Hawaii Honeymoon Highlights
Like practically every other newlywed; we have an absolute blast on our honeymoon. We went to Hawaii for two weeks, spending most of our time on Oahu and Kauai. Since we had such an amazing time, I wanted to share with you some of our favorite places we visited, ate, and had fun so you can be sure to know where to go if you ever want to visit the paradise that is Hawaii.
Oahu: Aulani
The first island we went to was Oahu! We stayed at the Disney Resort: Aulani, which was an absolute dream. The resort walks out into a stunning pool with a lazy river, then on to their beach access shown above. Since it’s Disney run, you are more than taken care of! There was absolutely nothing to worry about- and no matter where we ate at the resort, the food was phenomenal. Our favorite part of the beach wasn’t the water or the sun. The best part is that when you’re sitting on the chairs under your umbrella, servers come up to you and ask immediately if you would like anything to drink. So, during those days spend lying in the sun, we were well stocked on our mai tais and pina coladas! Who could ask for anything more when on your honeymoon!
Places & Things to Do
Of course, we didn’t spend every single day at the resort - we wanted to explore the island! These are some of our favorite places we went:
Kualoa Ranch
If you’re a movie buff, you’ve got to go to Kualoa Ranch. They have a multitude of different tours - and because my husband is who he is, we absolutely had to do one where we drove our own ATV Raptor. The Ranch is home to so many different filming locations, and on our tour we had ample opportunities to stop and take pictures! The guides even had fun with it, which is evident from the dinosaur puppet he whipped out in Jurassic Valley. Even if you’re not a big Jurassic Park fan, I promise you there’s at least one movie or tv show you love that was filmed here.
Pillbox Hike
We absolutely love hiking - and if you enjoy doing so (and breaking a sweat), Pillbox Hike is worth every moment. The trail is an old tramway up a mountain… so you are literally climbing what feels like stairs up to the top. One way, the trail is less than a mile with an elevation change of 1,050ft from bottom to top (aka: it’s really steep). The total length of the hike (there and back) is 1.88mi, and it took us an hour and a half. But trust me - as difficult as the hike may be, it is well worth it for the view at the top and the sense of accomplishment after!
My top tips: wear shorts, lots of sunscreen, possibly a hat, definitely sunglasses, and bring a good amount of water!
Hellicopter Ride
My grandfather gave this to us as a wedding present. Every time someone mentions Hawaii, he talks about how when he went, he did a helicopter tour and how it was the most amazing thing he’s ever done. And you know what? Papa was right. Being able to see nearly all of Oahu in 45 minutes was out of this world. My favorite parts were: looking down on the reefs (I had no idea they grew in circles!); seeing the Dole Plantation’s Pineapple shaped maze from above; and flying over Pearl Harbor, where you could see the submerged Arizona.
We did the Magnum PI Tour with Open Siding (no doors), and they were fantastic!
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is such a significant historical site, there was no way we weren’t going.
Our tour was booked through Aulani, and despite being very afraid of submarines, John (who loves them) got me to go on a guided tour of one with him! Knowing what a heavy experience Pearl Harbor can be, the Auntie who drove our group greeted us with Leonard’s Malasadas on the way back.
Climb Works Keana Farms
Our Zipline tour at Climb Works was one of my favorite parts of our stay on Oahu. We had such a blast! Our guides and group were so much fun, and John had to keep holding me back from volunteering us to go first at every single drop. The ziplining part was so great; but I also really enjoyed the add-ons: learning more about the island, walking from line to line, the occasional rope bridge, jumping off a ledge using the auto-belay, and using a pulley system to hoist yourself up from bottom to top on one stop! I also loved that after the first couple runs we started encorporating fun things: like poses, starting off backward, going upside down (can you tell I LOVED it from the picture?), and trust falling off the ledge.
Seriously; we had such an amazing time here, if you’re going to Oahu I cannot recommend it enough!
Notable Eats
From Left to Right:
1, & 2. Papaya Boat with delicious iced almond milk latte from Island Vintage Coffee. I had never had papaya before this trip and it’s definitely a new favorite fruit of mine! We ate breakfast & coffee at Island Vintage Coffee five out of the seven days of the week we spent on Oahu! In fact, the second photo is IVC’s acai bowl! I also want to shout out their poi banana bread - which was so good I had to invent a recipe for myself so I could have it on the regular at home.
