We spent a full week on the North Shore of Oahu for Matt’s 30th birthday, spending our days exploring different beaches, eating too much poke and acai and hiking the gorgeous trails around the island. I grew up on the beaches of South Florida, so I am not usually too excited about “another beach” but Hawaii was different. Theres something magical about it, and although it is part of the U.S. you feel almost further away than Europe because it is such a change of scenery. There’s beautiful lush fields of green, fog and mist all day long, and a culture that’s so different than here, ESPECIALLY in NY where everything is always go, go, go. It’s a slow paced place, where the beauty is in the simplicity of hanging outside of a food truck and grabbing a bite, or watching the waves roll in. It’s definitely a vacation I’d recommend to pretty much anyone, at least once in their lifetime!
I am going to share with you everything we were able to see and do during our week (with tons of photos, of course!) The one thing we did not get to do was walk around Chinatown in Honolulu. We drove through it in passing before our flight home, and were bummed at how incredible it looked, so definitely make time for that if you’re traveling there! Here’s everything we did, with links to my outfits!
WHERE WE STAYED
Matt’s best friend Romero stayed with us, so we wanted to find a 2 bedroom place. We usually prefer Airbnb’s so we can cook a bit, and buy groceries for Hudson, and we loved how close this Airbnb was to Haleiwa, and all of the best surfing spots. It had a cute patio, and was nice and minimalistic. The only negative was it was a bit noisy at night, but other than that I totally recommend it.
^^ Waimea Valley Hike
^^ Dole Plantation
^^ Byodo-In Temple
^^ Sunrise Shack
^^ Sharks Cove
^^ Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trail
THINGS WE DID
Because we knew we mostly wanted to explore outdoors and spend time on beaches and hiking, I brought only two pairs of Teva along for the trip(minus my sneaks for the plane ride). They are perfect to wear to the beach, but also to style with a dress to go out for dinner in the evening. Here’s some of our top spots:
We stopped in to Dole Plantation and took the train ride around learning all about how Pineapple are grown. It was very children friendly, and Hudson loved it! We of course had to get a Dole whip cone afterwards, which was delicious.
Sharks Cove
We actually stayed right near Sharks Cove, but we walked around and dipped our toes in the water one morning. It’s really beautiful and unique, but if you want to explore on the rocks, just make sure to wear some shoes!
Byodo-in Temple
We spent a day in Waikiki and Honolulu, and stopped here on the way. It’s very quiet and peaceful, and there’s tons of koi fish and cats on the property. It only cost $5 per person, which was affordable compared to Dole Plantation and many other tourist destinations on the island.
Waimea Valley Hike
We spent a full morning exploring Waimea Valley, and all agreed it was one of our favorite parts of the trip. Because we went right at open (9AM) it was basically empty, and we were alone with the silence of nature. There’s plenty of bird watching, and theres a gorgeous stream that leads all the way to a waterfall at the end.
Kaena Point Trail
We drove out to Kaena point on a windy night hoping to catch the sunset, but it was too foggy. We brought some Hawaiian beers along, and some malasadas, and didn’t regret that for a second.
Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trail
This trail is great with kids, because it is actually paved. It’s about 3 miles round trip, and the view at the top is spectacular!
^^Coffee Gallery
WHERE WE ATE
This was our top spot, because we’re huge coffee drinkers and their coffee was DELICIOUS. They also had these amazing acai bowls, and tons of vegan options. There’s a cute outdoor seating area out back that was perfect for Hudson to wander around in.
We stopped here on our last day, and were glad we did. The outdoor seating is really great, and the food was delicious. There’s also cute cats all around that Hudson had a blast petting.
This is a MUST DO. We ate a true farm-to-table meal full of lettuce that was growing on the plants surrounding us – all of their meals come from the farms product. It was so cool! We also had smoothies that were delicious, and you can tour the farm if you’re up for it!
I had seen this cute shack on instagram, and totally did not realize that it’s tiny and on the side of the road. It’s very quaint though, and they offer “bullet coffee” which is coffee blended with healthy fats from coconuts and grass-fed butter. I had a mocha bullet, and it was seriously different than anything I’ve ever tasted before! It’s supposed to make your head feel extra clear.
This place is right next to Seven Brothers, and their shave ice was huuge plus they had tons of flavors. I am no shave ice expert, but it tasted good to me! A lot of people recommended Matsumoto Shave Ice which we walked by, but it seemed like the more touristy spot of the two.
Foodland for Poke
Foodland is just the regular supermarket, but they have poke and it’s damn good!
Marukame Udon (Honolulu)
Totally worth the wait, because there most likely will be one but the line goes by fast. The prices are crazy affordable, and the udon is sooo good.
Arvo Cafe (Honolulu)
This little spot is filled with yummy coffee and avocado toast and fresh food. It’s also really adorable, and the outside seating has such a nice atmosphere. Matt got his avocado toast loaded, filled with tomato and feta, and it was delish.
This spot is so cute and tiny that you may miss it if you’re not looking for it. It’s a block from the Haleiwa food trucks (which are BYOB) so it’s a great spot to pick up some local beers and bring over. They also have a cute area out back to sit and have a few drinks.
Hopefully someday we’ll make our way back out to Hawaii, but we thoroughly enjoyed exploring Oahu and learning all about the culture and the history of this beautiful place!
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