If you’re anything like me, you probably take a ton of photos while on vacation — especially for stunning destinations like Hawaii.
Deciding which photos to post on Instagram is enough work in itself, so let me help you with your Hawaii captions.
Broken down into helpful sections, this post has over 150 delightful, audience-pleasing Hawaii quotes and captions for Instagram.
Hawaii captions for Instagram
You can’t go wrong with these classic Hawaii captions. Keep ’em short and sweet and let your reels and photos of the beautiful Hawaiian islands do all the talking instead.
On island time.
The floor is lava.
But first, shave ice.
Peace. Love. Aloha.
Pineapple princess.
No rain, no rainbows.
Alexa, play Lost in Paradise.
Volcanoes. So hot right now.
Somewhere over the rainbow.
Gone to Hawai’i. Be back never.
Tiny bubbles. – Don Ho
Coconut? You mean drink holder!
A pineapple a day keeps the doctor away.
Hawai’i: where it really is all rainbows & sunshine.
Hawai’i is a paradise born of fire. – Rand McNally
The one where they went to [insert name of Hawaiian island].
Hawai’i is calling and I must go. – This one is great for a mini vlog about packing and the long flight!
NOTE: If any of the volcanos are active and displacing people from their homes, it’s not the time to make a joke like the 2 volcano captions above. You might be on vacation or like to use humor to deal with things, but it’s just insensitive. Save it for another time when no one’s worried about losing their home or life!
Let’s get salty.
Island mode: activated.
Tonight’s agenda: a luau & mai tais.
I got 99 problems, but this island ain’t one.
If you like piña coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain…
A bad day in Hawai’i is better than a good day anywhere else.
Be a pineapple: stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside.
Sunny days and starry nights. – A timelapse reel or video of day to night would be perfect for this one!
A shave ice a day keeps the worries away. – How about a reel or IG carousel about the best shave ice spots you tried?
Surfing quotes and Instagram captions
Did you even visit Hawai’i if you didn’t attempt to surf or at least watch surfers at the beach?
Pair these surfing quotes and Instagram captions with photos of your surf experience.
Surf’s up!
Wipe out!
Hang loose.
Life is swell.
Dawn patrol.
Pray for surf.
Off the hook.
Ride the wave.
Waves & Rays.
Waves for days.
Catch the wave.
We surf at dawn.
Peace. Love. Surfing.
You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. – Jon Kabat-zan
Catch a wave and you’re sittin’ on top of the world. – Catch a Wave, The Beach Boys
Off to hula, hula land. – A fun Hawaiian twist on lyrics from Metallica’s Enter Sandman.
For a surfer, it’s never ending. There’s always some wave you want to surf. – Kelly Slater
E ka pua u’i oe o na lani – Translates to Oh beautiful flower of the heavens and is a song lyric from Ka Pa U’i by Israel Kamakawaiwo’ole
Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono – King Kameameha III; This saying translates to The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness and became the Hawai’i state motto in 1959.
You might also like: The Absolute Best Gifts for Surfers
Hawaiian sayings & local slang
Did you know that the Hawaiian language was once banned from schools? It goes all the way back to the early days of statehood.
That’s right – not only was the monarch overthrown and its land stolen, but the US tried to kill their culture, too.
It wasn’t until the 80s that it started to be integrated back into schools of all ages, from preschool to higher education.
Pay your respects to native Hawaiians by using their beautiful language and local slang that has developed over the years to caption your Instagram photos and reels.
A hui hou – Until we meet again.
Aloha – This can be used for Hello, Goodbye, and I love you!
E hele kāua – Let’s party!
Hale – home
‘Imi ola – Seek life.
Ke kali nei au – Waiting here for you.
Ke ola – the life
Keiki – child
Keiki o ka ‘āina – child of the land
Mahalo – Thank you
Mahalo ke akua – Thanks be to God.
Mele Kalikimaka – Merry Christmas
Nani – beautiful girl
‘Ohana – Hawaiian word for family
‘Ohana nui – extended family
Blend English with Hawaiian for even more captions, like below:
Keiki on board.
Hale sweet hale.
Aloha state of mind.
All you need is ‘ohana.
Feeling the aloha spirit.
Aloha from [insert name of Hawaiian island].
The future is wahine. – Wahine means woman or female.
Howzit? – This popular slang means What’s up? or How are you?
Live. Laugh. Aloha. – Just try not to be corny or Karen-y when using this one, ok?
Ono grindz – This Hawaiian pidgin phrase means delicious food – of which you will find plenty during your visit!
Are you planning to visit more than one island in Hawai’i? Be sure to check out my post about island hopping in Hawaii!
