Tropical Paradise: Our Trip to Hawaii

September 10, 2016 0 Comments

Aloha!

During the week preceding Labor Day weekend, we commenced the end of summer with an exciting trip to Oahu, Hawaii-one of Hawaii’s eight main islands!

“I chose Hawaii as the backdrop to celebrate my birthday. #Virgoseason Planning a trip to an island and the Caribbean islands for my birthday is always a risk because it is hurricane season, but, fortunately, the weather experts predicted Hurricane Lester & Madeline to NOT pose a threat to Honolulu. I was so relieved the night before our departing flight! ”- LaVerda

“I was so excited to for our trip. I’ve heard so many great things about Hawaii.”- Verone

After our 8 ½ hr flight, we landed at HNL airport in the afternoon and caught a cab to our resort. We stayed at Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, which resides on a reef on Waikiki beach. The standard room we stayed in was clean and comfortable, but smaller than other rooms we're accustomed to staying in at other resorts. Outrigger is not an all-inclusive resort, but hosts two restaurants: the Hula Grill & the famous Duke’s. Both restaurants have typical American cuisine and are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with food options varying from steak to hot wings to nachos. The food was quite tasty and we were very happy about that! Hula Grill and Duke’s was very crowded during dinner time, so that’s something to keep in mind if you plan to stay on site for your dinner meal. The employees of the resort and both restaurants provided awesome customer service-everyone was very warm and welcoming! In fact, we noticed all of the locals and businesses of Oahu had this same warm and kind spirit. One afternoon we ate off-site at the Hard Rock Café near our resort and we received the same type of service. The people of Oahu offered arguably the best customer service we’ve ever experienced on a trip so far!

On the 1^st day of our trip, we decided to keep it chill and hang out on the beachfront of our resort. As mentioned, our resort is on a reef with pebbles and rocks on the beach shore, so it’ll be beneficial to bring swim shoes if you plan to stay here (Yes, we came prepared with our swim shoes)!

On the 2^nd day of our vacation, we set our sights on the Diamond Head Volcano. Diamond Head is an inactive volcano and we were told it is one of the easiest climbs in Honolulu, so we went for it! We took the resort trolley, Waikiki Connection, to Diamond Head. During the ride to our destination, our wonderful driver, Henry, was our informative “tour guide.” This drive allowed us to see more of Honolulu. We saw many million dollar homes on the hills, some owned by movie stars, and we also saw the set of the television show, Hawaii 5-0.

Honolulu is absolutely breath-taking! The landscape of the mountains, the hills against the beautiful blue sky, and the lush, green terrain looked like a post card.

We arrived at Diamond Head after about a 20-minute drive and began to walk the trail up the volcano!

“About 10 minutes into the walk, I was out of breath and nervous the higher we walked, but I was determined to reach the top-especially after seeing what seemed to be many “seasoned” women and men, who I assumed were grandparents, gracefully walk the trail lol.”- LaVerda

“Walking the trail was a breeze for me, but I was really patient with my sister. I tried to video record her pacing herself up the trail, but couldn’t pull out my phone quick enough lol.”- Verone

Eventually, we made it to the top! The view was stunning and was truly worth every minute of the hike. Definitely a must-see during your visit to Oahu!

 

The 3^rd day we attended a Luau at Paradise Cove. This was definitely a highlight of our trip! When we arrived to Paradise, we were greeted by our gracious host, led to the Luau grounds, and adorned with a fresh purple and white Lei (pronounced lay). During the Luau, we were treated to great performances and an amazing dinner, which immersed all the on-lookers into the rich Hawaiian culture.

 

We spent our final, full day at the gorgeous Hanauma Bay for our snorkeling excursion. Hanauma Bay is a world-renown preservation of sea life in the Pacific Ocean.

“As a Pisces, I was so excited to snorkel in the bay. I imagined the fish would be so vibrant and colorful.”-Verone

“I was nervous about snorkeling, well, mostly because I can’t swim!”-LaVerda

On the day of our snorkeling excursion, Hurricane Lester was passing through the Pacific Ocean, which brought on moderate to high tides, so unfortunately there was zero visibility in the ocean *sad face* However, Hanauma has a program that allows tourists to visit the bay the next day after your initial visit-basically, visitors pay for 2 days for the price of 1 (residents and military personnel visit free of charge). Hanauma Bay is definitely a sight to see! It was so relaxing to watch the ocean waves crash against the cliffs and the mountains.

“I have never seen such a scene as the one we saw at Hanauma Bay. It’s definitely the most beautiful ocean setting I’ve seen so far.”- LaVerda

“Yes, Hanauma Bay was beautiful, but what also stuck out to me were the bold birds that roamed around like they owned the place; ready to take beach-goers’ unattended snacks.”- Verone

Visiting Oahu, Hawaii was such a great experience! While we did a lot during our short vacation, there was so much more left to experience on the island of Oahu and the remaining islands of Hawaii. We're already looking forward to another trip to Hawaii! Mahalo to the residents of Honolulu. We had an unforgettable time!

This is not a sponsored article. The views expressed in this article are of Verone and LaVerda.

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