5 Common Mistakes Visitors Make Visiting Hawaii (from a Native Hawaiian)

Are you making one of these common mistakes visitors unknowingly make in Hawaii?

When visiting Hawaii, most travelers want a relaxing, memorable vacation. But without realizing it, many visitors unintentionally make mistakes that frustrate locals, harm relationships, and limit their own experience of Hawaii.

👉In this episode, you will:

• Discover how to genuinely understand and apply the meaning of "Aloha" beyond a simple greeting.
• Understand why seeing Hawaii only as a vacation destination can negatively affect locals and how shifting your perspective improves your visit.
• Get practical ways to respectfully connect with local culture, avoid unintentional disrespect, and support authentic Hawaiian voices and businesses.

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Scroll up ⬆️ and press play now and discover how to avoid these common mistakes so you can experience Hawaii with deeper respect and authenticity.

Whether you're planning your first trip to Hawaii or you've visited the Hawaiian Islands many times, this travel podcast episode offers practical travel tips and travel hacks for responsible travel.

You'll gain insight into Hawaiian culture from a local perspective, helping you support local businesses and communities across Hawaii.

📱Connect with Kamaka:

• Instagram: @alohaauthentic
• Website: alohaauthentic.org

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🎧Related episodes to play after this one:

• How to Visit Hawaii With Aloha with Kamaka Pili
  • Listen

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🤓Chapters:

• 2:31 - Mistake #1: Misunderstanding Aloha
• 3:30 - Mistake #2: Just a Vacation Spot
• 4:44 - Mistake #3: Culture from Commercials
• 5:53 - Mistake #4: Respecting Sacred Places
• 6:58 - Mistake #5: Taking Advantage of Aloha
• 7:52 - Final Thoughts

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🤙Show Aloha

• Buy me a coffee

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📲Connect

• Facebook Group
• Business Sponsor Inquiry (let's work together!)

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This podcast is for travelers looking to plan a trip to Hawaii. Discover travel tips, itineraries, and traveling tips & hacks with guides to help you explore Hawaii. Whether you’re planning a vacation to the Hawaiian islands, dreaming of a Hawaiian getaway, or visiting Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, Oahu, or Big Island we’ll help you travel with aloha.

Edge of the Ocean, Stick Figure (w/ permission)

Ukulele and Chill, Coby G (w/ permission)

Chapters

• 2:31 Mistake #1: Misunderstanding Aloha
• 3:30 Mistake #2: Just a Vacation Spot
• 4:44 Mistake #3: Culture from Commercials
• 5:53 Mistake #4: Respecting Sacred Places
• 6:58 Mistake #5: Taking Advantage of Aloha
• 7:52 Final Thoughts

Transcript

138_5 Common Mistakes Visitors Make Visiting Hawaii_01

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: In this episode, you'll discover five mistakes visitors to Hawaii unknowingly make, and exactly how you can avoid them on your next trip. And yes, I have made a few of these mistakes myself. Aloha and welcome to Hawaii's Best, the podcast that helps you discover the best. Of Hawaii here, you'll get travel tips, the latest news and everything you need to plan an unforgettable trip to Hawaii.

[00:00:25] Bryan Murphy: Aloha. My name is Brian, your guide to the best of Hawaii, and in today's episode. You'll discover the mistake many visitors unknowingly make that frustrate locals. Why reliant on commercial marketing for your Hawaii experience can ruin your trip In simple ways to show respect to local people in sacred places that most travelers completely overlook.

[00:00:48] Bryan Murphy: Welcome to episode 1 38 of Hawaii's Best, and on this show we often feature local businesses and voices who share the unique perspectives on visiting Hawaii and its culture, helping you travel with Aloha Today, it's just me and you, and we're gonna recap my recent conversation from just this past Wednesday with Kaka Peeley, a native Hawaiian cultural practitioner.

[00:01:11] Bryan Murphy: Today we're gonna cover five common mistakes that many visitors make, that honestly. Upset locals and exactly how you can avoid them. So if you haven't listened to my full conversation with Kama yet, I highly recommend checking it out after you listen to this one. So you can just scroll down and click the link in the episode of this description.

[00:01:32] Bryan Murphy: By the end of this episode, you'll know if you're accidentally making one of these common mistakes when visiting Hawaii, and if you find yourself making one of them. You'll know exactly what you can do differently to connect more authentically with local culture, support local voices, and have a more meaningful visit to Hawaii.

[00:01:51] Bryan Murphy: Now, I know I've made a few of these mistakes, and as we go along, I'm gonna highlight some of those mistakes that I've made in my journey in traveling to Hawaii. As I was listening back to my conversation with Kamaka, and by the way, part two is gonna be this coming Wednesday, so. You're not gonna wanna miss that, but in part one from this past Wednesday, he didn't outline these five mistakes.

[00:02:13] Bryan Murphy: You know, mistake number one, mistake number two. But as I was listening back, I started picking up on themes, and these are the five mistakes that I picked up on as I was listening back, and I just wanted to briefly share these with you to keep the conversation going about this topic of traveling to Hawaii with aloha.

[00:02:31] Bryan Murphy: Let's go ahead and let's dive into mistake number one, which is misunderstanding the word aloha. And this is definitely one of the mistakes that I have made is not fully understanding the word aloha, or taking the time to listen what the word actually means and and represents, because at the heart of it.

[00:02:48] Bryan Murphy: Well, I'm just gonna let Kamaka take it away and explain a little bit more about what Aloha truly means.

[00:02:55] Kamaka Pili: For me, Aloha is it's more of a transaction between two people, a person and a thing. It's this relationship that you have with one another.

