hawaii (oahu)

We took Alaska, we got a really good BOGO deal. No issues, no notes.

You will absolutely need a car. There will be lots of things you want to see across the entire island, and you’ll save yourself lots of time by having a car.

If you're a Microsoft employee, the employee discount may apply. Book through the app, it’s easier. If you have issues, you can call them.

Parking can be a bit of a pain around Waikiki, so I would recommend walking where you can.

Location

Waikiki is the most recommended place to stay. That’s where most of the resorts/hotels are, and it’s the most city-like. Very walkable, lots of stores, cafes, restaurants. Probably the most “alive” neighbourhood. Make sure you’re always walking together at night.

We also really liked North Beach (Haleiwa) as an area but not sure what accommodations are like here. It’s cleaner and quieter for sure, but you might feel a little removed from everything.

Hotels

Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach: This is where we stayed, and we didn’t hate it but we definitely didn’t love it. The rooms were a little old and musty and the free breakfast was kind of disappointing.

Queen Kapiʻolani Hotel Waikīkī Beach: Our pool was broken so they let us go come here to use theirs, and it looked much better. I’d recommend staying here if you can.

Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach: We walked past this one and it looked amazing, not sure what prices are like, but it looked really classy and upscale.

Snorkeling

This was one of the biggest highlights of the trip for us, I had so much fun snorkeling and wished I carved out more time for it. I honestly felt like a mermaid.

Location and Booking

Highly recommend going to Hanauma Bay to snorkel. You need to book a reservation though—make sure you book right from their website, not a third party tour site. You can find their FAQs here (super helpful) and then you ultimately book on this site. Reservations open 48 hours before at 7am Hawaiian time, I would set an alarm just in case.

Equipment

Unless you’re an avid snorkeler, I’d recommend just renting equipment there, which costs $25 for everything. You can pay like $5 extra for your own mouthpiece, which I’d obviously recommend. The anti-fog spray they put in the goggles irritated my skin though, so bring a moisturizer.

Timing

Book an early time slot so you can spend as much time here as you want! They make you start leaving the beach around 3pm, and the rental shop closes even earlier, so if you go in the morning you can maximize your time there. Note: they are closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Kualoa Ranch & Ziplining

Kualoa Ranch is where they filmed some scenes from Jurassic Park! It’s a really cool area, and we booked the ziplining package from here, which I think included like 6 ziplines across the ranch. The guys running it were super fun, and we met some cool people in our group. I would only recommend this if you have extra time you want to kill or if you really like ziplining.

They also had a package for a Secret Island Beach Day—which is their own beach on the ranch. They have paddleboards, kayaks, beach volleyball, etc. We booked a half-day there, and played volleyball with a group of guys lol. It was nice to not have to book any equipment and still enjoy the beach :)

Waimea Valley—Toa Luau

You will see ads for Luaus everywhere you go. It’s a traditional Hawaiian experience and dinner, and they have so many everywhere. The one we went to is very highly rated, and we LOVED it. I would absolutely recommend. It is more on the pricey side though.

We went to Toa Luau. It’s located in Waimea Valley, which is a garden that you get free access to with your ticket. It’s a 3-hour event, funny, amazing, incredible. The food was great, the performance was awesome, overall very wholesome and we learned a lot about Hawaiian culture. This place is also family-owned and run, so it was awesome to support Hawaiian families directly.

Hiking

Diamond Head

We didn’t want to deal with the hassle of parking there (I think you need to book it in advance) so we actually just walked from Waikiki to the trailhead, I think the whole thing took us a little over 2 hours. The hike itself was good, no comments. Someone actually got rescued by helicopter while we were there (no idea why, it really wasn’t bad at all LOL).

Koko Crater Railway

This one killed me. It’s stairs all the way up—1048 steps to be exact (!!!) But honestly, I would do it again. The steps get a little rickety near the top which was probably the scariest part, but doable. The view is super rewarding too.

Lanikai Pillbox

Incredible view, but the terrain is super slippery because it’s mostly sand. It’s a short hike but pretty steep. We had a good time though.

Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail

Super short and sweet, cute lighthouse, the trail is all paved. If you find yourself in the area (east Oahu), highly recommend.

Manoa Falls Trail

Meh, the waterfall was pretty dry when we went. Wouldn’t really recommend.

Surfing

We didn’t end up going surfing because I’m too much of a scaredy cat, but one of my friends recommends Sparky’s Surf School in Waikiki.

• Everyone and their mom online yaps about Giovanni’s Shrimp truck—I did NOT like it. Jenny’s Shrimp truck was SOOO much better. Honestly some of the best shrimp I’ve had. I recommend the spicy butter one, it wasn’t too spicy but the flavour was great.
• Now that Raising Canes opened in UDistrict I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, but we had Canes like 3 times within that week LOL. A solid fast food.
• If you can find a hotel with free breakfast included, it’ll save you lots of time. We ate breakfast in the hotel in the morning and then started our day right away.
• Acai bowls. Anywhere.
• Buy a small crate of water and just put it in the trunk of your car. We also bought a bunch of snacks and fruits and put them there too, was helpful for when we were hungry but didn’t want to waste too much time.
• Poke bowls. Also anywhere. They’re a little annoying with the toppings but yum delicious.
• Yummy Huli Huli Chicken. It is yummy but that’s what the place is called. Fairly cheap and pretty good.
• Shaved ice is a huge thing in Hawaii. It’s a decent dessert, worth trying. Didn’t think it was WOW or anything though.
• Duke’s Seafood in Waikiki was recommended to us (we didn’t end up going). Recommended for the view, not as much for the food.

PLEASE be careful swimming in the beaches. We had a kind of bad experience—the waves can be REALLY strong. If you want to swim in the water, I’d recommend searching it up online before you go. Some of them have lovely cute nicknames like “Break Neck Beach”—might want to avoid those :)

SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN. Even when you think you don’t need it. You need it.

Sometimes it’ll show that it’s going to rain, but in our experience the rain never lasted too long, and was honestly refreshing. Don’t let it ruin your plans.

HAVE SO MUCH FUN!!!! TAKE PICS AND CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT <3