Our 5-day Itinerary in Oahu
Saturday - Hellooooo Oahu!
11:50am – Landed in hot, humid and tropical Honolulu
12:30- 3pm – Explored Waikiki. Walked down Kuhio, ate snacks and delicious Matcha Ice Cream
3pm – Checked into Airbnb. We didn’t even unpack, dropped our bags and walked down to the beach immediately!
5pm – Had a drink at Beach Bar, enjoyed life while watching the sunset over the ocean
6pm – Free Hula show at the Kuhio Beach Hula Mound (2 blocks away from our Airbnb)
8pm – Sleepy times. Between the jet lag and the excitement, we were pooped
Sunday – Secret Island Adventure
AM: Kualoa Ranch
6:50am – Walk 3 blocks to the Bus Pick-up location (courtesy of our Go-Oahu card)
7-8am – Charter bus drive to Kualoa
8:30ish – Walk around Kualoa Ranch, enjoyed the wild chickens and fed the horses
9:30am – Private bus to Secret Island. A boat took us to a small island and private beach with a group of ~10 people. The beach had hammocks, paddleboards, kayaks, a ping pong table, and multiple games including cornhole. It was too windy to paddleboard so we took out a kayak and enjoyed the silence and beauty of the island from the water.
Brought snacks and ate them under the trees. Life’s a Beach!
12:30 – came back to Kualoa Ranch, the charter bus took us back to Waikiki
PM: Explore Waikiki
1:30pm – ate at Paia fish – split the Opakapaka (Snapper) and shrimp appetizer. The fish was at “Market price” (Aka expensive! Entrée $22) but so fresh, smooth and buttery. Definitely worth it.
2pm- took a nap back at the Airbnb.
4:30pm- Walked to Rumfire and barely made it to Happy Hour! Enjoyed a view of the beach, Hawaiian breeze and felt fancy (impostors) in the Sheraton while sipping on $5 MaiTais.
Spent the rest of the evening walking around, watching street performers, and playing darts at Honolulu Tavern
Monday – Exploring the West Coast
7:30am – rented a car at Alamo – cute Nissan Versa
8:00 – drove to Liliha bakery, home of the famous coco puffs (and other delicious pastries). Stuff our faces? Check.
9 am- Headed to Pearl Harbor. Learned about the USS Arizona, USS Missouri and went on a boat tour of the Marina. We did an audiotour of USS Bowfin and got to see the inside of a WWII submarine (everything using the GoOahu Card)
11 am – headed to Wet n’Wild water park. So much fun! It wasn’t too crowded, so we got to go on all the rides multiple times.
2pm – Drove to Ko Oalinga- the west Coast where the Disney resort is. Explored some of the man-made Lagoons (shoutout to Lagoon #4, one of the most pristine spots we have ever been to) but decided to settle at Paradise Cove. The name does it justice
5pm – Happy hour/dinner at Monkey Pod. We got lucky and got seated outside by the performers who indulged us with a few Bruno Mars covers
6:30 – Return the car in Waikiki. Relax in the airbnb. We were very tired, went to sleep right away
Tuesday – Polynesian Cultural Center
7 am – woke up and ran down to the beach to beat the crowds
7-9am – Rented a surf board at Moku Hawaii and dove in the clear, shallow, beginner-friendly waters of Waikiki Beach. Julio got to try surfing for the first time!
9 am – Headed back to the Airbnb to shower and get ready. Had pastries from Liliha bakery for breakfast, yum
10am- Walked to the pick up spot for the Polynesian Cultural Center‘s tour bus. I’ll let pictures tell the rest of the story :
The visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Luau and Night performance (which we we could not take pictures of) were all included in the GoOahu card as one of their premium attractions. We splurged a little and paid an extra $25 /person to have a guide and to go to the later Luau, which allowed us more time to explore the center before the night show. I would highly recommend having a tour guide, you will learn not only about the center but also about the students who work there.
11pm – Arrived home after an exciting, all-day adventure. Straight to bed exhausted but happy
Wednesday – Manoa falls, Hanauma Bay and Waikiki night life
6:50am- pick up to Manoa Falls. Only 4 of us total in a tour that usually takes 15-20-20 people (the early bird gets the human-free rainforest?)
8-10am hike to Manoa Falls and visit Lyon Arboretum. Got SOAKED, but loved the adventure. So glad we brought our ponchos from the PCC
10:30 – Back in Waikiki, Udon noodles brunch at Marukame Udon
Noon-3pm – nap time!
3pm – Headed to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. It was Julio’s first time snorkeling and we got to see lots of colorful fishies. It was his favorite experience from the trip. Note- we bought reef friendly sunscreen. Did you know sunscreen is killing coral reefs?
5pm – Dinner and sunset at Kona Brewery. Had 2 flights of beer samplers, appetizers and shared their delicious Ahi Salad (pricey, but the fish was yu-uh-um)
8pm- Back in Waikiki, we decided to end our last night with a bang. Went to a bar to play darts and ended up making friends with some Australians, French and Swedish peeps. Before we knew it, we were dancing and sharing $1 drink specials (yeah, that is right! at Play Bar). Needless to say, our bodies were not happy the next day, but we felt young and fun 🙂
1am – Late night shrimp at a food truck right by our Airbnb, Blue Ocean Seafood and Steak, before bed time
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Thursday – Aloha Hawaii!
10am- headed back to the Airbnb to shower and pack. We ate the last of our Lilliha bakery goodies for breakfast.
11am- checked out and headed to the Airport. Sigh.
12:30pm flight
9pm arrived home – we were exhausted but so, so happy. As we ate In n Out on our way home, we agreed that Hawaii was our favorite vacation as a couple yet 🙂