Location: Honolulu
Day 1 - 11 Apr 2022
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
Content: We took a southwest flight from SJC to HNL. As always, southwest never disappoints. Got luggage and picked up our favorite Jeep at Alamo rental car. Interestingly, they allow to pick any Jeep on the lot and we found the perfect blue 😎
Embassy Suites by Hilton
Content: Very smooth arrival to embassy suites on waikiki beach. Best part is they do valet only parking, which makes it super easy to hop on and off. Yes, it comes included with a $40/night parking charges (which isn’t bad considering hawaii rates).
Embassy Suites by Hilton Waikiki Beach Walk
Content: Got upgraded to top floor 21 and nice ocean view! it’s perfect location for beach and restaurants. literally 2 mins walk. room was good enough size for 5 of us and best part hot breakfast included - so no running around in morning for breakfast!
Ramen Nakamura
Content: Popular ramen joint on the main street that has vegetarian menu (lots of options. be prepared to wait for 60-90 mins; after putting your name on. Not a fancy restaurant; but super yummy! 😋
Kalakaua Avenue
Content:
Location: Honolulu
Day 2 - 12 Apr 2022
Embassy Suites by Hilton
Content: Morning breakfast buffet 🍳 Daily ritual, before heading out for activities. Pretty good selection and eggs made as you like. Also, daily evening reception included with snacks and drinks.
Location: Wahiawā
Day 2 - 12 Apr 2022
Dole Plantation
Content: Go Pineapples! Dole plantation is a fun half day visit to learn how Hawaii became pineapple capital, along with fun activities like train, maze and yum dole whip ice-cream 🍨 go early as train ride line becomes long. kids and us had great relaxing time here!
Location: Hale‘iwa
Day 2 - 12 Apr 2022
Laniakea (Turtle) Beach
Content: Super pretty beach and not crowded at all. It’s along the same route on north shore - next stop was turtle beach, where you see lot of turtles come on shore to hangout. we saw many turtles swimming through. We went into water and had good beach time. Waves can get bit strong, so we be lil careful.
Location: Waialua
Day 2 - 12 Apr 2022
Paalaa Kai Mini-Mart
Content: On the way back, we made a quick fruit stand stop here and got guava, chikoo, papayas. super yum 😋
Location: Honolulu
Day 2 - 12 Apr 2022
Buho Cocina y Cantina
Content: Amazing rooftop Mexican food experience on the main street. good vegetarian options and desserts are outstanding! we ordered veg fajitas, wet burritos 😋 highly recommend.
Kalakaua Avenue
Content: Street is buzzing till late night, felt like New York Times Square area - we hung out on this street every night and did window shopping on premium shops and desserts eating. It was just a block from embassy and super convenient.
Kith Treats
Content: Hip cereal mix-in ice cream bar with a menu created by artists & athletes. It’s heaven for cereal lovers; we went with Kings Treat by Lebron James and can’t wait to try others - especially Bam Bam 💥
Location: Honolulu
Day 3 - 13 Apr 2022
Diamond Head Trail
Content: 10 mins car ride to the starting point. I call this a vacation hike - meaning not hard, not super easy and the view from top is amazing. We saw kids as young as 6-7 year old doing it. it gets hot, so make sure to carry water. first hike spot that charges you lil fees :-)
Lahaina Shave Ice
Content: Right behind hotel is Lahaina shave ice, yummy in tummy. kids earned it after the morning hike. there are many spots for shaved ice on the street.
Waikīkī Beach
Content: Hotel location is prime, as beach was just a min walk. super nice beach and bit away from crowded Waikiki area. we rented umbrella chairs and spend good 3 hours at the beach. waves were calm and relaxing.
Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu
Content: Quick walk to Hard Rock Cafe, where we met our friends for dinner. appetizers selection were great, veggie and tasty; so we just doubled down on it. we had a nice outdoors balcony table for 8 of us.
Buho Cocina y Cantina
Content: We returned to Buho for the desserts; as day before - didn’t have space to gobble. Their desserts menu is great, we ordered Gordito special between 8 of us and it was delicious!!
