It had been twenty years since I had been in Hawaii when my friend and I landed in Oahu last August. It was a long, drawn out journey with delays due to fueling, crew hours, extra checks of the plane, etc., but when we finally made it, the memories of when my sister and her family lived on Oahu rushed back. The airport with portions that were open-air were familiar. The long line at the rental car counter was new and very unwelcome after many hours on a Southwest flight without a meal. The only upside to our flight (other than a safe landing) was that my friend had scored exit row seats. It was a lifesaver with the delays.

Night One

Once we finally obtained our rental vehicle, we made our way to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express in Honolulu. We had a two queen room that if you leaned up against the window, you could say had a partial ocean view. The room was nice enough, with an extremely small bathroom that warmed up quickly once the door was closed and access to the air conditioning unit in the window was shut off.

After leaving our belongings in the room, we walked to the Hard Rock Café. If you’ve read my blog post from Munich, then you know that I love the vegetarian fajitas at Hard Rock. The fajitas hit the spot once again and were a nice welcome meal.

First Full Day on Oahu

I had made reservations for the USS Arizona Memorial ahead of time; however, I sadly missed a turn and we just missed the boat. We took advantage of our access to the museum portion of Pearl Harbor. I had been before but somehow still learned quite a bit. Perhaps twenty years passing since my last visit had also given additional perspective. I highly recommend visiting Pearl Harbor if you are in the area. While my friend and I worried about what appropriate attire might be, others clearly had not considered it as much. While there is no official dress code, respectful attire is required. The harbor is a final resting place for hundreds of people and this should be taken into account when one is deciding whether a crop top and short shorts are appropriate (the answer is no, if you are asking me).

After soaking in all of the information at Pearl Harbor, we started a tour of Oahu, beginning with Nu’uanu Pali Lookout.

The beaches in Kailua were our priority but they were beyond packed. After grabbing lunch at a local sandwich shop, we finally found a beach with parking (down the highway a bit).

We made our way to Laie and a bit past Turtle Bay before traffic issues made us turn around. I had hoped to surprise Beth with a trip to a filming location from Lost, along with agreed upon stops in Haleiwa and a rum distillery. We made up for these disappointments with a trip to the Cheesecake Factory and Maui Brewing Co while we waited for a table to become available.

Movie Site Tour

The next morning we headed to Kualoa Ranch for a tour of the ranch and locations of movie and tv show film sites. This is another activity that I had done before that had changed and I’m sure this wasn’t just my memory-many things have been filmed in the last twenty years! The tour was great and the scenery was stunning.

We had lunch at Kizuna Sushi Bar & Grill and shave ice at Ululani’s before heading back to Pearl Harbor for the USS Arizona tour.

Kauai Time

The next day we headed to Kauai on another Southwest flight. This flight was without incident and we were soon on the Garden Isle. I had decided years ago that I wanted to travel to Kauai to see Waimea Canyon and this trip was centered largely on the desire to see this island, along with a more recent urge to visit a top destination of those with Hyatt points.

After lunch we headed to Grand Hyatt Kauai. It is a stunning resort. We arrived too early for check-in, but that doesn’t matter in paradise. Our bags packed away, we headed to the lagoon. Swimming in the ocean is strongly discouraged, but I never felt like I was missing out while enjoying the saltwater lagoon. I ordered a drink that I later realized was several types of rum and enjoyed the sun and water. The sun was quite strong and I ended up with a sunburn on my first sunny day spent in the water (the previous beach trip was on a cloudy day).

We spent our time at the resort enjoying the true Hawaiian vacation experience. We made sure to fit in watching the Chiefs game, and went to a beach and Waimea Canyon, but we mostly enjoyed a relaxing time at resort.

Review

We had an amazing time on our trip to Hawaii. While I think Oahu is a must see for Pearl Harbor and a few other stops, those who don’t make it to other islands are certainly missing out. I can’t wait for the next time I can go to Grand Hyatt Kauai. Perhaps a few days in Maui would be nice as well.

This trip was made possible by points. My points covered nearly all of the flights and hotel, with Beth chipping in points towards one night at hotel in Kauai before we flew out. I slept nearly the entire time we were there, so there isn’t much to review.

We took Southwest flights to and from Hawaii and between Oahu and Kauai. I used points for my flights and Beth was covered by my Companion Pass. This saved us over a thousand dollars and it wasn’t even the best redemption of the trip! I used 85,000 Hyatt points instead of $3,466.14.

Kauai is high on my list of future destinations to return to!