If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I spent the last week soaking up the sun on Oahu. Now that I’m back to reality, I have no choice but to relive my vacation though this blog post. *Sad face.*

I wanted to share some advice and photos from my trip in case you ever find yourself on this island in the pacific ocean! Although most of my days were spent sleeping on the beach, I promise I did some cool stuff. So check it out. 

BEACHES

First up, the beaches. I went to Waimanalo, Kailua, Pipeline, Waikiki, and Lanikai. They were all beauteous (is that a word?). There are still so many I want to check out, but I’ll save that for next summer.

Waimanalo Bay. We spent an afternoon here swimming and taking in the views. It’s a big beach, so thankfully we found a spot in the shade because I’m a grandma.

Kailua Beach. This is probably where I spent the most of my time since it’s so close to my boyfriend’s house. It seriously has the bluest water evaaa. Although the beach has become way more touristy since last year, it never lets me down! Just know that it may be hard to find a parking spot once you get there. You can see more from this beach in my older Oahu blog post linked here.

Pipeline. This beach was on the north shore, which was about an hour drive from us. You can’t really swim here because of the large waves, but that makes it great for surfing! I’m not a cool surfer dude so I sat in the sand and watched which was still fun!

Waikiki. Even though I’ve been to Hawaii 239394 times and my boyfriend lives there, I’m still a tourist at heart. Which means I must have my days in the city. Waikiki is extremely crowded, but the view of Diamond Head is uh-mazing. I wouldn’t spend every day there though.

Lanikai. Last but not least, Lanikai beach. Such a pretty place! This time we only went there to launch our kayak, but it’s definitely worth spending the day there. Just note that there isn’t much shade, so pack up that umbrella and try not to let it fly away!

FOOD

Now, let’s talk about food. I’m extremely basic so of course I had to go to Haleiwa Bowls on the north shore which I found via Instagram. I also checked out some of the cute shops nearby and bought this bikini on sale from San Lorenzo. It was all worth the drive!

But most importantly, there’s nothing I love more than sipping on a mai tai and dancing to some good music. So if that sounds fun, I’d recommend Cuckoo Coconuts Waikiki and La Mariana Tiki Bar. It’s always a good time. For a better view of the city, we had a rooftop din at the Hideout at the Laylow Hotel. It started lightly raining while we were eating and it was ~magical~. We also had dinner at Turtle Bay resort which I haven’t been to since I was a youngin.

HIKING

Finally, the hikes! So, funny story. Alex took me to KoKo Head which I honestly thought would be a nice, little relaxing hike. But no. We went in the middle of the day in the 80 degree heat and little did I know I would be climbing up a huge staircase! I literally had to stop every five stairs to chug water. I was able to make it to the top thanks to the occasional 20 minutes of stair master I do at the gym. Lol. Not likely. BUT if you’re looking for a challenge and want to feel SUPERRR accomplished afterwards then go for it!

By the end of the trip we did one more hike and I made sure it was an easy, shady one! We did a trail at Tantalus Lookout. This was just what I was looking for!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was just walking around Waikiki with Alex and my parental unit! We walked through the Royal Hawaiian Resort and took some family photos. I wore this dress constantly on my trip! It’s perfect for summer.

All in all, it was a memorable vacation as always. What are your favorite things to do on Oahu? I’m already planning my next trip!

XX,

C Quinn