Our Favourite Getaway- HAWAII

As full time travellers we are often asked this difficult question of which is your favourite place in the world to travel? And the answer always depends on the current whims we have to deal with such a query. Well this was our second visit to Hawaii and undoubtedly, I would say that it’s one of our favourite places to travel as a couple. Off all our answers, it’s probably the one that people are most surprised by! They clarify in a tone that suggests for a couple who have taken themselves to some fairly far-flung and exotic corners of the world, how can their favourite destination be Hawaii!

For those who know that Hawaii is not just about beaches and resorts but a lot more than that! But wow, do we feel really blessed? Because we had enormous privilege of taking a second trip to the other 2 little islands of Hawaii.

Upon arriving into Honolulu we were lucky enough to get a Black Ford Mustang for the four days we were to spend on this island. (Benefits of being a preferred member with Avis 😉). We checked into our beautiful resort at the Waikiki called the Alohilani Resort and spa.

 

Next morning our trip kicked off with one of the most visited spots of Oahu- The diamond head overlooking the breath-taking views of the Pacific Ocean and Honolulu. Allow yourself about 2 hours if you are a regular fast hiker as it would take about 25-30 mins to hike one way and then enjoy the views from the top till your heart fills you up😊The trail is mostly marked and paved with some stairs and unpaved paths thus shoes are highly recommended.

 

 

Post this spot, our drive continued to the coastal road starting with Hanauma Bay Lookout. This is also a beach with an entry fees of about 7 USD if you would like to hike down and spend some time for a while. Our next stops were Lanai Lookout, the blue hole lookout and then the Makapu’u lookout. On the entire drive, there are spots marked for one to stop and absorb the views.

 

The next stop was the Waimanalo bay & the beach park which was our favourite for the day as there were very few people on this beach and it was just so nice with the sun playing around. Spending some hours here we realized that we both were the only ones left on the beach. So, we decided to fly our drone and shoot the magnificent tones of blue! The next stop was a quick one at Kailua Beach park which we liked so much that we decided to visit another day and spend more time as the day was going down. We quickly grabbed some late lunch at Burritos Bowles and straight headed to Nu’anu Pali lookout. And again, this place left us speechless, so we decided to visit this again. That’s how our first day ended in Honolulu whilst walking around the Waikiki area in the evening and then grabbing some Indian dinner at the local food truck market place.s

 

 

The next day was all set for Shobhit. We were touring at the Koulua Ranch where the famous movies like the Jurassic Park, King skull, 50 first dates etc were shot. And guess what, we had a treat, there was another film being shot that day. It was just so exciting to see the locations which you only saw in movies and would think would this even be real? And how quickly they change places with mountains saying they are from Costa Rica or Peru :D. We did the movie site and jungle expedition tour here  followed by a light lunch at the Ranch itself. We then started driving North to Sunset beach park and Banzai pipeline known for the highest waves in the world. There was a big surfing tournament happening, so it was all very crowded but fun to watch just like how we enjoy a soccer or a cricket match.

 

 

 

We then drove to Laniakea beach which is quite famous for spotting turtles and then final to Kahe point for watching the sun go down. During our first visit to the Big Island, we had gone to a Nepalese restaurant which we both savour till date and guess what we found that one in Honolulu. You can find the best Palak Paneer in the entire US I would say and that’s at Kamana Kitchen!

 

 

Now this was our last day on this lovely island, so we decided to keep it light and repeat places which we loved the most. So we started off with the Nu’anu Pali Lookout about 10 am and gosh the level of wind blowing here just at the lookout spot was the craziest I have experienced in my life. You can see the entire flat valley with big mountains on both sides and sea on the back drop.

 

 

We then decided to go to the Kailua beach park and go for a swim and do a small beach picnic with some wine and snacks. It was very bright and sunny though the water wasn’t very warm. We enjoyed the dip while sipping in some drinks and see some people kite surfing. It was truly amazing to spend the rest of the morning here. Shobhit was so fascinated with the colours of the sea that he couldn’t resist flying his drone.

 

Since had been out for quite some days as we did Vegas before this, we were missing home food. We came across a couple who insisted us to try lunch at Iskcon. Post which we strolled around the Pearl Harbour memorial however not having enough time to visit all the monuments there as we didn’t want to miss out on the beautiful sunset from our hotel’s terrace pool. Watching the sun down from the pool while sipping some local Mai Tai was the best evening we could have!

 

That’s how our trip ended in Honolulu and off we were next morning to the Garden Isle- Kauai!