Aloha Hawaii! My husband and I decided to take a break from all the stress and take a trip to BEAUTIFUL Oahu, Hawaii. I’ve never been to Hawaii so I was super excited to see if it lived up to the hype (P.S. it is). Yes, there are still rules in place about wearing mask and ensuring that you don’t have COVID before you visit.
COVID Test Before Flying to Hawaii
The first thing we did to prepare for this trip was to catch up on all the rules and regulations Oahu, Hawaii had in place due to COVID. For us, we needed to have a negative Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a trusted testing facility and create a profile and register with the State of Hawaii Safe Travels Hawai‘i program.
After getting tested, we uploaded our results to our State of Hawaii travel profile and also to our United Airlines profile (through the app or online) to help expedite the process. United informed us that we could stop by an area in the airport after we went through security to get wristbands that say we received a negative COVID test. DO THIS!! It allowed us to walk straight through the airport in Hawaii and get our checked bags without any issues.
Itinerary Outline:
Day 1
- Arrive in Hawaii
- Eat a late lunch at Duke’s Restaurant
- Take a Nap
- Explore Waikiki
Day 2
- Peal Harbor (USS Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri Memorial and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum)
- Hana Kona Brewery for Lunch
- Sunset Cruise (Holokai Catamaran)
- Order Marukame Udon Take-out for Dinner
Day 3
- ATV Adventure at Kualoa Ranch
- Lunch at Ted’s Bakery
- Explored North Shore/Haleiwa
- Snorkled at Shark’s Cove
- Snow Cones at Matsumoto’s
- Dinner at Banzai Sushi Bar
Day 4
- Hike Diamond Head Crater
- Grab some musubi at Musubi Café Iyasume
- Relax on Waikiki Beach
- Dinner at Paradise Cove Luau
Day 5
- Do the Pill Box Hike
- Snorkeled Kailua Beach
- Lunch at Maui Brewery Co. in Kailua
- Dinner at Haleiwa Joe’s
Day 6
- Do the nature’s stairmaster aka Koko Head
- Try Leonard’s Malasadas (the food truck location)
- Snorkeled at Waimanalo Beach
- Ate lunch at GOEAN Dining + Bar
- Snorkeled at Lanikai Beach
- Dinner at Paia Fish Market
Day 7
- Some last minute shopping
- Pack-Up
- Kona Brewery Co. for Lunch
- Leonard’s Food truck (again) for airplane snacks
- Head back to Texas
Day 1
Arrive in Hawaii (~1pm)
- Pack snacks for the flight depending how long it is. Ours was 8 hours long so brought beef jerky and caramel popcorn from Bucee’s.
- We reserved time to take a nap since we were both jet lagged.
- Make reservations for dinner a few months ahead of time if you have a specific place in mind. We luckily got in to Duke’s Restaurant relatively fast.
- Take a walk along the beach and catch the sunset!
- Go to bed early to catch up on more sleep and to be prepared for all the fun activities to come.
Day 2
Pearl Harbor (USS Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri Memorial and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum)
- Reserve your tickets to all exhibits ahead of time online. There are also packages that can get you access to all Pearl Harbor attractions.
- When picking your time slot to tour the Alabama, keep in mind that you should do this activity FIRST to cut down on shuttle time.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes since you’ll be on your feet a lot.
- NO BAGS are allowed within the exhibit. Please read the “What to Bring” section for each place.
Ate lunch at Hana Kona Brewery
Sunset Cruise
- Research the various companies and buy tickets online to reserve your spot. My husband and I was went with Holokai Catamaran. Their pricing was good and included all you can drink. The workers were super friendly!
- Wear shoes that are easy to take off and get wet. You’ll have to walk on the beach and board the boat when it’s docked in the water.
Dinner at Marukame Udon
- Order Online to beat the line. There was always a long line (+1hr wait) to get in and order. Keep in mind the take-out runs late also….so I would put down a pick-up time 30 minutes before you actually would pick it up.
- Find a nice spot to sit outside to eat. There were plenty of spots to get some great views or just to people watch (one of my favorite hobbies).
Day 3
Kualoa Ranch (2 hr ATV Expedition)
- Kualoa Ranch offers a ton of activities! Check out their website and see which activities interest you.
- Wear clothes and shoes that you don’t mind getting dusty.
- Bring a mask/bandana to wear over your mouth to keep dust out of it.
- The terrain isn’t that rough but you do get to drive the ATV YOURSELF!
- Keep your camera/phone in a pouch to keep the lens clean while driving around. You can also just wipe the lens anytime you want to take a photo.
- This tour has several stops to allow you to take some great photos!
