Honeymoon in Vegas

While the title of this 1992 movie is not misleading -- the movie actually was filmed in Las Vegas -- you may not realize that a large portion of the movie was also filmed in Kauai, Hawaii.  I was especially excited to see Honopu Arch, which was shown only for a moment when Betsy & Tommy first arrive in Hawaii.  I was also excited as I was watching the movie when Jack & Mahi Mahi drove through the Tree Tunnel on Kauai, because I had driven through the Tree Tunnel a couple times in April of 2026.

Tree Tunnel

The Tree Tunnel is shown in the movie right when Mahi Mahi, played by Pat Morita, picks up Jack, played by Nicholas Cage, from the Lihue Airport and pretends to take him to Tommy Korman's house.  In April 2026 on our drive from the cruise ship dock in Kauai to Shipwreck Beach on the southern coast, our uber driver drove us through the Tree Tunnel, which is on Maluhia Road on Kauai.  There are over 500 eucalyptus trees lining the road and they form a tunnel that frames the road.  It is located here:  Tree Tunnel  Our taxi driver also drove us through the Tree Tunnel on our trip back to the cruise ship.

Tree Tunnel on Kauai

Tree Tunnel

Kalapaki Beach

Kalapaki Beach serves mostly as a back-drop for scenes involving the Kauai Beach Club (Marriot Kauai Beach Club), which is just behind it.  Kalapaki Beach is right next to the cruise ship terminal, and is one of my favorite beaches in Hawaii because of its accessibility and soft sand and beautiful views.  It is located here:  Kalapaki Beach

Kalapaki Beach

This is me on Kalapaki Beach in April 2026, but although this photo makes it look like we had the beach to ourselves, it was actually crowded with people.  There was still plenty of room on the sand and in the water, though.

Kalapaki Beach as seen from our cruise ship deck

Kalapaki Beach as seen from our cruise ship deck.  The lighthouse visible on the point is called Kuki'i Lighthouse.

Honopu Arch

Honopu Arch appears in the movie just as Betsy and Tommy arrive in Hawaii.  They didn't actually visit the beach in the movie, it is just shown as a famous representation of Hawaii.  You can only reach Honopu Arch by water or helicopter.  There are not roads or hiking trails to it.  To reach the arch and beach, you have to either be driven there by boat or swim from a nearby beach, which can be very dangerous.  I saw the arch by helicopter in April of 2026.  I would love to be able to walk under it someday! 

Since I was in a helicopter, and unfortunately not in the front scene, I didn't get any great photos of the view into the arch.  These photos are from above the arch.

The arch opening has sand on either side.  

You can partially see the arch opening in this photo

I would love to go back to Kauai and take a boat tour to get a much better view of the arch.  These photos are not doctored in any way.  The water truly is that blue!

The google maps location of the arch is here:  Honopu Arch

Kilauea

Kilauea is a volcano on the big island of Hawaii, located inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  In the movie Kilauea is actively erupting, so Tommy and Betsy fly over to the big island to see it.  When we visited the big island in April of 2026, Kilauea was only steaming and we didn't see any lava.  

You can visit Kilauea on the big island by visiting Volcanoes National Park.  Their official website is here:  Volcanoes National Park

Kilauea in April 2026

Kileau is located here:  Kilauea

Other filming locations for this movie include the Lihue Airport, which is a lot smaller in person than it appears in the movie, and which is located here:  Lihue Airport

Waimea Road is also featured in the movie, but that payphone is no longer there.  The filming location is here:  Captain James Cook statue on Waimea Road in  You can very clearly see the James Cook statue in the scene here:  Honeymoon in Vegas payphone scene

Other Kauai locations to visit from the movie:

*    Marriott's Kauai Beach Club, which is located right behind Kalapaki Beach

*    Anini Road where Tommy Korman's fictitious house was located

*    Anini Beach
*    Kapa'a Town