Hawaiian proverbs and sayings
These beautiful Hawaiian proverbs and sayings just might be the best way to describe how you’re feeling or what you want to express in your captions. Try ’em out!
Kūlia I ka nu’u – Strive for the summit.
Ua ola loko i ke aloha – Love gives life within.
Ma ka hana ka ‘ike. – Through doing one learns.
‘A’ohe loa I ka hana a ke aloha – Distance is ignored by love.
Ua ola no I ka pane a ke aloha – There is life in a kindly reply.
O Hawai’i no ka aina maikai – After all, Hawaii is the best land.
Kahuna nui hale kealohalani makua – Love all you see, including yourself.
Oi kau ka lau, E hana I ola Honua. – Live your life while the sun is still shining.
Ua kuluma ke kanaka I ke aloha – It is natural for people to behave in a loving way.
Ku’ia kahele aka na’au ha’aha’a – A humble person walks carefully so as to not hurt others.
E hele me ka pu’olo – Make every person or better than you left it. Basically the OG “leave no trace behind”!
Kuhi no ka lima, hele no ka maka – Where the hands move, let the eyes follow; an essential rule in hula dancing.
I ho’okahi kahi ka mana’o, I ho’okahi kahi pu’uwai, I ho’okahi kahi ke aloha – Be of one mind, one heart, and one love.
Aloha aku, Aloha mai – The rough translation means love outward, love inward, meaning love everyone and everything. What a lovely saying!
‘A’a i ka hula, waiho ka hilahila ma ka hale – Get up and dance, leave the shyness at home. Kind of like the popular saying dance like no one is watching!
Hawaii captions for couples
If you’re in Hawai’i for your honeymoon, destination wedding, or a couples trip, these cutesy captions for couples are perfect for you.
I lava you.
Musubae.
Just Maui’d.
Paradise found.
I think you’re swell.
Lava’s all you need.
Mermaid for each other.
I’m coco-nuts about you.
The pineapple to my coconut.
You’re the pineapple of my eye.
I keep on waterfallin’ in love with you.
This is the moment of sweet aloha. – Elvis
It’s always sunshine and rainbows with you.
Two less fish in the sea. – This cutesy caption would be perfect for the newly engaged or married!
Funny Hawaii puns for cute captions
I love a good pun – especially for a quick and easy Instagram caption. These puns are all fun crowd-pleasers for your Insta-audience.
Oh poi!
Lei’d back.
Lei-ing low.
Beach baes
I lava Hawai’i!
Just got lei’d.
Happy Hulaween
Gone cocoNUTS.
Just lei-ing around.
Let’s get coconutty.
Feelin’ un loco moco.
You drive me loco moco!
Shaka your groove thing.
I got lei’d on [insert name of Hawaiian island].
Girls are made with sugar & shave ice and everything nice. – I love this for girls’ trips captions!
Before you visit, check out my tips on how to have the best Hawaii vacation ever.
The best Hawaii quotes for Instagram
If you’re not sure what to post, how about sharing the words of others? These quotes are perfect for pairing with your photos on Instagram.
Hawaii can be heaven and it can be hell. – Jeff Goldblum
Hawaii is so boring because it’s always sunny. – Daniel Dae Kim
I believe Hawaii is the most precious jewel in the world. – Don Ho
The hula is the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people. – King David Kalakaua
No one has family in Hawaii. Everyone is family in Hawaii. – Richie Norton
The history of Hawaii may be seen as a story of arrivals. – Susanna Moore
Being in Hawaii, it’s almost impossible not to be fit, I think. – Henry Ian Cusick
Coming to Hawaii is like going from black and white to color. – John Richard Stephens
For me, the magic of Hawaii comes from the stillness, the sea, the stars. – Joanne Harris
Hawaii is paradise. It sounds cheesy to say it, but there’s music in the air there. – Bruno Mars
You don’t have to live in Hawaii or even be Hawaiian to embrace the aloha spirit. – Mark Ellman
May there always be warmth in your hale, fish in your net, and aloha in your heart. – Hawaiian blessing
‘Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. – Stitch, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch
May there always be tradewinds behind you, rainbows above you, and aloha all around you. – Hawaiian saying & Kauai blessing
Hawaii is the island of big dreams for both islanders and guests. Those dreams born in paradise can indeed come true. – Sharon Linnea
In Hawaii we have something called Ho’oponopono, where people come together to resolve crises and restore peace and balance. – Duane Chapman
Aloha is the unconditional desire to promote the true good of other people in a friendly spirit out of a sense of kinship. – Reverend Dr. Abraham Akaka
The beauty of Hawaii probably surpasses other places. I like the Big Island and the 2 mountains, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, where you can look out at the stars. – Astronaut Buzz Aldrin
Hawaii is the only place in the 50 states where you can see the stars of the entire northern and southern hemispheres. Here stars that can’t be seen from the mainland are visible, along with stars that aren’t visible from Australia. – John Richard Stephens
