Hawaii Travels

When I was around 8 or 9 years old I did a school report on the Hawaiian Islands…and I’ve wanted to visit ever since! Finally in April of this year my husband and I went. And it was so beautiful! The water, beaches, the lush green vegetation, mountains, volcanoes, flowers…just gorgeous. All of it.

We spent half our time on Oahu and half on the big island. They were very different islands and both were beautiful in different ways.

Oahu

We spent the first five days on Oahu. Originally we thought we would be doing Oahu and Maui…with most of the time spent on Maui…but we ended up changing our plans last minute.

I was told by many people and blogs I read that Oahu (mainly Honolulu) is very busy, there are lots of people, and traffic is horrendous. I heard that Waikiki Beach is packed and not a good spot to relax.

I am a city person so I don’t mind crowds, but I was looking for a relaxing experience in Hawaii. I was anticipating not being a huge fan of Waikiki Beach and Honolulu in general after what I heard/read…but that wasn’t the case at all! I really enjoyed Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. Yes, it was a little crowded, but it was still enjoyable in my opinion.

Lost Tour and Fumi’s

Our second day on Oahu we did a Lost tour. I am a huge fan of the TV show Lost and had been wanting to do this tour for over 10 years. Super nerdy, I know. A van with a guide (who was awesome and super knowledgable…he was actually on Lost a few times) picked us up at 7am from our hotel and took us on a full day tour around Oahu to visit filming locations. We had four other people on the tour with us and we got to see a huge part of the island while doing Lost trivia along the way. We got dropped off at our hotel at 5pm…it was a long day but so much fun. If you are a Lost fan you may recognize some of the locations below!

While on the tour we stopped for lunch at a roadside shack called Fumi’s…they serve fresh cooked shrimp, prepared in a handful of different flavors, with a side of rice and some pineapple. I was not expecting much but WOW. I got the garlic butter shrimp…it was one the most delicious shrimp dishes I have ever eaten. The shrimp was unpeeled, tasted SO fresh, and was dripping with butter and garlic. There were big chunks of soft garlic throughout the shrimp and rice. If you are a shrimp and garlic lover and you are on Oahu, GO TO FUMI’S. It was only $9 and it was my favorite (and cheapest) meal of the trip. We even had a $300 anniversary dinner and I liked the Fumi’s meal better to be completely honest!

Byodo-In Temple- Sun and Jin’s wedding in “Seoul”

Desmond boat scene/Pirates of the Caribbean scene

Honolulu and Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach was pretty crowded, but that didn’t bother me. I had a good time on the beach, in the water, and watching all of the surfers. We actually thought about doing a surfing class but never actually acted on it. Maybe next time…it looked like so much fun.

I think the second best meal I had came from the grocery store Foodland. I did some research on the best poke bowls on Oahu…experts and locals all agree Foodland has some of the best and freshest poke. My husband doesn’t like raw fish and had some work to do, so I took the bus to Foodland myself. The guy behind the counter was super helpful and I ended up with a big bowl filled with 3 different flavors of poke. It was soooo good. I think it was $16, so definitely another cheap but amazing meal.

I think if I were to go to Oahu again I would prefer to stay on the north shore next time. There were some cool little surfer towns we went through on the tour, and some beaches that looked really nice and less crowded. But I’m glad I got to experience Honolulu and Waikiki.

The Big Island

We spent the next five days on the Big Island, near Kona. We stayed at a resort (which I have never done) and it was nice…very relaxing. However there wasn’t a beach within walking distance so we ended up at the pool a couple of times. Which is not my preference when there is an ocean so close. Most of the coastline is rocky in the area, so there is no sand.

We did spend one day at a nearby beach…we had rented a car at one point, so we drove 15 mins or so to Hapuna Beach. And it was the best beach we went to in Hawaii. The sand was soft and white, it wasn’t too crowded, and the water was so blue and crystal clear. Highly recommend.

I felt a bit secluded at the resort we were at, so next time I would prefer to stay somewhere else…and would like to split the time between Hilo and Kona.

Akaka Falls State Park and Volcanoes National Park

I was super excited to visit Akaka Falls State Park to see the waterfall, and Volcanoes National Park over on the opposite side of the island, near Hilo.

Hilo was a cute town, we had a really good lunch at Sweet Cane Cafe (gluten free and vegan food) and checked out the farmers market where I had a tasty green juice.

I was especially excited to visit the volcano at night and get to take photos of the glowing lava. Unfortunately we did not feel safe driving on Saddle rd across the island while it was dark, as this is a super dangerous road at night. So we did not stay long enough to see the lava glow. Next time we will definitely stay in Hilo so we can do that.

It was still pretty cool to see the volcano…it was a raining and foggy, but we saw some steam vents and could see into the volcano a bit. We also got to walk through a lava tube, which ended up being much cooler than I thought it would be.

Akaka Falls was beautiful…it was short hike from the entrance and totally worth the $5 per person entry fee.

Overall the big island was beautiful…we experienced several different ecosystems in a matter of hours, which was amazing. I believe the Big Island contains 8 ecosystems, of 13 total in the world. There are areas that are so lush and beautiful, and other areas that make you feel like you’re on Mars. It was a pretty amazing island.

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travel, travel blogNatalie StarksJuly 1, 2022hawaii, travel, hawaii travel, big island travel, big island, oahu, oahu travel, honolulu, honolulu travel, waikiki, waikiki travel, travel blog, travel photography, travel photographerComment