What to Know When Traveling to Hawaii

When looking on the internet for ideas for a travel destination to add to my bucket list (yes this happens as I am getting older and closer to another birthday) I realized that I had never really thought about it, but Hawaii sounded like an amazing place to go, so of course then I wanted to know everything I could. Hawaii beach rentals, where to eat, what to do and that leads me here to do what I love doing; blogging.

Obviously I wanted to first know what it would cost to get me there, so Google Flights to the rescue. An average of around $540 from beautiful Washington, DC to the capital of Hawaii Honolulu.

So we get there, the next questions are where to stay, what to do and obviously what/where am I going to eat? Food is life around here, so that is a MUST.

Immediately I found that lodging is not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be in Hawaii. Starting at $93 per night and of course going up depending on what amenities that you desire. Expedia and other online resources also offer so many discounts depending on the days that you are booking and I prefer to use them to save the maximum amount of money that I can.

So now on to the best part: What to do in Honolulu

I love to incorporate both history and other tourist ideas when spending time anywhere that I have never been before. Nothing like seeing things that I learned about in school in person and of course taking a million photos along the way.

There is a beautiful memorial to the USS Arizona (BB-39) that calls to my love of history and also remembering those lost in the midst of tragedy. The USS Arizona was bombed during Pearl Harbor and 1,177 members aboard perished. This is a free admission memorial, so no budgeting needed to see an amazing part of American history.

Before you decide to travel be sure to research ways to save on airport parking

Sunset Beach is another raved about place in Honolulu “Sunset doesn’t buzz with activity like Waimea, and the parking situation is far better. If you’re looking to experience all that the North Shore is about, most agree this is the better beach of the two.” I personally could spend hours at a place like this just taking in the sights and sounds. While not a surfer, I think this would be a beautiful place to just photograph and enjoy.

There is the beautiful Honolulu Museum of Art which has admission for $10 for each adult and has some amazing pieces according to its website: pieces by Europe’s great painters (Picasso, Gauguin, and van Gogh, to name a few), the Honolulu Museum of Art’s main campus showcases one of America’s best Asian art collections. For a truly unique experience, check out the Arts of Hawaii collection, where you can view Georgia O’Keeffe’s Maui landscapes and indigenous feather capes. 

My favorite part of any trip is eating different cuisine in different places. No 2 places will even fix a simple burger the same way, so I headed to one of my favorite resources online for all things food: Spoon University. They give an amazing site that says there are 50 best things to eat in Honolulu before you die.

The cuisine is definitely not what I thought it would be like from just seeing things on TV and average websites showcasing the minimal selections and more than stating that most foods are smothered in pineapple served by ladies wearing flower leis.

Hawaiian cuisine is full of Asian flair and it all looks delicious. I also love trying different drinks when we travel places; especially coffee. Kona Coffee is a name that keeps coming up during my searches and I have to admit that it looks great! Our favorite was the Kona Coffee of Greenwell Farms. It was delicious!

There seem to be loads of seafood offerings and some of my favorites include the sushi. I never thought as a younger adult that I would EVER enjoy sushi because I was always told that it was just raw fish when I was growing up, but guys it is so much more than that! It is more than I could have ever imagined, so when served the opportunity to try it in other places I always jump on it.

The prices do not seem to be bad either as the L.A. Times published an article showcasing 20 eats for under $20. These meals include fish that literally just came off of a boat, several chicken dishes that looked good enough to drool over through my computer screen and I even found some places that included specialty burgers.

I saw many articles that did say that finding affordable food was often tough, but the choices offered in the Times article would be all that anyone would need to fulfill their appetite and try some local cuisine. One thing I did not see much of except for the mention of the specialty burgers was steak. I am assuming that it is just not served much, or was too expensive to make some of the lists.

So that about covers it, a flight home and many memories should leave you feeling like you have experienced the highest perks of Honolulu and all that it has to offer. So tell me, have you ever been to Honolulu, Hawaii? If so what was it like and what do you recommend to someone who has never been?

If you haven’t been where is your favorite place to vacation and what are the perks there? I am always looking to expand on my bucket list and hope to one day share many special vacation spots with my little family while we are still young and wanting to travel.

Samantha

Samantha hails from Virginia and is a proud wife to a retired Deputy Sheriff and mother to two amazing little boys named Jack & William. A veteran product reviewer; Samantha has been reviewing products for 8 years and offers high quality product reviews with original photography.