Oahu is the most populated Island of Hawaii state! It is where Pearl Harbor is located and has the world famous Waikiki Beach! There are direct flights going from Portland to Honolulu with 2 different airlines. The 2 airlines are Alaska Airline and Hawaiian Airline. This time we took Alaska Airline to Honolulu.
When we arrived at Honolulu, we could start feeling the humidity in the air and it was already getting very hot for us! We got off the plane and entered the terminal and felt disappointed. The Honolulu Airport looks quite large on the map, but the building is quite old and did not offer free WIFI! Anyway, we walked towards the car rental counter and rented a Chevrolet Cruz from Hertz. The car we got was bright red!
For this vacation, we are staying at Sheraton Waikiki this time. The hotel is located at the heart of Waikiki. Going from Honolulu Airport to Sheraton Waikiki was straight forward. It only took us 25 minutes to get there and traffic was not too bad in the morning. When we checked in to the hotel, we were given a small gift card where we can use at the gift shop store at Sheraton Hotel. We went to the gift shop and were given a paper bag. Then we can fill as much stuff as we want into the paper bag and everything in the bag would be free! That was awesome! When we got the the hotel room, the view was stunning from the balcony! We could see the entire Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head Crater!
On day 1, we pretty much walked around Waikiki and shopped around. There were so many Japanese descendants and many Japanese tourists as well! We also saw many luxurious brand name stores such as Prada and Burberry along the street. Waikiki was like New York City that offered various shopping options.
On day 2, we went to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling in the morning. This was the best place to do snorkeling on the island of Oahu. Then we drove all the way to Haleiwa and had lunch at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, which offered amazing grilled shrimp. After lunch, we went to Laniakea Beach to enjoy the sunset and trying our luck to see if we could find any sea turtles. Unfortunately the sea turtles were only swimming in the ocean. When we got back to Waikiki in the evening, we had dinner at Marukame Udon. Marukame Udon is a must try place when you go to Oahu!
On day 3, we went to Diamond Head Crater for a short hike in the early morning. The view from the top was amazing during the sun rise. After that, we went for a hike to the summit of Koko Crater. Koko Crater hike was quite difficult but the view from the top was stunning! After 2 hike with 1 that was extremely difficult, we were really hungry and went to an authentic Hawaiian barbecue at L&L Hawaiian BBQ. In the afternoon, we did some more shopping at Waikiki and had dinner at Ramen Nakamura.
On day 4, we went to Dole Plantation in the morning. We loved Dole Plantation as the maze was so much fun and the pineapple ice cream was just amazing! In the afternoon, we drove all the way to the West side of Oahu to go to this hidden small beach. This beach is Aki's Beach and it was the best place to see sea turtles! For dinner, we went to Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin for delicious Tonkatsu Don and Tonkatsu curry.
On day 5, we went to Pearl Harbor to pay a visit to 1 of the most significant events in World War 2 history. Afterwards, we had dessert at Waiola Shave Ice. This shave ice place is quite authentic. In the afternoon, we drove to the North of Oahu to Byodo-In Temple for a change of scenery.
On day 6, we went to Waimanalo Bay. This was an amazing place with beautiful white sand beach. Not many tourists know of this place and it was not very crowded. We enjoyed the whole morning here. Then we went back to Waikiki and had lunch at Jinroku Teppan Grill for a taste of Okinomiyaki. In the afternoon, we did more shopping at Waikiki before we head back to Portland.
Overall, Oahu vacation was pretty amazing. Some downsides however, such as the roads were not well paved and the buildings on the island look quite old and dated. This was still an amazing vacation nevertheless, we just wish we could have stayed here for longer!
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