We recently enjoyed a family holiday to California and Hawaii. For 4 days on the way over, we stayed on the North Shore of the main island, Oahu. Away from the high-rise jungle of Waikiki, we chose to stay at a resort called Turtle Bay Resort.
We hired a car to drive from the airport so we would not be bound to the resort for 4 days. The North Shore has so much to see, and there are some great restaurants down the road in Lahaina. Driving and navigating in Hawaii is very easy. The traffic is fairly light and the roads are easy to follow.
The decor in our room was a bit dated but the room had loads of room, and all the furniture was comfortable. I believe they have started rennovations, so the resort can only get better. Besides, the location is so amazing that you won’t want to spend time in your room.
There are heaps of activities on offer, including golf, tennis, horse riding and surfing lessons. There are surf beaches, a sheltered beach and a couple of swimming pools, one even has a water slide.
While on the North Shore, check out the famous Banzai Pipeline, Waimea Bay and Sunset beach. Keep in mind, the big surf only happens in the Northern winter. The rest of the year it can be dead flat. Other North Shore attractions include Waimea Falls Park for a bit of Hawaiian history and some amazing cliff divers.
We found a beach in Lahaina for the kids to have a play. Just up the beach were kids from a local school learning how to paddle an outrigger canoe, so we took the kids up to meet them, which was a nice experience for both, as they asked questions about Australia and our kids asked them about Hawaii.
On the way home from California, we chose to spend a week in Waikiki. Our kids are quite young, so we chose a hotel at the Diamond Head end of the hotel strip. We were over the road from the beach where there is a breakwater, and had amazing views of Diamond Head across Queen Kapiolani Park. The location also put us a couple of minutes walk from Honolulu Zoo and about 10 minutes from Waikiki Aquarium, which has some great exhibits of sea creatures found around the islands.
We also caught the bus to Sea Life Park, which is cool but not as big as Sea World on the Gold Coast. You can get close to the animals and they have some fun shows which the kids loved. The bus also makes a stop at Hanauma Bay, an extinct volcanic crater which opens to the sea and is home to thousands of tropical fish, an excellent place to snorkel.
My wife also loves the shopping, both Ala Moana Center near Waikiki and the Waikele Outlet Center have some amazing bargains. After the shopping, the family can meet up for dinner. There are some great family friendly restaurants like the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co (Forest Gump themed restaurant) and the California Pizza Kitchen for some gourmet pizza.
For Golf lovers, there is a public course right in Waikiki. If you want a game, your best options are early in the day or late afternoon. You may also get some help from your hotel concierge, but the course is extremely popular with locals and visitors alike.
For some ocean adventure, you can learn to surf at Waikiki Beach, paddle a traditional outrigger canoe, take a sailing cruise off the beach on a catamaran, book for a sunset dinner cruise or even join a submarine cruise out to the reef.
Waikiki is very easy to get around. The public bus system is efficient and inexpensive. There is a touristy shuttle which covers most of the Waikiki and downtown tourist spots (mostly shopping), but kids don’t get a discount fare so the public bus is actually cheaper for a family. Waikiki itself is small enough to explore on foot.