Hawaii: Meet the Locals Who Make Your Holidays Special

A pub quiz in a little bar next to a supermarket… It wasn’t on his itinerary, but on Wednesday evening, Thies found himself sitting among the locals on Kauaʻi. His host had told him about the weekly get-together. “You’re sitting there surrounded by nothing but locals,” Thies says cheerfully. “They all tell great stories and are really interested in you.”

And that wasn’t the only tip he picked up. On the recommendation of his local hosts, Thies visited a covered market where local artists and craftspeople sell their work. During his visit, there was an open-mic night, giving him another chance to chat with the islanders. “This is a place you’d never have found on your own,” he says.

These encounters became a recurring theme throughout his trip. Conversations with locals led him to places he might otherwise have missed. Gradually, his journey became about more than reviewing accommodation and activities. He was getting to know the people who would welcome our travellers and discovering the stories they might share along the way.

Woman in a musicshop performing with a musical instrument and singing to a crowd sitting in the cafe

What does Thies look out for when it comes to small-scale accommodation?

Thies looks for places where the people who welcome you add something special to your journey. Beautiful photos of where you’ll be staying can give you a good first impression, but they only tell part of the story.

Speaking of first impressions, before setting off, Thies had his own picture of Hawaii in mind: palm trees and tropical beaches. But that soon changed as he drove past black lava fields and volcanic landscapes on the Big Island, and navigated sharp hairpin bends surrounded by lush tropical scenery on Maui’s Road to Hana. “The landscapes are actually a lot more diverse than many people realise,” he says.

His search for places to stay and experience these landscapes had begun months earlier. Before Thies even arrived in Hawaii, he had researched hundreds of properties, adding more and more dots to the map on his computer screen. Each one had the potential to become somewhere he’d love our travellers to stay. “I checked every accommodation in advance,” he says.

A green, wooden cottage tucked away in nature surrounded by ferns and forest

Once in Hawaii, Thies begins the part of his research that simply can’t be done from behind a screen. He visits each property in person, meets the people who run it and often stays overnight to experience the surroundings and hospitality for himself. Some places are ruled out as soon as he arrives, while with others, he quickly gets a sense of whether they fit Little America’s approach to travel. A property only makes it into Little America’s carefully selected collection of small-scale accommodation if it lives up to expectations when he visits in person.

For Thies, it’s the people behind the accommodation who make all the difference. He experienced this first-hand in the green hills near Kona, where he met Linda and Dan, the owners of a B&B on a small working coffee plantation.

The front door of a small scale local accommodation, porch decorated with colorful flowers and lounging chairs

The coffee at breakfast is grown just a few metres away

This B&B, which Thies visited, is tucked away in the heart of the Kona Coffee Belt on the Big Island. With just five guest rooms, the owners live on site and welcome guests into their home. Every morning, they serve breakfast on the veranda, with fresh fruit from their garden and coffee grown on the property.

During a tour of the plantation, Thies learnt how coffee is grown. “I hadn’t the faintest idea what a coffee plant looked like,” he admits. Along the way, Linda and Dan pointed out banana trees, melons and unusually large avocados growing on their land. He even got to see some of the produce that would be served at breakfast the following morning. It doesn’t get much more local than that!

Eight bowls of different fruits placed on a wooden table, overlooking a green grass field and the ocean in the far distance

When you stay with Linda and Dan, you can also take a tour of their coffee plantation. They’ll show you how the coffee plants grow and explain just how much work goes into producing your morning cup of coffee.

For Thies, this is what makes staying with local hosts so special. You’re not just staying somewhere beautiful; you’re getting to know the people who live there and learning more about the place you’ve come to explore.

Two hands in the green bush, picking the coffeebeans of a coffeeplant

What can you learn from a park ranger who's also your host?

Dean has found a way to combine two roles that complement each other perfectly. By day, he works as a ranger in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, while also running a small B&B with just two guest rooms outside Volcano Village. Thies only managed to speak to him on his last evening in the area, but the conversation was well worth the wait.

“He knows exactly what’s going on,” says Thies enthusiastically. Dean knows the volcanic landscape like the back of his hand. He can recommend his favourite walking routes, tell you where and when to avoid the biggest crowds, and share insights into the latest volcanic activity in the park. It’s the kind of first-hand local knowledge you wouldn’t find in a guidebook, and Dean is more than happy to share it with his guests.

Volcano erruption with the red color of lave reflecting in the smoke that's rising towards the dark nightsky. Surrounding people are observing the erruption.

Before heading out, you can chat with Dean about which walk you’d like to do that day. He might suggest a route you hadn’t considered or share a few tips on what to look out for along the way. As you explore the ancient lava fields, you’ll remember his stories and notice things you might otherwise have walked straight past.

Thies can already picture it: a host who welcomes you to his B&B in the evening, then sends you off to explore the national park the next morning with a few insider tips.

Sunrise over halaekala volcano on maui island hawaii, sun peeking through the cloud inversion above a rugged mountain landscape

Into the rainforest with a local guide

“He’s a really nice bloke,” says Thies with a laugh as he recalls meeting Tom, a local hiking guide on Kauaʻi. It didn’t take long for Thies to see just how passionate Tom is about the outdoors. Even in his spare time, he ventures into the rainforest in search of hidden waterfalls.

There’s something exciting about discovering a waterfall tucked away in the rainforest. “But you do need to be able to find them.” With Tom, you’ll follow walking trails through lush greenery to places you’d be unlikely to discover on your own. Sometimes, you’ll hear the rush of water before you even catch sight of a waterfall through the dense vegetation. Tom also knows quieter coastal paths and loves sharing stories about the island he knows so well.

Although Thies didn’t have time to join Tom on a walk himself, their meeting left a lasting impression. What stood out was how naturally Tom spoke about Kauaʻi and how much he enjoyed sharing his knowledge. For Thies, he’s exactly the sort of local guide who can help you discover a different side of Hawaii.

Four people on a guided hike through the rainforest with a local guide

Four weeks in Hawaii and hardly any photos

Thies returned home with plenty of stories and first-hand experiences to share. He passes on what he’s learnt to our travel specialists, giving them a better understanding of the people behind the accommodation and activities and the experiences that await our travellers in Hawaii.

As for photos, he barely took any! But ask him about Linda and Dan, Dean, Tom or that little bar next to the supermarket on Kauaʻi, and he’ll have plenty of stories to tell.