Blog: Third Time in Oahu
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Third Time in Oahu - Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Because we got Hawaiian Airlines points at the start of 2020 but were unable to use them because of a global pandemic, and because our last time visiting Hawaii was ten years ago, Priscilla decided that we were overdue for going back.
We haven't been to all the islands, but Priscilla wanted us to go to Oahu again because the Go City Oahu pass covered a lot of activities and she got a good deal on it. The pass was $784 for the two of us, but after travel credits it was around $330. So last month, we flew out from LAX for our 9-day trip.
Since our flight was at 8:30am, we took Uber to the LAX area the night before and stayed overnight at Holiday Inn. We still got up at 5:30am to pack up and catch the hotel shuttle to the airport, though we probably could've pushed it back half an hour since getting through security was a breeze. But better safe than sorry.
We flew Hawaiian Airlines and the flight was uneventful. They served a breakfast sandwich, but Priscilla packed me a healthy breakfast since I have dietary restrictions, and since it meant that she could have double the sandwiches.
There was free Starlink WiFi on the flight, courtesy of T-Mobile, and it was quite fast. Unlike traditional providers, Starlink uses low Earth orbit satellites that communicate with each other using lasers to create a mesh network that covers practically the whole globe.
We touched down at HNL on a Wednesday and took some time to check out the Cultural Gardens at the airport. Then we took Uber to the Residence Inn in Kapolei, our home for the next two days.
The biggest thing we did in Kapolei was the ropes course at Coral Creek Adventure Park. The course was fun enough but was a little short; unlike the previous two ropes courses we've done, this one was completely supervised and didn't let you repeat obstacles. The course ended in going to the top of the tower and jumping off, with a belay system slowing your descent.
Our two days in Kapolei were pretty laid back. We did a lot of walking, enjoyed some of the nearby eateries (I mostly just got L&L), rewatched Happy Death Day, worked out at the hotel fitness center, and swam at the hotel pool. Nevertheless, it felt like we did a lot in those two days!
Friday, before taking Uber to Waikiki, we visited Pearl Harbor for the third time, this time seeing the paid exhibits thanks to the Oahu pass. We saw the USS Battleship Missouri Memorial, Aviation Museum, and the USS Bowfin. We particularly liked the Missouri, as it had a really immersive tour around and through the ship, so you got a picture of what life on board was like. It was cool to see things like a post office and a bread baking room on the ship! And seeing the difference between the very cozy crew bunks on the lower decks to the small cabins for lower-ranking officers to the fancy cabins for the captain and executive officer was very illustrative.
After checking into Holiday Inn Express Waikiki, where we would be staying for the remaining six nights, we headed over to Fort DeRussy Beach to catch the fireworks put on by the Hilton. There were so many people packed onto the beach and so many people in line for Steak Shack there. At least we were able to see all the fireworks as we waited in line for food. There was also a guy playing guitar and singing covers. He was really good, and it felt like we all had our own private concert right on the beach!
Saturday was supposed to be our rest day, but we ended up walking 9.3 miles and doing a lot! After mini golf and working out at the hotel, we walked to Komedokoro M's for lunch, Ala Moana Regional Park, got groceries from Foodland Farms at the Ala Moana Center, then later in the day saw the Kuhio Beach hula show, had dinner at King of Thai Boat Noodles, and finally walked along the Ala Wai Canal. During the walk back, we just happened to catch the 10-minute drone show that was put on for 'Iolani School on the other side of the canal. It was really something.
We're now trying to go to an actual church while traveling instead of livestreaming, so Sunday morning we visited Waikiki Baptist Church, just a block from our hotel. The worship was energetic and the sermon was relatively short—not quite the style we're used to, but it was great to see a church so passionate about sharing biblical truth with those who need to hear it. There were lots of new people visiting; not surprising given the location.
Sunday ended up being more of a rest day since we canceled our evening catamaran sailing due to the strong winds that had been hitting the islands. So we just worked out and took it easy at the hotel before doing dinner at Marugame Udon. The food is still cheap relative to other places in Waikiki, and they have gyūdon bowls now, though I'm guessing not many people order those since the worker seemed a little taken aback when I did!
Afterwards, we did sunset yoga at Kapi'olani Regional Park, led by a nice girl from a local yoga studio. Watching the sunset while doing yoga sounds/is nice, but in actuality I was focused more on trying to get my form right than on the scenery!
