Hawaii Travel Podcast: Hawaii Travel Tips & Things to Do in Hawaii for Your Hawaii Vacation Planning | Hawaii’s Best Travel

Hawaii Is Not What You Think: 15 Facts Most Visitors Never Hear

• Bryan Murphy — Certified Hawaii Travel Expert & Owner of Hawaii’s Best Travel | Hawaii Travel Podcast • Episode 202

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Did you know Hawaii's tallest mountain beats Everest, or that your shadow can vanish twice a year?

Most travelers miss the surprising truths that make Hawaii far more complex and fascinating than the postcard version.

👉 Hit play now to discover 15 facts that'll completely change how you see the islands and help you plan a smarter trip.

In this episode of Hawaii's Best, we reveal 15 surprising facts about Hawaii so you can understand the islands on a deeper level and prepare better for your visit.

👉In this episode, you will:

  • Discover why Mauna Kea is actually the world's tallest mountain and how you can experience snow and beach weather in a single day
  • Learn about Lahaina Noon, the phenomenon where objects cast no shadow, and why Hawaii has no seagulls despite being surrounded by ocean
  • Understand Hawaii's microclimates and why packing layers matters, plus uncover the islands' unexpected cowboy heritage

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Scroll up ⬆️ and hit play now to uncover the hidden truths that'll transform how you experience Hawaii.

🎧Related episodes:

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💻Related blog posts:

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🤓Chapters:

2:11 Fact 1
3:10 Fact 2
4:34 Fact 3
5:58 Fact 4
7:28 Fact 5
8:07 Fact 6
9:01 Fact 7
9:36 Fact 8
10:16 Fact 9
10:48 Fact 10
11:42 Fact 11
12:15 Fact 12
13:57 Fact 13
14:27 Fact 14
15:24 Fact 15

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This Hawaii travel 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 Hawaii vacation to the 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)
Talk Story, Hawaiian Style Band (w/ permission)

202_Hawaii Is Not What You Think: 15 Facts Most Visitors Never Hear


[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: In this episode, you'll discover 15 surprising facts about Hawaii that will completely change how you see the islands. We'll reveal the surprising truths most visitors never hear, including a phenomenon that makes your shadow disappear in a mistake many travelers make when planning their trip. Get ready to uncover these amazing facts about Hawaii that can actually help prepare you for your next trip to Hawaii.

[00:00:30] Bryan Murphy: Hello and welcome to Hawaii's Best, the podcast helping you plan an unforgettable trip to Hawaii. I'm your host Brian Murphy, the owner and creator of Hawaii's Best Travel, and I just wanna say thank you so much for joining me on this episode. If you're listening when this episode was released, tomorrow's Christmas and if you celebrate Christmas, I just wanna say I hope you and your family have an amazing time.

[00:00:52] Bryan Murphy: I hope that it's restful, and as we all look back on this past year, I hope that it's filled with gratitude and with hope as we go into the new year, today's episode, I wanted to give you, I guess, kind of a Christmas present. I don't know, but this is. An episode that was released earlier this year to just our members only subscribers.

[00:01:14] Bryan Murphy: I just wanted to share this episode with everyone, and I hope you enjoy it.

[00:01:19] Bryan Murphy: If you are curious about joining our members only subscription, it starts at $5 a month and you get more direct access to me. You get a certain percentage off of one-on-one consulting for your Hawaii trip planning, plus you get unreleased episodes like this one.

[00:01:35] Bryan Murphy: That I'm gonna be starting up again in 2026. There's gonna be at least two unreleased episodes per month to our members only subscribers. So thanks so much for listening. I hope you enjoy this episode.

[00:01:48] Bryan Murphy: Today we're talking about 15 surprising facts about Hawaii. Some of these I didn't know as I was researching.

[00:01:54] Bryan Murphy: Maybe some of these you might know, but I guarantee you all 15 of these, you're not gonna know. Some of 'em are just fun to know, just random facts about Hawaii. But some of these will help you if you are planning the trip to Hawaii. So we're gonna just go right into it, and let's start with fact number one.

[00:02:11] Bryan Murphy: Now, when you think about the world's tallest mountain, you usually think about Mount Everest. That's usually what comes to mind. It's over 29,000 feet above sea level. Definitely impressive. But here's what most people, maybe you already know this, but a lot of people don't about Hawaii is that Monte Kea on Hawaii's big island is actually the tallest mountain in the world when you measure from the base to the peak, so from its base on the ocean floor.

