In May of 2023, I traveled to the islands of Hawai’i for a bit of adventure. I was fortunate enough to visit three islands on my two week trip.
I touched down on the big island first to dive with Manta Ray’s before heading over to Maui for a week of exploring. While in Maui, I drove the obligatory Road to Hana, visited the famous city of Lahaina before the devastating fires destroyed most of the city, and did a dive to see hammerhead sharks (spoiler: hammerheads took the day off). I finished off my trip with a visit to the island of Kauai where I rented an FJ cruiser with a rooftop tent and camped/glamped for around a week.
Big Island - Hawai’i
Manta Ray Night Dive
The primary reason for stopping on the big island was to experience the famous Manta Ray night dive. All of the dive shops nearby seem to offer some type of way to experience the Manta’s, with one of the shops employing researchers that have made significant contributions to the scientific community, specifically in the marine biology sector.
The dive was exhilarating and truly one of a kind. I highly recommend giving it a try if you are in the area, and consider Jacks Dive Locker!
Volcanoes National Park
I drove up to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on a cloudy day. There’s not much to talk about since the clouds covered the large crater and blocked most visibility, but the drive up and back was fun. I drove a big loop around the island to try and see all the non-touristy areas, which is always a fun time. The big island has a desert vibe, much different from Maui and Kauai.
Maui
The Road to Hana
The Road to Hana is sort of a given when on Maui with a car. The twists and turns connecting all the small villages along the road makes for a memorable drive that can easily be stretched out over multiple days.
I did the drive in one day and even snuck in a few stops at various beaches. At the end of the Road to Hana, you have the option of continuing on but the road is not maintained and the drive is recommended against. I opted to do a hike to see a waterfall then turned around and went back the way I came in.
If you plan to embark on this journey, I suggest starting early enough to snag a portion of banana bread from Aunty Sandy’s.
Lahaina
I am grateful that I was able to experience Lahaina before the tragic fire wiped out the town. The streets were bustling with people and loads of shops and foodie spots. The entire ambiance was quaint but lively.
From my understanding, the famous Banyan tree survived the fire. The tree spans a full city block and is an icon of the island. Fun fact: these banyan trees grow multiple trunks by either growing supports down to the soil or by reaching out to nearby donor trees and growing supports around the donor tree, eventually suffocating and killing the donor tree in order to grow another support.
Hammerhead Shark Diving - Bust
Lahaina Divers offers an advanced hammerhead shark dive. I love seeing new things underwater and diving with hammerheads has always been a dream of mine. Hammerheads are visually intimidating, at least to me, so I think my brain is in a ‘face your fears’ mode when I get the drive to dive with them.
The dive is the most advanced dive offered by the dive company. It requires crossing the Pailolo Channel, known as one of the windiest and roughest channels in the Hawaiian islands. I can attest to this as I had a difficult time not getting sick on the boat ride there and back.
Anyways, the ocean currents were changing when I did the dive trip, which means that the hammerheads were nowhere to be found. There was one hammerhead at the end of the second dive, but it was far in the distance.
Needless to say, I’ll be back to do this dive trip again. Keep your fingers crossed for lots of sharks next time!
Kauai
Camping - Glamping
I had no distinct plans for Kauai, other than to drive around and explore. The FJ Cruiser rental was super lenient, allowing my to drive in all sorts of places generally restricted from rentals. This allowed me to go places most tourists don’t and to experience nature up close and personal.
The Barking Sands Beach was packed busy during the day, then once the sun was near setting, the crowd packed up and scurried off the beach. They had it down to a science, packing up and off the beach in literal minutes. Impressive.
The moon was so very bright and reflected off the water, making it easy to navigate around after dark. Waking up to the waves crashing is absolute bliss.
I ventured out to Polihale State Park for my last night on the island, which is practically the furthest you can get before the Nā Pali coast starts. The road is unmaintained, so most vehicles can’t make it out to this park. FJ Cruiser FTW.
The wind was tremendously strong that night, which made for terrible sleep, though the ambiance was still rather cool. I’d trade any night at home for a night out there!
An added treat was the passing of a string of Starlink satellites. What a wild experience when you aren’t expecting it - a string of satellites streaming across the sky! I’ve since learned there is a website to track where the satellites can be viewed. Can you imagine 100 years ago seeing a line of lights crossing out in space… goofy!
If you don’t know what Starlink is, iTs THe iNteRWebS - now go ahead and crawl back under the rock you’ve been living under.
Nā Pali Coast
Lastly, I finished off the trip with a open-door helicopter tour of the Nā Pali coast. While I hadn’t planned on doing a helicopter tour, seemingly everyone recommended doing it at least once.
When in Rome, right? I am a believer… 10/10, would recommend.
Such a breathtaking, exhilarating experience.
