Ep. 188: 9 Hawaii Travel Hacks That Actually Work in 2025

Hawaii Travel Hacks

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: We’ve all seen a thousand Hawaii Travel Hacks online, but which ones actually work. In this episode, you’ll discover nine proven travel hacks that can help you save money, avoid crowds, and make your trip to Hawaii smoother and more authentic.

[00:00:19] Bryan Murphy: Welcome to Hawaii’s Best, the podcast helping you plan an unforgettable Hawaii vacation with practical tips. I’m your host Brian, and if you’re new here, Every week I share real travel advice and stories

[00:00:33] Bryan Murphy: that, help you experience Hawaii and not just visit it.

[00:00:37] Bryan Murphy: Today we’re talking about Nine Hawaii Travel Hacks that actually work, not just the recycled ones that you see on Instagram, TikTok, A travel blog, but the real hacks that can actually save you money, save you some time.

[00:00:52] Bryan Murphy: And overall just help your trip be less stressful.

[00:00:55] Bryan Murphy: Before we get into it though. here’s what’s happening in Hawaii travel news right now. The biggest thing is the federal shutdown, and I want to give you an update on that.

[00:01:04] Bryan Murphy: As of October 1st, 2025, the US is in a federal shutdown. I’m sure if you’re in. The US you are aware of this. good news in all this is that flights, airports, and hotels across Hawaii are still operating normally as of now. the Hawaii Tourism Authority put out, and they say that there’s no reason to cancel your trip right now or change anything.

[00:01:28] Bryan Murphy: However, Hale Aala National Park on Maui and Hawaii. Volcanoes National Park on the big island of Hawaii. do have limited access. Right now some visitor centers are closed and Ranger led programs are paused. I went into this more in detail back on episode 180 6, and I’ll link that below in the show notes for you make sure to go listen to that after all of this.

[00:01:51] Bryan Murphy: But bottom line is stay flexible. Check park alerts for, you know, updated info before heading out. Maybe swap your national parks you wanted to visit for state or county parks. You know, those are still open. I would just encourage you to go to the link in the show notes below and listen to that episode.

[00:02:08] Bryan Murphy: and within that I’d link out to updated info that you can find for when you’re traveling.

[00:02:15] Bryan Murphy: Alright, so let’s get into the nine Hawaii Travel hacks that actually work. Starting with number one is use Shaka Guide. If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, you might remember having my friend on Andrew Fowlers.

[00:02:27] Bryan Murphy: He’s co-founder of Shaka Guide. He was on the show quite a few times actually, he said something that stuck with me. he mentioned that we’re not trying to replace tour guides, we just want to help people travel more with Aloha. And that really resonates with me, and that’s what Hawaii’s best is all about.

[00:02:46] Bryan Murphy: So that’s exactly what Shaka Guide does. I’ve used Shaka Guide many times. I’ve loved them. I’ve actually have worked with them for many years. not just in an affiliate role. I’m not even gonna drop an affiliate link below just to show you. I definitely use Shaka Guide and recommend them.

[00:03:02] Bryan Murphy: So basically what Shaka Guide is, it’s a GPS Base Audio tour app that tells stories as you go from site to site. It shares local insights, things to do, not to do things, to try, and it even, you know, plays Hawaiian music as you drive, which is pretty cool. It does work offline, which is huge for places like Waimea, or any of the national parks, but you just wanna make sure that you download those specific tours prior to traveling and not try to do it in the car.

[00:03:33] Bryan Murphy: Some of the reviews have been frustrated because it didn’t work. the biggest cause of that is not downloading that specific tour before you go out, because cell reception across the islands can be spotty.

[00:03:48] Bryan Murphy: So if you wanna learn more about Shaka Guide, I will definitely drop that episode below.

[00:03:53] Bryan Murphy: Hack number two is use Touro, but only when rental car agencies sell out. If you listened last spring, I think it was, you’ll remember my conversation with Leilani and Jenna from Touro in that chat kinda opened my eyes to how much this platform does help local families and, and we saw that especially after the Maui wildfires. So when traditional car rentals sell out and they can sell out depending on the season and the island, especially if you know Maui or Kauai specifically.