[00:03:06] Bryan Murphy: So Aloha simply isn't just a greening, and that's what my first understanding was of it years back.

[00:03:13] Bryan Murphy: It's about a genuine connection between people, the land, and as visitors. We can honor this meaning by being authentic, respectful, and sincere in our interactions on island and even off island as well. It's just living that life of aloha. Mistake number two is viewing Hawaii only as a vacation spot. This is a mistake that I have made and I think sometimes I, I still make from time to time we go to Hawaii, both for business but also for, you know, pleasure as a vacation spot.

[00:03:45] Bryan Murphy: And sometimes I can just be, get the blinders on and I, you know, I just want to go to Hawaii and just enjoy myself and enjoy my family and that's all good fun. But viewing Hawaii. Only through that lens is definitely a mistake that I've made. It's easy to forget that Hawaii isn't just a tourist destination, it's someone's home.

[00:04:04] Bryan Murphy: And Kamaka shared how frustrating it can be for some local people. When visitors overlook this

[00:04:12] Kamaka Pili: as much as tourists come here and enjoy this as their vacation and their trip, native Hawaiians and people who call Hawaii home, your vacation day is our work day and a day for us to try to survive and pay the bills.

[00:04:25] Bryan Murphy: So when visiting Hawaii, it's important to respect that locals are, they're living their daily lives, you're visiting their home. So understanding that shift can gain perspective on how you travel, how you interact with the waiter, the waitress, the hostess, or wherever you go in Hawaii. Mistake number three, getting Hawaiian culture from commercials instead of locals.

[00:04:49] Bryan Murphy: Many visitors rely on advertisements because there's a lot of ad budget behind commercials and and advertising, and a lot of visitors rely on that to understand Hawaiian culture. But. Kamaka stressed how important it is for visitors to get the real stories and experiences from local Hawaiians themselves.

[00:05:10] Kamaka Pili: If you're gonna take home stories of Hawaii visitors and tourists, take it from our us as storytellers where the storytellers of our home, not the commercials, because a lot of the times, if not all the times, those who sell Hawaii are not from Hawaii.

[00:05:26] Bryan Murphy: So if you truly wanna experience Hawaii, find local storytellers, guides, businesses, support their voices, not just, you know, the big commercials.

[00:05:36] Bryan Murphy: Even as simple as going to a local Hawaiian owned restaurant, and I can't wait for you to hear from a week from today. I'm gonna have one of my favorite spots on Ahu on the east side. We're gonna be sharing about their story. This local Hawaiian owned restaurant. Okay. Mistake number four, not understanding or respecting sacred places.

[00:05:57] Bryan Murphy: This is a mistake that I've made. I just, I don't, I don't think I unintentionally disrespected sacred places, but I just didn't have the understanding of sacred places like Ani Palace or hey, ALS Temples. Kaka shared an example of how visitors can unintentionally disrespect sacred sites and traditions.

[00:06:18] Bryan Murphy: Sometimes causing real harm.

[00:06:21] Kamaka Pili: I shared a video on social media about this rock formation that is in our Hawaiian stories. Pele's Canoe and Pele is the the deity of the volcano and their stories that she created. The islands. Well, I shared that and I was just reminding, be careful what you share and be careful giving away the locations and all these things because people with bad intentions are gonna come and mess it all up.

[00:06:44] Bryan Murphy: So before you visit or share about culturally important sites, learn the significance from locals, from people like Kamaka and understand the boundaries and respect for them. Ask questions instead of just assuming. And the fifth common mistake would be taking advantage of aloha and local generosity. HU is one of the most welcoming, loving places in all the earth.

[00:07:09] Bryan Murphy: And. But because of that, it's also has, has led to people taking advantage of this local generosity. And Kamaka explained the historical context of Aloha being taken advantage of and how frustrating that can be for Hawaiians.

[00:07:27] Kamaka Pili: Don't take my aloha for weakness. And I think history shares that Aloha was taking advantage of in the past.

[00:07:35] Kamaka Pili: Because one thing to Hawaiians is we're all about sharing. And, and that is what made us who we are.

[00:07:42] Bryan Murphy: So as visitors never mistake kindness and openness for weakness or entitlement. So always approaching interactions with humility, appreciation, and respect. And I know if you're listening to this episode, you're definitely in that category of.

[00:07:59] Bryan Murphy: Humility, appreciation and respect because you care about how to travel to Hawaii with Aloha, and I just appreciate you tuning in and taking the time to want to learn more about Hawaii before visiting, and maybe you've visited. 10, 20 times prior, and you want to gain a deeper understanding of Hawaii as we're on this journey together and learning and discovering and hearing from local Hawaiians like Kamaka, it's a, it's an amazing journey.

[00:08:29] Bryan Murphy: Discovering more about this place that we all love. I. So, is there one of these mistakes that you've made or one area that you want to work on? I, I know for me, the area that I still wanna work on is, is having more of a deeper understanding of sacred places and stories of Hawaii. That's something that I want to continue to learn about.

[00:08:51] Bryan Murphy: And continue to study and just sit under people like Kamaka and hear his stories, and that's exactly what he's gonna do. Next Wednesday, we're gonna hear about the story of Waikiki it's past and what it is currently, how it became that. I can't wait for you to hear that conversation. So if you found value in this episode, the best way to show your support and make sure you don't miss.

[00:09:14] Bryan Murphy: Future conversations is to hit follow right now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you're listening. And until Wednesday. As always, live with Aloha

[00:09:27] Announcement: Mahalo for listening to this episode of Hawaii's. Best to stay up to date on future episodes. Please subscribe and visit us@havasbesttravel.com.

[00:09:50] Announcement: Hey.