Hawaii: Different Customs for Tourists

Planning to visit soon? Hawaii is an incredibly beautiful place, with daily rainbows, all types of weather and ecosystems, and an astounding variety of flowers. It's also got its own culture. Visitors who try to learn a little about what to expect will always have a better overall experience.

1. All the streets have the same name, if you're a visitor. For instance, in my area there's a Pu'u Poni and Pu'u Momi road. There are several King Kamehameha Highways on Oahu. And downtown, every other street name is Hawaiian a language with only thirteen letters and generally long. It's very easy for visitors to confuse the streets; worse, if you miss your turn, you may have several one-way and dead-end streets to get through before you find a way back. Instead of constantly getting lost, try to ride the bus as much as you can, rather than driving yourself. Schedules should be available at your hotel.

2. Slow down! Hawaii believes in a laid-back lifestyle. This is a place where you should stop rushing to get from place to place and instead enjoy the scenery, the flowers, the scents and gentle rains of the islands.

3. Honking in traffic is rude. Just don't do it. You're on the islands, not the mainland, and when you honk, people get offended. Just take your time, and absorb the laid-back atmosphere.

4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Because the Hawaiian sun is so hot but the cooling trade winds blow in almost constantly, you'll lose more water than you realize. Take a bottle of water with you, and drink even when you don't feel thirsty. This goes double for any time you're drinking alcohol during the day outside. You can dehydrate amazingly quickly.

5. Wear sunscreen, even on overcast days. Even if you don't burn. The temperature in Hawaii almost always hovers between 75 and 89 degrees Fahrenheit, making it feel deceptively cool, but here you're very close to the equator, and you'll get more sun than you may expect. You will notice, too, that a lot of kama'aina (local people) wear long sleeves, long pants, and hats. There is a reason for this.