[00:04:27] Bryan Murphy: or they go to raise prices during those peak seasons, this is kind of where Touro shines. It’s a peer-to-peer car sharing app where you can rent directly from local hosts. KITV News even reported that Tour field Hawaii’s rental shortages last year.

[00:04:45] Bryan Murphy: So it’s flexible. it can be cheaper when the rental car companies are raising their rates. And obviously if they’re selling out, I found it to be a little bit more expensive

[00:04:55] Bryan Murphy: if I’m not traveling during peak season

[00:04:58] Bryan Murphy: Or if the inventory at the rental car company is good. I, I found Touro to be a bit more expensive, but it’s a great option when those things aren’t there. And what’s cool is like you get to support locals directly, there’s an asterisk next to that because You can tell if some of the hosts are local and if some of the hosts are not,

[00:05:19] Bryan Murphy: It feels more like a business. you can tell if you get on the app and play around for a while, you can see it. You know, if people have whole fleet of cars that can kinda scream, you know, just beware.

[00:05:30] Bryan Murphy: Hack number three, if you’re staying on Oahu. Is. Use the Holo card.

[00:05:34] Bryan Murphy: This is one thing that a lot of people, a lot of visitors, completely miss, and that’s the holo card. If you’re spending,anytime on the island of Oahu, this little, it’s a $2 card, is really one of the best deals that you can get in Hawaii. It works on both the bus and the new Skyline Rail that connects from East Cappele through Pearl Harbor and into downtown Honolulu.

[00:05:58] Bryan Murphy: what’s cool with this card is that you just tap it once and it automatically caps your total fare at $7 and 50 cents a day, no matter how many times you ride. if you explore Ana. if you explore Ana.

[00:06:13] Bryan Murphy: Kaka aco

[00:06:14] Bryan Murphy: Or even Pearl Harbor, you never have to pay more than that.

[00:06:17] Bryan Murphy: You can grab one at a B, C stores, seven elevens, or even at the airport. It’s budget friendly, better for traffic, and gives you a genuine taste of local life. You can check out honolulu.gov/hulu for info,

[00:06:32] Bryan Murphy: travel. Hack number four is stay a block or two inland away from the ocean. This might surprise you. You know, your goal might be to stay right on the water, but if you’re staying on AHU or Maui, booking, just a block or two inland can’t save you. 20 to 30% on your stay. I did this

[00:06:53] Bryan Murphy: in Waikiki. I was about Two blocks from the beach staying at Shoreline, which is a cool little boutique hotel but still within walking distance around Waikiki. It was a great stay for my wife and I, saved a couple hundred bucks on that

[00:07:08] Bryan Murphy: and it didn’t feel like we missed much. But I know it’s great to stay on the water, but if you’re looking to save some cash, this is definitely one of those options that actually work. Hack number five, don’t forget your Costco card at home. Now I talk a lot about how to support local and really that’s the heart of.

[00:07:28] Bryan Murphy: What I want to get across, but no matter how badly you want to, it’s really hard to escape Costco Even in Hawaii. Costco has the best gas prices on all the islands, KHON 2KNews found that it’s about 40 to 60% cheaper per gallon than anywhere else,

[00:07:46] Bryan Murphy: and you can also grab some local fines there, you know, from Poquet to chocolate macadamia nuts. Kona

[00:07:53] Bryan Murphy: coffee, and if you’re staying in a condo, hotel, or. timeshare U usually has a some type of kitchen, and this could save you some money by just cooking in getting some stuff from Costco, you know, so buy your gas and groceries at Costco if you’re looking to, save some money.

[00:08:09] Bryan Murphy: It’s probably one of the most practical hacks on this list. But don’t forget your Costco card because every island has a Costco.

[00:08:16] Bryan Murphy: And since we’re talking about groceries, this kind of leads me to hack number six is get a grocery loyalty card at lan. You know, ask for a Micah e card at Safeway. Grab their club card. You don’t need to have a local address, and you instantly save 20, 40% on select groceries and poke bowls, which Foodland is the place to go for Poque.

[00:08:39] Bryan Murphy: So it’s free, it’s fast, it’s kind of a no brainer, and it’s a hack that not a lot of people think about.

