Cultural Hawaii

Sep 19, 2012

In between dips in the ocean, building sand castles and snacking by the pool, families traveling to Hawaii have much to discover about the destination’s rich heritage. Finding the perfect cultural tour for each family group is made easy thanks to the wide variety of tours available. Visitors can try interactive learning at the Polynesian Cultural Center, taking a ride onboard a steam locomotive or observing petroglyphs and hearing stories about Hawaii’s past. Each island has its own cultural gems to discover.

Oahu
With so many cultural sights and activities on Oahu, scheduling an all-day tour may be the best bet for families who want to see and do as much as possible. The Pearl Harbor/Dole Plantation/Polynesian Cultural Center Tour, by Discover Hawaii Tours, for example, takes travelers through a week’s worth of cultural hot spots in just one day.

This day of fun begins with an early morning hotel pick-up. Parents can buckle their kids into one of Discover Hawaii Tours’ small tour buses, holding a maximum of 24 passengers, and head over to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Children will love this morning visit to the center, where they can take part in interactive games and activities for hands-on cultural learning. Some of the newest activities offered at the center turn lessons in Polynesian voyaging into active play, teaching how to navigate a star compass, knot tying and more.

Next, travelers will head to the USS Arizona Memorial — the centerpiece of Pearl Harbor’s museums and memorials. Though not part of Hawaii’s native heritage, the events that took place on Dec. 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor have certainly become part of the culture and history of Hawaii. At the USS Arizona Memorial, guests can learn more about the 1941 attack and honor fallen heroes. Travelers will also stop by the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center on this tour.

Other highlights on the Discover Hawaii Tour include a visit to Byodo-In Temple — one of Oahu’s best-kept secrets — a Hoku Paa canoe ride and time spent at the Dole Pineapple Pavilion, which became part of Hawaii’s heritage after James Dole founded the company in 1901.

Kauai
For families interested in getting out on the water while learning about Kauai’s history and cultural heritage, suggest Smith’s Wailua River/Fern Grotto Cruise. The Smith Family has been sharing the legends of the Wailua River and Fern Grotto for almost 60 years, when, in 1947, Walter Smith Sr., son of a Hawaiian mother and an English/French father and, began offering visitor tours up the river. Now, the Smith’s family fleet has grown to 12 riverboats — including two boats used for weddings — and a botanical and cultural garden where luaus are held.

Guests of all ages can hop onboard Smith’s Wailua River/Fern Grotto Cruise at various times throughout the day for a two-mile journey up the Wailua River. Onboard the cruise, guests will listen to songs and learn about ancient Hawaii, including stories of sacred Mount Kapu and the first hau tree.

Once the cruise arrives at the boat landing up the river, it’s time for a nature walk through the rainforest to the Fern Grotto. There, the Smith Family shares their knowledge of the caves and the history of the surrounding area before finishing up with their rendition of the traditional Hawaiian Wedding Song. The tour takes an hour and 20 minutes, but many families may also want to participate in Smith’s Tropical Paradise Luau after the cruise, in which case recommend the 3:30 p.m. river tour time.

Smith’s Tropical Paradise Luau also includes a tour of Smiths’ gardens before the first event — and with more than 50 years of luaus under their belt, the Smiths know how to throw a party. During the luau, families can witness the ancient method for cooking the main course in which layers of cloth are removed from the imu (an underground oven using hot coals, stones, cloth and leaves) to reveal the kalua pig. This is followed by an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner. To finish off the evening, there’s a short walk to the lagoon theater for an hour-long performance honoring the cultural traditions of Hawaii and the Pacific Rim.

Smith’s Wailua River/Fern Grotto Cruise offers daily departures and the Smith’s Tropical Paradise Luau is held on varying weekdays, depending on the season.

Hawaii (Big Island)
Roberts Hawaii, the largest tour and transportation company across the islands of Hawaii, offers its Big Island Grand Circle Island tour to adults and children of all ages. It’s a highly informative tour, hosted by professional guides and covering many of the Big Island’s most important cultural sites.

On the tour, families will visit Volcanoes National Park, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the early 1980s. No Big Island tour would be complete without time spent here. Volcanoes National Park contains two of the world’s most active and accessible volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, but within the park at the end of Chain Craters Road, families can also observe the sacred Puuloa Petroglyphs — where more than 23,000 ancient images are carved into the lava rock.

A treat for both parents and children is a visit to the Kona coffee plantations, which account for a large part of Hawaii Island’s history after the coffee plant was established in the Kona district in 1828. At Royal Kona Coffee, situated in the center of Kona’s coffee-growing region, adults can enjoy a cup of Kona coffee (one of the most expensive coffees in the world) while children learn the history and process of Kona coffee farming at the Royal Kona Visitor Center.

The Grand Circle Island tour doesn’t neglect Hawaii’s cowboy culture either, bringing its guests to a stopover at Parker Ranch. Home of the paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys), Parker Ranch is not only one of the largest ranches in the U.S., but also one of the oldest, with a history that spans more than 160 years.

Other stops on this tour include Punaluu Black Sand Beach, Thurston Lava Tube, Fern Tree Jungle and Rainbow Falls.

Maui
Tell your clients to gear up their kids for a good old-fashioned train ride on Viator’s Lahaina Kaanapali Railroad tour. This scenic, 90-minute roundtrip tour, gives families the opportunity to experience a ride onboard one of the few remaining sugar cane trains left in Hawaii. The Hawaiian sugarcane fields no longer exist in Lahaina, but that hasn’t stopped the sugar cane train from blowing its steam whistle and setting off on an adventure that includes professional narration about the history and culture of Hawaii. Travelers can choose between morning and afternoon departure times, enjoy whale watching along the way (from December to May) and learn more about the steam locomotives that hauled sugarcane to the mills and remained a staple of the Hawaii landscape for more than 100 years.