I just got back from my honeymoon in Hawaii a week ago. And after two weeks in Hawaii (one week in Oahu and one week in Kauai), I came away with some observations. I'll post later more specifically about the trip in a later post (pictures to be included) but I'll start by giving you a summary of our trip to Hawaii.
1. We didn't stay at Waikiki Beach but we did stop by. I found it to be very crowded and full of tourists. I wouldn't recommend staying there.
2. The Kahala Hotel in Oahu was extremely expensive but for a honeymoon it was fantastic. The staff was very friendly, we had a fantastic beach view hotel room, the room had all of the amenities you could possibly want, and the rooms were clean and nice.
3. Kailua Beach (Oahu) is much better than Waikiki and has less people. It was absolutely beautiful. We stayed at someone's home in Kailua using airbnb.com and we had a nice experience. It was also only about a 15-minute walk from the beach.
4. The Ambassador Hotel in Waikiki doesn't look very attractive from the outside but the room we chose was excellent. It was our last night in Hawaii, so I wanted my wife to enjoy one last night in a great room. They said that the beach view was unavailable, yet we got a penthouse room which was huge. We had a big living room, a kitchen, and a decent sized bedroom with two beds. I'm not sure why we got two beds though (haha).
5. People were friendly on both islands. I rented a car at Enterprise at Honolulu Airport and when the lady I was dealing found out it was my honeymoon, she gave me a bigger car at no extra charge. When I rented a car at Hertz (Lihue Airport, Kauai), the clerk was also friendly with me there. When we ate at various restaurants, we got great service as well.
6. If you go to Kauai, expect to see chickens and roosters everywhere. It was a sight to see and it never got old!
7. You can drive around most of the island of Kauai in half a day. It's not very big at all. In fact it's 32 miles in diameter. I explored 60% of the island in a week. Kauai also happens to be the oldest island among all of the Hawaiian islands.
8. A helicopter ride over the island of Kauai will run you $150 if you want to see the whole island and about $350 if you want the helicopter to make about 5-6 stops at some various beautiful spots on the island.
9. You can get cheap Chinese, Vietnamese, or Japanese food without any problems. We also had great Mexican food and pizza in Kauai. You won't have many problems finding good food. However as you head north on the island of Kauai, it gets a bit more expensive especially in the city of Hanalei. The only major shopping mall is near the airport in Lihue which is called the Kukui Grove Shopping Center. It has stores such as Macy's, Long's Drugs, a shoe store, Starbucks, K-Mart, Ross Dress For Less. You can also go to a Hawaiian ramen place, Kim Chee 9 Korean restaurant, Ho's Chinese Kitchen, Jamba Juice, Genki Sushi, and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue.
10. The best sites on the island of Kauai that I was able to see were Waimea Canyon (southwest part of Kauai), Poipu Beach (south side), and Allerton Gardens (city of Koloa-south side). The most unique and tropical beach was at Wainiha where there are a lot of winding roads that have one-lane bridges as you drive through area full of trees. We also stayed at hotels near Wailua and Kapaa (that had decent beaches (few people and warm water).
More to come later!
Scott Worden (L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy
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