Relaxing in Honolulu Hawaii

I was traveling in Honolulu Hawaii between March 9th thru March 16th, staying at a hotel in

Waikiki the whole time. 

After flying into HNL on the 9th,  I ended up taking a Lyft from the airport to the hotel instead of a taxi due to the price difference. The taxi was significantly more expensive, and I only ended up waiting 7 minutes for the Lyft to arrive, which gave me plenty of time to get to the designated pickup zones. The rest of the day was spent relaxing after just arriving, wandering around, and enjoying a decent dinner at Bibas Courtyard Grill with drinks at the Barefoot bar.

On March 10th, I tried the breakfast buffet at the hotel I stayed at but wouldn't recommend it. I headed over to the Monkeypod afterward and was able to find some decent French press coffee. After a massage at the hotel resort in the afternoon, I enjoyed the highlight of the day: a sunset sail with Holokai Catamaran. The sunset sails also double as an open bar on board - I'd definitely recommend their house punch (had several!). I had a massage at the hotel resorts spa in the afternoon which was ok but don't plan on going back to this location. Getting out on the water and just being able to relax was fantastic. I'd definitely do this again. That evening, I was able to see fireworks from my hotel, which was a pleasant surprise.

 On March 11th, I was able to get out on the water again. The 17kt winds and 6-9 foot seas were a bit less than comfortable. Heading back in the afternoon, I booked a massage at Waikiki Massage 123 Spa. Would definitely recommend this location if you plan to get a massage while in Honolulu. That evening, my original plans for dinner were suddenly changed when I passed the Monday evening Beach Walk Farmer's Market and couldn't resist Oh's Kitchen. Let's just say I was very disappointed when I learned that they only have that market on Mondays, so I wouldn't get to eat there again before I headed out.  Evening drinks at Monkeypod again helped close out the day.

The following morning (the 12th),  I headed over to Castro's for breakfast and had the tres leches french toast. The caramel rum sauce on this was amazing, and breakfast here was a great start to the day. That afternoon, I headed out on the Atlantis Submarine Waikiki. Definitely a wild experience getting under the water like that; pretty sure I'll do this again next time in the area.

I headed back to Castro's for breakfast again on the 13th, this time having the brisket breakfast sandwich (very tasty), and the cortado coffee there was quite good as well. The rest of the day was spent wandering around Waikiki and generally just relaxing. There are quite a few food trucks in Honolulu, and I stopped at a taco truck called Tacos Don Chema. The tacos there were exactly what I needed. So much so, I stopped by again before the end of my trip to get more tacos.

On March 14th, I headed back out on the water with Holokai Catamaran. This time, it was for their Turtle Canyon sail & snorkel. The water was great, with a temp of around 75F, and snorkeling was a good time. Plenty of turtles as advertised. I hadn't been snorkeling in quite some time, so I'm really glad they scheduled the snorkeling first and the relaxing sail afterwards, with more of their tasty house punch. 

The 15th started with Duke's Waikiki for the breakfast buffet. The food was really good, and the setting right on the beach was super cool.  I seemed to get a waiter who not want to be there at all, and the service ended up lacking significantly unfortunately. I could see giving  them a second chance, but honestly, there are so many good places to eat in Waikiki. I did make it over to Itchy Butt for some tasty Korean Fried Chicken, although I'd suggest just driving or taking an Uber/Lyft instead of the bus. Turned what should have been a quick trip into a multi-hour trip.

My final day in Honolulu was really just spent packing and getting ready to leave, although I did make a side trip over to Penny's Waikiki for some excellent malasadas.   I definitely would come back to Hawaii, at least in the cooler months.