Oahu: Waikiki and Snorkelling in Hanauma Bay

Our trip to Hawaii started in Oahu, where we had only had 4 days to cram as much as we could in. As always, when your travelling st...

paradise in hanauma bay hawaii

Our trip to Hawaii started in Oahu, where we had only had 4 days to cram as much as we could in. As always, when your travelling style is summed up as "too much to see, too little time" (I prefer the word ambitious really...), you will invariable miss out on stuff but I was pretty happy with the combo of snorkelling, beach-going, shopping and eating that was had!


Waikiki 

When we first landed in Honolulu, our first stop was breakfast at Duke's. Since we landed in the morning and couldn't check into our AirBnB until the afternoon, I figured we might as well go and eat, and sit by the beach first thing. The beach view was a welcome sight for us after a somewhat sleepless, uncomfortable flight (thanks Jetstar, I guess you're cheap so we can't complain...), and the decent food didn't hurt either! It was then time to try and make the most of our day so we walked down the main strip. 

^^Murakami Udon, an incredibly popular place for dinner

I think we walked about 500m with our luggage until I decided no...my tired body cannot do this- I must have coffee now. The rest of the day was basically a write-off so we just went shopping! We also visited the Polynesian Cultural Centre one of the free days to watch a Luaa. Also had grand plans to visit the other touristy faves like Pearl Harbour and Diamond Head but we ran out of time. And by ran out of time I actually mean that we were too lazy, kept on waking up in the middle of the day and were general sloths. Please tell me that doesn't happen to just me on holidays?!

Hanauma Bay








Snorkelling in Hanauma Bay was probably the most memorable experience in the limited days we had on Oahu. Compared to some of my travelling-extraordinaire friends, I haven't done much snorkelling at all but I thought it was fantastic! It is probably the most visited destination on Oahu but I think for good reason (maybe not for the marine life though...) - clear water and tons of beautiful aquatic life. I wish I had photos but a certain someone packed all our waterproof videocamera gear, mounts & housing but FORGOT the actual camera.
The Bay itself is stunning too - Hanauma is actually the floor of a volcanic crater formed from exploding sea/volcanic vents (thank you mandatory video). I'm pretty sure it took me almost an hour to just get down there because I was so busy taking photos! My tip though is if you're visiting- go first thing or last thing (the park has opening and closing times) to avoid the crazy crowds as much as possible. Crowds and snorkelling do not go so well together.
I would have loved to have hired a car to drive to the North Shore but that will be for next time I visit! Next up will be photos of the Koko Crater hike we did. You can see the crater on the right side of the last photo above, taken on the flight leaving Oahu for Big Island. It looks cool huh?

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Gosh, these photos are so beautiful! I've always wanted to visit Hawaii :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Which blogger template do you use?

    ReplyDelete

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