3. This is the papaya boat from Eggs ‘n Things. If you’re on Oahu - do yourself a favor and go here for breakfast! I had the papaya boat and banana macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup (which I forgot to take a picture of before devouring their deliciousness). It’s also where we were introduced to the Loco Moco; which we’ve now added into our favorite dinners!
4. I can talk about Sunrise Shack’s acai bowl for hours. It was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted, The place itself was adorable - absolutely delivering on the sunny vibes promised with the name. And the acai bowl? Out of this world. I only wish it was closer to our resort so we could’ve eaten there every morning!
5. Last but not least: Fumi’s shrimp. Honestly - forget the shrimp shack & Giovanni’s truck. Go. Here. It was the best spicy garlic shrimp of my life; and John (who had shrimp at the shrimp shack as well) dubbed Fumi’s the clear winner. Fumi’s is right off where they catch the shrimp, so it’s incredibly fresh. If you need further proof it’s the best: it was recommended to us by our local guides at Climb Works - who you know have eaten at every shrimp place on the island!
Kauai: Koa Kea
The last island we went to was Kauai, known as the Garden Island. Kauai was really interesting for me, since John spent a good nine months working on this island as a shooter producer with a National Geographic show!
It was the most stunning place I’ve ever been, and I made John promise we have to return regularly because I would have us move there if we could.
We stayed at Koa Kea, which was an absolutely beautiful resort at Poipu Beach. If you stay here, we absolutely recommend renting snorkels for a day. The beach just off the resort had so many fish swimming about! We spent hours watching them and I spent a solid forty five minutes following my favorite fish: the humuhumunukunukuapua'a!
Places & Things to Do
Kipu Ranch
This is the other key filming location of Hawaii; which means of course these two lovebirds who met in film school had to go! John had already been on this tour back when he work/lived on island and loved it the first time around.
This tour was absolutely stunning. In addition to driving your own ATV through the stunning ranch, which was home to many filming locations; these guides made a stronger point of teaching us about the island.
Waimea Canyon Trail
This is nicknamed the Grand Canyon of Hawaii; and it’s easy to see why. The trail was stunning from start to finish - and despite the multiple beautiful waterfalls, my favorite view was the one shown of the canyon itself. Waimea Canyon’s hike was a medium length (around 3 miles), and moderate difficultly. There were a lot of ups and downs, but nothing super steep or anxiety inducing!
Like with any hike, remember to wear your sunscreen, proper shoes, and have plenty of water!
Kauai Coffee Company
John and I love our coffee, so going to the largest coffee farm in the US was a must! It was so cool to see the coffee plants; learn how coffee is grown, harvested, and roasted; and of course taste some of their delicious brews. We ended up bringing so many different beans home - our favorite of which was BIG BRADDAH; a coffee that’s only sold ground because the bean is so big it breaks many at-home grinders!
Koloa Rum Tour
A massive shoutout to our good friend who lives in Kauai for telling us we had to go on the Koloa Rum Safari (and then joining us for the fun!). It was such an amazing tour - you’re guided through the Kilohana Plantation, where your guide picks the pineapple and other fruits to make the cocktails you later drink! Their Mai Tai was the best I’ve ever had, the little pigs and goats were so cute, the tasting of the multiple different rums was out of this world, and the fresh cocktail at the end was *chef’s kiss*. I would’ve never thought to book this, so I cannot thank my friend enough for both joining and getting us to go on this Rum Safari!
Notable Eats
From Left to Right:
Anuenue Cafe was right across the street from our resort and had a phenomenal breakfast! I had their loaded avocado toast with bacon & iced tea, and I’m not even kidding when I say I’ve dreamt about this breakfast since.
Kauai Juice Co - if I had the abillity to have something from Kauai Juice Co every day I would be such a happy woman. Out of the six days we were on island, I went here five times. I ordered something different each time, and loved each and every thing. I also brought home their Hawaiian finishing salt and sambal hot sauce and am not looking forward to they day I run out!
If y’all have any upcoming plans to go to Hawaii, let me know in the comments below (so I can live vicariously through your time!)
xx, Sarah
