Hawaiian Tropical Fruits

One of the boons of a tropical vacation is the tropical fruit!  😋

The USDA guidelines specify what you can and cannot bring back to the Mainland from Hawaii.  For example, fresh pineapple is ok, but most other fruits are not unless you bought them at a USDA approved facility that has treated them for pests and has labeled them as such.

Thus you are likely restricted to enjoying your fresh fruits while you are on the islands.  For a veg*n traveler on a budget, this is heaven!

The Hilo farmer's market has been featured in magazines and travel websites.  It is open from dawn til it's gone.  I saw it open even on days not listed on their website.  It's conveniently across from the bus terminal.

Here's a guide to some unique tropical fruits available there as of May 2022:

1) Surinam cherries- $5 for a ziploc bag. They are very tart.  Think cranberry meets cherry.

2) Egg fruit- center, oval orange fruit.  By far my favorite of the bounty below.  It has the texture of a hard boiled egg yolk without the sulfur smell, and it's about as sweet as a yam.

3) Soursop- left, prickly green, $4/lb.  It has a creamy texture and tart taste "like Sour Patch kids" said my travel companion.  It has seeds, so watch out for those.  The vendor helped me to choose a ripe one that was soft enough to cut into and ready to eat that day.  

4) Apple bananas- top.  Under $3/lb.  The texture was more dense than a regular banana but not as dense as the miniature bananas at Asian supermarkets.  Other than that the flavor wasn't all that different to me.

5) Ice cream beans- upper right, $1 each.  Each seed inside the pod is surrounded by the white edible part.  The texture is similar to cotton candy on the outside and a fibrous or sinewy lychee on the inside.  It is less sweet than lychee.

6) Mountain apples- red, below banana and ice cream beans.  They are not very sweet at all, and the texture is like a not juicy hard apple.  I was not a fan.

7) Bread fruit- brown, lower left.  The texture is grainy and harder than a kiwi but softer than a firm pear.  It is not as sweet as a pear, though.  

8) Mangosteen- Lower right, $10 a lb.  Clearly I didn't choose these well.  The ripe ones should be deep purple all around with no hardened sap which indicates bruising.  The only edible part is the white casing of each seed inside.  These unripened ones were 80% inedible shell.  The white casing tastes a bit like lychee.  Way overrated and expensive in my opinion.  One of them was still too hard to cut by the time I left, so it went to waste.

In addition, there were many varieties of papaya (solo, strawberry...) and mangoes galore!  There was also dragonfruit, lychee and longan.  I didn't include these fruits in my post since they are available at Asian stores on the Mainland.

Per the vendors I spoke to, guava and passion fruit (lilikoi) were not yet in season.

Toss in some macadamia nuts (Mauna Loa large bags were less than $8 from one vendor with some bargaining), and you have a veg*n and even fruitarian friendly meal!

Carless in Hawaii- Oahu, Big Island, Kauai- Part 1, Airport

With Hawaiian rental car prices being sky high and so in demand that one may not be even able to secure a last-minute reservation, one may wonder if it's possible to survive without a car during a Hawaiian vacation.

I scoured the web looking for information before my carless trip.  Now that it's over, I'm happy to report that yes, if you are used to public transit in other cities, it's entirely possible to build a carless Hawaiian vacation.  

Part 1 goes over the trip to and from the airport.

Oahu: 

The Bus comes pretty often compared to the other islands; however, it does not run 24 hours a day.  It pales in comparison to WMATA in D.C., but it's the best of the island buses and has even won an award.  

From the baggage claim area, go upstairs.  Cross the street once and look for the brown bus shelter.  There are a couple of them at the airport.  Beware that the same bus number you're looking for may not be heading to Waikiki (if that's your destination), so check the bus destination and/or ask the driver.  

Luggage restrictions: As the Oahu bus website explains, there are size and number restrictions for what you can bring on board.  I saw a couple folks with small roller bags and a personal tote allowed on.  To play it safe, I had brought one backpack that met the exact size specifications give or take an inch.  Others had the backpack plus a purse or tote, so on the return to the airport I relaxed my stuffing to allow for an extra tote.

Fare: I had bought a Holo card in advance online.  It comes deactivated for security reasons.  You'll get an email that says your card(s) are deactivated.  Once it arrived, I activated it online and added more fare.  It's currently $5.50 for a day pass for a regular adult or $2.75 for one trip with the Holo card.  Discount passes are only sold at specific locations (main transit office or at satellite transit office with online appointment).

Big Island- Hilo:

Currently, in Hilo the Hele-On bus comes hourly.  It also has limited hours, so please check their schedule and plan accordingly.  I was able to make my morning flight (9 or 10 AM) without any problem.  My hotel was walking distance to the bus terminal.  Check that your accommodation is near a bus stop.

The best part is it's FREE!  All you have to do is board and let the driver know where you're going.  

From the Hilo airport baggage claim area, look for the Hele-On bus stop.  There's only one.  No street crossing is required.  It's on the same side of the airport and should be a quick walk to the left or right of baggage claim.

Luggage restrictions:  The website describes the limitations.  In general, it must not stick out into the aisle or on another seat and should fit on your lap.  They do not have specific size limits unlike Oahu and Kauai.  They also don't have a number limit, either, so a backpack plus purse/tote is fine.  I rode one of the brand spankin' new buses that seems to have luggage racks that were so new they were still wrapped up and not yet in use, so perhaps they'll debut those in the future.  

Fare: Free!  On the flip side of free is that the Hilo vagrants may be riding it.  On my first ride I wondered if I was on A Clockwork Orange on wheels.  One rider was repetitively convulsing while cursing- did he have torticollis?  Some psychiatric condition?  Other than that one experience, the rest of the bus rides were fine.

Kauai:

Currently, the Kauai bus comes hourly.  It has very limited hours, so check that the times can accommodate your flights.  Also check that your accommodation is near a bus stop.  Mine was about a 15 minute walk away.  Note that a lot of Kauai streets are not paved, so you are walking on the shoulder of traffic.  

From the airport, look for the Kauai bus stop sign.  It's on the same side and level as baggage claim.  This photo is of the Poipu Beach bus stop so that you have an idea:

Luggage restrictions: They don't specify a number limit, but they do specify a size limit that's an inch or so different from Oahu's.  Nobody is measuring, but be reasonable.  I saw one woman board with a very small roller bag and a backpack.  Keep in mind that unlike Oahu and Big Island, the Kauai buses are small.  Think Paratransit buses or university shuttle buses.  

Fare: Daily bus passes are sold at various locations listed on their website.  I got mine in Kapa'a after visiting two Shell stations.  The first one didn't have it, and the second one to the north did.  Too bad the airport doesn't sell it, and it's not available online.  Thus I paid cash fare from the airport, which is $2 per bus ($1 for seniors with government ID).  Thus if it takes you two buses to get to your hotel, that's $4 for the trip.  They don't do transfers.

Note, for directions make sure you know what stop is closest to your hotel.  There are a lot of look alike/sound alike hotels.  I saw one passenger get off at the wrong stop because the driver mixed up the desired hotel with a sound-alike one.   The drivers are great if you have a question about transferring or another line's bus stop, but don't expect them to know where every hotel is.  

Also, if you are transferring buses, let the driver know when you board. I saw them radio each other if they're running behind.  They also let me know several times to get off at a transfer point that was different from Google maps and which saved me time.  Thank you, Kauai bus drivers!

Stay tuned for part 2, more about travel destinations via bus.