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With breathtaking vistas, secluded grottos, crashing waves, and endless beaches, Hawaii’s movie-star looks have made it a popular filming location. The first movies shot here, two short films called The Shark God and Hawaiian Love, debuted back in 1913. Since then, countless movies have either been set in Hawaii or used the islands’ lush, varied landscapes and seascapes as stand-ins for tropical paradises both real and imagined.

If you’re a movie buff, you’ll want to check out some of Hawaii’s most famous filming locations. Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up in the background of a shot and get your big break.

Huleia River, Kauai

Winding through the “Garden Isle” of Kauai is the Huleia River, the filming location for one of Hollywood’s most memorable introductions of an iconic character.

Audiences first met Indiana Jones as he snatched a golden idol from a booby trapped temple deep in the Amazon. Rather than relocate filming for 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark to South America, however, director Steven Spielberg used the Huleia River as a substitute. A temple façade was constructed nearby, and tribesmen chased Indy from there to the riverbank, where he finally escaped on a float plane.

Today, a rope swing hangs near the riverside so that you can recreate Indy’s daring escape. The area surrounding the river was once a wetlands used for rice and taro cultivation, but it now serves as a wildlife refuge that’s teeming with colorful birds, lizards, and fish. Several companies offer paddle tours of the river.

Manawaiopuna Falls, Kauai

After filming Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg returned to Hawaii a decade later for his smash hit Jurassic Park (1993). This time, the islands didn’t act as the Amazon but as the fictional Central American island of Isla Nublar. 

The 400-foot-tall Manawaiopuna Falls was one of Jurassic Park’s twelve filming locations in Hawaii. In the movie, a helicopter carrying Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm lands on a helipad that the film crew constructed in front of the falls. The helicopter also flies down the nearby Hanopepe Valley.

The falls are remote and, just like in the movie, are only accessible by helicopter tour. Until recently, Hawaii did not permit helicopters to land near the falls to avoid damaging the fragile ecosystem. However, the state now permits a limited number of helicopters to land, giving you the option of seeing the striking twin falls from both land and air.

Make Horse Beach, Molokai

Steven Spielberg isn’t the only director in an ongoing love affair with Hawaii. Jerry Bruckheimer first visited the islands to film scenes for 2001’s Pearl Harbor. He returned several years later to shoot the heart-wrenching ending to 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

In the movie, Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner sacrifices himself and becomes the new captain of The Flying Dutchman, cursed to only set foot on land once every ten years. Standing on Molokai’s Make Horse Beach, Will bids farewell to Kiera Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann before setting off on his first decade-long stint at sea.

Bruckheimer returned to Hawaii once more for Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides to film at Kauai’s Honopu Arch and Oahu’s Halona Cave.

Kualoa Ranch, O’ahu

The most famous Hawaiian filming location is Kualoa Ranch, a 4,000-acre private nature reserve and working cattle ranch on O’ahu’s windward coast. According to legend, this is where the earth mother Papahanaumoku and the sky father Wakea buried their stillborn son Haloa; the first taro plant is said to have sprung from his gravesite.

The dramatic landscape has attracted more than 200 film crews over the years and has been featured in movies including Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, 50 First Dates, Kong: Skull Island, and The Hunger Games. Tours of the filming locations and ranch are available by bus, ATV, or even on horseback.

Written by Chris, a local expert guide for Waikiki Crawling. A historian on the lam from the world of academia, Chris enjoys gardening, hiking, and playing at open mic nights after one too many beers. Want to learn more about Honolulu’s hidden history? Join us on an Aloha Pub Crawl!