Aloha loves!
I just came back from Hawaii about a week ago and I wish I was there again. It was nice mini trip to get away for a few days with my best friend, Lori and also celebrate 30 together. Hawaii is such a beautiful place to visit. I still can’t believe how beautiful this state is and the fact that it is only about 5 hours away from California!
We wanted to see as much as we could in our trip so we decided to do some hikes. We started day one with a hike at Diamond Head which was a very popular spot but well worth the view. It does get crowded and there is a fee to get in but it’s very affordable. We were lucky we had just made the last hike cut off time in order to see the view which I’ll post some of the pics below.
The second day of our trip we rented a car which I highly recommend since taking an Uber and waiting for one can be hard especially if you plan on going to the North Shore. The island is pretty small so if you are up for an adventure renting a car is the way to go! Our plan was to go check out one of the sunflower fields but unfortunately they were not in season when we went which was a bummer since we drove an hour to go see it. On the bright side we did get to go to an acai bowl place I’ve been wanting to try called the Sunrise Shack! The place was so cute and right across from the beach so it’s a good spot to grab a snack and hit the beach. We later ventured to the Dole Factory for a hot minute then went to a hike at Manoa Falls. The hike was insanely gorgeous and if you geek out on film locations like me you’ll be happy to know they filmed some of the show “Lost” over there. They have pictures in Be careful of slipping though because once you get closer to the waterfall it gets extremely slippery. So wear some shoes that are sturdy and ones you don’t mind getting dirty.
On the last full day we enjoyed a day at the beach followed by a Luau at Hale Koa Hotel which was so much fun! It was the best deal I could find and the show was filled with so many dances and high energy. They had acts from singing, dancing to some comedy in between. So if you looking for a very affordable luau in Waikiki I highly suggest checking this one out!
Now if you’re basic like myself (ugh hate to admit this) and love yourself a cute coffee shop with instagram-able pictures then you’ll love Olive & Oliver at the Surf Jack Hotel. This coffee shop is connected to the hotel and the cups are adorable! Not to mention they have such cute items for sale and the staff was super friendly. I got a Cinnamon latte which was perfect before the flight back to Los Angeles. I would love to go back one day and stay at the Surf Jack because it seems like such a fun hotel and it’s super modern/trendy from what the pics looked like online.
So even though this trip was short we still got to pack in quite a bit! Hoping to go again soon!
Mahalo! <3
