Hawaiian Flower Leis - Meaning and Etiquette

Leis are traditional Hawaiian flower necklaces given as a sign of welcoming and to show affection. Hawaiian flower leis are made of beautiful and colorful blossoms found in Hawaii.  Orchids are the most popular flowers for Hawaiian leis.  Plumeria and Lehua Blossoms are other common lei flowers. Leis traditionally express love, reverent, respect, congratulations and welcome.  

The different colors of Hawaiian Lei Greetings can have different meanings.


Orchids – Purple, Green and White Hawaiian Flower Leis: Orchid leis are often given to visitors to welcome them to Hawaii.  Orchid leis are also given as a thank you.

Ilima Flower Leis – Orange, Red and Brown Hawaiian Flower Leis: The ilima flower is the official flower of Oahu and symbolizes love.

Green Maile Ti Leaf Leis – Ti Leaf Leis symbolize admiration, appreciation and respect. Ti leaf leis are often used as gifts for weddings, graduations, anniversaries and memorials.

Kukui Nuts Leis – The Kukui nut lei was once a symbol of royalty.  These brown leis are given to show respect or appreciation. 

Carnations - White, Pink, or Red Hawaiian Flower Leis:  Leis made with carnations are often exchanged during weddings or anniversary parties.  These leis symbolize love.

Hawaiian leis were not always made with flowers. Ancient Hawaiians used feathers, leaves, beads, ivory, shells and animal teeth. Leis were first recorded by Captain Cook in 1779 but the tradition dates back many centuries.  Early Polynesians used them for beauty and to distinguish themselves from others.  They exchanged leis with each other to show love and friendship. Special Leis were given meaning to signify events such as marriage, community, birth, religious ceremonies, grief, death, community and politics.


There are certain rules of etiquette when it comes to Hawaiian Lei Greetings. A Hawaiian Lei is a symbol of welcome, affection or friendship, so a lei given as a gift should should never be refused. A person is considered rude if they remove their lei in the presence of the person who gave it to them.
 When wearing a lei it should be gently draped on the shoulders with part of the lei hanging down in the front and back.

Hawaiian Flower Leis continue to be a gesture of welcome to visitors. Hawaii became a popular tourist destination in the late 1800s and early 1900s when people would come to visit Hawaii by boat. During these times the lei became popular among tourists as vendors sold leis to visitors as they arrived, welcoming them with an “aloha.” The tradition of Hawaiian Lei Greetings has been embraced ever since. Today people can still get an authentic lei and the welcoming aloha spirit when they arrive in Hawaii.

John and I were greeted with beautiful fragrant Hawaiian Flower Leis at the Honolulu Airport.  Hawaii Discount offers a variety of Lei Greetings such as Superior Leis, Deluxe Leis, Standard Leis, Ti Leis, KuKui Nut Leis and Candy Leis.

Receiving Hawaii Flower Leis are the best way to start a Hawaii Vacation! Check out the variety of Kona Airport Lei Greetings, Honolulu Airport Lei Greetings, Lihue Airport Lei Greetings, and Kahului Airport Lei Greetings.

Hawaii Discount and the Best Kauai Activities

One man’s Hawaii Vacation turned into a multi million dollar business that now does over 8 million dollars a year in sales.  John Fradella spent about $5,000 on Hawaii Activities during a Hawaii vacation in 1999.  The cost accompanied by the frustration of missing out on several must see Hawaii activities because they were already full as well as wasting vacation time trying to book activities led him to launch HawaiiDiscount.com.

13 years later Hawaii Discount is bigger and better than ever.  One of the Hawaii Discount employees, the company’s Social Media Manager, is John’s little sister - me.  A few weeks ago the two of us conquered Kauai! Each morning we were up before the roosters and we spent each day meeting with vendors and making sure that Hawaii Discount offers only the best Kauai Activities.

Smith's Tropical Paradise Luau 

Over the next few weeks I will be highlighting several of the Kauai Activities we took part in.  As a brother/sister duo we had a blast! From the breathtaking views of the Garden Island via Kauai Helicopter Tours to tubing down a sugar cane plantation’s irrigation ditch with Kauai Backcountry Adventures, we experienced Kauai’s beauty with some of the best Kauai Activities.

The Descendants Oscar Nominations - Kauai Movie Tours

Congratulations to George Clooney, Alexander Payne and The Descendants for their Oscar Nominations for Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.  In honor of the nominations I have attached some additional photos of one the most beautiful beaches in the world, Hanalei Bay.

