Heading to Hawaii? Here’s how we made the most of three days in Ohau

If you’re flying from the States to Australia then chances are you’ll have a connection in Hawaii - why not make the most of it and stay a few days?

We landed late in Honolulu, Hawaii’s capital city located on Oahu, the biggest and most commercial of the Hawaiian islands. The island is well set up for travellers and affluent tourists alike, with a bus network and car services right outside the airport. In no time at all, we were checking in to our hostel in Waikiki Beach. We stayed at Honu Waikiki by ALOH, which turned out to be the perfect choice for location and cost. It’s worth pointing out at this point though, that Hawaii is hella expensive! Our hostel room (we booked a private dorm) cost us more than our four-star hotel in San Francisco, so shop around before you go!

Arriving in Waikiki

Waikiki Beach is one of the busiest and most popular destinations for tourists, with its epic surf beaches, huge hotels and shopping malls. Keen to see as much as we could in our short time on the island, we headed off early on our first morning in search of white sandy beaches and crystal blue waters. In a short ten minutes, we had them!

It took us ten minutes to get from our central hostel to this beach - easy!

Here’s the rub though. The city beaches weren’t quite the vibe we were after we felt a little out of place…. While the azure waters of the Pacific Ocean lie ahead of you, monstrous concrete towers and a veritable honeycomb of balcony’s lurk behind you, reminding you that you aren’t quite in that tropical oasis you hoped for. Then there’s the question of what kind of traveller your fellow beach-dwellers are. Before the gasps of indignation start though, let me clarify (this isn’t a piece for the Daily Mail). I think it would be safe to say we were budget travellers on this leg of our trip. We set off for the day with the peanut butter sandwiches we’d whipped up earlier in a literal lunch box (Han insisted she’d need a lunch box to go travelling) and were staying in one of the more affordable *cough* accommodations in Waikiki. Our fellow tourists though, were definitely not packing their own sandwiches. Essentially, the point I’m meandering to is that when you’re surrounded by high-end boutiques, expensive restaurants and short-term holiday makers, you can’t help but feel a little self conscious eating your rapidly warming, lunchbox sandwiches and 7-eleven apple.

Anyhow, we still enjoyed our beach stint and welcomed the warm weather that the British summer had so far failed to deliver at home (it was bloody boiling). With that, we headed into central Waikiki. This is where the money in Honolulu really starts to show. Immaculate pavements adorned with manicured gardens and countless water features lined streets filled with luxury-brand stores (Han assures me as I hadn’t heard of many of them). This is where you really feel the American cultural beast taking over, with staples like Starbucks, Macy’s and Urban Outfitters all present and correct. For us, this was the side of Hawaii that felt the least authentic, you could really be perusing Barbour jackets or Jimmy Choos on any luxury high street. Ironically though, this is where we got our best bit of advice for how to see the best of Oahu.

Look at that happy face - well worth the money.

Despite our budget status, we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out on our first full day in Waikiki. Of course, we opted for something very Hawaiian, locally owned and family run. Just kidding - we went to Cheesecake Factory. Now don’t judge us here - yes it might be an American conglomerate, but we thought it would be fun to try an all-American dining experience (and who could resist somewhere that makes THAT MANY types of cheesecake eh?). Upon finishing our fairly gigantic meal (who knew Salmon grew that big?), we paid the bill and got chatting to the waiter, who recommended we check out the North Shore if we can, as this is where you see ‘real Hawaii’. So with that, we resolved to see some ‘real Hawaii’ on our last full day on the island.

Heading to the North Shore

A little googling told us that getting to the North Shore would involve at least two hours on a bus, so we were up early, swimwear on and towels in hand, ready to shake, rattle and roll our way north. And that is when our guardian angels appeared. It turned out that another couple, James and Carla, staying at our hostel were also heading to the North Shore that morning, although they had rented a car (which shaved an hour off the journey time). Long story short, once they realised we were also heading that way on the bus, they offered us a lift, which we gratefully accepted! Fortunately for us, they turned out to be the most genuine, generous people and after an hour’s chatting we were firm friends.

