Aloha Oahu Hawaii
- Feb 2, 2019
- 5 min read
Hello my readers! We just returned to a polar freeze from paradise and I am still adjusting! Last week we went on an amazing 6 day trip to the island of Oahu. We chose this island because it houses the Aulani Disney resort and the capitol building. We flew out from Houston in the morning and arrived early afternoon! (Thanks to gaining 5 hours when going due to the time change!)
Day 1: Aloha Hawaii! -
On day one we were picked up from the airport with Disney's personal chartered shuttle service, this was the cheapest option even lower than uber so decided to pre-book with them. Our driver was awesome he pointed out things as we made the 40 minute drive to Ko Olina. He told us about how when he wants a certain fish for dinner he knows right where to go to catch it himself! He also pointed out a hidden beach we can go to! Please be mindful if you do use shuttle companies please tip the driver, they drove you and packed your bags. As soon as we puled up to Aulani, Disney (as always) rolled out the red carpet of customer service. They lei you, the women get beautiful fresh flowers and the men get the traditional Kulua nut leis.
When checking in, they were unable to fulfill our room type requested so they upgraded us to the Partial Ocean View! We enjoyed the view so much any tropical vacation from now one will have an ocean view room.
After quickly changing, we made it to the Aulani Luau. Before the luau, they give you a shell lei and provide activities such as tattoo (fake ones), cultural demonstrations, etc. Kids really enjoy this. The experience was fun and something I am glad we did, but I don't think I would do it again. The food was alright and the entertainment was alright. I will say the Disney one had a great selection for children to eat. They also gave a welcome drink that was very delicious!
Day 2- Aulani Relaxing
Day 2 we woke up early and headed to the beach. It was nice being the first people there and we got to take some good pictures! We then took advantage of the infinity hot tub with a view!
We then enjoyed the lazy river and the 2 waterslides the property has. After enjoying the water, we got dressed and walked across the resort to the strip of stores to get some lunch and browse. We found a really cool store called Hawaii Fire that local firefighters own. They had some really cool merch! We ate some average pizza and then came to the resort to enjoy the resort before dinner.
Aulani beach-
After two nights at the wonderful Aulani, we rented a car from the Alamo on site and set out on a roadtrip day around the island heading towards the North Shore! The North Shore has so many cool little shops and is probably the best area for souvenirs and cute take homes! The vibe is very what you think of when you think "Hawaii" For lunch we ate at a garlic shrimp food truck which are everywhere! It is definitely what the North Shore is known for. We also got to pull into a beach and watch some of the pro surfers catch huge waves! During the winter months, the swells get pretty big and a lot of major surf competitions are held here. The surfing history and culture is fascinating to learn about. Did you know it was a religious practice for native Hawaiians? It almost went extinct after the missionaries moved to the islands. The North Shore area is also where you can find the Polynesian Culture Center and the Dole Plantation. (Neither of which we did, we were going for a more relaxed vibe this trip). Our next stop was Waimea Falls! It is a very sacred spot of the island that used to be home to indigenous people of Hawaii. It houses beautiful botanical gardens, some neat birds, and at the end a breath taking Waterfall! The "hike" (it is all paved) is about 1.5 miles and they offer a golf cart to bring you if needed.
They offer life vests and allow you to swim in this water but a bacteria does live in this water so we opted out. Our next stop was a serene beach we passed by that we decided to pull in to on our way to Waikiki
Next we headed to return out car, which Disney let us return to the Alamo location in Waikiki for a small fee. We checked into the Grand Hyatt and were welcomed with more leis! We absolutely loved our room's view
After checking in we made our way to eat a famous Teddy's burger. Which is the equivalent to Whataburger to Texans. It was delicious! On Friday nights, the Hilton has free fireworks on Waikiki beach so we made our way to check them out! They start around 7:45 pm. It was pretty magical!
The next day we headed to Hanuama Bay to check out some snorkeling! We took The Bus, Oahu's public transit system. It was super easy and only 5.50 dollars for the entire day! The entry fee to Hanauma was only 7 dollars so this was a way to beat Hawaii's prices. The bus stop was right in front of our hotel and took about 40 min to get to the bay. The snorkeling is awesome there. We saw Hawaii's state fish and swam with a turtle!
Totally dude! We then made it back to Waikiki for our surf lesson! Our instructor happened to be from Texas as well! Be warned the pictures they take for you cost around 100 dollars so if you want pictures be prepared to spend that!. Surfing was awesome! We caught about 10 waves in our lesson. The beach is packed and we were there during off season so it does get crowded in the water!
This night we had a delicious sushi dinner! the sushi in Hawaii is awesome because of all the Japanese influence.
The next day we relaxed in Waikiki and Chris got to surf again. We had a fancy dinner at Roy's and it was awesome! Every course was delicious! I highly recommend this place for a nice evening out!
On our last day we took The Bus into downtown to see the Capitol and the Iolani Palace! The capitol is unique in that is open concept. It is almost like a courtyard and you can peak into the Senate and House! The architecture is also neat with the columns representing Palm trees and the "rotunda is the open sky representing a volcano!
Chris was excited he got to see his 29th capitol! The palace is right behind the capitol and they give you an audio device for an entire tour about the Palace and the history of the monarchy .
Before hopping on a plane we had one last Hoo-rah at Maui Brewing Company! Food and drinks is the cheapest between 3-5. We got to try a flight of drinks and some yummy appetizers!
It was finally time to say a heartbroken Aloha and fly back to winter! As I am writing this by the fireplace, I am ready to plan another trip! Where will we go next? Stay tuned and see! Mahalo!
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