It's almost that time of the year again so it's the perfect opportunity to tell you about my last birthday, for which I went to Hawaii. I lived as an expat in San Francisco at the time and there isn’t really a better place to take a trip to Hawaii from. During my trip, I stayed on two islands - Oahu and Kauai. This post is about the first part of my trip to the main island Oahu.
Oahu is the island you are probably most likely to visit during your Hawaii vacation as it is the home of Honolulu and thus Waikiki airport. Living in San Francisco I already had the perfect start for a Hawaii vacation as you're basically as close as you can get anyways. I got to enjoy an ice-cold passion fruit cocktail on the flight, which made it even more enjoyable.
Aloha Waikiki
Even though my favorite part of Oahu is the North Shore, I would definitely recommend staying in Honolulu for some time, too. Yes, it is more touristy but you kind of have the best of both worlds - a big city with lots of restaurants and sights and a beach right in front of your door. And I literally mean right in front of your door. My hotel was right by Waikiki Beach and it was the perfect start to my Hawaii vacation with this great view.
With such an amazing beach right in front of your hotel, you can't really say no to a nice and relaxed day at the beach. And even though Waikiki Beach might be a bit more crowded it still blows my mind that you can have such a great beach right in such a big city.
You should definitely stay out for a truly amazing Hawaiian sunset while you're there, too. I walked towards the end of Waikiki Beach and found an amazing spot where I did not only have a great view of the sunset itself but also Honolulu.
Acai Galore
An exquisite Hawaiian diet included coconuts, shaved ice, and of course - acai bowls. In my humble opinion, you can find the best acai bowls in the world on literally every corner - and huge ones too! I actually fell so in love with the bowls that I have been trying to make them at home for breakfast, too. I am a huge fan of shaved ice too, though as in my head it is the ideal candy, as it's just ice with some syrup and it looks so colorful)!
Aloha North Shore
After a short stay in Waikiki I moved to the North Shore. I stayed at Turtle Bay Resort and I absolutely loved the place! If the resort looks familiar - you might have seen it in the movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall (a good one, trust me) or the Baywatch reunion. Besides, their mascot is the "Humu" - a Hawaiian fish with the wonderful name of Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa (credits if you can say it and even more credits if you know the High School Musical song that I used to sing every morning after I woke up). If you are still not convinced - look at this amazing view from the hotel room.
The hotel also offered amazing breakfast so my German breakfast heart was happy as it can be. During my stay on Oahu, I also had our biggest Hawaii adventure, which I will tell you about in a future post: we went shark swimming (no cage)!
After not being eaten by a shark I could explore the North Shore beaches a bit more, which definitely is amazing! Even though Oahu might be the most crowded one, you can still find the most beautiful abandoned beaches!
I definitely made a lot out of my Hawaii vacation as I visited two different islands, explored different areas on both, and had a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with the sharks. That is why this will definitely not be the last article about Hawaii on Kate Rebel. However, I would also love to go back and see different islands and explore even more of the beautiful state. A hui hou Hawaii, it's been a pleasure!
I hope you enjoyed my travel diary from my stay on Oahu. Have you been to Hawaii too? What are your favorite spots on Oahu?
Kate recommends: A stay on Oahu goes very well with a copy of Kauai Hart Hemmings' The Descendants (you might know the movie). The main character Matt King - of Hawaiian origin - has to deal with his two out-of-control daughters after his wife fell into a coma. The family drama is contradicting to Hawaii's idyllic backdrop but well - I'm sure you know the story already (or at least George Clooney).