When you think bucket-list this is definitely worthy!

Hawaii is one of the most amazing holiday destinations we have been to with the aqua blue sea and yellow sandy beaches to the Jurassic Park backdrops of Diamond Head. There are lots of different types of holiday’s you can have here, from sitting on the beach drinking cocktails, to grabbing your surfboard and hitting the waves, checking out the local culture and history or even hitting up some of the malls and doing some shopping!

Let us share our experiences and guide you through how to travel this beautiful island!

“Don’t talk – keep it in your heart ”

 -Duke Kahanamoku

Getting there

• Airport – the local airport is in Honolulu called Daniel K. Inouye international and is a small airport compared to some of the other airports in the USA. The airport is quite a nice one as it isn’t as busy as some of the major travel hubs in the USA and a lot of the airport is open top so it feels like you are outside! The only disappointment that we had was that we didn’t get a lai put around our necks as soon as we walked off of the plane just like you see in the films, but they are available to buy from some of the stands within the airport. 
• Taxi – we grabbed a taxi from the airport to our hotel cost around $35. There seemed to be lots of taxi’s available and there didn’t seem to be any need to have one pre-booked. There were some companies operating within the airport that were trying to gather people together to take a mini bus into the main area of Waikiki however the price didn’t seem to be too much different from the taxi. From memory it took about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the main area of Waikiki by taxi. 
• Shuttle from airport to Waikiki was around $18 return but as we didn’t use this service we wouldn’t be able to recommend or not.

Where to stay

• Hotel – there are plenty on and off Waikiki main strip, we stayed at the Coconut Waikiki which was a 10 minute walk from the main strip, around £150 a night with breakfast. We would have to say that if you are heading to Waikiki then we would very much recommend checking out this hotel! It was far enough from the main area that it was nice and quiet but close enough that it wasn’t far to walk to and from the beach or the main strip where the shops and restaurants were. It was also very handy that there was a corner shop on the way where you could pick up snacks etc. The hotel was nice and clean and tidy and the room had everything we needed such a comfortable bed, TV and coffee machine. The breakfast was also pretty decent too and the staff were nice and friendly. 
• Airbnb – range from £40 up.

What to do

• Waikiki Trolley – has 5 different colour lines which goes to different areas, check out their different passes from days to weeks. Found this really useful and cost effective. The drivers were really friendly and gave lots of information on the different routes about the local area and history of it. The trolley was really useful to get around as it had lines which went to Diamond Head as well as out to Pearl Harbour which from the main strip were not within walking distance. There was also a trolley line which went out to the shopping mall which although was within walking distance made it a lot easier to get back with a lot of shopping bags!
• Pearl Harbour – (purple line to get you there from above) site of one of the well documented attack in World War 2, steeped in historic facts about the time. There was lots of interesting things to see at Pearl Harbour including being able to go on board a submarine which put into perspective just how small a space the sailors had to live in! There was also the opportunity to take a boat out to see the wreckage of one of the ships that had been sunk in the attack. 
• Diamond Head – you can see this in the first picture, our tip would be to go in the morning, take water and wear trainers with grip for the hike up and fantastic views. When we went to Diamond Head there was quite a few people climbing up to the top and it was pretty hard going in places. It was easy to stop at any point and make your way back down if you feel you have had enough but worth going right to the top for the excellent views! On the day we went they were actually filming scenes for Hawaii 5-0 there as well!
• Waikiki beach – another must do, whether you just want to top up your tan, try out your water sports or just swim in the sea. The beach was amazing and you could easily spend your whole holiday here just sun bathing and watching the surfers. Although there is the opportunity to go to other parts of the island on Turtle spotting excursions when swimming in Waikiki we actually had a turtle come up and swim alongside us in the sea which was amazing! It’s the place to get the definite Oahu vibe!
• Check out our five free things to do in Hawaii.

What to eat

• Fish – we tried swordfish, shrimp and tuna all fresh which was great. If you like fish then check out the tacos that they sell at the Planet Hollywood restaurant.
• Shaved ice – this was something that seemed to be really popular and they sold it everywhere from the shopping malls to the street vendors!
• Chocolate covered macadamias made by Mauna Loa, many times did we stop off at the corner shop on the way back from the beach to the hotel to pick some of these up! We haven’t been able to find them anywhere else but they feel like a reason to go back on their own!
• Hawaiian Plate – this was the local dish according to one of the trolley drivers and consisted of steak and shrimp along with a side of rice and some salad. This was sold quite a few places and was amazing every time we had it and was a very reasonable price.
• There were also lots of chain restaurants in the area so easy to pick up a pizza, subway or a steak from somewhere familiar.

Other Things to Know

• Currency – USA dollar
• How We Did It – As we are based in the UK it was not possible to fly direct so we flew into LAX first and took the opportunity to spend a few days exploring LA before then flying into Oahu.
• Weather – we stayed in Oahu in July, we did have one overnight tropical storm, the next day the good weather returned.
• Tipping – same as the rest of America
• Getting around – Waikiki trolley, you will find as you read through our travels we use these a lot, check it out in our tips section.
• Photos – if you love a good selfie or nature photo, another must do is sunrise and sunset pics, you can check our Instagram for some of these.

Don’t forget to hashtag your photos #traveltaggers

If you would like any further help please email and we will help as much as we can