Hi, Bye, Hawaii!

Beach, Food, Island Hopping.. (and a bit of shopping)

I was excited for our Hawaii trip.  I was expecting this to be free & easy (unlike Europe vacation), with only 3 things in our agenda – the beach, bookstore, and food (not necessarily in that order 😊).  But Mom had other ideas and convinced Dad to include outlet shopping.  I guessed  this was Mom’s version of free & easy, so we all agreed to include this in our list.

Dad planned 4 days in Oahu and 3 days in Big Island.  It was just enough time to leisurely try most of the island’s highlights and leave some more so we can come back for the things that we’ve missed.

My First Impressions:

  1. People wear shorts and slippers everywhere and all the time!
  2. People are very friendly.  They greet you with Aloha and with a smile😊

Here’s our trip highilights, tips and the cool activities that we’ve experienced.

1. Wonderful Beaches

Hawaii has lots of nice beaches and we had so much fun playing and swimming.  We even had time for a photo-shoot at Lanikai and Hapuna Bay.  

In Oahu, we took an exciting road trip to North Shore.  North Shore has  a very different vibe  – more laidback, unspoilt beaches, and delicious authentic dishes from food trucks.   We started the trip from our hotel in Waikiki and did stop overs and picnics at Lanikai, Kailua, and Kualoa before we stayed for the night at Turtle Bay.  We continued our beach-hopping to Sunset Bay and Lanikea the day after.  Food at North shore was superb and I listed some of my favourites below.

In Big Island, we stayed at Mauna Kea Resort.  It has its own private beach with pure white sand and postcard-perfect sunset.  At night, we were able to see manta rays.

 

Here’s my beach reviews:

Waikiki View

Waikiki

Hawaii’s main attraction.  Waikiki is full of life, action, and energy.  There are a lot of shops, hotels, restaurants and people everywhere.

We stayed at Hilton Hawaiian Village.  It has a relaxing beach area and man-made lagoon.  This was super pretty with lots of slides, paddle surf and swimming for kids.  We enjoyed strolling around the shoreline and reach the other end of the beach (around 3 km. to Kapiolani park).  We loved the views and had fun playing with the waves.

Lanikai

Lanikai (in Hawaiian) means heavenly sea.  So of course, it was was voted America’s #1  best beach for several years.   The sea was so picturesque  and it made a reflection of the rising sun.

Our experience in Lanikai was great!  It was empty when we got there (probably, because we woke up so early to try to capture the sunrise) and the drive from Waikiki was very scenic and fun. Tip: Get to the beach early because parking is very few (Dad had to parallel park in one of side streets).

Lanikai

Kailua 

This is a very lovely beach.  Kailua has soft white sand, calm waters and shallow areas for children to swim and lots of shade.  I didn’t find any restaurants nearby, but good thing we brought our own food.

We had a fun picnic here in the grassy area where Ysa & I read the books we got from Barnes & Noble, played cards (Dad lost), and did a bit of swimming under the hot sun.

Kualoa Beach

Kualoa

The beach is right across Kualoa ranch – a popular tourist attraction for Jurassic park movie enthusiast.  The beach itself, is known for photo-op of the Chinaman’s hat (a little island that people said looks like the straw hats, more like ice cream cone for me).

We stayed here only for a few hours, enough to take pictures and wade in the water.  There was not enough shade, but I can imagine us having a picnic here when sun is not too hot.

Turtle Bay

Turtle Bay

We knew we’d arrived at North Shore when we reached Turtle Bay.  Huge waves, rocky shoreline, and people carrying big surfboards. 

We stayed at Turtle Bay Resort and had  wonderful views  of the sea.  Ysa and I enjoyed swimming at the beach (and mostly the kids’ pool with slides) while Mom and Dad entertained themselves with watching surfers battle the big waves.

Sunset Beach 

Beautiful beach with a very long shoreline.  This is famous for (you got it right) breathtaking sunset views.  The waves were very high and strong and there were signs warning people of rip tides. 

We just walked around and picked up seashells. 

 

Laniakea

The beach is known for turtle sightings because this is where giant green sea turtles like to sunbathe😊.    The beach is rocky, so I’m not sure if it’s good for swimming.

We were excited to drop by here just to see the turtles.  People were allowed to go near the giant turtles  but were not permitted to feed, harm, or touch them.    

Mauna Kea (Big Island) 

Famous for its impressive sugary white sand and crystal clear waters, Mauna Kea is constantly in the list of world’s best beaches by travel magazines.  Mauna Kea Resort overlooks the cove and the beach is always well kept.  There are very nice beach chairs with shades and a restaurant to order food.

We stayed at the hotel and enjoyed just lounging around, creating sand castles, and swimming.  At night, we saw some manta rays from one of the hotel lookouts.

Hapuna (Big Island)  

This is another award-winning and popular beach.  Hapuna beach is just 1 km from Mauna Kea and is equally known for its white-sand and rock-free bottom.

We did our photo shoot here to capture wonderful family pictures before sunset.   Thanks to Aisleen Chalker for the wonderful photos.

 

2. Best Food

Hawaii spoilt us with so many restaurants and road-side eateries serving delicious food.  It was one of our trip highlights just discovering new cuisines and dishes – hawaiian barbeque, poke bowls, and even ice cream.   Here’s my Top 5:

1. Lapperts Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream ever!   We discovered this by accident, Lappert’s is just in front of Hilton Waikiki and there was a long queue every day.  We had ice cream almost every day once we got hooked.   Dad and Mom’s favourite was the Kauai Pie while Ysa and I loved the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. 

2. Orchids at Halekulani Hotel 

Constantly top-rated and voted one of the most scenic restaurants in the US, Orchids is a perfect combination of delicious food and great views.  We were also lucky that Mommy’s cousin is a chef in the restaurant and he gave us a warm welcome and a grand dinner.  I had a super experience!  The appetizers were outstanding.  The pasta was very delicious and full of flavour.  Dad liked the New York Strip  steak – these were high grade quality beef were perfectly cooked.   We ate so much and we didn’t have enough space for desserts!   No wonder Orchids is always top notch.

3. The Hibachi 

This is a very simple road side shop selling groceries and a counter full of poke options and barbeque.  This was very near Kailua beach and so perfect option for our picnic.  Our favorites were the seared asahi poke and the kalbi beef barbeque.

4. Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck 

Giovanni’s is a very popular food truck in North Shore.  Specialty is shrimp and they have 3 dishes – shrimp scampi, hot & spicy shrimp, and lemon butter shrimp.   I loved shrimp so it’s on the list.  As a bonus, the body of the truck is full of graffiti and we were allowed to write our own messages.

5. Roy’s Beach House

This is an upscale casual restaurant at Turtle bay Resort owned by one of the well-known Hawaiian chef, Roy Yamaguchi.  This was just by the beach, so Dad initially thought it’s a regular snack place and went there with swim shorts.  Good thing the staff were very friendly and allowed us to eat.  Dishes that we liked – spicy asahi bowl and grilled Kalbi beef shortribs.

 

Thank you for reading my blog.

Sophia (with help from Daddy).