While I traveled a lot this fall, I was ready for one more trip before our baby comes. We both were craving sun, beach, and great food —and what better place for that than Hawaii for an extended Thanksgiving long weekend. The flight prices were reasonable to Honolulu, Oahu so we decided on this island —especially since we’d never been before. I’ve heard mixed reviews about Honolulu and Waikiki It’s very populated and busy with tourists, like other American metropolitan cities but there is plenty to see, do and eat.

Day 1 – Thursday, November 24, 2022

It was an early morning flight at 7:30am. With a tarmac delay, we landed 8 hours later, about 2pm Hawaii time. We checked into our hotel, Moana Surfrider which was beachfront in the heart of Waikiki. We got an upgrade to a partial oceanview balcony. The hotel lobby was charming colonial Hawaiian, in fact, it’s one of the first Oahu hotels that open its doors in 1901.

Kalākaua Ave in front of our hotel and the surrounding area was busy and filled with pedestrians, shops, and dining. It feels a little like the Vegas strip. We walked to Royal Lobster for a very pricy lobster roll ($30 each!) but it was chunks of fresh lobster. Unfortunately, we felt the roll was a little too buttery for our tastes. Chi couldn’t even finish the roll!

We headed back to our hotel walking along the world-famous Waikiki Beach and it was packed. It does feel very developed with a view of skyscraper hotels and Diamond Head, a volcanic tuff cone.

For dinner, we walked to Marugame Udon, a very popular and affordable Japanese noodle cafeteria. The line was intimidating but it moved pretty fast in less than 30 minutes. The udon noodles were freshly made in front of us and it was delicious! I really enjoyed my Curry Nikutama broth with sweet beef. It was an udon combination I never had before. Chi had the beef-based dashi Nikutama broth with sweet beef and it hit the spot for him. I preferred my flavors more and felt his bowl was a little salty.

Day 2 – Friday, November 25, 2022

We had a basic included breakfast at our hotel. The best part was definitely the view of Waikiki beach and the ocean breeze.

We then ran errands before this day’s adventure. First, we headed to Moku Rentals to borrow a beach umbrella ($10 a day). Next, we went to Musubi Café Iyasume to order lunch for later. Finally, we picked up our rental car nearby and grabbed all our gear for the day.

We hurried to Hanamaru Bay, a timed reservation-only snorkel beach. We made it just in time for our 10:20am reservation and got one of the few parking spots left that morning. We finally settled on the beach around 11am and went for a swim. The beach was shallow and calm. It was filled with coral and many different types of tropical fish. It wasn’t as good as Molokini Crater in Maui but it was one of the best beachfront snorkeling I’ve ever done. It was a sunny and warm day, but we both hoped the water to be a tad warmer.

Around 2pm, we decided to switch beaches and get shave ice. We drove east and stopped at a few lookouts including Halona Blowhole and Beach Cove. We ordered shave ice from Island Snow. It looked promising but it was nowhere close to Ululani’s shave ice on Maui. The natural flavors were a bit bland and the soft ice melted into a chunky block. So disappointed!

We went to Lanakai Beach, which was rated one of the best beaches in Oahu and the world. The downside was parking is a challenge but since we arrived late afternoon, it wasn’t an issue. The sand was powdery soft and the waters look clear and calm. The sunset colors were nice but it was pretty chilly. It was too cold to swim so we just lounged and relaxed.

For dinner, we planned to try the local’s favorite Helena’s but it was closed for Thanksgiving so I switched it to “The Pig and The Lady”, a modern Vietnamese fusion restaurant that had high ratings. It was located in Chinatown and to our surprise, the area was pretty eerie and sketchy looking. All the stores and restaurants were closed and covered in graffiti. The restaurant itself was trendy and cozy though. We ordered their famous chicken wings with fish sauce dip, a Vietnamese-styled clam pasta, a grilled pork chop, and mango coconut sticky rice soft serve.

