Hawaiian Surprises

Recently my family and I traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii for a vacation. It was definitely an experience and I learned a bit about myself while traveling. Honolulu was certainly eye-opening for me because I had such grand notions and expectations. Initially it was none of those things I expected, except for a place with a wonderful climate but as the trip progressed it became more enjoyable. There is certainly something for every type of traveler in Honolulu and it'll take an effort on your behalf to find those things you want so you can enjoy your time there. One of the greatest expectations I had was that Honolulu was a paradise island with people of Hawaiian descent. I expected to be in awe of the beauty, hospitality, food, and to learn some new cultural things. To my surprise Honolulu is a shopping center. To be fair Waikiki is the shopping center/area. So I did not get to fulfill any of those expectations. My family has military affiliation so we stayed at the Hale Koa which is not on the Waikiki "strip"; it is 5 mins from the strip but feels like a completely different world. One mile away from our hotel was the Ala Moana shopping center. This mall provided a regular mall experience with Target, Bloomingdale's, and Neiman Marcus as anchor stores. Then on the Waikiki strip there are designer shops, boutiques, and the Royal Hawaiian Center. There were at least three Louis Vuitton stores within this 1.5 mile area just as an example. I don't travel to shop so this was the complete opposite of what I expected. All of the stores available for shopping was explained to us by a native to be an attraction for Japanese tourists and residents. This made sense to us as in Waikiki there was an abundance of Japanese tourists, more than any other group of people. This was one of the things that seemed to offer a different cultural experience than what I was expecting. Getting away from Waikiki allowed me the opportunity to begin to enjoy the island and learn somethings. This was where the trip became more enjoyable. One of the definite "must do" attractions is a Circle Island tour. All of the hotels in Waikiki have desks with reps selling tours. Some of the tours are also available for purchase on Groupon, so it is certainly easy and affordable to book a tour. The Circle Island tour is just that, it's a tour that stops at a certain number of attractions around the island. Our tour maybe had nine stops, and I saw one with up to 16 stops. Our tour took nine hours so I can't imagine how long the other one would take. It stops at a range of different types of places like, the Dole Plantation for shopping, a waterfall and volcano for hiking, lookouts for photo opportunities, a designated stop for lunch, etc. I recommend doing this as early as possible in your trip so you can decide what you want to do in your free days. There were some things we passed and we were able to visit later as we ventured out on our own. Visiting the Northshore was something we were interested in doing and snorkeling on your own. Both of these were possible because we saw where to go when we were on the tour. The Circle Island tour is also full on its own and can be a standalone activity not leading to anything further. We learned a lot and were greatly satisfied after the long day. One thing we were able to see were the beaches all around the island. There were main beaches and then just beaches where you could pull up and park, then go enjoy.

Most of the beaches we visited had the same kind of sand. It was kind of gravelly, not very fine, and a bit coarse. It was not painful or anything, it just was not soft and fluffy like I enjoy. This could be because of the volcanic activity, and lack of limestone. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to visit any exotic sand colored beaches, like pink sand or black sand beaches. I am used to finer sand, more similar to sugar or salt like at home and in the neighboring areas. Granted the sand in my area is bordering a lake and is from limestone so I understand science and that the sands are different in different areas. I don't want to consider or paint myself out to be a sand snob or something like that. I do have a preference and this sand was not preferred. Also one side of the island has beaches where you can lounge and swim while on the other side the water is best for surfing and definitely not for swimming. Be careful to pay attention to the signs posted on the beaches to be safe. Separate from the sand I also did not like the food in the Waikiki/Honolulu area.

As previously mentioned I like to observe and experience as much about a place when I visit. One of my outstanding rules is that I do not go to restaurants that I can patron at home. Unfortunately, we could not stick to this in Honolulu. There was Garlic Shrimp which was recommended and acceptable, but simple enough not something for me to write home about. We visited three different restaurants before we had to visit the old faithfuls. One of the pluses of Waikiki being a shopping destination is there are tons of chain restaurants to visit. We were surrounded by PF Chang's, Yard House, Ruth Chris's, Cheesecake Factory, and all of the mall staples. Now I will admit to being a snob when it comes to food, but I blame it on living in Chicago. I can eat almost ANYTHING and it'll be authentic and tasty. Eating for Chicagoans is an experience, an indulgent one at that. Just take a look at our pizza. So an easier to please palate wouldn't be so disappointed as myself. The disappointing food was just not up to what I expected or wanted.

Some other noteworthy things are that there really didn't seem to be much of a nightlife scene. Mostly everything was closed by 10pm. A local told us there were maybe three or four clubs on the island and those close at 2am. Be careful in your rideshare/rental because there can be insects in the cars. There is public transportation to get around the island if you prefer a more local experience.

Overall, the trip was wonderful because it was a vacation. We were able to catch beautiful sunsets over the beach, I saw the sunrise from the balcony almost every morning(thanks to the time difference), I had the most beautiful and fragrant lei, and my family was together. We are planning to go back, but with some differences. The next trip we plan to return to Oahu island but we'll stay at the Disney property and then go stay at another island for a few days. There is certainly something for every type of traveler in Honolulu and it'll take an effort on your behalf to find those things you want so you can enjoy your time there and we know what to expect to make it better on our next visit.