Exploring Hawaii, The Aloha State (Guest Post)
Hawaii is on my travel bucket list, and one day I will make it to The Aloha State. But that doesn’t mean my followers should have to wait!
So join me as Carmen takes us on a vicarious vacation and shares everything she loves about her happy place, Hawaii.
Guest Post, by Carmen Benton
Hello! My name is Carmen Benton from www.weekendgetawayreviews.com. My husband Ben and I are the modern Brady Bunch and busy professionals. Despite our hectic lives, we have found a way to fulfill our passion for traveling around the world, even if it is on weekend getaways.
We want to inspire busy people like us to ditch their excuses and travel as much as they can because life is a getaway.
My favorite spot in the world is Waikiki Hawaii, mostly because while living in Alaska, Hawaii is the easiest place for me to get to for a dose of vitamin sea. I’ve been going to Hawaii for weekend getaways since 2012, and so when I was finally able to take Ben to Hawaii with me, it was a very special occasion. Through this post, I’m confident that you will learn to love this magical place as much as we do. Pretty soon you will be sharing with us your Hawaii Weekend Getaway experience.
Today, there is nothing that screams “Happy Place” to me as Hawaii does. I’m so happy that Ben shares that same excitement about this magical place with me, and that we have established the tradition to visit Paradise as often as we can, which usually means at least twice a year, but sometimes three.
Why Hawaii for us?
First, you need to know that I am from Panama. I grew up spoiled with the Pacific Ocean just a short 15 minutes away from my house, and the Caribbean Sea a short drive of 80 minutes. Going to the beach and getting vitamin D (which by the way is a real thing) was part of my existence.
The joke in my house is that when I get grumpier than normal, my kids tell me it’s time for me to get a Hawaii Weekend Getaway. I’m telling you the lack of vitamin D is real, and so a few years back, I decided that going to the beach was a healthy thing for me, and so I worked it in my budget and busy schedule.
In a way, you can say that www.weekendgetawayreviews.com started in Hawaii.
Our First time in Paradise together
I’ve been doing this weekend getaway in Hawaii thing for years now, and I’m telling you getting there Friday just in time for dinner and enjoying 4 full days in Hawaii is the perfect amount of time to escape from everything and relax. If Hawaii is not close to you, you can take this idea and have a weekend getaway on a beach close to you.
The first time Ben and I had a Hawaii Weekend Getaway was in August 2017, and since then we have been back 6 times as of August 2019. All of these getaways, for the same amount of time.
At first, Ben was hesitant to go to Hawaii for such a short length of time: Friday to Tuesday, but I asked him to trust me, and thankfully he did. The result: Ben is hooked, and always anticipating the Aloha spirit.
I’ve been to Hawaii close to twenty times (I know… lucky me), so nowadays our itinerary is more relaxing than the first time we went, since we’ve done many of the sightseeing things already; but that first time, I wanted him to experience as much of what the island had to offer.
To be honest with you, he has so much more to see yet, but since we go back so often I try to add a new thing for him to see every time.
However, if this is your first time in Hawaii keep reading to know the things you must experience.
A Hawaii Weekend Getaway must do:
- If you have never been to Hawaii, you must go to Pearl Harbor, which is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941.
In the picture to the left, you can see the USS Arizona Memorial. This place marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the attack.
You get to the memorial by boat, and it’s an add-on to whatever ticket you purchase to get into Pearl Harbor itself.
You should plan to spend half a day at Pearl Harbor, so you can really absorb all the history this place holds.
While it’s a place for reflection, there are also great picture opportunities throughout the memorial, as you can see on the right.
Back on land, there is a museum, a place with a pretty good documentary of what happened the morning of the attack, a gift shop of course, and many places to sit down and reflect on the sacrifices our soldiers do to allow us to have freedom today.
To get to Pearl Harbor you can either hire a tour with transportation included (that’s what we did, to avoid the hassle), you can take public transportation (the bus stop is two blocks away from the memorial entrance), or nowadays you can just take an Uber.
I should mention that unless we are driving to the North Shore, we usually don’t rent a car when we are in Oahu, as we center our visits around Waikiki.
If you decide to rent a car, parking in Waikiki could be challenging. However, if you are going to be exploring the island you might want to ponder that option.
- I’ve mentioned before how magical a Hawaii Weekend Getaway is. One of the things that makes Hawaii a magical place to me, is the sunsets. I will never get tired of experiencing the sunset in Waikiki beach, and more than once I’ve taken a sunset catamaran cruise, right from Waikiki.
Some of these tours include drinks and some don’t, but the real point of the cruise is to see the Sunset. I wanted Ben to experience that up close and personal, so I researched and got us a highly rated Sunset Catamaran tour from Waikiki beach.
We took the one that leaves from the Sheraton (instead of the one that leaves from the Outrigger), but since I’ve done them both, I have to say that they are both great.
I’ve never seen that you need a reservation to get in, although I did this last time. There is always room in the boat for more people.
On board, you will have the opportunity for amazing pictures, and maybe you could even see some whales along with a fantastic view of Waikiki from the water.
The cruise lasts about 2 hours, since it departs around 5 pm, and cruises around until after the sunset which is breathtaking.
