It’s expensive and it’s crowded, but Hawaii is an amazing place. It’s got beaches, mountains, and delicious food!
How we got there.
The key to getting anywhere for cheap is to know what to look for and where. In this case, I found a killer redemption and we got to Oahu for $11 a person. I wrote a whole post on it so I’ll spare you the details here.
So, long story short, read our post.
What we did.
We drove, and beached, and took in everything we could. Our hopes were to relax and enjoy the beaches but we ended up driving a lot. There were lots of things we wanted to see and not enough time to see it all. We spent a lot of time on the North Shore and along the east side of the island. There were far less people and much better scenery.
We went to the Buddha Temple, we hiked to the Makapu’u light house, we toured Pearl Harbor, and we enjoyed the sun and multiple beaches.
We visited Waikiki beach as well as Kahana Bay beach.
Where stayed.
We stayed in the Wyndham Royal Garden in Waikiki. It was a nice place and within walking distance of the beach as well as all that Waikiki has to offer.
A lot of people talk down on Waikiki. Obviously it’s a touristy area and it’s full of people, but over all it’s a really nice area with lots of restaurants and things to do. The beach is also a great beach and again there’s lot of food.
Transportation.
We used Turo for the first time and it was actually a really good experience. It’s a little annoying because you have to refuel and clean the car, but that’s pretty standard even with rentals.
It was still pricey but saved us about $200 for the 3 days we had it. The pick up and drop off are super easy making it much less of a hassle.
Where we ate.
We ate a couple different places. Some were good, some were mediocre.
The best food we had was from a street truck named Streats of Aloha. It was amazing.
For breakfast we found a great cafe with gluten free options called Hiking Hawaii.
We tried out a Japanese raman house which turned out to be really good. Junpuu.
We also ate lots of Shave Ice. There were two that we really liked. Coconut Girl & Guys and Lahaina Shave Ice.
We of course had shrimp for Big Wave Shrimp Truck.
We also had Thai as a recommendation from our Uber driver. It was actually really good but so hot we almost couldn’t do it. Noi Thai Cuisine.
Gluten-free in Hawaii.
Lots of great options. Hiking Hawaii was really good and Junpuu had gluten free raman. Do a little research and you’ll be in great shape.
What we learned.
We learned a lot from this trip.
Firstly, get a the Capital One Venture card so you can fly to Hawaii for $11.
As most people know, it’s insanely expensive. Everything.
No matter what people say, North Shore has just as many tourists as anywhere else. It’s a nice area with delicious food trucks, and everyone seems to be on the same page.
Head to the east. The roads are quite and the beaches are plentiful.
Speaking of roads, they’re so slow. 35 mph is the speed around most of the island and the roads are narrow causing there to be lots of back ups and slow downs. 10 miles can take you 45 minutes.