The breathtaking beauty of Hanalei Bay was captured in the Oscar Nominated film, The Descendants.

Photo Courtesy of Foxlight Pictures

Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Hanalei Pier was originally built in 1892 to help Hanalei farmers forward their taro crops to market.  It was a Kauai film location for the 1957 film, South Pacific.

Aloha Hawaii Activities- Hawaii Tours Traveling Trio

After an exciting week of Hawaii Activities the Traveling Trio's mission was complete.  We went to one of the Best Big Island Restaurants, Huggo's on the Rocks, to celebrate our epic adventures.

We made a toast to the beautiful islands, the amazing people we met and the breathtaking sites we had seen.

D'jibia, who was nervous about the Big Island Helicopter Tour, said Sunshine Helicopters ended up being her favorite activity.  It gave her a new perspective and made her realize how small we are in this world.

Oh Poi! Taro Pies!

McDonald's didn't make my list of Best Oahu Restaurants or Best Kauai Restaurants but if you want a unique McDonald's treat in Hawaii stop by for a Taro Pie!

The Taro Pie has the same crust and shape as their Apple Pie but the purple filling is sweet and creamy with small cubes of taro in it. The taste of the taro is subtle in the hot, sticky filling.

Poi is a Hawaiian staple made from the corm of the taro plant. The texture of poi is like paste and the flavor is delicate.  Poi is very nutritious and is even fed to babies born with milk allergies.

If you don't make it to McDonald's for a Taro Pie be sure to try Poi at a Hawaiian Luau! I recommend eating Poi with lomi lomi salmon on the side. If you are looking for the best Hawaii Luaus check out Hawaii Discount. Hawaii Discount offers low prices on Maui Luaus, Kauai Luaus, Oahu Luaus, and Big Island Luaus.

Have you had a Taro Pie? Did you like it?

Which Island for My Hawaii Vacation?

One of the best parts of my job is helping others plan their Hawaii Vacation.  The number one question we get is "Which island should we go to?" The beauty of Hawaii is the distinct personality of each island.  The "best" island to visit depends on what the person is looking for in a Hawaii Vacation.  Today we got this question on our Hawaii Discount Facebook page.  My answer seemed to long for facebook so I decided to blog about it.


Q: "I'm a 28 year old single mom who is taking my son and a friend of ours to Hawaii (from Alaska) March 9th to 17th. This is our first trip to Hawaii. We love the outdoors and want to hike, snorkel, sit on the beach, ride bikes, cliff jump, and see lava and waterfalls. We are thinking Big Island but up for any suggestions. We need a place to stay and a place to rent a car. We prefer making our own meals and would like to stay at a low cost. Any ideas? Thank you SO much for your help!"


A: 
When you mentioned that you wanted to see lava my first instinct is to tell you to visit the Big Island.  The Big Island boasts 11 out of the Earth's 13 climate zones and has something for everyone!  Where else can you snow ski and snorkel in the same day? Just know there is not a guarantee you will see flowing lava.  The volcano has it's own schedule.  We were there last Monday and were not able to see any active lava but we did go back during the evening to see the glow from the crater.  I have also been on Big Island helicopter tours where we were able to see amazing lava flow that cannot be seen by land. Although you may not see flowing lava the Big Island is such a sight from the moment you drive out of the Kona Airport and see the roads lined with black lava rock.  You can also check out some of the scenic black sand beaches - some are less than 20 years old!  The Big Island has gorgeous waterfalls and a variety of Big Island activities that you and your son would both enjoy!  Some of my favorite snorkeling is the Big Island's Kealakekua Bay, site of Captain Cook's Monument.  The Big Island also offers the unique experience of Manta Ray Night Snorkeling which some say is their favorite Hawaii Activity!

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island

Kauai Movie Locations - The Descendants

Hanalei Bay as seen from Kauai Helicopter Tours

A few years ago I was an extra in the movie Leatherheads which was directed by and starred George Clooney.  He was extremely nice to the extras and just as charming on set as he is on the big screen. When I heard George Clooney was filming a movie in Hawaii I couldn't wait to see the film that included my favorite actor and my favorite state!  Many of the scenes in The Descendants were filmed in and around Hanalei Bay on Kauai's North Shore.

Hanalei Bay is a stunning beach that has striking mountains as its backdrop. This beautiful Kauai beach was used for several scenes in the George Clooney film, The Descendants.

Two cottages on this beach were used in filming. They can be rented from Hanalei Land Company for about $5,000 a week.