Oahu Highlights
We recently traveled for spring break to Hawaii and spent the first half of our trip on the island of Oahu. This was a school trip for Carly as her dance team was competing at nationals in Waikiki and Keith and I decided to tag along. While we did enjoy ourselves and make some unforgettable memories, traveling with 60 other people is definitely not how I would plan it for myself. The itinerary included several fun activities but didn’t really leave us enough time in between to really explore more of the island. In hindsight, we would have skipped the planned activities at least one afternoon and opted for Keith & I to explore on our own.
I’m sharing the Oahu highlights from our “trip” and I’ll be back another day to share the highlights from our actual vacation to the island of Kauai!
Pearl Harbor National Memorial
As you can imagine, if you are on the island of Oahu, a trip to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial is a must. There is so much information via a self guided tour as well as a video that can be watched as part of the regular visit. I’m so glad our tour also included tickets to visit the USS Arizona Memorial which is accessed via a boat ride. This is a solemn place where you literally stand above the sunken ship. Knowing this was the final resting place for many of those who lost their lives that day is really moving. I definitely learned a few things I did not know before visiting the memorial.
We were also lucky enough to have a mom in our group who is a retried navy veteran. This was such an amazing experience for the girls to have someone on the tour with them as a resource.
Diamond Head Hike
The Diamond Head Hike is a little less than two miles round trip and a good morning activity. The majority of the hike is fully exposed to the elements, so making sure to wear a hat and wear plenty of sunscreen is a must. The trail to the summit of Lē‘ahi was built in 1908 as part of O‘ahu’s coastal defense system and while the website lists this as a strenuous hike, we found it to be easy to moderate. There are some old tunnels and some steep stairs if you opt to view those areas.
The views were totally worth the climb and everyone in our group, of various fitness levels, made it to the top. We had a perfect day for it!
Luau at Germaines
The luau at Germaine’s packed in about 500 people the night we were there. While they were efficient with the buffet line and had a very orderly process and even a location to gather groups for individual group pictures, we would not choose to do this activity if we had it to do over. Maybe a smaller luau would be a little more enjoyable and that is what I would suggest if it’s something you feel you want to experience.
The views of the sunset from this location were beautiful though so that is pretty much what I have pictures of! The company was also good with some of my favorite mommas on the trip.
Secret Beach at Kouloa Ranch
My favorite day in Oahu was the day spent at Secret Beach! The location has been the set for the TV series Lost and many movies such as Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean and 50 First Dates. The only way to visit is to make a reservation through Kualoa Ranch and there are quite a few tours to choose from. I’m assuming group tours work a little differently as our time at secret beach lasted from 8:30am until 2:30pm.
We had access to paddle boards, kayaks and beautiful scenery all around. There was a movie tour boat ride as well as a canoe ride out to a sandbar that we were able to be book as part of our package as well.
Carly typically grabs all her swimsuits from Shein or Old Navy but I’ve been wanting her to have one really quality suit. We found her two piece at Dillards and I loved it on her!
Waikiki
As you can see from the background, Waikiki is very touristy. There are people everywhere pretty much all times of the day. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency, which is older but very nice. I loved that the hotel had open air lobbies and daily entertainment. They also had beach chairs that could be checked out from the pool each day which was extremely handy! There was also a bidet with a heated seat and I was a big fan. 🙂
We walked the beach at both sunrise and sunset, relaxed on the beach for some people watching and ate some good food. The banyan trees were also really interesting as the aerial roots sprout from branches and eventually reach the soil. We even saw one where the roots had gone across an entire street to reach the soil.
Food was a little tricky and definitely when you found a hot spot you wanted to be sure to grab a reservation. We loved our meal at Dukes at sunset and the pancakes at Hula Grill were amazing. When I saw they were topped with whipped mascarpone cheese I was a little skeptical what that would taste like and let’s just say heaven! Dole whip was a treat we pretty much had daily and acai bowls (which I still can’t say properly) were a staple at many restaurants.
So would I go back to Oahu? Maybe, but I definitely would choose to stay on the north shore if so. Waikiki was just very touristy and not really my favorite way to vacation. The traffic is pretty bad and it takes a bit to get just about anywhere. Just know going in that Hawaii is very expensive no matter how hard you try to save a little. The groceries were expensive, eating out was expensive, it was all expensive!
Do we regret spending the money to make these memories? Absolutely not!