Oahu & Maui Hawaiian Vacation
- Sydney
- May 9, 2023
- 3 min read
Dates: December 12, 2015 - December 23, 2015
Locations: Outrigger Waikiki & The Westin Kaanapali
Oahu and Maui, Hawaii
Holy cow. Hawaii. This was one of the most spectacular trips we have ever been on, based on the sheer beauty of the islands. There were so many things that made this trip to Hawaii special. The flight to Oahu was I think close to 8 hours long which was something new for me. Definitely the longest flight I've ever been on.
The main drag on Waikiki beach was probably one of the busiest streets I've seen or been on in my entire life. We stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki and had a small but amazing view from our room of the crystal clear waters on Waikiki and Diamond head. During our time on Oahu, we were able to do a tour of the Pearl Harbor memorial along with seeing the USS Arizona memorial where oil still leaks from the ship to this day. It was a very moving experience.
We rented stand up paddle boards on the beach and I don't think mom and I were able to stand up for more than 10 seconds at a time. It was cool seeing so many surfers in the area, although the beach was very packed.
One day we went on a hike to DiamondHead. We walked the 2 miles to and from the hotel to the hike and enjoyed seeing the neighborhoods, homeless people and Banyan trees along the way. It's a very mainstream hike, but the whole things took only about 20 minutes on the way up. The views from the top were amazing and if I were able to go back to Hawaii I would love to do more hikes.
Another day we took a tour on "The Surf Bus". They picked us up at the hotel and away we went to visit the North Shore. I would definitely recommend doing this tour, or something similar. We were able to see the Billabong Pipe Masters and see professional surfers which was so cool even though we really had no idea what was going on. We saw turtles, ate from a shrimp food truck, toured some shops, and saw the waves crashing up right next to the road. We also kayaked and saw some turtles from the kayaks. Snorkeling on the North Shore is supposed to be really good but we weren't able to do that because of the poor water conditions. It was a great tour and we had such a nice guide.
The Outrigger was a nice hotel but very very busy. We had Hula Pie for breakfast at Duke's but didn't eat much else at the restaurants on the property. The pool was also very small with a lot of people on the beach. The sunsets on Oahu were unbelievable.
After a few days on Oahu, we took a puddle jump flight to Maui where we spent our time at the Westin Kaanapali. It was bigger and more spread out than Oahu and the pool here was big and amazing. We spent most of our time laying at the pool because it was so windy that sand on the beach was blowing too much for us to lay out on the beach.
We took a short walk to the Sheraton resort down the beach near black rock where we snorkeled in some of the clearest waters (yes that's me snorkeling!). It was so cool for me as this was some of the best snorkeling that we've done before. We also went snorkeling at Kapalua Bay where I saw huge sea turtles.
During our time on Maui we were able to watch the Husker volleyball team win the national championship at the bar right next to the pool. This island is so much prettier than pictures can capture and I absolutely loved the view from our room. The main highways on Maui are so cool because you can literally just pull over from the side of the road and take in the amazing views.
I can help you decide if Hawaii is a good option for you and your trip! Contact me here or shoot me an email sydney.nieveen@sojourneytravel.com
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
- The Surf Bus
- Pearl Harbor
- Diamond Head Hike
- Luau
- snorkeling
Comments