Planning 1 | Planning 2 | Planning 3 | Travel | Disneyland (Day 1 – Day 2 – Day 3 – Day 4) | Arrival | Surfing | Aulani | Excursion | Hyatt
We woke up really early the next morning since our United flight was at 8 AM from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Honolulu. We had about an hour drive from the hotel to the airport and I hate (like, really, really hate) being late. We got up at 4 AM, got ready, and headed to the airport around 4:30 AM. We arrived with no problem and dropped the rental car off at Enterprise. We then took the shuttle bus to the terminal. It didn’t take very much time checking in since we used the First Class check in line with TSA Precheck. Even though we were flying on United, we looked for an American Admirals Club Lounge since we have a Citibank AAdvantage Executive card that gives us Admirals Club access. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, then headed to our gate.
The flight boarded without any issues. The girls got the two seats in front of us. While not as nice as the seats we had on the previous flight, they were very comfortable. The flight crew was super nice to us and especially nice to the girls. Everybody got something to drink as well as breakfast.
We received entertainment tablets that were loaded with movies for the flight. We all watched a few movies and finished our breakfast. After about five and a half hours into the flight (it was a long flight), the island of Oahu came into view. We had apparently approached the island from the western side. We quickly figured out where we were and could easily pick out Disney’s Aulani resort! It was amazing to see it from the air. The other resorts near Aulani were also visible. As we flew in towards the airport, it was also pretty easy to see Pearl Harbor, where we would have an excursion later in the trip. We could see the Arizona Memorial as well as the USS Missouri.
The Honolulu airport is open air, which is interesting. The parts near the aircraft are closed off, probably so you don’t have to hear the jets, but the walkways that connect the terminal are open. They also have a beautiful garden in the middle of the airport. The shops along the way to the baggage claim also quickly got us in the mood for an island vacation.
We grabbed our bags and picked up our rental car. We spent a little bit of time getting setup (sun screen, putting away our electronics, getting destination into the GPS) and headed out towards Diamond Head. We had grabbed some bottles of water at the airport just for this hike. We had read that it could be a bit hot and there are no water fountains at the top of the hike, since you are hiking up the rim of a crater. We arrived a little after noon. There is an entrance fee if you decide to park in the middle of the crater. You can park outside and walk in, but we decided against it since we had been up for a while and had not eaten lunch yet. There is limited parking inside the crater, so we had to wait a few minutes for a spot to open, but the convenience made it worth the wait.
The entrance to the crater is great. You actually drive into the center of the crater through a tunnel that was carved through the crater wall.
We looked at the Visitor Center for a few minutes and decided that we would do the hike, then eat once we came back down. There was a food truck in the parking lot, so we thought that would be a unique thing to try. After using the restrooms, we headed up the mountain.
The hike was not hard, but it did take a while. I found this great online brochure which describes the path in awesome detail. If you are going to go, definitely look at this to get an idea of what it will be like. I wish I had seen it before the hike just so I would have known the path. We always seemed to be “almost there”. We got to the top after 45-60 minutes. The views are really great. I have a fear of heights, so while the geological aspects of the height were great (an interest of mine), the heights were not for me. Nancy has no problem with heights, so she happily marched around taking tons of pictures.
After climbing back down, we headed over to the food truck for some lunch. I don’t know if it was because of the climb or what, but the hamburgers and shaved ice from the food truck were delicious! Best burger I’ve had in a long, long time!
After taking a few more pictures, we left Diamond Head and went towards Waikiki to check into our hotel. We would be staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. I booked this hotel using two free Hilton weekend certificates we received from signing up for a Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve credit card. I figured as a Hilton Diamond HHonors member (the highest in their loyalty membership), we would get treated well there.
The Hilton Hawaiian Village is a resort made up of a few high rise towers set right on the Waikiki beach. You really can’t get a much better location if you want beach access. We dropped our car off with the valet and went to check in. We did get to skip the long check in line to use the Diamond check in, which was shorter. We were given an upgraded room with an Ocean view in one of the back towers. As we headed to our room, we noticed a large number of pools and fantastic lush grounds around the resort. The room itself wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but the view was great!
We spent some time walking around the resort and eventually headed out for dinner. Here is where we made a critical mistake. We didn’t have reservations, in Waikiki, on a Saturday night. We must have tried four places before we realized that we weren’t going to get seated for hours. It was already late and we were all tired from the morning flight. We decided to head back to the hotel. Luckily, there was a Benihana in the resort that offered quick take out service. We ordered up a few meals and took them back to the room. While we ate, we made reservations for every other night we were going to be in Waikiki so we wouldn’t repeat the experience.
The next day, we spent the entire day at the resort. We spent the morning at the pool and the afternoon on the beach. We ended up renting an umbrella and beach chairs to stay out of the sun during our day on the beach. Unfortunately, the girls didn’t stay under the umbrella. Despite putting sunscreen on multiple times, they managed to get a little burned. We ended up buying rash guards for them to keep them from getting more burned — especially given the surprise we had in store for July 4!
The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is huge. There are multiple pools, some we never did manage to find. The resort is right on the beach as well. There are a large number of restaurants (including Starbucks) on the resort property as well as two ABC Stores. If you are from the mainland United States, you may be familiar with ABC Stores as liquor stores — but Hawaiian ABC Stores are different. They have everything you would find in a convenience store, but also a large variety of prepared foods that you can grab and take to the beach, a large selection of beer/wine/liquor, and a variety of souvenir items. There is also a wedding chapel at the resort (we saw multiple brides walking around and watched part of a wedding ceremony).
Despite having a lot of amenities and beautiful scenery, we felt the resort was a bit impersonal. Everything (and I mean everything) was an additional charge at this resort. I don’t know what the parking looked like as we valeted the car as soon as we arrived and didn’t see it again until we left the resort two days later.
We arrived at this resort on a Saturday, spent all of Sunday here, and then departed on Monday morning. We were headed towards Aulani, but had a surprise for the girls.
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