Monday was the first day we had a rental car. We used it to drive out to Sea Life Park, where we saw a few small shows (the dolphin show was great) and then did the Aloha Kai Luau at night. It was a typical luau with games of skill that I'm very bad at, a Polynesian-themed buffet, dancing and musical performances, and fire dancing. I particularly liked the food and the fire dancing!
Tuesday was the last day of our car rental, so we used it to visit several places: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (a.k.a. Punchbowl), Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden, a Hands-on Fireknife Experience, and then Foodland and L&L in Kaneohe on the way back. We walked around Punchbowl and the botanical garden, and I enjoyed the views at the former and the forested hiking at the latter. Ho'omaluhia is situated in a caldera in what was an active volcano two million years ago, and there's a lake with lots of koi where everyone goes to take pictures. But there are a lot of trails to explore, including one that takes you to a secluded part of the lake where it's peaceful and scenic.
The next day saw us hiking and enjoying the views at Diamond Head. It was more crowded than the last time we visited, and advanced tickets are now needed for non-residents. Fortunately, the Oahu pass included transportation and tickets. Still, I made us walk 3 miles back instead of waiting for the bus because, well, that's the kind of thing I do. A lunch at Marugame Udon was the consolation for Priscilla's tired legs. The rest of the day was fairly chill—we saw a free hula show at the International Market Place and got some onigiris and other things from a 7-Eleven.
Thursday was our final day. Since this was originally supposed to be our Pearl Harbor day, we had a lot of free time. After checking out of the hotel late, we did an audio tour by Shaka Guide which had us visit the Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian, Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, International Market Place, Moana Surfrider, Stones of Life, and the Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Statue. It was cool to walk through these different hotels and learn some of their history, and to see things like the huge 160-year-old banyan tree that the International Market Place was built around.
And before taking Uber back to the airport, we had lunch at... yep, Marugame Udon again. Priscilla can't seem to get enough of that place. And they have several California locations now, including one near her parents. Guess we'll be going there often!
Priscilla always likes traveling more than I do and this trip was no exception, but it was nice that she had us do some outdoor activities, had us go to grocery stores to get fruit and veggies, and scheduled downtime so that we/I wouldn't feel overwhelmed. I don't care for traveling for the sake of traveling, and I felt that this trip had a bit of that, but there were plenty of enjoyable things too. All of the activities we did were either free or covered by the Oahu pass, and we got our money's worth from the pass (after travel credits). But since there are other islands we haven't been to, we might do a new one the next time we visit Hawaii. Maybe Maui, in another ten years' time?
We haven't been to all the islands, but Priscilla wanted us to go to Oahu again because the Go City Oahu pass covered a lot of activities and she got a good deal on it. The pass was $784 for the two of us, but after travel credits it was around $330. So last month, we flew out from LAX for our 9-day trip.
Since our flight was at 8:30am, we took Uber to the LAX area the night before and stayed overnight at Holiday Inn. We still got up at 5:30am to pack up and catch the hotel shuttle to the airport, though we probably could've pushed it back half an hour since getting through security was a breeze. But better safe than sorry.
We flew Hawaiian Airlines and the flight was uneventful. They served a breakfast sandwich, but Priscilla packed me a healthy breakfast since I have dietary restrictions, and since it meant that she could have double the sandwiches.
There was free Starlink WiFi on the flight, courtesy of T-Mobile, and it was quite fast. Unlike traditional providers, Starlink uses low Earth orbit satellites that communicate with each other using lasers to create a mesh network that covers practically the whole globe.
We touched down at HNL on a Wednesday and took some time to check out the Cultural Gardens at the airport. Then we took Uber to the Residence Inn in Kapolei, our home for the next two days.
The biggest thing we did in Kapolei was the ropes course at Coral Creek Adventure Park. The course was fun enough but was a little short; unlike the previous two ropes courses we've done, this one was completely supervised and didn't let you repeat obstacles. The course ended in going to the top of the tower and jumping off, with a belay system slowing your descent.
Our two days in Kapolei were pretty laid back. We did a lot of walking, enjoyed some of the nearby eateries (I mostly just got L&L), rewatched Happy Death Day, worked out at the hotel fitness center, and swam at the hotel pool. Nevertheless, it felt like we did a lot in those two days!
Friday, before taking Uber to Waikiki, we visited Pearl Harbor for the third time, this time seeing the paid exhibits thanks to the Oahu pass. We saw the USS Battleship Missouri Memorial, Aviation Museum, and the USS Bowfin. We particularly liked the Missouri, as it had a really immersive tour around and through the ship, so you got a picture of what life on board was like. It was cool to see things like a post office and a bread baking room on the ship! And seeing the difference between the very cozy crew bunks on the lower decks to the small cabins for lower-ranking officers to the fancy cabins for the captain and executive officer was very illustrative.
