Hawaii, away from the bustle: Where to travel if you want to escape the tourist throngs

If you’re planning to escape winter’s chill in Hawaii, you’ve probably heard that overtourism concerns have also been heating up there. In some cases, visitors trying to avoid the beaten paths have inadvertently worn other trails into ecologically or culturally sensitive areas, much to residents’ dismay.

But as I discovered on recent travels across three islands, it’s easy to enjoy a diverse range of uncrowded, authentic experiences — exploring native forests, learning about ancient and modern agriculture, and sightseeing in historic small towns — and still go where you’re not only welcome but invited. Here are some lesser-known activities to add to your next Hawaii itinerary.

Down to earth on Maui

Sandy beaches may be the Valley Isle’s biggest draw, but the western flanks of Kahalawai (the Hawaiian name for the West Maui Mountains) offer unique opportunities to escape sunning throngs and learn about the land through local agriculture.

At the Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate factory in the upper reaches of Lahaina, guides shuttle small groups on the 90-minute Maui Chocolate Tour to the company’s 20-acre cacao orchard, located at an even higher elevation. Walking through the delicious shade of some 8,000 trees, my group spotted bulbous red, yellow, and orange cacao pods growing straight from tree trunks. Harvested by hand, the alien-looking pods yield a pulpy mass of seeds, which are dried and roasted to become cocoa beans — the main ingredient of chocolate.

The back story of former biotech entrepreneur Gunars Valkirs’ sustainable farm and chocolate company, which includes cacao sourced from Ecuador, is also intriguing, but nothing beats tasting his wares in the orchard’s open-air tower with panoramic views. Of the individually wrapped napolitains, I’m still craving the dark milk chocolate flavored with Mapulehu mangoes, also grown on the farm. Don’t have time for the tour? The factory hosts tastings from its rooftop pavilion, plus sells a tempting assortment of chocolate pastries, drinks, and bars.

About 10 kilometers south lies Olowalu Valley, where a non-profit group called Kipuka Olowalu encourages volunteers to sign up for a morning shift to help restore its 72-acre cultural reserve with taro fields and native plants. I may not remember how to prune the papery leaves of aalii, but I’ll never forget being welcomed into the valley with a traditional Hawaiian chant.

While condos, hotels, and vacation rentals keep places like Hanalei, Kapaa and Koloa hopping, the relative lack of accommodations on the Garden Island’s arid West Side means the historic town of Waimea remains largely untouched by time or tourism. Of course, its history — and all of Hawaii’s — was irrevocably changed by the landing of British explorer Capt. James Cook and crew on Waimea’s dark sands on Jan. 20, 1778.

Just east of where Cook’s ships anchored lies Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historical Park, home to a brief incursion by Russians in the early 1800s. Kauai’s last king, Kaumualii, allowed rocks from a temple in his royal compound there to be used to build a star-shaped fort. An eight-foot bronze statue of the king was installed at Pa‘ula‘ula — the site’s now-reviving Hawaiian name — last March and immediately draped with leis. A statue of Cook, erected in 1928, stands largely neglected in a sliver of the park in town.

The influence of early 19th-century missionaries from New England is easier to spot in the quaint buildings of the Waimea Hawaiian Church and Waimea Mission Church. Waimea’s later paniolo (cowboy) heritage appears to tasty effect in Wrangler’s Restaurant and the Saddle Room, while locals favor Ishihara Market for poke, created by the Polynesian voyagers who first settled Hawaii, and diverse plate lunches — the latter reflecting the legacy of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Korean and Portuguese workers of the plantation era.

Branching out on Hawaii Island

Nicknamed the Big Island, this largest of all the Hawaiian islands provides many natural wonders, with the currently erupting Kilauea in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park among the most popular. But visiting its rare native forests can also inspire moments of awe — with a tiny fraction of fellow travelers.

About eight kilometers uphill from Waikoloa Beach Resort, the rugged terrain of the 275-acre Waikoloa Dry Forest may look unpromising as you enter its gates for the free monthly huaka‘i (guided hike) or twice-monthly, three-hour tree-planting sessions. Yet this hot, dry area holds spectacular examples of endemic wiliwili trees, some 300 years old, with orange-tinged bark, green leaves in winter, and blossoms in varying hues in summer. Hawaiians once used their lightweight wood for surfboards and outrigger canoe floats, and their red or yellow-orange seeds for lei-making.

While the wiliwili weren’t flowering on my visit, other native dryland plants more than made up for it: the canary-yellow hibiscus (ma‘o hau hele), the state flower; the more compact golden-yellow ilima shrub; and the pinkish-red flowers of the endangered uhiuhi tree. Held the first Friday of each month, for up to 25 people, the 90-minute guided hikes in the Waikoloa Dry Forest end at sunset with complimentary drinks in an oceanview pavilion.

On the privately owned upper slopes of Hualalai, the active volcano above Kailua-Kona that last erupted in 1801, you can plant a native koa tree while learning about Hawaiian culture and ecology. The five-hour Hualalai Crater Experience (for two to four people) includes a 4×4 drive, a three-kilometer hike, and a picnic lunch at the family cabin of genial guide Kimo Duarte.