Then after such an amazing gift from mother nature, you will return to Waikiki just in time to have a nice dinner in town if you want to do that.
Some other must-do things in Hawaii, which are part of our traditions, I’ll describe below.
The traditions we established in our Hawaii Weekend Getaway
We have made our tradition to spend quality time in Waikiki Beach during our Hawaii Weekend Getaway. Keep in mind that Waikiki is just a portion of the coastline of Oahu, between the Zoo and the Marina.
This is the most touristic and crowded beach on the island, but it’s well worth your time to visit.
Trust me when I tell you that Ben doesn’t like crowds, yet he has grown to love Waikiki as much as I do.
Not only the sand is white and groomed, but you have all the facilities that you need within a few steps: Restrooms, Restaurants, Bars, and Shopping.
Also, for those of you who can’t sit under the tropical Hawaiian sun for long periods of time (like Ben) here is your saving tip: Get up early and reserve an umbrella with chairs.
We do this as part of our tradition.
I usually get up by 7:30 am and go downstairs at our hotel, I walk to ABS (Aloha Beach Services) and rent the umbrella for the day.
If you get there early enough you will get the first row, and you won’t even mind the crowds and will have sun protection for the day.
Do use sunblock, as the sun is intense, especially when you are in the water which is perfect.
You can rent the umbrellas by the hour, half a day or for the day. We usually rent them for the day, and they cost $50 from 7:30 am until 4:30 pm. Keep in mind that if you go closer to the Marina they are cheaper, but the sand and the beach is not as picture-perfect as where we go which is by Duke’s restaurant.
We normally try to stay at the Outrigger Waikiki for our Hawaii Weekend Getaway because then we don’t have to worry about anything. Just go downstairs, to the perfect beach.
Also, at the Outrigger the bar at Duke’s has THE BEST, and I meant it. THE BEST Mai Tai’s in the Island.
Warning: Once you try the Duke’s Mai Tai nothing else will do! OK, now you have been warned.
Another integral part of our Hawaii Weekend Getaway includes eating the amazing variety of food that you can find in Waikiki. This place is truly an international melting pot and you can find the most amazing restaurants at all kinds of prices.
Depending on the time of year, you might want to consider making reservations in Open Table prior to your actual stay in Hawaii if you want to try a specific restaurant. But there are many places where you can just put your name down at dinner time. Do know that if you wait until dinner time to decide where to eat, your wait might be long.
Some of our favorite restaurants in Waikiki and that have become part of our weekend getaway tradition are Ruth Chris, Dukes, of course, Hula Grill, and Roy’s of Hawaii. We recently discovered Morimoto of Asia (which is owned by an Iron Chef) and it was delicious.
For breakfast, we have a favorite and we usually go there at least 2 of the days if not 3 and that is Maui Brewing Company. O-M-G the food is amazing, simply amazing. (Note that we’ve only gone here for breakfast, so I can’t speak about lunch or dinner).
How to ensure this is not your last Hawaiian Weekend Getaway?
One of the things that always cracks me up, is when you go back to the airport to go back home (maybe so much more when home is Alaska), and you can see that everyone at the gate has long faces. Probably sad because they are leaving paradise, while everyone getting off the plane that you are about to board is happy as a clam, because their weekend getaway is just starting.
What I’ve discovered is that having my next Hawaii weekend getaway dates picked out, before I leave Hawaii gives me that sense of appreciation and eliminates completely the feeling of sadness, which allows me to completely enjoy my getaway until the very end. So as often as you can, think about when you can be back, book it if possible and then you won’t have to be sad about having to go back home.
Taking the Best of Hawaii with you
Yes, it is true that Hawaii beaches are amazing, and the sunset, and the rainbows, and so much more that I would need 30 more pages to describe; but one of the best things from Hawaii is the Aloha spirit.
It feels like in Hawaii everyone is happy, all the time.
Once I met this older lady who was retired, and she was my waitress at a restaurant by the ocean. She was so happy.
That was a time in my life when I wasn’t all that happy, so it was uncomfortable for me to see her so happy. So, I asked her, how and why was she so happy.
Her response blew me away.
She said: I’m retired in paradise. I work enough just to pay the bills that I couldn’t otherwise, but the rest of the time I play in the sun, and when I must work this is what I get to stare at all day… and she pointed to the blue ocean in front of us.
That’s when I realized that you create your own happiness, and I knew back then that Hawaii will always be my happy place.
If you also love Hawaii what things do you like to do, or what places would you like Carmen and Ben to review for you?
Be sure to follow all of Carmen and Ben’s adventures at www.weekendgetawayreviews.com on Facebook at www.facebook.com/weekendgetawayreviews or in Instagram @weekendgetawayreviews.
Carmen also has a podcast all about travel. And guess who will be an upcoming guest on the podcast?? That’s right, Traveling Tanya! Stay tuned….
Aloha and Mahalo!
Wherever the road takes you, make it a joyous journey,
Traveling Tanya
P.S. Subscribe to my email list (at the top of the screen) and never miss out on any of Traveling Tanya’s exciting excursions or travel tips!
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