One of my favorite cities in the world is Honolulu (Waikiki). My husband and I have been to Hawaii three times in the last six years and we hope to visit again this spring. Waikiki provides with the best of both worlds: city life and the beach.

Some fun facts about Hawaii:

-The state of Hawaii consists of eight main islands: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii.
-Hawaii is the only state that grows commercial coffee
-Climate is tropical
-Hawaii has its own time zone
-WestJet flies to Hawaii

Our first trip to Honolulu was in July 2012. We stayed at the Coconut Waikiki Hotel on Lewers Street. It’s a modern hotel, family friendly and offers a complimentary breakfast buffet. Waikiki beach is about 15 minutes by foot. The hotel is in the mid price range at $150-200/night depending on the season. We chose not to stay right on Waikiki beach to save some money for shopping! After all, how much time do you spend in your hotel room on vacation?

There are so many wonderful things to do in Honolulu. As we only had six days, we decided to split them between sightseeing and relaxing on the beach.

THINGS TO DO:

Waikiki Beach
Pearl Harbour & USS Arizona Memorial
Diamond Head
Dole Plantation
Hanauma Bay
Polynesian Cultural Center
Ala Moana Center
Royal Hawaiian Center

We had heard so many negative things about Waikiki Beach and how busy it would be. It wasn’t like that at all. We absolutely love Waikiki Beach. The sand is so clean and the water is so nice! Something we love to do is ‘ride the wave’ as my husband and I put it. We love jumping into the waves. I love purchasing a buoy each time we visit and taking it to the beach with us everyday. So fun!

Pearl Harbour & USS Arizona Memorial provided us with so much information about a very significant part of history. It reminded us to appreciate what we have and be thankful for those that have lost their lives so we can live in peace.

Diamond Head offers breathtaking views of Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean. It’s the picture perfect spot. As I wasn’t in the best shape, it was tough hike for me but I did it. It was such a great experience. As hikers were coming down, they would encourage those climbing up to keep going! Funny story, when we got to the top and started taking pictures, I dropped our camera. I was devastated. Now, it’s something we laugh about.

For those that love to shop, Ala Moana Mall is a shopping haven. There are so many great restaurants to eat at as well. We could easily spend a couple of days shopping.

I will end this post here but stay tuned for Hawaii part 2 where I talk about the other hotels we’ve stayed at, restaurants, the North Shore and many other things.