Oahu, Hawaii
February 2023
Oahu, Hawaii
Hawaii is always one of those places that we visit and are never ready to leave. In fact, on more than one occasion we have extended our trip to stay just a couple more days to squeeze in a few more activities, soak up some more sun and jump into that warm water one last time. Oahu is a place we go to over and over again, so much, it has started to feel like a second home. There is no stress about whether or not I forgot to pack something or worrying about where to eat with kids, I know they have anything there that I will need. Once we get there, we are on Island Time.
This trip, we spent just under 2 weeks on the beautiful island of Oahu with my 2 year old and 5 year old. Since this isn’t our first time there we decided to change it up and split our stay between the Aulani Disney Resort and the Sheraton Waikiki. Both of these resorts were completely different vibes. In the Aulani we barely left the resort except for dinner one evening. At the Sheraton Waikiki we spent lots of time at the pool but it also felt easy to leave and walk around the shops in Waikiki, get food or even explore the island more. This trip we also tried several activities/excursions since my 5 year old was finally old enough to do some of these things.
Why we loved…
Aulani: This place is a kids heaven. Not only do they have character dining, and character meet and greets throughout the day, their pool area is INSANE! They have a lazy river (Waikolohe Stream), 2 waterslides, interactive play structure/area (Menehune Bridge), 4 Spas/jacuzzis (2 family & 2 for adults only), Rainbow Reef for snorkeling in a salt water pool, Keiki cove Splash Zone, and multiple other pools! My kids were happy swimming all day from the moment it opened until they couldn’t keep their eyes open. My boys loved the lazy river, waterslides and rainbow reef the most. What I loved about the waterslides, is that they didnt have an age or height requirement. As long as my son could rest on my legs in the front of the double tube he could ride it. This was such a plus for us because my littlest one is always trying to do everything big brother does. Rainbow reef was a perfect intro to snorkeling. You pay $20-25 a day and you get all day unlimited snorkeling rentals in rainbow reef or down at the beach. This was a huge plus as the rainbow reef pool was pretty cold and my son would go in for 10 min and want to run to the jacuzzi to warm up. The all day rental allowed him to be able to pop back in multiple times during the day and we really got our moneys worth.
Another thing I appreciated about Aulani is that they had really good food on site. I recommend doing their character dining for breakfast at Makahiki , this will allow you to maximize your day at the pool without having to track down the characters during the day and waiting in line to take a picture. But warning, this breakfast is not cheap…not that anything in Hawaii is cheap! * TIP: Make a reservation in advanced for this restaurant! I also enjoyed fresh poke bowls from the Ulu Cafe everyday for lunch as I lounged around the pool areas. My kids enjoyed eating Mickey Ear shaved ice from Pāpālua Shave Ice which was conveniently located in the middle of the pool areas. If you stay a few days and start getting over the same old food, head across the street from the hotel and find a variety of restaurants within walking distance.
One negative for me was that this pool area is so big, I never really got to sit and relax. My kids are still young and need supervision while in the pool.
Activities:
Kualoa Ranch: We did the 2 hour UTV Raptor tour of the “Jurassic” Valley. We opted to drive our own UTV but you can do a ride along as well. Although you can only go 15 MPH, these UTVs are so fun to drive and the views are stunning. My 5 year old loved it because obviously he loves dinosaurs and we got to see a few along the way. Kualoa ranch has been used as a back drop for movies/shows like Jurassic Park, Mighty Joe Young, Lost, 50 first dates, George of the Jungle, Jumangi, Kong: Skull Island and more! Kualoa Ranch is a 4000 acre, privately owned nature preserve with the goal of protecting and enhancing the beauty of the lands and teaching its visitors the traditional Hawaiian values and respect for the Hawaiian culture and environment. This tour is a bit pricey but it is definitely a must do, especially if you are a fan of any of the movies that were filmed there
Note: This activity is great in rain or shine. Do not let a little rain detour you from this excursion- go for it and have fun. The road can be a bit dusty and the rain actually helps keep the dust down.
Shark Cage Diving: This was on my to do list and when I showed my 5 year old videos online, he would not stop talking about it. The only problem, my husband was not about to let my 5 year old get into that cage. However, after a lot of discussion and negotiations, he finally agreed to let us go.
I opted to go with North Shore Shark Adventures as they had the most reviews, as well as I knew someone who had used them before and had a great experience. We went on a day where the water was pretty choppy, so if you get sea sick, come prepared - take all the meds before getting on the boat. Im pretty sure everyone but 2-3 people go sick on our boat.
This tour is about 1.5-2 hours and takes off from the Haleiwa Harbor. To be honest, the open water makes me really nervous. Getting lost out at sea just scares me, but I could see the coastline the entire time and I felt pretty comfortable getting into the water. The cage fits about 8 people. My son was very scared but he climbed in and I was able to hold him and the cage while we watched the 6-12ft Galapagos sharks swim around us. One thing I didn’t know is that they don’t chum the waters. Instead, the sharks simply surface once they hear the sound of the boats motors. They are so graceful and swim passed the cage as if they barely notice you. As a mom, I am always looking around for my nearest exits if shit hits the fan, however, I never felt unsafe or like I was in danger. It was a pretty cool experience to check off the bucket list.
Note: Something I didn’t consider is the little jellyfish/sea lice in the water. I kept getting stung by these little guys and though it wasn’t terribly painful, the stings were definitely noticeable and a little uncomfortable. You may want to wear a wet suit or rash guard. You also hold onto the cage most of the time so you do not necessarily need to know how to swim in order to do this activity.
