist and making sure you, you know, you do that luau and you go to that beach and you do that thing and getting your checklist off in even those seven days, and then you just go back home. Where gases really wanna encourage you to be a part of as best you can. Just the rhythm of Hawaii and just the vibe and feel of Hawaii.
[00:02:47] It's got a different feel you've never been before. As soon as you land, it just feels different. The air's different. It's sweeter, and you just gotta be prepared to slow down and just let Hawaii happen. [00:03:00] Next thing we covered recently on a podcast with our unofficial cultural practitioner, Kahani, uh, Soli.
[00:03:09] Is know some Hawaiian wars. Obviously, you know, aloha, but do you know the depth of that word? We even did a whole podcast with Kae about the word aloha and it's amazing. I'll link that below. Show notes. You obviously want to learn Mahalo. Mahalo means thank you. You you'll wanna learn a lot more and it's just kind of helps prepare you.
[00:03:32] And again, it goes back to the next, or goes back to what we previously talked about is. Prepared to slow down and being part of the culture and just knowing some of the phrases and some of the Hawaiian words kinda help prepare you and gets you in that mindset to travel into this amazing culture. All right.
[00:03:50] The next thing is be sure to bring your own reusable bags, or you'll be paying for your own reusable bags. on island, [00:04:00] there is a plastic bags ban in Hawaii. Say you're staying on Oahu and you're on the west side in that coal area, you know you got your target, you got your Costco. You're gonna wanna make sure that you have your own re usable bags when you shop, or you can.
[00:04:18] Buy your own there. All right. The next one and last one is to be respectful of ocean safety and also hiking etiquette. What I mean by that is the ocean is more intense here. Go out with someone else rather than by yourself. Watch the waves rather than ashore and be aware of signs, especially about closures.
[00:04:42] If in doubt, don't go out and even if things look calm and the the waves are breaking and they look great, things can change. Pretty quickly and you can get a, a gnarly rug wave hits you. I said, be sure you don't turn your back to the [00:05:00] ocean. Be aware, be cognizant, because it's super important to be aware of being safe.
[00:05:08] Yes, there are incredible lifeguards. But those lifeguards are working hard to watch over everybody. So the best you can do your part in just being aware of the ocean. And same thing when you go hiking. I've done many a podcasts on, on this, but when you go hiking, be aware of the trailhead. Be aware of where the trail is and where the trail ends, and don't go where it ends and don't go off the trail.
[00:05:38] It's important because it's not just things to like, you know, don't do this, don't do that. It's important because Hawaii is so beautiful and its nature is so raw and so magnificent. However, it's also very dangerous and. It can be unpredictable. So please be aware of that. [00:06:00] But you're gonna have a great time if you follow these things to what to know before you travel to Hawaii.
[00:06:07] So thank you so much for listening today, and you can find all of this on a. Blog posts by going to Hawaii's best travel.com/episode 65 65 and it'll be all there for you. Again, thank you so much for listening today and if this episode brought you value, I just want to ask you to please consider leaving a review if you're listening on Apple Podcast.
[00:06:33] That really helps to show out a lot, and I appreciate your time and thank you so much for listening and until next time, be well. Aloha.