7 Hawaii Travel Myths That Waste Your Time and Money

Are these common Hawaii travel tips actually costing you time and money in 2026?

🌺 20 Hawaii Travel Myths FREE PDF Guide

If you’re planning a Hawaii trip and relying on advice from blogs, social media, or old memories, some of what you’ve heard may quietly work against you.

👉 Hit play now to learn what’s changed, what still works, and how to avoid planning mistakes that can derail your Hawaii vacation.

If you’ve ever wondered how to plan Hawaii the right way without wasting days, money, or energy, this episode is for you.

You’ll learn which long-standing assumptions no longer apply and what to do instead so your trip feels smooth, realistic, and worth the effort.

In this episode of Hawaii’s Best, we break down seven Hawaii travel myths that no longer hold up and explain how to plan smarter in 2026.

👉In this episode, you will:

• Learn when a rental car actually helps and when it becomes an expensive burden
• Understand why island hopping eats more time and money than most travelers expect
• Discover which rules, reservations, and seasons now shape what you can realistically do

_
Scroll up ⬆️ and hit play now to avoid outdated advice and plan a Hawaii trip that actually works in 2026.

💻Related blog posts:

• Common Mistakes When Planning a Trip to Hawaii
• What Not to Do in Hawaii

🎧Related episodes:

• Ep. 209: Whale Watching
• Ep. 125: Island Hopping
• Ep. 206: Hawaii in 2026

🤓Chapters:

• 2:31 Myth 1
• 5:06 Myth 2
• 6:29 Myth 3
• 7:54 Myth 4
• 9:52 Myth 5
• 11:46 Myth 6
• 13:11 Myth 7
• 14:48 Wrap-Up

_
👉Book Your 1-on-1 Hawaii Travel Consultation

🌺Unlock Exclusive Member's-Only Content

📲Connect

• Facebook Group
• Advertise Your Business (Podcast Sponsor Inquiry)

_
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)

Chapters

• 2:31 Myth 1
• 5:06 Myth 2
• 6:57 Myth 3
• 8:22 Myth 4
• 10:20 Myth 5
• 12:14 Myth 6
• 13:39 Myth 7
• 15:16 Wrap-Up

Transcript

210_7 Hawaii Travel Myths That Waste Your Time and Money

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: A lot of people plan their Hawaii vacation the same way they look up things, they assume some basic things haven't changed throughout the years, and really that's where the problems start because a lot of advice that used to work doesn't actually work anymore. And in 2026, following the wrong, outdated device.

[00:00:18] Bryan Murphy: Doesn't just slow you down. It can cost you money. It can cost you reservations, and it can cost you time. So today I want to walk you through seven Hawaii travel myths that quietly waste your time and money and what actually works instead.

[00:00:36] Bryan Murphy: Loha and welcome to Hawaii's Best of podcast, helping you plan an unforgettable Hawaii vacation with practical. Tips. I'm your host, Brian Murphy, owner of Hawaii's Best Travel, and thank you so much for joining me on episode two 10. If you're planning the trip to Hawaii right now, or even just thinking about a trip, chances are you've probably gone down the rabbit hole.

[00:00:59] Bryan Murphy: You've had tons of tabs open on Google, you know, all the blogs out there, all those YouTube videos, tiktoks, Reddit, Facebook groups, and really the problem is. A lot of what is out there is actually outdated or incomplete, or is just flat wrong in regurgitated info. A little insider, SEO hack that most blog readers don't realize.

[00:01:24] Bryan Murphy: Many travel blogs out there just update old posts from years ago with the current year, a few new sentences, and that is in hopes that Google will re-rank their outdated content. Now that might not sound like a big deal, just. Kind of a hacky type of thing for SEOs, but we're talking about Hawaii travel.

[00:01:44] Bryan Murphy: It really is a big deal because in 2026, outdated advice doesn't just mean mild disappointment. It can mean wasted money, lost vacation days, or showing up somewhere only to be turned away because you didn't know. The rules have changed. So today I want to walk you through seven Hawaii travel myths. That are as up to date as February 2nd, 2026.

