Aloha! Mel’s Hawaiian Adventure!

Hi everyone! I recently returned from Hawaii and had such an amazing time! We stayed at Waikiki for 9 nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and then moved over to the West coast for our final 4 nights at Disney’s Aulani Resort in Ko Olina! WOW!

I had the best time experiencing the culture, learning the history and trying new activities! One of my favourite parts was shark diving, with no cage! I still can’t quite beleive I did it! I am desperate to go back! Check out my itinerary below of what I got upto! I have hundreds of pics so if you’re interested in seeing them just let me know! 

Day 1 – Travel – We flew with British Airways / American Airlines from Newcastle – Heathrow – Los Angeles – Honolulu. I must admit I was dreading the long journey but it was nowhere near as bad as I expected! We arrived late evening to the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki where we stayed in a Tapa collection family room. We had an amazing view overlooking the city of Waikiki.

Day 2 – Rest – Today we just found our bearings arounf the huge hotel and enjoyed relaxing on the stunning Waikiki beach. 

Day 3 – Kualoa Ranch – Today we visitied Kualoa Ranch which was the filming location for Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jumanji, Lost, 50 first dates plus so many more! We did the Jurassic adventure tour where we saw some of the Jurassic park/world filming locations up close. What an incredible place to see. 

Day 4 – Kevo’s Beach Bus tour – This was a tour going up to the North shore. We visited the famous surfer’s paradise that is pipeline beach. We visited another couple of beaches arounf the area where we enjoyed the sea and also swam with sea turles. We then went on to experience paddle boarding, I didn’t even fall off it woohoo! I got some courage and jumped off a bridge into the river. 

Day 5 – Pearl Harbour and Luau- Pearl Harbour was such a sombre surreal experience. We visited the USS Arizona memorial where you can still see oil leaking into the water, it was very sad to see. That evening we attended the Al Moana Luaua, this was one of my faveourite things about the trip. We saw lot’s of hawaiian dances and performances from the Polynesian Islands then tried several activities including palm weaving. 

Day 6 – Moana Falls – Today we hiked up to see a 150ft waterfall, this area was also a filming location for the Hunger Games and some other movies. 

Day 7 – Diamond Head Crater – Another hike today, this time up a volcanic crater, the views are amazing from the top of here accross Waikiki. 

Day 8 – Sea Life park and shopping – The sea life centre was one of the filming locations for 50 first dates, this is a lovely place to spend a couple of hours seeing the dolphins, sea lions, birds etc. After the sea life park we visited the Al Moana shopping centre. That evening we enjoyed watching fireworks on the beach at our hotel along with firedancers. 

Day 9 – Polynesin Cultural Centre – This place is an amazing place to experience the different cultures from all across the polynesian islands including Tonga, Fiji etc. We enjoyed watching an authentic Haka performance, palm weaving, fire making, hawaiian dance class, spear throwing and so much more. We learnt so much history from the islands. 

Day10 – Hotel change – today we moved over to Disney’s Auani Resort at Ko Olina. I am a huge Disney fan so this resort was like heaven to me! We enjoyed the beach, lazy river and pools. We also enjoyed a pool party with Mickey and friends! The character interaction at this resort is briliant. We also enjoyed a Ukelele lesson this evening, great fun! 

Day 11 – Aulani and Luau – We enjoyed the hotels relaxing pools, beach and lazy river again today then on the evening we attended Disney’s Luau. Another amazing experience. 

Day 12 – Aulani – Today we went out in the ocean on an outrigger canoe which was great fun, it was so relaxing! After this we got packed ready for home and enjoyed another chilled evening in the resort. 

Day 13 – Shark diving and home time! Today I went cageless shark diving with a company called Hawaii Adventure Diving. This was an incredible experience, we had 10 galapoagos sharks around us, they do often have other visitors including tiger sharks and other breeds but today we just had the pleasure of the galapoagos. At some points these sharks were close enough to touch, it was a scary experience but one I will always remember, it was incredible. 

Home time – Flying home we flew from Honolulu – Dallas – Heathrow – Newcastle. We had a long cnnection time in Dallas so we jumped into an Uber and visitied the lovely Fort Worth, I would absolutely love to revisit this area for a full weekend to enjoy the live bull shows and the many bars that they had there! 

Overall this is now one of my favourite destinations and I am desperate to get back there asap! I would highly recommend for all couples/ families and solo travellers. Please let me know if you want any further information about anything!