Head to North Shore
Lunch at Ted’s Bakery (Recommended by our Kualoa tour guide)
- This is a bakery but also a food restaurant!
- You get a FREE slice of pie with any dish combo.
- There will be a line, so a lot for at least an additional 30/45 minutes if you’re on a schedule. (We passed several shrimp places on the way here and the lines looked a lot longer.)
- They provide a cute little sitting area outside with some benches for you to enjoy your food and nature.
Snorkeling at Shark’s Cove
- If you have your own snorkeling equipment, bring it with you. You’ll save some money!
- Water was very clear but be careful of the rocks.
- Hop on the waitlist through Yelp to save some time.
Day 4
Hike Diamond Head Crater
- Hike is easy to moderate.
- Has some great views but it is a very popular hike and there are a lot of people.
- There are several parking lots at the bottom of the hill since the main parking area near the entrance gets filled up fast.
Grab some musubi at Musubi Café Iyasume
- Great Musubi place but prepared to wait in line to get your order.
Relax on Waikiki Beach at Moana Surfrider
- In order to reserve a cabana or umbrella and chairs for people staying at Moana Surfrider, you have to wait in line 2 days before you want to relax on the beach.
- The cabana rental opens at 7am but people usually started lining up around 6:30am.
- My husband got in line around 6:15am and he was the first one in line.
- A cabana is $150 for the day and umbrella and 2 chairs are $75.
Dinner at Paradise Cove Luau
- Great luau and super fun!
- Food and drinks were great. We received $15 cards to use on souvenirs or drinks.
- They had several activities (free of charge) at the beginning to kill time while everyone settles in. There was canoeing, photo op with parrots and wood javelin throwing.
Day 5
Do Pill Box Hike (my favorite hike)
- Moderate to difficult hike but get amazing views of Lanikai beach.
- Highly recommend hiking shoes or shoes with good grip.
- Bring A LOT of water.
- Park in Kailua and walk over to the Pill Box hike. Parking in Lanikai on the weekends are allowed but not on the weekdays. We had better luck parking in Kailua!
Snorkeled Kailua Beach
Lunch at Maui Brewery Co. in Kailua
Dinner at Haleiwa Joe’s
- They do not take reservations, so try to get there an hour before you want to eat to get on the waitlist.
- While you wait, walk through their garden! It’s HUGE.
Day 6
Do the nature’s stairmaster aka Koko Head
- This is the hardest hike out of the three that we did.
- Bring a lot of water and be prepared to CLIMB up more than 1,000 steps.
- Wear shoes that have good traction since the old railway wood beams can be slightly slippery.
Try Leonard’s Malasadas (the food truck location)
- Go to the food truck location near Koko head to skip the lines. We waited maybe 15 minutes or so to get our Malasadas.
- They have a limited menu.
Snorkeled at Waimanalo Beach
- This is more of a local beach and has a different vibe than Waikiki, Kailua or Lanikai.
- Some areas were very shallow of coral reefs, so be cautious if you swim over them.
Ate lunch at GOEAN Dining + Bar
- Make a reservation ahead of time since they can get busy.
Snorkeled at Lanikai Beach
- Park in Kailua and walk to Lanikai beach. (~15 minute walk)
- Recommend fins if you have them since some areas are deep.
Dinner at Paia Fish Market
- They don’t take reservations, so be prepared to stand in line (very typical for restaurants in Oahu).
Day 7
Some last minute shopping
- Waikiki has a ton of shops to either do some window shopping or get sucked in and do some real shopping. I got sucked in…
Pack-Up
Kona Brewery Co. for Lunch
- The brewery is on a marina, so you can get a patio seat but of course, there is a waitlist that you’ll have to be put on.
Leonard’s Food truck (again) for airplane snacks
- I was craving these and wanted to see if we could bring them on the plane. We did and they were great snacks for the long 8 hour flight!
Head back to Texas
If you have been to Oahu, Hawaii, let me know what was your favorite thing to do!
Great itinerary. Someday I will go to Hawaii and use all of the information and tips from those who have already been and kindly share their knowledge.
Yes! You should definitely try to make it out to Hawaii. It’s gorgeous and the pictures don’t do it justice.
This looks absolutely amazing.
It was so much! I already want to go back and explore more.
Questions: What was your budget for the trip above, and at which resort did you stay?
We saved up points through Marriott and United, so our hotel and flight were paid for through points. We stayed at the Moana Surfrider hotel and it was gorgeous! For activities and food, we budgeted around $1,000. This doesn’t include breakfast since it was covered by the hotel through Bonvoy (point system with Marriott).