Surf Lessons: Another activity we decided to try out with our 5 year old was surf lessons. I have always heard the best place to learn to surf was Waikiki, so we went for it. We used Hans Hederman Surf school. The instructors were fantastic and had a lot of experience. I opted to do a private lesson for my husband and son because I wanted someone to have eyes on my son at all times since I was worried how well he’d swim in waves. But I was worried for nothing. The waves they start you out on as a beginning are very small and he never fell off the board once. They have to go a ways out there to catch the waves so I also purchased the pictures and video for an additional charge. They got some fantastic shots and videos of my husband and son surfing. Warning: they did teach him on a reef break which can cause some injury. My husband actually broke his toe falling off the board and into the reef.
Other Stuff:
Although there is so much stuff to do to in Waikiki, we love to get out and explore the island too. We usually spend a 1 day over at the north shore and 1 day over in Kailua area.
North Shore:
The day goes by fast in the north shore. There are so many stops but here are some of our favorites that we continue to go to time and time again. Tip: Check the road status before you go. The roads through north shore are mostly 1 lane each way, so we have seen rock slides that will close down the roads for a day or two and you cant get through.
We always leave in the morning and get a start on our day. We stop in Haleiwa for coffee and breakfast if we get on the road before we eat. If you like some “instagrammable” photo stops, here you can find a set of wings you can stop and take photos at.
#1: A great first stop would be Laniakea Beach. This is beach is known for turtles basking in the sun on the shore. Though, I have stopped here plenty of times and haven’t seen turtles, you can always pull out your snorkels and take a dip in the water. Usually, I just jump out and see if there are any on the beach for my kids to see and if not we continue on to our next stop.
#2: Waimea. Spend times exploring the stunning gardens of Waimea Valley and even take a dip in Waimea Falls. They will provide life jackets for you there. If you are a Jurassic Park fan, you can see this waterfall in the movie Jurassic World when Gray and Zack jump from the top of the waterfall to escape the Idominous Rex. Waimea Bay also has a great beach and jumping rock if you are feeling up for it. Just be aware parking can get pretty packed here.
#3: Pupkea Beach or Sharks Cove: This is my favorite stop for my 5 year old. This spot is perfect for beginning snorkelers. These little coves are protected by rocks so you don’t have to really worry about waves. The coves are pretty shallow, although some spots are deeper than others, but still allow children to get comfortable with the snorkels and see plenty of fun fish. This beach also has a bathroom at the top of the park which is always a plus with kids. Warning: sometimes the waves do wash up over the back rocks so I do not recommend climbing on the rocks. I would also recommend bringing water shoes as getting in the water you may climb over the sharp lava rocks.
I also love that there is quite of bit of food stops right across the way so it would be easy to walk to food and eat it right there at the beach without loosing your parking spot.
#4: Banzai Beach/Pipeline: If you are in town while there is a competition at Pipeline, GO! Surfing is like no other sport, in such, you don’t have to pay to see the professionals and they walk right up the beach when they get out of the water. It is also pretty spectacular to see them ride these big waves the way the do.
#5:Sunset Beach: You have probably seen these beach in pictures before. It has that giant Palm Tree sticking out almost parallel to the sand. If you didn’t fill up at Sharks Cove, definitely stop at The Sunrise Shack for an acas bowl. They are absolutely delicious.
#6: Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck: At the end of a long day, stop at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck! Their shrimp scampi is delicious. If you don’t like shrimp, get the hot dog with the garlic sauce from the scampi on top. If you really don’t want that, there are tons of other food trucks in the area. I also love checking some of the little shops here and taking a few photos in this area.
#7: Turtle Bay Beach: We have made a stop here before and it was great with kids. The beach sits in a little cove right next to the resort and is a great spot for swimming and snorkeling. It is generally known as a family friendly beach.
#8: Kualoa Ranch: I usually make this its own stop in and of its own but it can be down while taking it a day to visit the North Shore.
Kailua:
When I say we spend the day in Kailua, what I mean is we head to Kailua first and then we take the loop around the island back towards Waikiki from there. We are creatures of habit and this is something we do every time we come to Oahu.
Lanikai Pill Box Hike: Listen, I would NOT call this hike the most kid friendly hike but it can be done. I have a pictures being pregnant on this hike with my now 5 year old and each year that we have gone back we do this hike to get another family photo. It is fun to see the progression of time that has gone past since we hike this each time we visit and take a photo in the same spot. The hike starts out with a big steep dirt hill and continues with rock climbs and narrow trails but the hike isn’t relatively long. If you have a little one who can sit in a hiking backpack, definitely pack it. This helped when we did this hike with my 3 year old and 8 month old. We had to do a lot of hand holding and we watched my babies closely on this hike but the views from the pillboxes are worth it.
Lanikai Beach: After the hike, go hang out at lanikai Beach and cool off. This is one of the best beaches on the island in my opinion.
Kailua Beach: After driving a while one day, and deciding it was too windy to hike Lanikai, we stopped off at Kailua Beach to use the restrooms and ended up spending an hour or two here. It was so windy that day but my son had a blast bouncing around in the waves and picking up sticks off the beach. I also saw a turtle pop his head out of the water! I liked that this beach had easy access to restrooms.
Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail: If Lanikai Pill Box Hike seems to much for you little ones, then hit Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail: This hike is paved and not as strenuous as a lot of the hikes I have done in Hawaii.
Haunama Bay: This is a pretty touristy area. We have gone here once to check out the snorkeling. We would have come here a few other times as well, but each time we got there they were sold out for the day. This beach gets very crowded and there is a large hill you have to walk down. I believe they have shuttles but my kids do not have the patience to wait for a shuttle. I recommend if this is on your bucket list, go earlier rather than later.