[00:02:39] Bryan Murphy: To its summit rises over 33,000 feet. That's more than 4,000 feet taller than Everest when measured that way. The reason you don't hear about this is because most of Mon Kea is underwater. What you see above the sea level is only about 14,000 feet. But if you're measuring a mountain's true height from bottom to top, Monica winds and it's a massive shield volcano that.

[00:03:05] Bryan Murphy: Built itself up from the ocean floor over millions of years.

[00:03:10] Bryan Murphy: And this brings us to fact number two is that this might seem impossible at first, but you can experience snow and beach weather on the same day in Hawaii, specifically on the big island of Hawaii. So to do this, you wake up early and you drive to the summit of Moncha at nearly 14,000 feet above sea level where temperatures can drop below freezing and snow falls on Mon Kea regularly during the winter months, you can literally build a snowman.

[00:03:36] Bryan Murphy: We were there a couple Decembers ago and you can see that there was snow. Unfortunately, that trip, we didn't make it past the visitor center because of the vehicle we were in. But after you get past the visitor center, you drive up. You can experience the snow. Then after that, you drive back down, maybe grab some lunch, and you're off to Incredible beach on either Kona side or Hilo West or East side.

[00:04:00] Bryan Murphy: So there's really no other place in the United States that offers this kind of climate variety in such a small area where I live in Southern California, I can get to the beach with no traffic in 30 to 40 minutes, and I can get up to. The mountains in probably about an hour. So that definitely is possible, but it's, it's completely different than going to a beach in Hawaii.

[00:04:27] Bryan Murphy: So this is something that's actually really fun and doable within a single day with without eating up your entire.

[00:04:34] Bryan Murphy: Fact number three is that Hawaii is the most isolated population on Earth. Honolulu is about 2,400 miles from San Francisco. That's the closest major city on the continental us. This isolation affects everything about life in Hawaii.

[00:04:52] Bryan Murphy: Food costs are more because everything has to be shipped in at least a lot of the things. I think the last stat I saw was like at least 85% of food has to get shipped in fresh produce that you can take for granted on the mainland becomes expensive. For example, a gallon of milk that costs $5 in Southern California might cost eight to $9 in Hawaii.

[00:05:14] Bryan Murphy: The isolation also creates a unique culture. So when you're that far from everywhere else, you develop your own way of doing things, you might become more self-reliant, you create stronger community bonds because your neighbors are really all you have. And this isolation means Hawaii feels genuinely different from anywhere else in the us.

[00:05:38] Bryan Murphy: Obviously it's this remoteness that makes Hawaii unique, but really at the core of it all is the Hawaiian people and their culture. Now, when most people think of Hawaii, they think of it as one big island. A lot of people think that it's Honolulu Island, or the only island is Oahu.

[00:05:58] Bryan Murphy: And this brings us to our fourth fact, is that Hawaii is actually made up of eight main islands and each one has its own personality.

[00:06:07] Bryan Murphy: You've got the big island, officially, Hawaii Island, which is where you'll find active volcanoes. And then there's Oahu, which has Honolulu, the capital city of Hawaii, and it's where most tours visit like Waikiki. Maui is famous for its beaches and rotana halala. Kauai is called the garden aisle because of its lush landscapes and incredible raw nature, and the smaller islands of Molokai known for its sea cliffs, and it's called the friendly aisle.

[00:06:40] Bryan Murphy: It's kind of old Hawaii and Lena, which used to be a pineapple plantation. It is just off the coast of Maui and Niha, which is privately owned and off limits to most visitors. And then you have Caho Lave, which is inhabited and was actually used for target practice during World War ii. So that island is still trying to be rehabilitated.

[00:07:04] Bryan Murphy: Each island formed at different times from the same volcanic hotspot. As the Pacific plate moved northwest, new Islands formed while older ones moved away from the hotspot. That's why the big island has active volcanoes. While the older islands like Kauai and NI to the Northwest are dormant. Fact five is kinda random and, and surprising.

[00:07:28] Bryan Murphy: This one, I, I didn't realize is that despite being surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean, Hawaii has no seagulls. Well, at least not naturally anyway. You might find one occasionally, or as a rare visitor that got blown off course, but there are no established populations of seagulls anywhere. This is actually unusual for any location surrounded by ocean, and most coastal areas around the world have seagulls of some kind.

