Hawaii
The best things you can do for free in Hawaii
As one of the most isolated inhabited island chains on the planet – mainland landfalls are more than 2000 miles in either direction – it’s rarely cheap to get to Hawaii, let alone to check off must-do bucket-list items across the state. Yet here in the land of aloha, free attractions, activities and events abound. That is if you know where to look.
Once you've settled on how to choose the Hawaiian island that is right for you and when to go, we've got the details on how save some bucks on fabulous experiences and sights during your trip. Here are our top free things to do in Hawaii.
Pohoiki Black Sand Beach, Hawaii Island
When Kilauea Volcano’s Fissure 8 opened in May 2018 and started pouring lava into neighborhoods, it was Hawaii’s most destructive volcanic event in recent history. But with destruction comes creation, and the eruption’s silver lining was undoubtedly Pohoiki Black Sand Beach, which literally burst onto the scene alongside Isaac Hale Beach Park when molten lava hit the ocean and shattered instantly into sand. It’s the world’s newest natural beach, and its palm-fringed glistening black curve is stunning.
Ukulele lessons, locations statewide
Though the ukulele’s origins are actually Portuguese – its precursor was brought by immigrant workers to Hawaii’s sugar plantations in the 19th century – there’s no denying the instrument’s importance on the island.
Take free classes on Oahu at the Ukulele Store at the Waikiki Beach Walk (suite 218; upstairs next to Kaiwa Restaurant, daily 10:30am and 4:30pm); at Maui’s Lahaina Cannery Mall (Tuesdays from 5:45-6:45pm); and during the weekly kanikapila (jam session) on Hawaii Island at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park’s visitor center (Mondays at 9am).
Fireworks, Oahu
Aloha Friday goes out with a bang in Waikiki. After sunset, the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort launches a weekly aerial display at 7:45pm (Sept. to May) or 8pm (June-August). Grab a patch of sand near the resort, or head to Fort DeRussy Beach Park, a 10-minute walk south via the oceanfront footpath, to watch the colorful spectacle unfold.
Land-based whale watching, locations statewide
Each year between November and March, some 20,000 humpback whales arrive from cold Alaskan waters to mate and give birth. Great free vantages for regular whale shows include atop the mile-long trail toward the 1909 Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse on Oahu; at Puʻu Olaʻi – a more than 350ft-tall cinder cone in Makena State Park on Maui and from Puʻukohola Heiau National Historic Site (a free-to-enter site run by the National Park Service) on Hawaii.
Pu’u Keka’a, Maui
Though Ka‘anapali’s 30ft-high Pu’u Keka’a promontory was historically believed to be a "ka leina a ka ‘uhane" or a place of transition from this world to the next, 18th-century Maui chief, Kahekili, proved it was also a great place to cliff jump. Today the site, mostly known as "Black Rock," fronts the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa. Each evening at sunset, the hotel hosts a ceremony where a runner scales the cliff to the sounds of an oli (chant), lights torches along his path, then gracefully dives into the sea. The adrenaline rush is free and open to all who dare all day.
Stargazing and silverswords, Hawaii Island
Hawaii is one of the best places in the world to stargaze, and perhaps no place is better than just below the 13 international observatories around Mauna Kea’s 9,200ft-high visitor information station. Before sunset, take the short loop hike to see the spiky, endemic and endangered Mauna Kea silversword plants.
Occasionally star enthusiasts from the community set up powerful telescopes on the cement pad in front of the visitor center. The building closes daily at 3:30pm, but the bathrooms stay open. Free presentations that explore the cultural significance of the sacred mountain to the Hawaiian people take place on the fourth Saturday of the month at 2pm.
Explore Hawaii’s marine areas, Maui/Hawaii Island
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary protects 13,700 square miles of primary breeding grounds for humpback whales around the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. The sanctuary’s Keihi visitor center, which sits in front of a 500-year-old Hawaiian fishpond, is free and open to the public with interpretive exhibits about whales and Hawaii’s inshore waters (Mon-Fri 10am-3pm, and last Saturday of each month 10am-3pm).
