O‘ahu Trip

For this year, I promised that I will always put myself first - that I will not depend on anyone and I'd do what I want, when I want. And of course what do we expect from typical Reina? Book a flight to Hawaii. Last November 2019, I went to Maui island and since then I wanted to visit the rest of the Hawaiian islands. This time, it's to the island of O`ahu!

We booked through Alaska Airlines and took the 9am flight. So far, I've had really good experiences with Alaska Airlines. I mostly travel with them and for a longer flight like Hawaii, it's only best to go with the usual. We arrived at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu at 2pm. We went straight ahead to the Car Rental center and got our transportation. Take note that this year, this airport is undergoing renovation so the signs to the Car Rental may not be accurate. Make sure to ask the marshals. Also make sure to have a car reservation ahead as the lines were very long. We had a 45-minute wait even with a reservation.

We got our car and then headed to Bob's Bar-b-q for our late lunch. We got the Mixed Plate and Chicken Teriyaki. It was actually really good but make sure to watch out for flies! :( They were everywhere. If you have enough time, I'd say take it to-go and eat by the beach.

After our lunch, we checked in at Hotel Renew. It's a boutique hotel right by Waikiki Beach. Because of the long flight, we decided to rest for little bit. Around 5:30pm we headed to The Beach House and watched the sunset with our Mai Tais.

When I was in Maui, I've heard about Paia Fish Market but unfortunately we were not able to go because we ran out of time so when I found out that they opened here in Honolulu, I made sure to include it to our itinerary! So we had dinner at Paia Fish Market near the International Marketplace. After dinner, we strolled around the marketplace and watched the endless street performers. They were very entertaining. We then headed back to our hotel to rest as we were going to have an early and long day the next day.

Nu‘uanu Pali Lookout and Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden

On Day 1, we started our day by going to Leonard's Bakery. Their Malasada Puffs were well, so puffy and creamy. The line is always long so make sure you anticipate waiting around 20 minutes minimum.

We then headed to Nu‘uanu Pali Lookout and soaked in the amazing views. It's January so it was still a bit chilly so don't be like me who went with a flowy white skirt. Wear layers!

We then started heading to Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden. The drive was so breathtaking I honestly kind of had teary eyes when we were driving in. Make sure to take a video when entering the gates. We parked our car at the visitor center and hiked.

Kualoa Ranch and Waikiki Beach

After the garden, we went to Kualoa Ranch. This was probably the highlight of my trip. I was able to see the film location of my favorite movie 50 First Dates. We did the 11:45am - 90 - minute Hollywood Movie Sites Tour on a vintage school bus and visited the breathtaking Ka`a`awa Valley with views of ranch and farm lands, and the locations of many Hollywood movies, TV Series, and World War II bunkers. Over 170 Movies and TV Series were filmed at Kualoa including, Jurassic World, Jurassic Park, Jumanji, Fallen Kingdom, Kong Skull Island, Godzilla, LOST , Hawaii Five-O & Magnum PI.

After the tour, we had our lunch at Yummy Huli- Huli Chicken. It is located less than half a mile from Kualoa Ranch. You will see chickens being cooked outside right by the street but you would have to go inside the gift shop to order.

After our late lunch we headed back to Waikiki Area but dropped by Hanauma Bay Lookout along the way. We didn't have time to hike Koko Head so we just drove by it. By 3:30PM we already got back to Waikiki Beach so we lounged around and had sundae from Bañan.

Because the Mai Tais were so good from The Beach House, we went back there for more and watched the sunset. We headed back to our hotel and got ready for dinner.

For dinner, we went to the popular Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. Make sure to make reservations ahead of time because seating is limited and the line is very long. We made reservations a week early so we were seated 5 mins after check-in. Their Chicken Tonkatsu was probably the best I've ever had. I could see why everyone was dying to try it.

Kailua Bay and North Shore

Day 2 was dedicated to beach activities. We started our day early and grabbed some breakfast from Tucker and Bevvy's. We also made sure to grab Macadamia nut coffee from Kai Coffee.

Our kayak tour was the 2-Hour Guided Kayak + Beach Time by Kailua Beach Adventures. Make sure to leave the hotel early if you're staying in Waikiki Beach area because there is a lot of traffic heading to Kailua. We arrived at Kailua Beach Adventures and checked in at the their shop. We then got introduced to our tour guide Goose. He was amazing and it just happens that we were the only group for the tour so it felt like having a private tour. We kayaked and got to an island, had some drinks and snacks and enjoyed the sandbar. It was beautiful. After the tour, we headed back to Kailua Beach Adventures. They have their own showers so we rinsed ourselves and had some lunch at the BBQ place next door. They give you coupons for lunch too!

We then started our way to North Shore. First stop was The Sunrise Shack. North Shore is famous for surfing so we visited Banzai Pipeline which is known for its perfect barreling waves. We drove up and strolled around the town of Hailewa where we dropped by Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck and Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. If you have a lot of time, I would suggest to stay at least one night in North Shore.

Before heading back to Waikiki, we dropped by the Sunset Beach to watch the sunset. We then started heading back to Waikiki Beach and had our dinner at Hula Grill.

Pearl Harbor

Before heading to the airport we dropped by Pearl Harbor National Memorial. We chose the 9:00 AM USS Arizona Memorial Tour. It is a 45-minute tour which you can book here.

After Pearl Harbor, we then started heading to the airport and took the 2:50 PM flight to San Diego. Overall, this trip ways fun and very different from the Maui trip I had two years ago. O`ahu is definitely worth visiting. Here, you will able to experience a cultural mixture of history, nightlife, shopping and endless beautiful sceneries.

Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope this helped you plan your trip or convinced you to visit O`ahu ;) You can also find a more detailed itinerary here.