[00:08:44] Bryan Murphy: Travel hack number seven is kind of a survival gear. I’m not sure what to call it, maybe a local survivor gear.

[00:08:52] Bryan Murphy: This is a hack I have used and, and gotten from Reddit. Actually, this is local, swear by it. It’s, you know, bring earplugs, especially if you’re staying on ka. Those roosters, they’re cool and they’re interesting, but they don’t care what time it is. So have some earplugs. If you’re staying in Waikiki, it could be loud, a lot of traffic, a lot of sirens.

[00:09:13] Bryan Murphy: So having earplugs could be important for you. bring duct tape for quick fixes. You never know, maybe you blow out a flip flop, or something like that. Um, and also re reasonable grocery bags. these are required in most of the counties. Um, you’re gonna need to bring your own bag, or you’re you’re gonna have topay for bags as you’re checking out.

[00:09:32] Bryan Murphy: I know this isn’t like a really slick hack, but this is the stuff that can save you headache or just like, I wish I would’ve thought about that, Especially bringing reusable grocery bags. That’s definitely worth it.

[00:09:44] Bryan Murphy: Hack number eight is bring a small cooler or insulated tote, so your insulated tote, can be part of the reusable bags that you bring. But to take it a step further, if you’re doing a lot of long drives or spending a, full day at the beach pack, a fold-up cooler, we have one of these and it packs about.

[00:10:04] Bryan Murphy: I would say it’s a little bit thicker, a little bit bigger than like a Messenger bag. So if you are doing some check bags, you can definitely, you know, just put it at the bottom and it will definitely come in handy. Especially if you’re on Hawaii Island and you’re driving all the way from Kona all the way to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

[00:10:25] Bryan Murphy: You’re definitely gonna want to have some snacks along the way. we use this all the time, So definitely would recommend this. This is kind of one of those things. I never would’ve thought of that. All right. Hack number nine is use attraction passes strategically. Let me explain. So this one is all about planning smart The Go City Oahu Pass, it can save you up to 40 to 50%, but only if you’re hitting three or more paid attractions like PCC, Polynesian Cultural Center, snorkeling Tours or Pearl Harbor sites.

[00:10:59] Bryan Murphy: But if you’re mostly about Beaches hikes, you could skip the pass, but plan first, then decide if it’s worth it. Just go ahead and search. Go City Oahu Pass. and you’ll be able to decide if it’s worth it for you.

[00:11:14] Bryan Murphy: All right. I wanna give you a bonus hack, and that is to download the Go Hawaii app.

[00:11:19] Bryan Murphy: As a member of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, I thought it’d be good to recommend their app, and it’s very useful, especially going back to how we started this episode about the federal shutdown.

[00:11:32] Bryan Murphy: It gives you real time updates about. park closures, ocean conditions, safety alerts, and even cultural events nearby, which is kind of another hack. So I wanted to combine it in this one because you can get free hula shows throughout the island that

[00:11:47] Bryan Murphy: You just gotta kind of know where to go for that, and this app can help with that. You can grab the app at go hawaii.com/travel-app. Don’t worry, I’ll put a link in the show notes below. It’s really one of the easiest ways to stay prepared and to travel responsibly.

[00:12:05] Bryan Murphy: All right, so that wraps it up. Just to recap real quick, use Chaka Guide for GPS audio tours. Number two, use Touro when rental agencies sell out. Number three, use the holo card on Oahu. Number four, say a block or two inland to save to save on lodging.

[00:12:22] Bryan Murphy: Number five, don’t forget your Costco card. Number six, Get grocery loyalty cards for instant savings. Number seven, pack a local survival gear earplugs, duct tape reusable bags. Number eight, bring a small cooler for beach days and road trips. Number nine, use attraction passes only if they fit your plan.

[00:12:44] Bryan Murphy: In the bonus one, download the Go Hawaii app for real time travel alerts.

[00:12:49] Bryan Murphy: As I mentioned, you’ll find everything linked in the show notes below.

[00:12:53] Bryan Murphy: and if you found this episode helpful, which I hope you have, I would ask you just to hit the follow button on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify, wherever you are listening. All right, and until next time, my friend As always, live with Aloha.