[00:07:54] Bryan Murphy: But Hawaii's isolation means many common seabirds never made it there naturally. Instead, Hawaii has its own unique seabirds like the Hawaiian goose called the Nene, which is actually the state bird.

[00:08:07] Bryan Murphy: Our six fact Hawaii state gem is black coral and it's the only state gem in America that's actually an animal.

[00:08:15] Bryan Murphy: So when you think of gems, you think of stones, diamonds, rubies, emeralds. But black coral isn't a stone at all. It's made up of tiny animals that live in colonies deep underwater. These microscopic creatures build hard skeletons as they grow. And over time, these skeletons form the branching tree-like structures we call black coral.

[00:08:38] Bryan Murphy: The living coral itself can be almost, you know, any color, white, red, orange, brown, green, yellow. But the skeleton they leave behind is black, which is where the name comes from. Hawaiian black coral grows slowly in deep waters, sometimes 200 to 300 feet below the surface, and it takes 50 years or more to mature.

[00:08:59] Bryan Murphy: Alright. Fact number seven.

[00:09:01] Bryan Murphy: This shows you how advanced Hawaii was even back in the 18 hundreds. Iani Palace had electricity five years before the White House did. Iani Palace in Honolulu on the island of Oahu was wired for electricity in 1886. The White House didn't get electricity until 1891. This happened because King Kak Kawa was fascinated by technology and innovation.

[00:09:26] Bryan Murphy: He traveled the world and saw what was possible, and when he built Ani Palace, he wanted it to be the most modern palace on earth, and it definitely was.

[00:09:36] Bryan Murphy: Our eighth fact explains why one of Hawaii's most famous landmarks is called Diamond Head. British sailors in the 19th century were exploring the crater and found what they thought were diamonds.

[00:09:50] Bryan Murphy: They got excited thinking, they discovered a diamond mine, but what they actually found were cow site crystals, which have no value at all. The name stuck in Diamondhead, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Hawaii is named after a case of mistaken identity by sailors who thought they struck it rich.

[00:10:12] Bryan Murphy: But the official name of Diamondhead is Lehi the ninth fact.

[00:10:16] Bryan Murphy: Hawaii is the only US state where coffee, cacao, and vanilla are grown commercially. Kona is famous for coffee, but what you might not know is that Hawaii also produces chocolate and vanilla. The climate is perfect for these types of crops.

[00:10:32] Bryan Murphy: Nowhere else in the US can grow all three commercially. So when you visit Hawaii, you can actually tour farms that grow these crops. You can see coffee plants, cacao trees, and vanilla orchards all in the same state. And our 10th fact about Hawaii is.

[00:10:48] Bryan Murphy: The Hawaiian language itself. The Hawaiian language is made up of 13 characters, so that is five vows, A-E-I-O-U, and seven continents, H-K-L-M-N-P-W.

[00:11:04] Bryan Murphy: And there's also something called the Okina, which is a glottal stop that looks like an apostrophe. Before missionaries arrived in 1820, Hawaiian was only spoken, never written down the missionaries created the written form of Hawaiian using these 13 characters. This makes Hawaiian one of the shortest alphabets in the world.

[00:11:25] Bryan Murphy: But what's interesting is how this affects Hawaiian words. Every syllable ends in a vow, and you never have two continents next to each other as well. Part of that is why Hawaiian words have that flowing musical, just beautiful sound to 'em.

[00:11:42] Bryan Murphy: Our 11th fact takes us to one of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth, and that is the sea Cliffs on Molokai are the highest in the world.

[00:11:50] Bryan Murphy: These cliffs rise 3,315 feet straight up from the ocean on Molokas Northern coast. What makes these cliffs so spectacular isn't just their height. They're a deep emerald green color, and during wet seasons you can see waterfall cascading down the entire face, and the only way to really appreciate their scale is from a helicopter or boat tour.

[00:12:15] Bryan Murphy: Our 12th fact is about a phenomenon that happens nowhere else in the us. It's called Laa Noon, and it's when objects cast no shadow at all. This happens because Hawaii sits just south of the Tropic of Cancer, and twice a year the sun passes directly overhead at Solar Noon. And when this happens, vertical objects like flagpoles street signs, and even people cast no shadow.

[00:12:42] Bryan Murphy: I just thinking about that song by Oasis cast on shadow. Anyways, did you hear the reuniting? I'm stoked about it, but if you're an elder millennial, maybe you're excited like I am. Anyways, the, the science is simple. For the sign to pass directly overhead, you need to be in the tropics, and Hawaii is the only US state in the tropics, so that's the only place in America where you can see this happen.

[00:13:08] Bryan Murphy: The phenomenon gets its name from Laa, which obviously is a town in Maui where people first started paying attention to it, and you can predict exactly when it happens in Honolulu. It occurs around May 26th and July 15th each year. But the dates might change slightly depending on which island you're on, but it's always sometime late May or mid-July.

[00:13:31] Bryan Murphy: And one note about Lana, some of Lana has reopened. Front Street has not reopened, and it's obvious if you are visiting on the island of Maui, which locations and which sites are open and available for visitors. Restaurants, luaus are available, but please be mindful and please be aware and respectful of the places that are currently off limits.

[00:13:57] Bryan Murphy: Fact number 13, Hawaii is the southern most state in the United States. The southernmost point is kale or South Point on the big island of Hawaii. You can drive there and stand on the literal edge of America. What's interesting is that this spot is closer to the equator than it is to any other major US city.

[00:14:19] Bryan Murphy: South Point is about 1400 miles from the equator, but it's over 2000 miles from Los Angeles.

[00:14:27] Bryan Murphy: Our 14th fact is crucial if you're planning a trip to Hawaii, and that is the weather is warm year round, but micro climates change everything. You might think Hawaii is just hot and sunny everywhere, and that's.

[00:14:43] Bryan Murphy: It's just not true. You can experience desert conditions, rainforest, and even snow all on the same island. For example, the big island has 10 of the world's 14 climate zones. This means you need to pack differently than for most tropical destinations, and you wanna bring layers. So if you're visiting higher elevations, like we talked about earlier, you'll need to layer if you're going up to the mountains, 'cause it's gonna be cold out there.

[00:15:07] Bryan Murphy: You might, you might get snow like on Monte Kea. The windward sides of the islands get most of the rain, and the leeward sides are much drier. So one side of an island might get 200 inches of rain per year, like in Hilo, while the other side gets only 20 inches.

[00:15:24] Bryan Murphy: Our 15th and final fact that might surprise you about Hawaii is Hawaii has a cowboy heritage that most people have never heard about.

[00:15:33] Bryan Murphy: Parker Ranch on the big island was founded in 1847 and spans about. 250,000 acres. It's one of the largest cattle ranches in the United States, and even today, it's still one of the largest Hawaiian cowboys are called Olo, and they have a unique history. In about the 1830s Mexican Vaqueros were brought to Hawaii to teach Hawaiians how to handle cattle, and the Hawaiians adapted these skills and created their own.

[00:16:03] Bryan Murphy: Cowboy culture. And a quick side note, I love Olo Slack, key guitar. I just, sometimes when I do my walks, I, I put that on and it's just so relaxing. You can still see this heritage today. There are rodeos in Hawaii and Olo culture is alive and well.

[00:16:23] Bryan Murphy: And now for just a quick fun bonus facts I wanted to throw out there.

[00:16:27] Bryan Murphy: Number one is Mac and Damian nuts aren't native to Hawaii. They're actually from Australia, and were first introduced in the early 18 hundreds. Hawaii just became really good at growing them commercially. And another quick bonus fact is that about 22% of Hawaii's population identifies as Native Hawaiian.

[00:16:50] Bryan Murphy: This is according to the 2020 US census.

[00:16:53] Bryan Murphy: Well, I hope that these 15 facts show you that Hawaii is far more unique. Complex and interesting than maybe you have realized, or most people have realized. It's not just about the beaches. Volcanoes as a place where you can experience the world's tallest mountain, highest ccl, a phenomenon that happens nowhere else in America, and a culture that blends influences from across the Pacific.

[00:17:17] Bryan Murphy: So if you know somebody who is planning the trip to Hawaii, or maybe they love Hawaii as much as you, please share this episode with them. So thanks so much for listening, and until next time, as always. Live with Aloha

[00:17:33] Bryan Murphy: Mala for listening to this episode of Hawaii's. Best to stay up to date on future episodes. Hit follow on your podcast app. Hawaii's Best is a production of Shore Break Media Group with editing by Easy podcast. So. And music courtesy of our friends stick figure.


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