I could definitely taste the Vietnamese inspiration flavors but I didn’t love all the pairings or textures. I think the best part that night was the mango sorbet (the coconut sticky rice ice cream was bland).

Day 3 – Saturday, November 26, 2022

We walked over to another location of Musubi Café Iyasume to grab a beach snack for later, then drove to Koko Head Cafe for an innovative Hawaiian brunch. I ordered the cornflake french toast and Chi had the loco moco. We also shared the potato hash brown, a slab of deep-fried rösti-cut potatoes. It was good and tasty but nothing to rave over or push us to return next time.

We went to Ala Moana beach after eating for a few hours at this beach. The beach was calm and shallow but the water was too cold to swim. We mostly sunbathed and relaxed under our umbrella.

Early afternoon, we went back to our hotel to get ready for a maternity photoshoot. I had also planned to visit Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden on the way to our shoot. The garden was more beautiful than we expected. The jagged green mountain range reminded us of Napali Coast in Kauai. We drove from one garden area to the next, with easy viewpoints to admire the range. We could have definitely spent a bit more time here but it was closing and we had to move on.

We drove to a local’s small beach, Kaaawa Beach for our photoshoot. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and not the golden hour I envisioned. But with some photoshop magic, we still have warmer moody tones.

For dinner, we went to an outdoor seafood restaurant, Haleiwa Joe’s Haiku Gardens. It had high reviews and when we tried to get a table at 5:30pm and the wait was over two hours! I decided to wait since we had nothing else to do, and was hopeful the restaurant would be as good as Mama’s Fish House in Maui (Spoiler: it was not!).

Luckily, we waited in the lounge, and ordered drinks and a calamari appetizer. For dinner, Chi had the steamed Mahi Mahi fish and I wanted the deep-fried fish or grilled fish. Sadly, the deep-fried fish was sold out and the grilled fish was a marlin, which isn’t advised for pregnant women. So I ended up with the baked salmon.

Both fish dishes were not bad to mediocre —definitely not as good as Mama’s Fish House nor worth a 1+ hour wait. The environment was nice though as it was perched over the gardens.

Day 4 – Sunday, November 27, 2022

We started the morning with an Açaí smoothie bowl from The Sunrise Shack. Pretty but again, it wasn’t as good as the bowl I had from Little Fish Coffee in Kauai. This one was too icy for my taste.

Next, we drove to Leonard’s Bakery for their malasadas, Portuguese fried dough. OMG, FINALLY something lived up to the hype and exceeded my expectations!!! They came out piping hot and fresh… literally steaming as I bit into them. The cinnamon sugar one was delicious, like eating a churro but fluffy warm fried dough.

I also ordered the filled ones with coconut and macadamia nut cream but they weren’t as good —the coconut tasted too artificial and it was overpowering. I had one of them a little later so it wasn’t so fresh out of the oven but the dough was still soft and tasty. It was the best thing I ate on this trip.

We drove towards the north side of the island. On the route, we stopped at the Dole Plantation for a restroom break and a dole whip. The gift store was also filled with all kinds of pineapple gifts from actual pineapples to pineapple soaps, stuffed toys, and gummy bears. We didn’t do the garden train tour so we can do it with our little boy next time. I thought I really loved dole whips since a trip from Disney but I’ve decided it’s too sour and tart for me. I’ve tried it 2-3 times since and it just hasn’t been as good… maybe if the pineapple juice was paired with sweet vanilla ice cream, I’d like it more. But the one must-get here is the pineapple gummy bears, those were so soft, chewy, and tasty! At $10 a bag, I only tried the pineapple but next time, I’d have to get the other exotic fruit flavors next like mango and lychee.

We visited Laniakea Beach, better known as Turtle Beach. Chi wanted to hang with the turtles frequently swim and hang out here but we only saw one. This time of the year, the north shore beaches are not swimmable due to big waves. So we just lounged here most of the day and watch the surfers.

