Our Trip to Oahu

The last week of February and into the first week of March Adam and I spent some time in Oahu, Hawaii and had an absolute blast! I wanted to share our itinerary and some fun stops we had during our trip for anyone planning to visit Oahu whether in general or during those months.

Where We Stayed

We were very fortunate to be able to stay on the Hickam Air Force Base in Oahu with some very close friends from college. We stayed with them for all but one night of our trip, that extra night being at the Hale Koa Hotel, a hotel designed for active and former military members and their friends and families.

While this situation is not possible for everyone, if you are traveling to visit friends/family on the island and looking for a trip on a budget, I may have some good tips for you!

What We Did

We really tried to get a combination of local life, military life, and tourist life over the week we were there. There were still some things we just didn't have the time to do, but we didn't leave feeling like we missed out at all! Here is our rough itinerary:

Night 1:

• Land in Oahu - Brian, Dahlila, and Will picked us up with fun real-flower leis!
• We grabbed dinner at a Local favorite (Teddy's Bigger Burgers) and then headed home to talk and pass out for the night

Day 2, Pearl Harbor and Waikiki: 

• First things first - Adam and I woke up a little early (the time change can be an adjustment) and walked with Brian to a Starbucks on base and back (we do collect travel mugs)
• Once back we packed sunscreen and got our group ready to head to Pearl Harbor!
  • We watched the Pearl Harbor video
  • Took the boat tour to see the U.S. Arizona Memorial
  • Grabbed lunch and drinks at Restaurant 604
  • Went on a head-phones tour of the U.S.S. Bowin (probably one of the coolest parts of our trip)
• We also went to the Pearl Harbor Aviation museum and got to see some really cool planes, helicopters, etc. 
• After that we went home for a quick rinse-off after a hot (and very fun) day before heading out to Waikiki for some exploring!
  • We walked around Waikiki to look at the hotels, check out the indoor and outdoor shopping and made our first ABC Store stop 
  • We went to the Ala Moana Center and into the Waikiki Yokocho under the Ala Moana. It was AMAZING! It was a ton of Japanese and Asian food concepts for order like a cafeteria, so we grabbed dinner and dessert there.

Day 3, Waimea Valley, North Shore, Dole Plantation, Luau:

• We got up a little early and headed to Waimea Valley for a hike in the botanical gardens and up to the waterfall swimming area.
• That was followed by a North Shores beach stop to see some massive waves, and get our first official "beach time". From there we headed to the North Shore Food Trucks for lunch!
• On our way back we stopped by the Dole Plantation, making our own tour past the pineapple plants to save money and only going into the gift shop once at the plantation. We were able to try the Dole Whips, candy, and all sorts of things.
• After another packed morning/early afternoon we made the trek back to base to shower and change.
• We drove back into Waikiki for a Luau at the Hale Koa Hotel. The Luau was plated, with a great show before, during, and after dinner! There were some wonderful moments to celebrate the veterans and active duty military members and the service they've provided; as well as some fun Hawaiian history education. 
• From there we were all pretty exhausted and in desperate need of a nap, so we went back to Brian and Dahlila's house around 9:30 pm to get ready for bed.

Day 4, Relaxing, Beach Time:

• We woke up a little early again to grab Loco Mocos (as well as a mochi guava waffle for myself) and drop Will off at the airport. Then Brian, Dahlila, Adam and I headed back to base for a nap. After a long first two days we were pretty exhausted and in need of a break!
• What better way to continue a break day? We went to a military beach on the south shore that had very calm waters, lots of space for sunbathing, and a lovely restaurant next to the beach. We swam, read books, colored in coloring books, and gabbed about our lives.
• We went over to have dinner at the restaurant and then decided to order a group drink. A 64oz punch bowl of Mai Thais that we did not successfully finish, but we did make friends at the restuarant that were able to take over in our stead.
• We followed that by going home to shower, enjoy some Dole treats, and play Mario Party as a group.

