Guide to Honolulu

I 100% took the beautiful weather in Hawaii for granted… I don’t think I have seen the sun since last Wednesday. I am so glad you all enjoyed the Maui GoPro video, it was really was so fun to make and I hope to do one for Honolulu. Which brings my to today’s post, Guide to Honolulu.

I surprisingly liked Honolulu more than Maui, I think it was more of a big city vibe and less of island time (I am terrible at sitting still). Although we had about a day and a half in the city, I was looking forward to making the most of it. 

Fun Fact: I was actually born in Honolulu. My dad was stationed at Pearl Harbor (in the navy), so my family lived on base. We moved to Nebraska at a young age, so I was looking forward to seeing where I grew up and such.

The house I grew up in!!! 

Where to Stay:

We stayed at The Royal Hawaiian, a property in SPG’s Luxury Collection. This hotel was a postcard. Legitimate perfect. Everything was pink, including the building itself. It gave me a Grand Budapest Hotel vibe.

The hotel is right on Waikiki Beach, like two steps away. They even have the most adorable pink/white umbrellas that you can rent on the beach. Swoon. As with most Luxury Collection/St.Regis, the service was exceptional. We were upgraded to a Garden Suite, I think our room was twice the size of our apartment.

More about the Royal Hawaiian later this week!

If you want less of a city scene, I would also recommend staying on the other side of the island. The Four Seasons is next on our list.

Where to Eat:

To be honest, we didn’t do a lot of eating outside our hotel property. Between sight-seeing and meeting up with a friend, we were legitimately rushing from point A to point B.

We did meet our friend at the Tommy Bahama rooftop in downtown Honolulu. I know what you’re thinking, super cheesy, but they had great drinks and food! Plus, part of the rooftop is covered in sand!

Afterwards, we had a few drinks in Chinatown. Definitely would recommend this part of town for a night out. Reminded me a lot of the West Loop in Chicago.

What to Do:

First of all, be sure to rent a car. Just like Maui, there is a lot of driving around the island and those Ubers will be sure to add up.

Like I mentioned above, we had less than a day to explore. We landed early (sub 8am) on Friday and flew out the following afternoon. After breakfast at our hotel, we headed to Pearl Harbor Memorial for the day. I 100 percent recommend getting your tickets as far in advance as you can, there are only so many alotted tickets a day. This is something I did NOT know until a week before our trip, and sure enough when I checked, sold out. Luckily they release a few tickets 24 hours in advance. Which meant I woke up at 7am the day after the wedding. #painful

We were scheduled to see the USS Arizona Memorial at noon. It was a very powerful experience, and something a fully recommend to make time to do and experience. While at the Memorial, there are a ton of other exhibits and we were able to go aboard a submarine as well! My dad worked on a nuclear submarine, so I was fascinated by just about everything.

After Pearl Harbor, we decided to track down the house(s) that I lived in. Obviously, a personal experience, but one of the highlights of the trip. And it was fun to watch my mother freak out via text message (and my dad to recommend an Asian restaurant nearby).

We spent all of Saturday morning at the beach. Do this. And do nothing else. There were A TON of water activities available as well. The surfing looked incredible.

Have you been to Honolulu? Where has been your favorite place to stay or visit?

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