We arrived at the Honolulu Airport around 10pm on schedule on Saturday, Feb 20. Pretty exhausted after two long flights (3 hrs to Portland, then 5 hrs from Portland to Honolulu). We didn't have any issues with our luggage or getting our rental car, and after getting lost only slightly, checked into our hotel, Hyatt Regency Waikiki, shortly after 11pm. Mark's poor leg was VERY swollen after all the traveling, so after icing it and downing a couple pain pills, we were off to bed.
The next morning, we woke up pretty early (around 6:30, which seemed to be the "norm" on the trip), and were amazed at the beautiful view of the city and surrounding mountains from our room! After more icing and relaxing, we headed out for the day along the SE shore of Oahu. We weren't able to climb Diamond Head (for obvious reasons) or snorkel in Hanauma Bay like we had initially planned, but we still managed to make a few scenic stops before stopping for lunch at the Kahala Mall at Panda Express. There was a dance team dancing for what we think was the Chinese New Year or something with these dragons - really interesting!
After lunch, we continued further north to take in some of the sights before heading back to our hotel to get ready for our sunset cruise on the Na Hoku II! We had a BLAST on the cruise and would highly recommend it! Luckily it wasn't far from our hotel - within walking distance even for Mark, with his torn Achilles Tendon in a boot! The sunset was absolutely stunning!
After the cruise, we walked up to the restaurants nearby for supper. We had supper at the Hula Grill - some delicious ribs! Then we went back to the hotel for the night for Mark to rest his leg. This was also a trend on the trip - late mornings and early evenings :)
The view from our hotel room of Honolulu
The next morning, we woke up a little earlier and headed for the North Shore around 10am. On the way, we stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, where we took a ride on the Pineapple Express, learned the proper way to cut a pineapple, and experiencing the famous Dole Whip before continuing on along the North Shore.
We stopped by Waimea Beach to see some of the sights! Incredible views, but a pretty rough surf! Mark couldn't really come down by the beach, so we just viewed a few more beaches without stopping.
We stopped for lunch at Kahuku Grill, where I had the most fantastic Coconut Shrimp I've had in my life. Mark had the Twice As Much Burger combo, which was pretty huge and greasy, but he said it was good.
After lunch, we made our way to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the remainder of the day, getting there around 1pm. We were fortunate to be able to rent a wheelchair for him for the day, which made getting around MUCH easier. We saw some of the shows, then went to the Ali'i Luau and the show after supper. A wonderful, but pretty long day!
On our final day on Oahu, we got our things packed up a bit earlier, then headed down to the Kuhio beach, across the street for an hour or so. This was the only time I actually went in the ocean the whole trip!
Kuhio Beach
Duke's (lunch)
After the beach, we went down the street a bit to Duke's for an early lunch (Mahi Mahi sandwich for me and a burger for Mark) before checking out of our hotel and heading to Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbour / Arizona Memorial
Pearl Harbor was really interesting, and the Arizona Memorial sure was just incredible! We learned a lot and really had a great time exploring the area. We didn't go down in the Bowfin submarine since we had already experienced a submarine while in Virginia Beach with Daniel two years prior. (It would've been kinda difficult to get there with Mark's leg and all anyway).
After Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial, we headed to the airport to catch our flight to Kaua'i!
Accommodations:
We stayed at the
Hyatt Waikiki Beach Resort and it was really wonderful, but HARD to find at first! It's not very well marked at all, but once you find it, it's not a big deal. Parking is outrageous! That, and it's $28/day even WITHOUT valet parking (was $32/day with valet parking) - we spent almost $80 in parking fees alone! Also, if you want to park in the parking garage, you need a compact car almost - it's TIGHT around all the corners. We were fortunate (in some sense of the word) that we had a handicap parking sign, otherwise I might have thrown up trying to navigate the parking garage to find a spot lol I have no idea how far up we would've had to drive to find one that wasn't handicap! The parking fees kinda made the great deal we got on the room not seem so great afterall. But I believe this is the norm. The room was wonderful! We truly enjoyed our stay here. It was nice to be right smack dab in the middle of everything. We didn't have an ocean view room, but the view was incredible - of the mountains and city. The service was wonderful as well. It was nice to have the little shops in the hotel, and if not for Mark's injury, everything on Waikiki is within walking distance.
Activities:
HIGHLY RECOMMEND: Dole Plantation
HIGHLY RECOMMEND: Polynesian Cultural Center (we were able to rent a wheelchair for the day, which was WONDERFUL!!)
HIGHLY RECOMMEND: Na Hoku II sunset cruise
WISH WE'D BEEN ABLE TO: snorkel in Hanauma Bay, climb Diamond Head, spend more time on the North Shore Beaches
Restaurants:
HIGHLY RECOMMEND: Hula Grill (had their ribs - YUM!)
HIGHLY RECOMMEND: Duke's (Mahi sandwich was good)
RECOMMEND: Kahuku Grill (I HIGHLY recommend their coconut shrimp. Mark wasn't that impressed with his burger, though)
IFFY RECOMMENDATION: PCC Ali'i Luau (It certainly wasn't bad at all, but I've had better pork out of my crockpot at home, and the sides were just...different, I guess. It paled in comparison to the coconut shrimp from lunch.)
Overall...
I wouldn't say Oahu was my favorite island, but if you haven't ever been, there is certainly enough there to keep you busy! If you're looking for a relaxing vacation, it's not the island for you, but if you're into shopping, beaches and busy traffic, this could be your paradise!