[00:02:08] Bryan Murphy: Myths that might sound reasonable, but can quietly ruin your trip. I'll explain why these myths are wrong or outdated and what they actually can cost you and what to do instead. So your trip actually feels smooth, stressful, and relaxing, and all the things that you have envisioned when you're thinking about or planning a trip to Hawaii.

[00:02:28] Bryan Murphy: So let's go ahead and get into it with myth number one.

[00:02:31] Bryan Murphy: You need a rental car the whole time. Waikiki. This one does come up quite a bit, the rental car conversation, but specifically in Waikiki, you may hear that you need a rental car in Hawaii and Hawaii is many islands. It's not just Waikiki. You know, when we talk about a lot of the other islands and even some locations on Oahu, yes.

[00:02:53] Bryan Murphy: Rental cars absolutely make sense in a lot of situations like the North Shore, the Windward side, the east side of Ahu, neighbor Islands. Such as Maui, big Island, Kauai, if you want to do road trips, but if you're staying in Waikiki, a rental car is often more of a burden than a benefit, and here's why.

[00:03:15] Bryan Murphy: Hotel parking in Waikiki usually runs about 45 to $60 per night in some resorts are even higher than that, and that's just to park the car. While you sleep. Now, add in the daily rental costs. Gas, insurance. If you go through the rental car company's insurance, you're easily spending $150 a day for a car that sits most of the time parked in the garage.

[00:03:39] Bryan Murphy: Meanwhile, Waikiki is one of the most walkable places on Oahu or anywhere in Hawaii. Beaches, resorts, shops, coffees all walkable. All right there. For longer trips. The bus is $3 and goes pretty much anywhere though. The North Shore is pretty tough to get to with the bus. That's most of your day. I'll come back to that in a minute.

[00:04:01] Bryan Murphy: But there's also the Waikiki trolley. There's, um, bikes. You can run Uber, Lyft, and when you actually need 'em, for example, I just did a one-on-one consultation, uh, last week and this couple is staying in Waikiki for about, I think it was like four, maybe three nights and. I just recommended they Ubered from Daniel Kanoi airport to their spot in Waikiki and maybe if they want to Uber to another restaurant or whatever, but they were just planning on hanging in Waikiki for a few nights and then they were gonna go ahead and island hop over to Maui.

[00:04:36] Bryan Murphy: So they're not renting a car, they're just doing Uber while they're there. My recommendation is, is pretty simple for Waikiki. Skip the rental car during most of your days in Waikiki, but then maybe rent a car only for the days you're actually going to leave town. If you're gonna do North Shore and you're staying in Waikiki, I definitely would recommend renting a car for the day, but just renting a car for one day, you're gonna save money, you're gonna avoid parking, stress, and your trip.

[00:05:02] Bryan Murphy: Just having that off your mind is gonna be a lot less stressful.

[00:05:06] Bryan Murphy: Myth number two, whale watching happens all year. This one I do hear quite a bit. You're, you know, you're, you're gonna Hawaii, you're gonna see whales, right? If your timing lines up. Humpback whales are seasonal visitors and they migrate from Alaska to Hawaii to breed and give birth and the warm Hawaii waters.

[00:05:25] Bryan Murphy: And they're roughly between November through April, sometimes early May, depends on the season, but really that's it. The best whale watching window is January through March, and that's when you're gonna see breaching, tail slaps cabs, swimming with their moms. All that fun stuff that you think about when you think about whale watching.

[00:05:47] Bryan Murphy: Now, if you're visiting in the summer or fall, the whales are gone. They've, they've left, they've migrated back to Alaska. So there's no tours, no sightings, no nothing like that. But if whale watching matters to you a lot, uh, you know, definitely would. Encourage you to plan around the season. And, and if you wanna go deeper into a breakdown about how to plan or what to expect when it comes to whale watching.

[00:06:10] Bryan Murphy: Uh, just last week I did episode 2 0 9 where I go into about how to watch whales, you know, versus shore spots, versus boat tours, and how to pick a responsible tour Operator. Whales are incredible, but they're not always in Hawaii. Moving right along to myth number three.

[00:06:29] Bryan Murphy: Taking sand or lava rocks is no big deal.

[00:06:33] Bryan Murphy: Now this one seems harmless. I actually see this come up quite a bit in Facebook groups. Can I just, you know, bring a little glass bottle or a little keepsake of sand, but it, it's actually pretty serious. Uh, taking sand coral lava rocks from Hawaii is. Illegal in state parks, national parks, beaches, they're all protected.

