The most common Hawaii licence plate is white with an arcing rainbow across the centre of the plate. When blurred, you can sometimes see the outline of the rainbow. Front plates are required in Hawaii.

Hawaii is the only state to use its own language, though English is still predominantly used. Most place names are in Hawaiian, so you can spot it on street signs, and other road markers.

Hawaiian is a vowel-oriented language that only uses eight consonants: H, K, L, M, N, P, W, and (ʻ), called an ʻOkina.

Every Hawaiian word ends in one of 5 vowels: A, E, I, O, or U. 

Each vowel can also have a macron over it: Ā, Ē, Ī, Ō, and Ū.

These vowels are often combined to make Diphthongs. I.e. UI, AI, AE, etc...


Hawaii is known for its lush and tropical vegetation, with a variety of plants and trees. However, being a volcanic island chain, Hawaii has a wide range of landscapes, and as such vegetation as well. 

In terms of plants, you will often see plenty of ferns, tall grass, or other flowers on the sides of the roads.

Topography on Hawaii is characterised by many sloping volcanoes, rugged cliffs, hills, valleys and craters. Such distinct topography combined with tropical vegetation is a good way to identify Hawaii.

Thick yellow bands can sometimes be seen on poles in Hawaii.

Make sure not to confuse this with the 3 stripes found on Californian poles.


Raised pavement markers in Hawaii will commonly be placed in a specific pattern: a single reflector, followed by four reflectors put close together and then a single reflector, repeating the pattern.

