I just got back yesterday and thought that I would share my trip in case it helps others.
Sunday: flew out of Newark direct to Honolulu. The flight was delayed for 2 hours and we arrived around 8pm. Picked up the car at National and was at the JW Marriott by 9. The check in was easy, dropped the bags, and had a nice relaxing drink in the bar before bed.
Monday: my recovery day 鈥?just hang out on the beach at lagoon 1 and ate at the pool bar. It was a picture perfect day on the beach. We drove into Kapolei for dinner and just grabbed a quick bite at one of the places there.
Tuesday: We drove to the east side of the island over the Pali highway. Stopped at the pali lookout and got some fabulous pictures. Went to Kaula and Lanikae, but didn鈥檛 stay since it started raining pretty hard. We drove down the coast looking for some sun and stopped in Waikiki. Since the beaches were closed due to sewage issues we went back to the Ilhilani. For dinner we drove into Waikiki and ate at Dukes. Great food, reasonable prices, good location. Overall, I didn鈥檛 like Waikiki because it was too built up (I felt like I was in Vegas), so I never went back.
Wednesday: Got up extremely early to go to Pearl Harbor. Arrived by 7am and stood in a long line. When we got in 鈥?we were in the 3rd group so we had a while until it was our turn to go to the memorial. I got an audio guide (it costs $5, but was worth it for the information provided). The movie that you have to watch was amazing 鈥?it was all actual footage and not re-created. The visit to the Arizona was very moving and interesting. When we came back we walked through the museum and then visited the shop. I highly recommend visiting Pearl Harbor!! Afterwards, we ate lunch at Zippy鈥檚 in Kapolei and then went back to the beach at the hotel.
Thursday: we went to the Dole plantation and did the Pineapple Express and Garden tour which were both very interesting. It was raining and there were a lot of kids in the maze, so we skipped it. We spent a bit of time in the store and bought quite a bit of gifts. Afterwards we drove up to the North Shore looking for the Lost set. We didn鈥檛 find it but got great shots at the end of Farrington highway. We ate lunch at one of the white Shrimp trucks. We were looking for Giovanni鈥檚 but missed it. Lunch was great 鈥?even though it was out of a truck. I had the spicy shrimp 鈥?excellent! After lunch we drove to turtle bay and stopped at the pipeline and Ted鈥檚 bakery for dessert. Since it was a rainy day 鈥?we didn鈥檛 hit the beach. I can鈥檛 remember where dinner was.
Friday: spent the day at the beach with friends. We used the beach at the hotel since Waikiki and the east shore were closed still due to sewage. Had lunch at the pool (Ahi salad). We had the rehearsal dinner at Roy鈥檚 Ko Olina. Excellent food (shrimp and swordfish combo) and great dessert (chocolate decadence).
Saturday: drove back to dole since my dad called and wanted Pineapple shipped. We had lunch at Jimmy鈥檚 Lakeside Caf茅 in Wahiawa. Nice place with reasonable prices. Great place to sit outside and eat. Went back to the hotel and sat out on the beach for a little while. Went to my friend鈥檚 wedding at the hotel. It was held on the grass overlooking the water at 4pm. An absolutely beautiful location!!! The hotel did a great job with the wedding and reception.
Sunday: went to the wedding brunch at the hotel and then went to the beach for a little bit. I had to drive someone to the airport mid-day. On a Sunday 鈥?it was a quick trip 鈥?no traffic. Came back and hung out on the beach, then packed and ate dinner in the hotel bar.
Monday: checked out early and stored my luggage since my flight was at 9pm. Spent the day on the beach. This was of course the only rainy day. The hotel offered me a hospitality suite at the end of the day to shower and change. I headed to the airport early in case of traffic on H-1, but had no problems and flew through rental car return and check-in. I had dinner in the airport since continental doesn鈥檛 serve food on the night flight to Newark.
Overall, the trip was great, weather beautiful (missed all the rain of February and March). Everyone was so friendly on the island and helpful. I used the Oahu Revealed guidebook and highly recommend it. The maps in it were great for getting around the island and much better than anything that National gave me!! Also, the traffic was bad in the morning to Pearl Harbor 鈥?but other than that 鈥?Oahu is very easy to get around.
My trip review - quite longThis sounds fantastic - you must have had a great time. We are going to Hawaii in Aug, I have printed off your comments and will take them with me. Thank you. Are the pineapples better from Dole than the kind you can buy at home in the supermarket?
My trip review - quite longYes - I%26#39;ve never been a big fan of pineapples until I had one at Dole. it is pricey though to ship them. 2 were $34 and 6 were around $60. They also have pineapple ice cream which is great, but very sweet.
Sounds like you had a good time. Was all the beaches at North Shore ok to swim in. We are going in August and who knows how the beaches will be by then. Im sure they will fix as much as possible as fast as possible. We usually hang out at Sharks Cove and three tables. The web camera on Waikiki Beach was showing swimmers in the water so is that beach not closed? thanks for any response...
The North Shore was fine - the weather wasn%26#39;t great the day i was up there. The Waikiki beaches are open, but I wasn%26#39;t anxious to go in the water right away. by August - you%26#39;ll be fine.
Thanks for taking the time to post. I%26#39;m going in May and love reading the trip reports.
Mahalo for posting a trip report. sounds like your stay at Ko Olina was terrific
Thanks for the review! :)
Yes, me too! Thanks very much for this great report.
BTW, what is the JW Marriott? And what is Ilhilani? Are these different hotels within the same resort, or names for buildings, or what?
Could I arrange to visit while in Oahu for a week to just look around? I%26#39;ll be staying in Waikiki but expect to be touring around the island by car. Is it near Turtle Bay?
mauiman98 - the JW Marriott Ilhilani is one hoyel. It is part of the Marriott hotel chain. It is located in Ko Olina which is on the leeward (south west) section of the island at the end of H1. it is probably about 45 minutes from Turtle Bay without traffic.
You should definitely rent a car to tour the island - I enjoyed that a lot because each section is different and each beach is different. Since all beaches are public - you can visit the 4 lagoons at Ko Olina.
Hope this answers your questions.
Wendi
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