[00:06:54] Bryan Murphy: Fines can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars and, and yes, people actually do get cited for this, but there's a deeper layer here too to understand culturally, for many native Hawaiians, lava rocks aren't just. Rocks, they're connected to Pele, the goddess of volcanoes and fire, and they carry what's believed to have energy, mana removing them is considered deeply disrespectful.

[00:07:20] Bryan Murphy: And funny enough, Hawaii volcanoes National Park and actually the postal service receives hundreds of rocks mailed back every year from visitors who took them home and later sent them back after experiencing a streak of bad luck. So you don't have to believe the curse. But you do need to know and understand and how to respect the culture and the law.

[00:07:42] Bryan Murphy: If you want a meaningful souvenir, buy something that's made local. Plenty of, uh, farmer's markets. Support a local artist, bring home something with a story instead of something that actually doesn't belong to the land.

[00:07:54] Bryan Murphy: If Hawaii myth number four of seven, island hopping is easy and it's quick island hopping sounds dreamy.

[00:08:03] Bryan Murphy: Oahu one day, Maui, the next after that. But actually in reality, island hopping eats a lot of time and money fast. This is actually the biggest question I get, or that is misunderstood. In my vacation consultations that I do, every island change costs you at least half a day. You know, think about hotel checkout, rental, car return, airport security.

[00:08:27] Bryan Murphy: You got the flight. Even though the flight is only, you know. Say 20 minutes, then you land, get back, get your new rental car, new hotel check in. Probably isn't until three. Maybe you can drop your bags off the hotel and explore. But if everything goes perfectly, that's still four to six hours of your day.

[00:08:45] Bryan Murphy: That's gone. Then there's cost. Inter island flights usually start around 50, $75 per person each way. Baggage fees can add up depending on your airline. A family of four hopping multiple islands can easily spend hundreds just moving around. We actually just experienced that. And also to remember that there are no ferries that connect the islands together.

[00:09:07] Bryan Murphy: So every island means probably a new rental car, unless you're just staying in Waikiki like we talked about. But every other island pretty much needs a rental car. So if your trip is, say, seven days, my strong recommendation is to stick to one island. You'll slow down, save money and actually experience a place.

[00:09:25] Bryan Murphy: Instead of racing through it. And if you wanna do more than seven days, maybe like 10, 14 days, then yeah, I would, you know, doing a an island hop is definitely doable. But if you want a full breakdown of, of island hopping in Hawaii, you can check out episode 1 25 where I walk everything about this in detail.

[00:09:45] Bryan Murphy: And yes, I'll link that below and I'll, I also will link the other episode in all episodes I reference. I'll link that below in the show notes.

[00:09:52] Bryan Murphy: Myth number five is you can just wing it in Hawaii. The idea that you can just show up in Hawaii and figure it out as you go. That era is over. And unfortunately, I mean that's how we used to like to travel is just we're just gonna show up for a week or two and then we're just gonna figure it out.

[00:10:08] Bryan Murphy: But you can't really do that anymore, especially after COVID and more reservations happening and more managed. Tourism happening. So we're now finally, I don't know what else to call it, homework era of Hawaii travel. You gotta do some homework prior to just showing up to any of the islands. Many of the most popular spots require advanced reservations now.

[00:10:31] Bryan Murphy: So there's not just. Casual showing up. Some of these reservations actually sell out in seconds. Hana State Park on Kauai releases tickets 30 days out at midnight Hawaii standard time, and they're gone in under a minute. Han Bay opens reservations 48 hours ahead at 7:00 AM and Diamondhead Lehi requires timed entry, and then over on Maui Halala Sunrise opens 60 days out with the second release at 48 hours.

[00:11:02] Bryan Murphy: So if you just show up, you without a reservation, you're not gonna be able to negotiate your way in and, and you know, Hey, where's your aloha? You know, you're not gonna be able to, that's just not how it works. You're, you're more than likely gonna be turned away and Hawaii is still worth visiting the 2026 this, despite all this and we just visited.

