Aloha! My Hawaii Travel Diary

I’m pretty much off of social media so many of you don’t know that I went to Hawaii in early October! I went to see a college friend who’s living there (her husband is in the Navy and is stationed at Pearl Harbor) and another college friend flew out from Phoenix to meet us. It was a great time and well worth the 12 hour (gag) flight.

I loved Hawaii and thought I’d share some of my favorites.

Oahu

Since we went all that way, we decided it was the best use of our time to see two islands. So, days 1-3 Christina and I were in Oahu with Catherine. Then, we flew to Maui for two days. Christina left from Maui to go back to Phoenix and I flew back to Oahu for another day.

Favorite Restaurant: Deck Waikiki

Our hostess, Catherine, set the bar HIGH when it came to drinking and eating in Hawaii. Our first night there, we had happy hour and dinner at Deck (seriously the best Mai Tai, omg) while overlooking Diamond Head Mountain (that I stupidly did not take a picture of). Sigh.

Sunset in Waikiki.

It’s a must-do. It was so cool to see so many people surfing and being oh-so exactly what mainlanders would think Hawaiians are.

Luau at Paradise Cove.

No matter how you slice it, luaus are touristy. That’s the point of them! I don’t know how Paradise Cove compares to other luaus, but we certainly loved all the pomp and circumstance.. And, no joke, the food was delicious!

Shopping and Lunch on Haleiwa

Haleiwa is the cutest town on the North Shore. I especially loved Island Vintage Coffee, North Shore Goodies (their coconut peanut butter is to DIE for) Mana and Pua (I had the chicken salad sandwich and still dream about it) for lunch; and SoHa Living for ADORABLE Hawaiian housewares. I got an “Aloha” pumpkin pillow there that I love (see Frickle modeling it below)!

Pearl Harbor

I’ll admit that I’m a huge history dork and perhaps not everyone would be as “into” this as I was but I sincerely think every American needs to see it. I would even go as far to say that Pearl Harbor alone is worth going to Hawaii for. We spent about 4.5 hours there and I easily could have spend another 2-3. Both of my grandfathers were World War II veterans and being at Pearl Harbor made me even more proud of them. Obviously, seeing the sunken U.S.S. Arizona was incredibly impactful but I especially loved seeing the surrender deck on the U.S.S. Missouri. I envisioned so much world history happening there and I’m incredibly grateful for the experience.

Dole Plantation

So, I didn’t to do the tour. But I did walk around a bit and have a Dole Whip for breakfast.. As one does…

Dinner at Disney’s Aulani

My sister is a Disney travel agent and asked if I’d scope the place out so I was more than happy to oblige. The grounds are absolutely gorgeous and the dinner was delicious. We ended up at the lower end of the restaurants (the waits were long; we should’ve made reservations) but it was still lovely. I wouldn’t say Aulani is as Disney-heavy as the resorts in Florida, but there’s certainly a Mickey undercurrent, if you will. I wish we could have seen it during the day because I would imagine it’s ever more stunning.

Maui

We had a whirlwind trip to Maui. We were really only there for two days. So, feel free to be impressed by how much we packed in!

Favorite Restaurant: Ocean Vodka Organic Farm and Distillery.

You read that right. A distillery had, by far, the best food I had on Maui. We did a tour of the distillery, which was SUPER worth it. We got to try all of the spirits, including their insanely delicious toasted coconut rum. That wasn’t even the best part. The view was beyond gorgeous. The salad? Incredible. Pizza, to die for. Chocolate and “mac nut” (that’s their nickname for macadamia) dipped bananas. Omg….

The Road to Hana

Nature in Hawaii is different from any other place I’ve seen and I loved it. That being said, The Road to Hana is cool and all but there are so many lava rocks and waterfalls you can see before it gets old, ya know? I’ll also note that I’m very much an indoor cat and abhor hiking. If you’re more of an outdoor enthusiast, perhaps you’ll appreciate the Road to Hana more than I did. Not to say that I didn’t appreciate it. It was cool. Coconut Glen’s ice cream was delicious. As was the banana bread at Halfway to Hana. Oh, and the Hawaiian-grown chocolate that’s incredibly overpriced but soooo good. Oh, if you go, make SURE to download the Shaka Guide. It gives you an audio tour of The Road to Hana and makes the trip much more meaningful.

Parasailing

This was a first for me and I’m so proud of myself for not even being scared! We went parasailing in Lahaina and seeing Maui from the water was very cool. I learned that there are glass bottom boats and submarines you can go on, also in Lahaina. If I had known that, I probably would have opted for one of those (I love sea critters), but Parasailing was still amazing! I will make this note, though, if you get seasick, DO NOT GO PARASAILING. When the weather is windy, the boat goes VERY slow and it VERY rocky. I have never gotten seasick in my life and even I was feeling a little green when on the boat…

Lunch and drinks at Maui Brewing Company

Hawaiians are clearly VERY proud of the Maui Brewing Company because you can’t go to a bar without there being at least one on tap. The actual brewery was a *little* underwhelming ambiance-wise (as breweries often are!) but their food and hard seltzers were delicious. We both had the Korean Rice Bowl which was not at ALL what you would expect (it was broth-y) but it was soooo good. I also loved their hard seltzer. I tried each of the flavors and each was lovely.

Shopping and Dinner in Lahaina

Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii at one point so it’s very historical and cute. I wound up with a ton of souvenirs there. Also, the views at the restaurants aren’t half bad!

Drinks at the Four Seasons

I kept hearing that the Four Seasons in Maui is one of the prettiest resorts in the world. Well, for $2k a night, it had better be! We went over for drinks (I had a deliciously-timed afternoon smoothie) and walked the grounds. It is truly gorgeous! And, yes, that is a Hawaii Louis Vuitton.

Flying Back…

For as ready as I was to get back to DC, the flight from HNL to BWI (by way of LAS) was a perfect ending to a gorgeous trip. Look at how pretty!

Final Thoughts

I loved Hawaii but it’s FAR from the East Coast. I 10/10 would NOT recommend taking my beloved Southwest that far. I would recommend (ideally) flying direct in first class if you can swing it. Would I go again? Possibly, but only to see my friend that lives there. The culture is cool. Pearl Harbor is something every American should see. BUT there are tropical vacations that are only 2.5-3 hours away rather than ~12 hours… So there’s that. Also, no matter how you swing it, Hawaii is EXPENSIVE. So there’s that too..

Anyway, mahalo for a great trip, Hawaii! Until (the potential) next time, Aloha!