Last blog I mentioned that we went to Hawai'i in December and during the worst storm of the year. It rained every day but we were still able to have a great time. We did quite a few things while we were there for the week, but I decided to list the top 10 activities I enjoyed the most on the island of Oahu while we were there - even in the rain.
1. The number one thing I would recommend doing if you are fortunate enough, is to rent a car. Driving around the whole Island was my favorite part of the trip. We used Turo which is a car rental app that comes in handy when you need a last-minute car option. We rented the car for three days and they were able to pick us up from the airport and even pick up the car from our hotel when we were done!
My husband and I had so much fun driving around. We woke up as soon as the sun rose because the sun would set around 5pm due to the season. We drove along the outside of the island near the ocean and we would stop every time we saw something interesting. There were a lot of stops! We used Google Maps for the majority of the time to make sure we were on the right path and also to zoom in closely to the area where we were in to see if anything interesting would pop up.
2. If you are staying in Honolulu, Kalakaua Ave should be just a short walk away. We stayed at Waikiki Resort Hotel near the Honolulu Zoo which is basically the end of what we called “The Strip”. We had a good time walking up and back down this street looking at all the tourist traps and stores. There were street performers, shopping malls, and flea markets off this street and we enjoyed all of it. Every day had something different. We were fortunate enough to be there for the Pearl Harbor Parade so we had a lot of entertainment during our trip. I would recommend checking out the malls and my favorite cookies at the Honolulu Cookie Company and of course, the iconic ABC Stores that quickly became our go-to stop for buying souvenirs.
3. Go Hiking! There are so many hikes to choose from on Oahu. I had a handful that I wanted to do, but due to the awful stormy weather, we experienced we ended up only doing two hikes. The first hike we did was the Koko Crater Railway Trail. We parked at the Koko Head Trailhead Parking Lot, which is in front of a large single baseball field, and then walked up to the paved road called Koko Head Park Rd. This hike is very challenging. We would recommend taking water and taking little breaks, slowly but surely you will make it to the top. We also did the Maili Pillbox hike, which was also another tough hike, but totally worth it in the end. We had a hard time finding the start of this hike because it took us into a residential area, but all we had to do was park on Kaukama Rd. The trail starts around the 9th or 10th light post - away from the ocean. A few of the hikes that were also on my list were Moana Falls Trail, Judd Trial, Lanikai Pillbox Trail, and Kapena Falls Trial, but there are several more.
4. Hanauma Bay was beautiful. We were very lucky to be able to just walk in and purchase our tickets because apparently you now have to make reservations prior to your visit. We were only lucky cause it was a rainy day in December, which probably scared most of the people away. It does cost money to park and enter the bay. You also need to pay to rent snorkeling and gear at the bottom as well as a locker, but there was always a long line while we were there. We brought our own snorkeling gear, so we didn’t need to wait, but we did wish we rented some life vest so that it was easier to float while we were above the reefs.
5. We enjoyed almost all the beaches, some more than others, for their beautiful light blue waters. One of the top beaches I had researched was called Waimea Beach known for its large rocks for cliff jumping! I was pretty excited to check this location out, but like many of the locations, we were unable to go into the water due to the severe storm but I will include a picture during its prime time. It was alright though because we did enjoy the people and the views. This will definitely be one of the spots we visit when we go back. Stopping by all the iconic surf beaches on North Shore is also another option you could do.
6. Our favorite lookout of the trip was at the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout. We loved it so much we ended up there three times! It is such a beautiful view and so green, green, green! It also has a nice view of the ocean on a clear day. The road that leads to the viewpoint feels like you are in a different world.
7. Halona Blowhole Lookout, another amazing lookout near Halona Beach Cove also known as “Cockroach Cove”, is a location not only with a beautiful view but at the bottom is a beach to spend the day or go swimming. The cove can be seen in several tv shows and movies. Luckily, we stopped by the day before they closed the parking lot and the next day we drove by and found out they were filming something down at the cove. It was pretty neat to see even when it was super cold and windy! But this location is also known for its blowhole, which on a good day you can see the waves crashing into the rocks creating the famous blowhole that goes over 10ft tall!
8. We stumbled upon a beach called Zablan Beach. Here we found “Mermaid Caves”. I would recommend going here during low tide so you can actually go inside these tunnel caves and see all the tidepools! It was an amazing site to see.
9. The Dole Plantation was a nice visit. We did the garden and train tour that takes you around the plantation and explains the different plants and stages of the pineapple. Then after we did the Garden Tour where you can see such beautiful vibrant colored plants. There is also a Pineapple Maze that was not open at the time we went, but they do have yummy snacks to make up for it. There is dole whip and several different kinds of pineapple snacks. My favorite was the dried pineapple powdered in Li Hing, so yummy!
10. Pearl Harbor is a must! This being such a huge part of US history made this one of the highlights of our trip. We didn’t make any reservations, which I would totally recommend doing, but we went pretty early (8:30) and waited in standby and only waited about 15 minutes. The short fairy ride to the landmark was actually free, something I did not know. You do have an option to pay for a tour, but we just went ahead and walked around and learned everything ourselves from reading everything in the museums that were also free. We went on the 8th of December, the day after the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and there were so many beautiful floral wreaths their in recognition of the day from different parts of the world. It was quite a sight to see all the support. And not to sound like a broken record, but because of the storm, the water was very murky and the water level was quite high, which led to hardly any visibility of the sunken ship. So, I would recommend going on a good sunny day for a better view, but even tho we weren't able to see anything it was still worth going to!
There you have it. My top 10 things to do that we enjoyed the most, this trip. We cannot wait to go back and explore the rest of our list of things!
This trip was during the Pandemic in 2021, which is why you see us wearing a mask in most of these pictures. We wanted to be respectful to the small island of Hawaii and do our part. It is very atypical to have to worry about wearing your mask during vacation but following the rules to help keep everyone safe was more important. During our time there, which has changed since then, you had to be fully vaccinated and show your vaccination card to enter almost everywhere. If not vaccinated, a covid test that was taken within the last hrs was also accepted. We saw many people turned down because they did not have either of these things. We also did not have to quarintine when we arrived, which seems to be changing quite frequently.
Hope this helps with your next trip to Oahu Hawai'i, Maholo!
Live your best life! XOXO
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