Tips and Cautions

Respect the Big Island: A Living Land, Not a Playground

The Big Island of Hawai‘i is one of the youngest, most ecologically unique, and culturally sacred places on Earth. It’s also extremely fragile — geologically, ecologically, and spiritually.

To help protect this special place for future generations, please follow these guidelines:

🌋 Respect the Land (ʻĀina)

  • Stay on marked trails and roads. Venturing off can damage rare plant life, disturb sacred spaces, and put you at risk on unstable lava rock or cliffs.

  • Never take rocks, sand, or lava. It’s illegal and deeply disrespectful to native beliefs.

  • Don’t carve names or stack rocks (cairns). These disrupt the natural landscape and mislead hikers.

🐢 Protect Native Wildlife

  • Stay at least 10 feet (3 meters) from sea turtles and 50 feet (15 meters) from monk seals. It’s the law — and they’re endangered.

  • Don’t feed or chase wild animals. It changes their behavior and endangers them.

  • Hawaii has a tremendous number of endangered plants and animals.

🔥 Be Volcano-Aware

  • Avoid closed lava zones or recent flows. They can collapse, release toxic gases, or burn your feet through shoes.

  • Do not walk on steam vents or thermal areas. Ground can be paper-thin and deadly.

💧 Respect Water and Marine Life

  • Wear reef-safe sunscreen. Many common sunscreens are toxic to coral reefs.

  • Do not touch coral or stand on reefs. They are living organisms and easily damaged.

🪨 Honor Culture and Kapu (Sacred Sites)

  • Do not enter or disturb heiau (temples) or burial grounds.

  • Ask permission when visiting culturally significant places — or better yet, go with a local guide.

  • Respect Hawaiian traditions and practices. They’re not performances; they’re a living culture.

  • Kapu means “Do Not Enter”. Just because a guide books says it is OK, it is not.

🚯 Leave No Trace

  • Take all trash with you, including cigarette butts, wrappers, and food waste.

  • Do not litter — ever. Even biodegradable items attract pests and pollute the environment.

  • Restrooms or no go. Never use the forest, trails, or beaches as a bathroom.

🚫 What NOT To Do

  • ❌ Do not park or camp in unauthorized areas.

  • ❌ Do not drive on beaches or lava fields.

  • ❌ Do not play loud music in nature preserves or sacred places.

  • ❌ Do not fly drones near people, animals, or cultural sites.

🌺 Be a Respectful Guest

You are visiting a place that many call home — not just humans, but countless rare species and ecosystems. Please tread lightly, listen deeply, and leave it better than you found it.

Other items inclue:

Don’t beep your horn except if you absolutely must. Yes, do it if someone is backing into your vehicle for example. However, we don’t beep for most reasons.

If driving, watch ahead and behind you. If you see people pulling to the shoulder, do it also. In many places, ambulances do not use sirens because we pull over as we are supposed to (unlike many mainland places). When the emergency vehicle passes, we also get back into the same order we were before hand.

You will hear us say “Aloha” and Mahalo”. We mean it when we say “Hello”, “Good bye” and “Thanks You”.

The SHAKA hand sign means “Thanks” and “Take it easy”. It is displayed as a fist with fist and the pinky and thumb extended.

Shaka sign - Wikipedia

Mahalo nui loa for your care and respect.