[00:11:20] Bryan Murphy: And I can definitely contest that. It definitely still is worth visiting, but. Only if you plan with intention, and that's something that I talk a little bit more about in episode 2 0 6. Uh, below that is all about what Hawaii travel is like in 2026 because there's new fees and new laws and stuff. Just that will and could affect your planning and your stay on the island.

[00:11:46] Bryan Murphy: Myth number six, luaus are the only place to see hula in Hawaii. Luaus can be great and but they also can be pretty expensive. A family of four can easily spend a thousand dollars or more at a commercial luau, and for many travelers, that's just not realistic, especially in the good news is you don't need to attend a luau to experience authentic hula free high quality performances happen.

[00:12:13] Bryan Murphy: All over Hawaii. Uh, for example, international marketplace in Waikiki is one of those examples, hotels, shopping centers, community events. Many of these performances are done by local halal and cultural practitioners. They're authentic, they're meaningful, and they're accessible. If a full lu out experience is on your bucket list, then that's great.

[00:12:35] Bryan Murphy: Maybe you have that be one of those main things that you do, but don't feel like it's your only option because there's definitely lots of options. And the best way, I would say to find. Up to date performances is by just talking to your hotel concierge. Wherever you're staying, they'll know where those performances are.

[00:12:57] Bryan Murphy: They're usually easier to find in Waikiki, honestly. But, um, any of the islands and, and resorts, you'll be able to find something that you can see some authentic h. Finally, myth number seven.

[00:13:11] Bryan Murphy: Hidden gems are always better. Social media loves hidden gems. And honestly, some 10 years ago when I started on social media, Hawaii's best, yeah, I kind of fell right in line with that because that is what was happening.

[00:13:27] Bryan Murphy: But a lot has changed in Hawaii. Many of these spots are hidden for a reason, and some of them are actually illegal. Some are dangerous. A lot involve trespassing or active enforcement. Sacred Falls is closed. Haku stairs is illegal and heavily enforced. That's a stairway to heaven hike over by, uh, coho.

[00:13:50] Bryan Murphy: People get fined, they get arrested. It happens. The popular spots are popular because they're legal, they're safe, they're genuinely. Beautiful. You don't need to break rules to have an incredible experience in Hawaii. One super specific tip is if you're staying on ahu and you want to go to Lanai Beach, that is one of hotspots for tourists to want to go.

[00:14:16] Bryan Murphy: It's beautiful, it's incredible, but it's also right in the middle of a re residential area. Parking is impacted. It's just super hard and inconvenient for. Visitors and for those that live in that area. So a replacement that I always recommend would be go to WA beach. It is like the same sand, same incredible views, same water, but there's better parking.

[00:14:42] Bryan Murphy: There's facilities there. And I think it's just gonna be an overall better experience.

[00:14:48] Bryan Murphy: So those are the seven myths, but honestly, there are so many more and more than I had time for on today's episode. So I put together a free PDF guide for you and it has 20 Hawaii travel myths. So I'll fact check up to date with practical alternatives.

[00:15:05] Bryan Murphy: You can grab it in the first link in the show notes. Below. It's designed to save you time, money, and frustration. And if you want one-on-one support, I also offer consultation for your Hawaii planning as well. You can find that link in the show notes, but here's the bottom line. In all this Hawaii in 2026, it's still one of the most beautiful and meaningful places you can visit, in my humble opinion in all the world, but it's not the Hawaii of 10 years ago.

[00:15:33] Bryan Murphy: The destination now rewards thoughtful visitors, people who plan ahead, people who respect the rules, who understand the rules, and people who understand that this is a community. This is someone's home and not a theme park. So plan smarter kept what you don't need to do out. Slow down. And if you do that, I really feel that your Hawaii trip will be everything you hope for and more so.

[00:15:57] Bryan Murphy: Thanks so much for listening to this episode, and if you found today's episode helpful, and I would just ask to share this with someone who's planning a trip to Hawaii. And until next time, as always, live with alo.

[00:16:12] Bryan Murphy: Mahalo for listening to Hawaii's Best. If you found today's episode helpful, make sure to hit follow on your podcast app so you don't miss future episodes. You can find all links and resources mentioned today in the show notes below. Hawaii's Best is produced by Shore Break Media Group, edited by Easy podcast solutions and with music by our friends Stick figure.