We took a much anticipated vacation to Hawaii and brought along our kids, which made our group a total of 6 people. Traveling as a family of six to Hawaii included a rather large price tag. Nonetheless, we took the jump and ventured off to an amazing vacation. It has topped the charts and we don’t regret spending the money on this vacation.
My first word of advice for anyone considering a trip to Hawaii… be flexible with your flight departure dates. Our resort was a Friday to Friday week’s stay and initially, I planned to depart for Hawaii on a Friday. However, by moving my departure date to Thursday, I saved nearly $200 on each airline ticket – and with a group of six, that was a great savings. We used the money we saved on the flight to book a room for Thursday night which wasn’t even half of the money that we ended up saving! By doing this – we got in to Hawaii a day early and used that time to get “somewhat” acclimated to the time change.
Traveling to Hawaii from the East Coast is no picnic. I’ll be honest. We departed BWI VERY early and flew to Phoenix for a layover. We used that time to grab lunch and stretch our legs. From Phoenix, we flew directly to Honolulu and arrived around 5:30 PM local time (for us – that was 11:30 PM). We checked into the hotel and grabbed some dinner – the kids were literally falling asleep at the table. Eventually we got to sleep, close to 24 hours after departing BWI. Despite this long travel day – we were up just a few hours later to enjoy the day! We were in Hawaii afterall!
Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort
I hear about many Hawaiian vacations spent at Waikiki, and while Waikiki is nice – it is not the best spot on Oahu by far. Being the planner that I am, I did a lot of research and we covered the island pretty extensively. My cousin lived there at the time and she also pointed us in the right direction when it came to avoiding tourist spots, which was a great help!
My review of Hawaii will include four locations on Oahu: Ko’Olina (west Oahu), North Shore (north Oahu), Kailua (east Oahu), and Honolulu (south Oahu).
Ko’Olina
Ko’Olina is located on the western leeward side of Oahu and is fairly dry and sunny most of the time. From time to time, showers will pass over but they never last long. The drive to Ko’Olina is a short 25 minutes from Honolulu airport and is definitely a place of peace and relaxation. Waikiki is a busy place, lots of shopping and tourists – and Ko’Olina is the exact opposite of this!
We stayed at the Marriott’s Ko’Olina Beach Club and had an amazing experience. We loved the pools and the lagoons. All four resorts on Ko’Olina are partially connected. You can walk from resort to resort and check out the lagoons, bars, and restaurants. The sunsets are spectacular and can be enjoyed from any spot along the lagoons. You can also walk out to the sea wall and enjoy a front row spot along the rocky shoreline.
Our favorite restaurant in Ko Olina was Monkeypod – a farm to table style restaurant. We loved this place so much that we had dinner there twice during our stay! Make reservations – and go at sunset!
Check out all four resorts on Ko’Olina, here.
Below are some photos from our stay at the Marriott Ko’Olina Beach Club!
Kailua
One of our trips was out to the eastern side of the island, to the town of Kailua. The eastern side of the island is lush and green. It’s the wet side of the island and a stark difference from the dryer west side. The drive from one side of Oahu to the other is quite spectacular. The mountains are just amazing and on our next trip to Hawaii, we plan to do much more hiking in this part of Oahu.
Lanikai Beach is located in Kailua and is by far, the most beautiful beach I have ever visited. Just out from the beach are the Mokulua Islands and just inland from the shore is a short little hike, the Lanikai Pillbox hike, which gives amazing views of the coastline. Lanikai beach is also the best spot to see the sunrise!
While visiting, we rented kayaks and did a little ocean kayaking. There are two spots that you can kayak to – one that is not too far off shore – about a 20 minute row. You can beach your kayak and enjoy this little island and bird sanctuary. The other location is to kayak out to the Mokulua Islands. One of the two has a small beach among the rocky shoreline and it great for exploring. It’s a lengthy trip and you have to navigate around the current, but it is well worth the trip!
One of our favorite spots to eat in Kailua was Crepes No Ka ‘Oi. They had the most amazing crepes! In Kailua, you won’t find high-rise hotels and resorts. It’s very much a local town and community. When we return to Hawaii, we would love to rent an Airbnb there in Kailua so we can enjoy more of this fantastic part of Oahu!
North Shore
Two of my favorite things about the North Shore – shrimp trucks and sea turtles! We spent a few days driving around and exploring the North Shore.
Waimea Beach was spectacular. The water was crystal clear and jumping off the cliffs was so much fun! Just inland from the beach, you can hike and explore Waimea Valley. In addition to this beach, we visited Laniakea Beach (better known as Turtle Beach) where you can actually wade in the water with sea turtles swimming around you. It’s quite an amazing experience! Sea turtles float in the water and basks in the rocks everywhere. It’s a dream-come-true for sea turtle lovers. Lunch in the North Shore must include a visit to a local shrimp truck! We enjoyed four different shrimp styles at Macky’s – all were delicious!
There are several spots to snorkel in the North Shore. My cousin recommended visiting Shark’s Cove – which sounds intimidating – but it is an amazing place to see fish! Here’s a link to more info about Shark’s Cove. My cousin also suggested Ka’ena Point State Park! While it was a bit rainy that day, found some amazing sea rocks and shells!
Lastly, we hired a professional photographer to take our family portraits in the the North Shore. We hired Jennifer Brotchie who is now based in California. It’s worth hiring a professional to take your photos if you are taking a vacation to Hawaii!
Honolulu
Hiking Diamond Head was definitely a fun part of our trip, although I recommend going early in the morning. We went in the afternoon and it was quite hot. The hike is lengthy but not strenuous. The path is railed and paved (and crowded – another reason I recommend going early) and there are several sets of steps to climb towards the top. However, once you reach the top – the views are outstanding! You can overlook the entire city of Honolulu.
On Saturdays and Sundays, there is a swap meet and marketplace in the Aloha Stadium that we really enjoyed! We shopped for souvenirs and enjoyed fresh coconut milk! For lunch, we enjoyed delicious hot dogs at Hanks Haute Dogs – a little hot dog stand in Honolulu. They were amazing!
One thing we learned from our trip to Hawaii – from the east coast, it’s quite a lengthy trip, especially with kids! Both to and from – give yourself a full day of traveling. Our trip was 9 days – a full week with two travel days!
We were also exhausted by 6PM Hawaii time for the first few days due to jet lag. There is a 6 hour time difference so, 6PM felt like midnight to us until we adjusted; however, a trip to Hawaii is worth it! Enjoy this video compilation of our trip!