Few can visit Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the largest marine-protected area on the planet, spanning nearly 140,000 square miles of ocean around the uninhabited northwestern Hawaiian Islands. But you can visit them in spirit at their Mokupapa Discover Center in downtown Hilo (Tues-Sat 9am-4pm). Housed in an old two-story bank, watch videos, learn about plastic pollution, explore a small library and see fish – including a new species discovered in 2016 – in their 3,500-gallon aquarium.
Lapakahi State Historical Park, Hawaii Island
Wander along a one-mile path through the rubble of a 600-year-old fishing village. See residential foundations, recreations of old canoe houses, fishing shrines, salt vats and seaside stumps where you can still play kōnane, a two-player game some call Hawaiian checkers. Don’t forget to grab a brochure at the trailhead explaining the sites. Open daily 8am-4pm. Highway 270 -Akoni Pule Hwy, North Kohala.
Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Visitor Center, Hawaii Island
Hawaii Island grows 90 percent of the state’s crop and there are so many macadamia nut purveyors, a tourism brochure touts stops on the "Great Hawaiian Mac Nut Trail." Take a free self-guided tour of one of the largest, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp., just outside Hilo. There you can see sprawling orchards, learn how to shell the tough-to-crack nuts and tour their onsite chocolate factory before getting your fill of free samples. The store opens daily 8:30am-5pm; factory closed weekends and holidays. 16-701 Macadamia Road, Hilo
Hike with a shelter dog, Kauai/Hawaii Island
A feel-good freebie: New programs from the Kauai and Hawaii Island Humane Societies pair visitors with shelter dogs for day-long field trips. It’s a win-win: they get out of the doghouse and you get a furry buddy to take on hikes and island adventures.
Petroglyphs, Hawaii Island
Spot enigmatic ki'i pohaku (petroglyphs) depicting people, animals, ships and even muskets along the boardwalk within the former traditional village and free-to-enter Kaloko Honokohau National Historical Park. Further north, in Waikoloa, an even more massive array of cravings can be found. Free tours to the easy to access Waikoloa Petroglyph Park run most Thursdays and Fridays at 9:30am from the King’s Shops, and the Puako Petroglyph Preserve has another 3000 carvings.
See art, statewide
Popular global art event POW WOW! peppers Honolulu’s Kaka'ako neighborhood with an annually changing array of always-free-to-see street art. Hidden gem Spalding House, a haven for Contemporary Art, waives admission the third Sunday of each month, and the excellent Honolulu Museum of Art opens its doors free of charge with themed events and activities for the whole family on the third Sunday of each month.
Lava Tree State Monument, Hawaii Island
Lava swept through a native ohia forest in 1790, pooling at the base of trees before igniting them, leaving behind stony stumps. Take the easy, 0.6-mile path through the forests’ modern iteration to see lush jungle growing over the older tree mold casts. Hwy 132 Mile 2.5, Pahoa
Kukaniloko birthing stones, Oahu
Just south of the sprawling Dole pineapple plantation and in the heart of a red, dusty and unassuming field in central Oahu is a significant archeological site featuring 180 stones atop which Hawaiian royal women gave birth for seven centuries. Their name, Kukaniloko, translates to “to anchor the cry from within,” and from them it’s possible to make out the form of a reclining pregnant woman in the profile of the westerly Waianae Mountains. Route 80 and Whitmore Avenue, Wahiawa
Coffee farm tour, locations statewide
Hawaii is one of just two US states to commercially grow coffee (the other is California), and Kona, on the west side of the Big Island, is undoubtedly the best-known growing region. More than 600 farms grow Kona coffee and dozens offer free tours and tastings. More interesting, perhaps, are other statewide growers trying to make unique blends with their own terroir. The Kau Coffee Mill, in a district just south of Kona, has excellent farm and factory tours as well as tastings.
On Oahu, the Old Waialua Coffee and Chocolate Mill grow small-batch crops behind the former sugar mill. And, huge Kauai Coffee Company has more than four million trees – comprising 60 percent of the state’s entire crop – and visits include free full cups of coffee before their complimentary walking tours.
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