Catherine Toth Fox

*This story was originally published on Oct. 31, 2024.   Years ago, I went on a ghost tour with Native Hawaiian storyteller Lopaka Kapanui, visiting The legend of night marchers in Hawaii.

Five years after closing his award-winning restaurant—which had been a HAWAIʻI Magazine reader favorite—local chef Alan Wong is moving to Kāhala. The Alan Wong, the James Beard Award-winning chef and Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine pioneer, will open Alan Wong’s at the Kāhala Hotel & Resort, replacing its signature restaurant, Hōkū’s, in early 2026.

It’s been four years since Hilo-born chef Sheldon Simeon published his first cookbook, “Cook Real Hawaiʻi,” putting local favorites like pork adobo, “Ohana Style,” by chef Sheldon Simeon, comes out in March 2026, is still about Hawaiʻi, but includes more about dishes that anyone in the world can make and enjoy.

The first time I learned about the Alakoko Fishpond on Kaua‘i was back in 2012, when I hopped on a stand-up paddleboard on the Hulē‘ia River and glided Alakoko is a 600-year-old Hawaiian fishpond on Kaua‘i’s southwest coast. Is one of the most endangered historic places on the island.

The Four Seasons Resort Hualālai Debuts a Reimagined Signature Restaurant and a New Sushi Lounge

The walk to the new premiere suite at the luxe Halekūlani threw me off. Instead of walking toward the main elevators, I was led toward the hotel’s spa, The opulent new bungalow is an homage to Halekūlani’s original bungalows from the 1900s, blending timeless elegance with modern luxury.

It’s pretty hard, especially in Hawaiʻi, to be wowed anymore by shave ice. But that’s what’ll happen when you try one from Chillest Shave Ice, a small Chillest Shave Ice is one of O'ahu's newest shave ice spots. It serves killer bowls of ultrafine ice soaked in homemade syrups.

In 1927 a stunning Olympic-size saltwater pool opened on a stretch of Waikīkī Beach, dedicated to the 10,000 soldiers, sailors and other volunteers from Nearly a century old, the Waikīkī War Memorial Natatorium on O‘ahu will soon be restored to its original glory.

If you’re like us, you love to eat—and you don’t always put a price tag on that experience. So we put together some of the most splurge-worthy dining We put together some of the most splurge-worthy dining experiences you can have in Hawaiʻi, from a candlelight dinner in a treehouse to breakfast on the rim of an active volcano. Every spot is Instagram perfect—and the food is incredible, too.

At least we weren’t the only ones. Like many of you, we had been captivated by the fountains of lava from Kīlauea, shooting up over 1,000 feet above