Location: Honolulu
Day 4 - 14 Apr 2022
Waikaki Beach Jogging Path
Content: Beautiful beach jogging path right out of hotel. Good 3ish miles run to flex muscles. you’ll see many jogging/walking enjoying the morning breeze 🏝
The Sunrise Shack Waikiki
Content: Kids found this famous açaí bowl and smoothies joint. they are popular and we got quick lunch items. we weren’t too impressed.
Location: Kāne‘ohe
Day 4 - 14 Apr 2022
Byodo-In Temple
Content: Beautiful and serene Japanese Buddha temple. Kids paid respects and also got to feed fishes/birds (fun experience). We made this stop on the way to Jurassic Park excursion.
Kualoa Ranch Visitor Center
Content: Kualoa Ranch is famous for its Jurassic Park site. We took the adventure jungle excursion, that took us around the ranch and famous Jurassic World film shooting spot. best part that it was only 10 of us and we got spend quality time there. The open Jeep adventure ride is awesome; lots of bumps and fun. The guide was also hilarious 😆 must do!
Location: Honolulu
Day 4 - 14 Apr 2022
Istanbul
Content: Pls make reservations in advance, this place gets booked. We absolutely enjoyed dining here; they had limited but enough vegetarian options for us to pick.
Location: Lā‘ie
Day 5 - 15 Apr 2022
Polynesian Cultural Center
Content: We booked the Polynesian park, dinner and show package in advance. It’s lil over an hour from Waikiki, so plan to spend a full day here. The park has various craft, dance and cultural activities scheduled multiple times in the day. Must say it’s a great experience!
Samoa
Content: Polynesian fish and rod 20-30 mins craft activity. easy and fun 🎣 🐠
Aotearoa
Content: Nice musical show! loved the hakka piece; reminded me of how NZ rugby teams do it to intimidate the opponents.
Fiji
Content: The whole park is beautiful and serene. At Fiji, we attended the bamboo music show. good fun to see how bamboo is used in music. Also, got henna stamped 😊
Hawai'i
Content: Got to experience Luau dance session and another show about history/significance of luau. again, easy and fun activities!
Tahiti
Content: Quick walkthrough Tahiti island and it’s history..
Polynesian Cultural Center
Content: Lovely canoe ride in the park that got us back to the entrance area.
Location: Laie
Day 5 - 15 Apr 2022
Gateway Buffet at Polynesian Cultural Center
Content: We were surprised with the spread of options; including vegetarian. Also there was live music playing - it was super relaxing and we spent couple of hours eating and resting; before the show time.
Hā Breath of Life
Content: This is a stunning show. Must see. It may get little late in the day, but totally worth it.
Location: Honolulu
Day 6 - 16 Apr 2022
Embassy Suites by Hilton
Content: Pool and drinks time!
Waikīkī Beach
Content: We walked around main Waikiki beach. Beach was nice, but crowded.
Moku Kitchen
Content: We were in a mood to try something different and came across Moku Kitchen. Absolutely delicious food and their strawberry pie is out of the world.
Cafe Glacé
Content: Desserts time again! guava gelato is yum 🍨
Location: Honolulu
Day 7 - 17 Apr 2022
Pearl Harbor Visitor Center
Content: Can’t not visit and pay respects to Pearl Harbor, when in Oahu. We checked out and planned to spend 2-3 hours at the historic sites. Entrance to Pearl Harbor site is free and then you buy tickets to different exhibits.
USS Bowfin Submarine
Content: Considering we had only 2 hours, we chose to do submarine museum - which was phenomenal. we got to see a real navy submarine, with all its internal mechanics. Us and kids were amazed with the complex design and ability to visit it from inside. Then we spend an hour at the museum to go through Pearl Harbor history. It gave good exposure of the event to us in brief time. There is lot more to see, if you have more time.
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)
Content: We returned rental jeep at the airport and headed to terminal. we had a total blast experiencing Oahu island doing variety of activities and dinning. We felt it’s a perfectly balanced island with great nature and city effects. Love Oahu, mahalo ❤️