Back to the North Shore. This is where Hawaii really blew our minds. Getting out of the city was the best thing we could have done. An hours drive on the highway and we hit Laniakea Beach, otherwise known as Turtle Beach - no guesses why.

Turtle Beach is an absolute must if you’re visiting Oahu.

This was a pretty spectacular spot by anyone’s standards. Literally a few metres from the road, lies a small secluded beach which happens to be a favourite hang-out spot for Hawaiian Green Turtles. These babies aren’t camera shy and will come right into the shallows in search of an algae-covered rock for their lunch. Bear in mind that you should stay at least three metres away from them, no touching and no swim alongs - these guys are wild and require the Aretha Franklyn treatment. That said, you can still get some amazing photos (camera and skill dependent - don’t judge mine please) and just being so close to these ocean legends is an incredible experience.

I wish I’d had a better camera (and a modicum of skill) to do this shot justice.

Drive another ten minutes and you’ll hit Pupukea, another stunning beach surrounded by huge rock formations, in between which you can find your own mini beach to plonk down your backpack and, in our case, Han’s lunchbox. The best thing about this spot though is the snorkelling. As someone with basically no snorkelling experience whatsoever, this was the perfect place to ease into it. The sheltered cove is calm and teaming with marine life, no rip currents or sharks to worry about. Unfortunately for us all, I didn’t have an underwater camera to capture any of it, so you’ll have to make do with a shot from the beach. Huge shout out to James and Carla for lending us their snorkel gear - safe to say we weren’t terribly well prepared for this leg of the trip…

Pupukea Beach - top snorkelling spot.

Our last beach spot was Sunset Beach Park, your classic rolling, white sands and crystal waters. Much more the postcard Hawaii you’d expect from the films and tv show, just bear in mind the sea here can get pretty rough!

Beached out, there were still a few spots left on our North Shore Road trip, the first of which was Matsumoto Shaved Ice. This came recommended by James and Carla as a must-do activity while in Hawaii. A classic Hawaiian dessert involving, you guessed it, shaved ice covered with syrups of your choice. The queue for this place is out the door and the square outside is full of happy shaved ice slurpers, so you know it’s going to be good. I went for blue vanilla (still not sure why it was blue…) with condensed milk and pineapple. It was DELISH.

Han and me with James and Carla enjoying a frozen delicacy.

Tongues suitably frozen and wired from the ensuing sugar rush, we headed off to our last, and possibly most random, destination. - the Dole Plantation. This is, simply put, a pineapple lover’s fantasy. More than just a pineapple plantation, inside you’ll find pretty much any pineapple-themed kick-knack you can think of, ride a train through endless pineapples, and best of all get yourself a pineapple whip (possibly the sweetest ice cream I’ve ever tasted). All in all, I’d highly recommend a quick stop here, you don’t have to like pineapple that much to appreciate the sheer scale of the place and where else can you buy pineapple-shaped slippers, cuddle a stuffed pineapple and knock back a pineapple juice?

En route back to Waikiki, we made one final stop to catch the sunset. If catching sunsets is your thing then Koko Kai Beach Park is one of the best spots around and, despite being out in the suburbs, it draws quite a crowd, including scores of local teenagers who come to hang out, cliff jump and play the latest TikTok tunes. We managed to get there just before the big moment, and caught a photo just before the Sun dipped below the horizon, as Doja Cat painted the town red in the background. Awesome.

Sunset at Koko Kai Beach Park.

Final thoughts…

To sum up, if you’re heading to Oahu just for a layover or for a family holiday, get to the North Shore if you can. This is where the island is at its best, you get the vistas you’ve seen on the post cards and feel like Lilo and Stitch might snorkel past you at any moment. If your budget allows, I'd definitely rent a car. We got to see these places thanks to the legends that are James and Carla, left to catch the bus though, we'd have been lucky to see half of them. I wouldn't say Hawaii is really ‘traveller-friendly’ (accommodation and living costs are sky high, you’ll always be competing with hoards of holiday makers and getting between islands will cost you even more) but it’s a beautiful place and I’m really glad we managed to squeeze it in at the start of our trip. Those turtles really were something special.

Bye for now,

Connor