There are new and exciting things to do in Hawaii this year. Here are just a few suggestions for clients, whether they are interested in a captivating show, all-terrain vehicle drives or tours that focus on Hawaiian culture. (Commission information included where applicable.)
Waipa Cultural Food and Farm Tours: The Kauai nonprofit Waipa Foundation is offering three new weekly tours on the island's north shore that teach guests about the land and its history.
On Tuesdays, visitors on the tour, Introduction to the Ahupuaa, Its Food Systems and Waterways, spend time at Waipa's gardens and fishponds, learning about the waterways and Waipa's restoration projects. On Wednesdays, the Natives, Invasives and Canoe Plants tour shares the cultural uses and significance of native and canoe plants (cultivars spread through Polynesian migration) as guests learn how to identify the different species. On Thursdays, guests learn about kalo (taro) and poi, the traditional superfood, as they take part in the community poi-making day and explore a loi kalo (taro field).
All tours are 3 1/2 hours and end with a lunch incorporating local ingredients. $150 for adults, $100 for kids ages 8 and over, waipafoundation.org. Commissions are available through the FareHarbor booking system.
North Shore Stables on Oahu has debuted an all-terrain vehicle and native plant experience. Photo Credit: Courtesy of North Shore Stables
North Shore Stables: Though it is no longer offering horse-riding tours, North Shore Stables has debuted an ATV and native plant experience along the scenic Oahu shoreline.
Guests operate Kawasaki ATVs on a guided tour around 67 acres of the North Shore, through farmlands, around an ATV racetrack and along the island's coastline. Along the way, they'll visit a petting zoo with goats, pigs, ducks, cows and sheep and also learn about the history of Waialua, a town known for its taro fields and its rich plantation history.
Guests will also take part in ongoing restoration efforts to protect the coastline, with each having the opportunity to pick and plant a native shoreline plant. The price is $125 per person. Drivers must be at least 10 years old; children ages 8 and 9 can ride as a passenger on a larger vehicle. For more info, visit northshorestables.com. Travel advisors earn 20% commission.
A performer on an aerial hoop represents Hina, the Hawaiian moon goddess, during "Auana" at the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. It's Cirque du Soleil's first resident show in Hawaii. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Cirque du Soleil Auana
Cirque du Soleil's "Auana": Cirque du Soleil's first resident show in the Islands, "Auana" combines acrobatics with hula, music, juggling and comedy. The show takes audiences on a journey through traditional Hawaii stories in eight acts, with stunning costumes and captivating hula choreography.
"Auana," which means "to wander or veer off the beaten path," begins with the story of Hawaii's voyagers, pairing high-flying acrobatics with traditional hula dance on a stage with a Hawaiian voyaging canoe. Later, the show honors surfing with a balancing Rola Bola act. And in the finale, acrobats run on each end of a gigantic rotating apparatus called the Wheel of Life, representing the power of volcanoes.
The different acts are woven together by a character known as the Trickster, who keeps the audience entertained by providing comic relief between scenes.
The show is performed at the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel, with ticket prices starting at $85 per person. Commission can be earned by booking through Cirque's partners, including Expedia, Viator, Hotelbeds and Klook.
The hydrotherapy gardens at the Kilolani Spa at the Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort. Photo Credit: Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort
Grand Wailea Kilolani Spa: The Kilolani Spa, located at Maui's Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, is offering four- and six-night wellness retreat packages at the newly renovated facility, which is equipped with 40 treatment rooms, a meditation lounge, halotherapy-infused saunas and hydrotherapy gardens.
The four-night retreat includes a stay in an exclusive wellness room, two 60-minute massages or facial treatments, one 60-minute private fitness session, an InBody Metabolic analysis, an IV nutrient therapy, a wellness assessment, a $100 spa boutique credit and a $50 spa cafe credit.
The six-night package is similar to the four-night package; however, it also includes an additional massage or facial treatment, a second 60-minute private fitness session and a $150 credit at the Kilolani Spa boutique. Prices vary depending on dates. Visit spa.grandwailea.com to learn more. Commission is 10%.
The Maui Chocolate Tour gives visitors a chance to see a private cacao farm in the West Maui mountains. Photo Credit: Maui Chocolate Tour
Maui Chocolate Tour: The Maui Kuia Estate cacao farm launched The Chocolate Factory Experience last year that lets visitors hang out with founder and CEO Gunars Valkirs. The 90-minute tour offers an inside look into how Lahaina-grown cacao is turned into chocolate.
Valkirs introduces visitors to the company's history and takes them into the factory where the chocolate is made. He explains the production process and "leads them step by step into the rooms where things are done, explain what's done, why it's done," Valkirs said. "Most people really don't know how chocolate is made, so they find it pretty interesting, and I hope I'm entertaining. I think I am."
Along the way, guests taste cacao from different stages of the chocolate manufacturing process as it is prepared, including seven squares of the finished chocolate in different flavors. $125, ages 6 and over. Commissions are available through FareHarbor.
Lydgate Farms: Known for its chocolate, Lydgate Farms on Kauai is now offering the Inside the Hive: Honey & Bee Tour. Visitors get to access a special area of the farm dedicated to honey, getting a look behind the scenes at how the farm produces its line of honey products.
On the two-hour tour, they will don a beekeeping suit and meet a beekeeper, who will give them a peek inside an active beehive. Guests are taught the history of beekeeping in the Islands and the process of making honey.
They are also given ample opportunity to taste different honeys, some of which are paired with local fruit. $85 per person, ages 7 and over.