Day 1:
We arrived at Honolulu International Airport around 10 AM on our flight from LAX. After collecting our rental car we drove to Nico’s Pier 38.
My wife had watched a Guy Fieri’s DDD special (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) featuring this restaurant so we wanted to give it a try. I ordered the Pier 38 fish burger while she ordered the fish with caper sauce. Both were just meh and bit of a letdown.
After lunch we drove to the Hilton Waikiki Village where we were staying for the first 2 nights. After check-in and some freshening up we went to the beach by the resort and spent a couple of hours there.
Later we ate dinner at the resort and soon called it a night.
Day 2:
After breakfast we decided to walk along Waikiki beach from the Hilton Hawaiian Village all the way to the Sheraton. After walking back along the beach we decided to spend some time in the water.
Later we walked around the Hilton Hawaiian village.
We also drove to Hanauma Bay to take some pictures from afar. It was a little late in the day for us to go down there.
We ate dinner at the resort again (partially paid for by our daily dining credit of $20).
Day 3:
This was Memorial Day and we had decided to skip the crowds at Pearl Harbour and go do some hiking instead.
We drove to Manoa Falls trail entrance. There is a cute small shop by the entrance where you pay parking (the shop has clean restrooms).
There was some light rain that day which felt awesome while hiking.
The trail is about a 1.5 mile hike and takes about an hour round trip. It is very much worth it and would consider a must do in Oahu.
Researching Tripadvisor for Oahu restaurants, we had come across The Fresh Catch. We decided to check it out for lunch. I ordered the crab sandwich while Karen got the grilled salmon. Both were super delicious.
In the afternoon we switched hotels from Hilton Hawaiian Village to Holiday Inn Waikiki. After that we drove across Oahu island to Kailua Beach. Being Memorial Day, the beach is fairly packed with locals but we were lucky to find a parking spot.
The water is warmer compared to Waikiki and we had a great time in the water.
After spending a couple of hours at Kailua Beach we drove to Lanikai Beach which is just 5 minutes away. We parked in a residential area and walked to the beach.
On the way back to our hotel we picked up dinner at the South Shore Grill. The food was quite delicious.
Day 4:
We had planned on visiting Pearl Harbour on the day after Memorial day. We woke up early (5:30 AM) and drove to the site. After taking a wrong exit (and ending up at the military base!!) we finally backtracked a little bit and made our way to the parking lot. There was already a bit of a line by the entrance. Even though I was worried that we might not be able to get in (due to limit on number of daily visitors), the line moved fast and we were soon inside.
I purchased a pre-recorded audio tour (USS Arizona Memorial Audio tour for $7.50) and we were led into an auditorium for a short 15 minute documentary. After the documentary we were led on a boat. Currently the USS Arizona is closed for construction reasons and no one can disembark at the memorial. The tour involves driving the boat around the USS Arizona as well as Battleship Missouri memorial and back to the visitor center.
After coming back to shore after the tour, we walked by the Remembrance Circle. It was interesting reading the events involving all the US Navy submarines that participated in the World War 2.
For lunch we went back to the Fresh Catch where we repeated our order from previous day – me getting the crab sandwich and salmon for Karen. This time i decided to try some poke for the first time.
After lunch we drove back to our hotel and walked to the beach. Later we had dinner at the Yardhouse.
Day 5:
This was our last day in Oahu and we were leaving a little later after 2 pm for our flight. We decided to spend the morning at the Waikiki beach just relaxing.