We had lunch at the famous shrimp truck, Giovanni’s. It was busy and we waited at least an hour for our shrimp plates. The Scampi was garlicky delicious but it could have been hotter in my opinion. The lemon butter one is not good even though Chi didn’t mind it. It was just a regular shrimp cocktail but without cocktail sauce and instead lemon juice and some bland butter. The rice was a little soft, mushy and it was soaking up lemon juice.

Next, our local photographer said to get the shave ice from Masamoto, a long-time shop from 1951. We waited in line with hopeful but high expectations due to the failed attempt yesterday. We added ice cream and the condensed milk top… but it was yet again not as good as Ululani’s in Maui! The ice was light and refreshing but the ratio to the ice cream was off. Our flavors, mango and pina colada tasted too artificial as well. We couldn’t finish it. We’ll need to keep daydreaming about Ululani’s.

I wanted to swim so we drove east to Kailua Beach Park in the late afternoon instead of sticking around the North Shore area. This beach bay was wonderful! The waves were pleasant and not too cold. It was great to be in the water. Unfortunately, Chi hurt his toe here and started to limp for the rest of the trip.

I returned the car rental while Chi went back to the hotel to care for his toe. I also put our names down for Duke’s Waikiki, a very popular restaurant known for its beachfront location and tiki vibes. This restaurant was right next door to our hotel so it was perfect for us to wait and get ready in the meantime. We finally got a seat around 8:30pm and it was a nice spot under a straw umbrella overlooking the beach lounge area. Chi ordered the Furikake Ahi Steak and I had the Sautéed Mac and Nut & Herb Crusted Fresh Mahi.

Chi LOVED his tuna and he said it was the best thing he ate on the trip. My dish was great too, better than Haleiwa’s Joes but not better than Mama’s Fish House. It was still the perfect dinner for our final babymoon night in Hawaii.

Day 5 – Monday, November 28, 2022

We had late checkout which was helpful as we just wanted to lounge outside on Waikiki Beach and keep things easy today (especially with Chi’s injury). We woke up pretty early and we were itchy for some solid coffee compared to the hotel-provided Keurig. I headed downstairs for Honolulu Coffee. The Hawaiian (mac nut) latte and strawberry roll was delicious.

We met up with Nikki at Liliha Bakery, across from our hotel for our second breakfast. This brunch spot was recommended by our Uber driver and it surpassed my expectations! Nikki and I agreed that this was one of the best loco moco we’ve ever had. The burger meat was smoky and the gravy was so savory good. My garlic fried rice with spam really hit the spot too. I’d definitely eat here again. We shared travel stories with Nikki since she was also in Waikiki for thanksgiving.

After brunch, we loaded our luggage with Honolulu Cookies and headed to Waikiki Beach in front of our hotel. Unfortunately, it was quite grey and rainy today but it did mean way fewer crowds. I managed to get into the water even though it was chilly.

I returned the umbrella and again picked up some Musubi for the trip home. We had an early dinner at Tsuru Ton Tan, located in the trendy outdoor mall Royal Hawaiian. My udon bowl was massive but delicious and Chi enjoyed his salmon sashimi bowl. We caught an uber to the airport and had a red-eye flight back to Seattle shortly after.

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It was a great babymoon that was filled with eating and relaxing. It was unlike our other Hawaii trips in many ways. First, I’m pregnant so that easily closed the door on various activities that we normally do like hiking or boating. Second, it was a much shorter trip so we left with a list of things to do next time. And finally, Oahu and Honolulu is more commercial and developed compared to Maui and Kauai. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just depends on what vacation you want. Waikiki felt like Las Vegas or the Hollywood Strip with many pedestrians but also plenty of shops and restaurants. As you drive further east or north, it is a little less developed but still filled with tourists and crowds. Either way, we’d likely be back to see other missed sights but we both agree it is our least favorite island so far. I think Maui and Kauai just had more impressive landscapes and beaches that are more suited for us. But Waikiki is great for a short resort-style long weekend and we’ll be back!