Ah, is there any other island paradise as grand as Hawaii? The nice part that people like about Hawaii is that if you’re from the United States, you don’t have to do anything special to get access to Hawaii — you just go ahead and go. Hawaii is actually considered part of the United States, and there is never a passport requirement in order to enter and leave Hawaii — as long as you are moving back and forth from island to mainland, and vice versa. The only time that you would need a passport is if you wanted to go on an international flight from Hawaii to say, Japan — it is on that side of the world, you know.

If you are thinking about going to Hawaii for the first time, then you definitely want to read this guide!

First and foremost, Hawaii is a great choice for many reasons. As mentioned above, it’s right within the United States. However, even if you’re not from the United States, Hawaii’s closeness to the mainland of the US is definitely appealing. You’ll be able to really do anything you could do elsewhere, except you won’t get the same views that you find in Hawaii. It’s a nice state that offers people a chance to really feel like they’ve escaped to another world.

One big question that people think about first is where to actually stay in Hawaii. If you aren’t familiar with the state’s geographic information, here’s an update: Hawaii is actually composed of multiple islands. The island state is composed of eight main islands: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawai’i (Big Island). If you’re trying to visit for the first time, you might want to think about traveling to Maui or the Big Island. These are tourist hot spots and there’s plenty to do. If you want a more “native” experience (remember, there is a native population that is truly Hawaiian in culture), you will need to check out Kahoolawe or even Oahu. When you’re trying to check out the state for the first time, you don’t want to try to hop from island to island. Until you’ve gotten used to the laid back ways of Hawaii, you might want to pick one island and explore it — after all, you can always come back another time, right?

Speaking of times and frequencies, you might want to make sure that your first trip is at least 7 days. While it’s possible to go to Hawaii for a weekend, there’s just too much to do — you’ll definitely want and need more time than just a weekend to enjoy Hawaii!

When you’re trying to figure out what to pack for Hawaii, you should make sure that you really try to keep things light. It can be tempting to layer down — especially in the wintertime, but trust us — you aren’t going to really want to wear too much. Summer clothes and maybe a few things to keep out the winter chill will be the best things to do. Everything else is going to be a bit too heavy.