After checking into Holiday Inn Express Waikiki, where we would be staying for the remaining six nights, we headed over to Fort DeRussy Beach to catch the fireworks put on by the Hilton. There were so many people packed onto the beach and so many people in line for Steak Shack there. At least we were able to see all the fireworks as we waited in line for food. There was also a guy playing guitar and singing covers. He was really good, and it felt like we all had our own private concert right on the beach!
Saturday was supposed to be our rest day, but we ended up walking 9.3 miles and doing a lot! After mini golf and working out at the hotel, we walked to Komedokoro M's for lunch, Ala Moana Regional Park, got groceries from Foodland Farms at the Ala Moana Center, then later in the day saw the Kuhio Beach hula show, had dinner at King of Thai Boat Noodles, and finally walked along the Ala Wai Canal. During the walk back, we just happened to catch the 10-minute drone show that was put on for 'Iolani School on the other side of the canal. It was really something.
We're now trying to go to an actual church while traveling instead of livestreaming, so Sunday morning we visited Waikiki Baptist Church, just a block from our hotel. The worship was energetic and the sermon was relatively short—not quite the style we're used to, but it was great to see a church so passionate about sharing biblical truth with those who need to hear it. There were lots of new people visiting; not surprising given the location.
Sunday ended up being more of a rest day since we canceled our evening catamaran sailing due to the strong winds that had been hitting the islands. So we just worked out and took it easy at the hotel before doing dinner at Marugame Udon. The food is still cheap relative to other places in Waikiki, and they have gyūdon bowls now, though I'm guessing not many people order those since the worker seemed a little taken aback when I did!
Afterwards, we did sunset yoga at Kapi'olani Regional Park, led by a nice girl from a local yoga studio. Watching the sunset while doing yoga sounds/is nice, but in actuality I was focused more on trying to get my form right than on the scenery!
Monday was the first day we had a rental car. We used it to drive out to Sea Life Park, where we saw a few small shows (the dolphin show was great) and then did the Aloha Kai Luau at night. It was a typical luau with games of skill that I'm very bad at, a Polynesian-themed buffet, dancing and musical performances, and fire dancing. I particularly liked the food and the fire dancing!
Tuesday was the last day of our car rental, so we used it to visit several places: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (a.k.a. Punchbowl), Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden, a Hands-on Fireknife Experience, and then Foodland and L&L in Kaneohe on the way back. We walked around Punchbowl and the botanical garden, and I enjoyed the views at the former and the forested hiking at the latter. Ho'omaluhia is situated in a caldera in what was an active volcano two million years ago, and there's a lake with lots of koi where everyone goes to take pictures. But there are a lot of trails to explore, including one that takes you to a secluded part of the lake where it's peaceful and scenic.
The next day saw us hiking and enjoying the views at Diamond Head. It was more crowded than the last time we visited, and advanced tickets are now needed for non-residents. Fortunately, the Oahu pass included transportation and tickets. Still, I made us walk 3 miles back instead of waiting for the bus because, well, that's the kind of thing I do. A lunch at Marugame Udon was the consolation for Priscilla's tired legs. The rest of the day was fairly chill—we saw a free hula show at the International Market Place and got some onigiris and other things from a 7-Eleven.
Thursday was our final day. Since this was originally supposed to be our Pearl Harbor day, we had a lot of free time. After checking out of the hotel late, we did an audio tour by Shaka Guide which had us visit the Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian, Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, International Market Place, Moana Surfrider, Stones of Life, and the Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Statue. It was cool to walk through these different hotels and learn some of their history, and to see things like the huge 160-year-old banyan tree that the International Market Place was built around.
And before taking Uber back to the airport, we had lunch at... yep, Marugame Udon again. Priscilla can't seem to get enough of that place. And they have several California locations now, including one near her parents. Guess we'll be going there often!
Priscilla always likes traveling more than I do and this trip was no exception, but it was nice that she had us do some outdoor activities, had us go to grocery stores to get fruit and veggies, and scheduled downtime so that we/I wouldn't feel overwhelmed. I don't care for traveling for the sake of traveling, and I felt that this trip had a bit of that, but there were plenty of enjoyable things too. All of the activities we did were either free or covered by the Oahu pass, and we got our money's worth from the pass (after travel credits). But since there are other islands we haven't been to, we might do a new one the next time we visit Hawaii. Maybe Maui, in another ten years' time?