Here are 6 Ways to Get Lucky on Valentine’s Day 2024 in Hawaiʻi

This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Wednesday. Though celebrating on a “school night” probably doesn’t allow for a late night out for most, there are still plenty of romantic fun to be had. While traditional activities are always a good time for the most romantic day of the year, in Hawai‘i it’s a lot more fun to turn tradition on its head a little.

1. Get Sweet with Your Honey

The exclusive Honey Escape Signature Spa Treatment at the Four Seasons Lānaʻi.
Photo: Courtesy of the Four Seasons Lānaʻi

If you think your partner is the bee’s knees, celebrate Valentine’s Day together with a little help from some tiny friends. Thanks to the diversity of flowering plants throughout the Islands, Hawai‘i is home to a variety of beautiful honies and honey products, including mead. 

At Hi Honey on O‘ahu’s North Shore couples can take a honey farm tour and taste some of the liquid gold produced there. At Four Seasons Lāna‘i’s Hawanawana Spa guests can relax with a Honey Escape Signature Spa Treatment, a head-to-toe treatment featuring honey to help hydrate and nourish skin. On Hawai‘i Island, the brand-new Big Island Meadery offers a tasting room to try out some of their honey wine or its unique mead slushies—and also grab a last minute gift. On O‘ahu you can also pick up some mead and gifts from Mānoa Honey & Mead’s honey house in Wahiawā.

2. Don’t Just Give Flowers, Make Lei Together

Making lei with Haku Maui.
Photo: Courtesy of Haku Maui

We all know roses are red and violets are blue, but this is Hawai‘i, and the most romantic flowers come in the form of plumeria, pīkake, and puakenikeni. Not only are the flowers beautiful and wonderfully aromatic, but the intimate nature of creating a lei together makes for a very romantic afternoon. Learning to make lei also helps to perpetuate Hawaiian culture and supports cultural practitioners, so it’s a win-win all around.

Find lei-making workshops at Haku Maui, which offers lei wili workshops, and at Mohalu Hawai‘i on Hawai‘i Island, where guests can create lei kui, lei hilo or lei wili styles. On O‘ahu gal pals can bond over lei po‘o at Lulu’s Lei & Bouquet’s Galentine workshop.

3. Indulge in Chocolate Like You Only Can in Hawai‘i

Chocolate and wine tasting at Mānoa Chocolate in Kailua.
Photo: Catherine Toth Fox

What’s Valentine’s Day without a little chocolate for your sweetie? Since Hawai‘i is the only U.S. state to commercially grow cacao, it’s no surprise that we have some of the most tasty and high-quality chocolate available to us. 

On Maui the Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate’s Chocolate Factory Experience allows guests into the factory to see how their chocolate is made and to taste it at various steps in the process. After watching the magic, guests can build their own gift box with chocolates that incorporate tropical flavors. On Hawai‘i Island (at Honoka‘a Chocolate Co.)  and Kauai (at Lydgate Farms), couples have the option of taking a romantic stroll through cacao trees during a farm tour and chocolate tasting. For a more laid-back chocolate experience, Mānoa Chocolate on O‘ahu is home to a natural wine bar where guests can sip on vino and snack on chocolate and charcuterie.  

(FYI: Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate Factory & Café is located just outside of the Lahaina burn zone, but it is accessible and could use your business.)

4. Sneak Away to a Speakeasy

 

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Sometimes it’s nice to spice things up with the feeling of forbidden love. What better way to stoke those passionate flames than by tucking away into a hidden bar for an intimate evening over cocktails?

O‘ahu has plenty of options for speakeasy bars, but Kailua’s Gaslamp is a real standout thanks to its rich, dark tones, live jazz music nightly and elevated food and beverage program. Though Maui doesn’t technically have a speakeasy, Makawao Public House, with its plush couches, moody chandeliers, and elegant cocktails comes pretty close. Surprisingly enough, Hilo is now home to its own speakeasy, so Big Islanders can hide away at the Hidden Nēnē to enjoy delightful Prohibition-era cocktails.

5. Lean into Your Animal Instincts

Ride horses on the beach at Turtle Bay Resort on Oʻahu.
Photo: Courtesy Turtle Bay Resort

Spending a little time walking on the wild side can be both romantic, cute and comforting, all at the same time. Hanging out with animals on Valentine’s Day is great if you’re into heavy petting—get it?—in public.

For a classic moment, couples can mount up for a romantic horseback ride along the North Shore with Turtle Bay Resort’s Sweetheart Sunset Ride that includes a fresh flower lei (this special activity is open to the public, not just resort guests). Couples can give back together by volunteering at Leilani Farm Sanctuary on Maui; hopefully, no one is the jealous type because there are plenty of snuggle opportunities available with cats, guinea pigs, deer and more. Everyone knows that cats are the best cuddlers, and they don’t mind being involved in a throuple because that usually means more head scratches for them; sip on coffee and love on cats at the new Kona Kat Café, and your twosome may end up as a threesome. 

6. Retreat to a Romantic Hotel for a Night or Two

Enjoy a romantic staycation.
Photo: Courtesy of the Four Seasons Resort Oʻahu

There’s really nothing like quality alone time when it comes to celebrating Valentine’s Day, and where better to do that than at one of the amazing resorts that Hawai‘i has to offer?

The Westin Hāpuna on Hawai‘i Island is offering a Lovers Lei Luxe Package that includes 30% off suites, two Westin Heavenly bathrobes, a bottle of wine and a platter of chocolate-covered strawberries on arrival. At Four Seasons Oʻahu at Ko ʻOlina, couples can enjoy a variety of romantic activities including couples massages, relaxing at the adults-only pool and private dinners. On Maui the Fairmont Kea Lani offers up the Grand Romance Package featuring a bottle of champagne, a romantic Twilight Dinner and a private poolside cabana.

Other great spots for romantic getaways include Ko‘a Kea Resort on Kauai, Hotel Wailea on Maui, and Halekūlani Hotel on O‘ahu, as well as these other romantic resorts that are great for honeymoons.