The Hawaiian people have been from time immemorial lovers of poetry and music, and have been apt in improvising historic poems, songs of love, and chants of worship, so that praises of the living or wails over the dead were with them but the natural expression of their feelings. – Queen Lili’uokalani
Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace. – Paul Theroux
I feel very honored that the Hawaiian spirits chose to contact me. – Steven Magee
Chasing kids on the beach and sleeping is the closest thing I come to exercising while in Hawaii. – Adam Scott
Incredible as it might seem, Hawaii is like a gigantic raft, drifting slowly with the centuries. – Incredible Hawaii by Terence Barrow
The loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean. – Letters from Hawaii by Mark Twain for the Sacramento Union newspaper
Some people say Hawaii is spoiled, but I don’t think so. It’s modern. It’s a part of today’s world. – James MacArthur, actor from the original Hawaii Five-O
I try to explain to them about the aloha spirit. And it’s that spirit that I am absolutely convinced is what America is looking for right now. – Former US president, Barack Obama
A slight breeze cooled the Hawaiian spring air, swaying the branches of palm trees, which cast black silhouettes against the purple and orange colors of the twilight sky. – Capturing the Sunset by Victoria Kahler
Hawaii is still the single most frequent fantasy destination, not because of political stability or conveniences, but because Hawaii seduces the imagination. It’s the perfect postcard, no props, no fillers. – Robert Wintner
I wish you were here with me / Walking on the beach in Hawaii / Playing on the golden sand / Looking at the ocean now I understand / Love is like the open sea / And I wish you were here with me / On the beach in Hawai’i – Beach in Hawaii by Bob Marley
Hawaiian music is the roots of the Hawaiian people. It tells the history of where we came from. Not having Hawaiian music in my life would be like losing half of my body because Hawaiian music helps me be a better person. – Kevin Brown, Hawaiian slack key guitarist
Everywhere I went in the wild corners of Hawaii, I found that the biology was as astonishing as the beauty. The landscapes have value beyond the enchantment of a waterfall or the surreal drama of an expanse of slick rock with bits of green life taking hold. Exploring these islands intrigues the mind and stirs the imagination, for nature in Hawaii is at her most inventive and extravagant best. – Hawaii’s Hidden Treasures by Cynthia Russ Ramsay
No alien land in all the world has any deep strong charm for me but that one, no other land could so longingly and so beseechingly haunt me, sleeping and waking, through half a lifetime, as that one has done. Other things leave me, but it abides; other things change, but it remains the same. For me the balmy airs are always blowing, its summer seas flashing in the sun; the pulsing of its surfbeat is in my ear; I can see its garlanded crags, its leaping cascades, its plumy palms drowsing by the shore, its remote summits floating like islands above the cloud wrack; I can feel the spirit of its wild land solitudes, I can hear the splash of its brooks; in my nostrils still lives the breath of flowers that perished twenty years ago. – Mark Twain in Hawaii: Roughing it in the Sandwich Islands: Hawaii in the 1860s by Mark Twain & Day A. Grove
Captions for when you’re missing Hawaii
Last but not least, when your trip is long gone and you’re missing Hawai’i, post a throwback with one of these thoughtful captions.
Alexa, take me back to Hawai’i, please.
[Throwback Thursday/Flashback Friday] to when I was living the Aloha life.
Dreaming of [insert your favorite Hawaiian snack]. – Perfect for compilation reel of your fave!
The only good thing about leaving Hawaii is that you really appreciate it when you return. – John Richard Stephens
There’s no place like these islands. They are alive. And the mana is real – it’s strong and powerful. You get lost in time when you’re over here. – Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock
I left my heart in [insert name of Hawaiian island]. – I love the trend of photo dumps set to fast paced music. This would be a great caption to pair with photos of your Hawaiian vacation.
Somehow the love of the islands, like the love of a woman, just happens. One cannot determine in advance to love a particular woman, nor can one so determine to love Hawaii. – Jack London
Which Hawaii quotes or captions did you use for your Instagram photos?
For more Hawaii travel tips and Instagram caption ideas for your Hawaii photos and videos, check out these posts:
Also, if you’ll be staying at Aulani, a Disney Resort in Ko Olina, Oahu, check out the post 150+ Perfect Disney Captions for Instagram from my Disney site, The Park Pixie!
This post was originally published June 12, 2021. It was last updated November 6, 2022.