 Day 5, Swap Meet, Dim Sum, Aulani Disney Resort: 

• We all felt rested, refreshed, and ready to go to the Aloha Stadium for Swap Meet. Swap Meet is a lot like Trades Days in Texas, a lot of vendors set up tents for local goods, foods, and cheap whole-sale souvenirs. It was a great experience, and a fun place to get gifts for our friends and families.
• Afterwards we headed to the Ala Moana Mall to eat in the Jade Dynasty Seafood Restuarant. Here we were seated in a back room at a traditional Dim Sum table. We met two of Dahlila and Brian's friends, Pua and Stephanie. They showed us what their favorite things to order were, and even brought us poi donuts to try. 
• A mission of mine for the trip was to try poi donuts. Poi is a delicious purple sweet potato/yam commonly used in Hawaii for different dishes. A savory poi dipping sauce came at the luau, and many poi pastries, so when Stephanie and Pua surprised us with some I was so excited!!
• We moved on from there to shop around the mall, we checked out TC Surf, the Morphe store, Adam and Brian sat in a Tesla, we grabbed coco-mocha iced coffees, and Adam and I found some really cool Hawaii exclusive hydro flasks.
• Heading back to the house, we all debated what to do. We'd talked about different options, but Dahlila pitched going to the Aulani Disney Resort because she'd never been and had a purse there she really wanted. We found parking ($15 or free if you make a large enough purchase, which the purse was) and headed inside to explore. From there we got to see beautiful artifacts, a really neat gift shop, and all the Lilo and Stitch themed things I could have dreamed of (including a life-sized stitch carved from wood!).
  • We took some time to walk down to where the Disney and Four Seasons hotel beaches meet, took some beautiful pictures, walked up to a rock peak and watched the sunset.
• As it grew dark we made our decent for dinner, heading back towards base and grabbing some pho to go. We played Luigi's haunted mansion and fell asleep a little early.

Day 6, Liliha Bakery, Date Night, Hula Grill:

• We first went to Liliha Bakery for a sit-down breakfast as well as a grab-and-go pastry set. We grabbed several malasadas (a treat I'd only seen in Pokemon Alola before visiting) and french donuts.
• We then walked around the Ala Moana mall a little, but really started to make our way back to base to do some laundry. Brian and Dahlila brought Adam and I back to Waikiki and helped us check in to the Hale Koa Hotel, where we had our own date-night.
• After checking in and getting showered and settled Adam and I went exploring Waikiki on our own a little; stopping in some boutiques and eventually making our way down to the Hula Grill. We were able to watch the sunset on the beach by Duke's before heading inside for our dinner reservation. 
  • The Hula Grill was AMAZING! Adam's Uncle Bobby is the head chef at the Hula Grill in Maui, so he made recommendations, and we were able to meet a lot of the staff that knows Bobby and hear stories about him, and the food was incredible. We were able to sit at a table overlooking the beach and the ocean, the environment was great, it was an unforgettable night and place. We truly had so much fun.

Day 7, Parasailing, Makapu'u Point:

• Our last full day in Oahu was a great way to top off the trip. Adam and I woke up early to scout out a local breakfast and coffee place called Goofy.
• We then found some time and went parasailing before coming back to meet Dahlila and Brian for lunch. The three of us walked to the Hard Rock Cafe, then back around to Lappert's for ice cream and ground coffee to bring back with us.
• After all of that deliciousness we made our way to the Makapu'u Point Lighthouse hiking trail. I won't lie, for something I looked forward to the most, it was a hard hike. But it was so beautiful, and absolutely worth it!
• I truthfully have no idea what we ate for dinner that night. Leftovers maybe? I am unsure. All I know is we had some great conversation, did some major cleaning, and couldn't thank Dahlila and Brian enough for being such great hosts!

Follow-Up:

I will post more soon about what we ate, what to pack for Oahu in February, etc. soon! I apologize for my blogging absence for so long, with COVID-19, a crazy work schedule, and other life things happening it has been hard to find time/motivate myself to write; but I appreciate you for reading!

Pictures or it Didn't Happen: