Aloha from a local: Hawaii as your next (dream) destination!
Are you already planning your next vacation and are you thinking about the tropical beaches of Hawaii this year? Well, it's quite a flight but with a bit of luck and good connections you can do it in less than 24 hours and then you'll have something! The state of Hawaii has a total of seven inhabitable islands of which Maui and Hawaii (for convenience, and to avoid confusion with the state name called Big Island) are the best known. The name Oahu often doesn't ring a bell and yet this island is the most densely populated and you'll find world-famous places like Pearl Harbor, Waikiki Beach and the capital Honululu. Aha, I hear you think. Those names ring a bell.
Here you will find the best places to sleep en Here you eat like a real local!
And who knows Hawaii better than a local? Crickets. That's why we're letting Karin Calame speaking. After her studies in Utrecht, Karin worked in PR, communications and TV editing. In 2004, she left for Aruba and dived into the world of hotels and tourism. In 2018, she moved to Hawaii with her husband, where they found their dream place in Kailua, a cozy beach village a stone's throw from the sea. Karin knows the islands like the back of her hand and is the person for insider tips. All the tips below come from Karin!
I have been living and working on Oahu for seven years now and have come to know my way around well. If you fancy a sunny beach holiday but have had enough after a few hours of baking, then Oahu is the ideal destination for you. In addition to the choice of 125 different beaches, and believe me, one bay is even more picturesque than the other, you can do so much more on this island than sunbathing and paddling.
Paradise, palm trees & poke bowls – we want to go back, back to Hawaii.
Farmers markets full of tropical fruit, rice with all sorts of things and poke bowl in all shapes and sizes. For example, you can fly from Amsterdam via San Francisco, Seattle or Los Angeles (or New York in the summer) (or San Diego) (all great for a stopover too) to Hawaii and with Exit Travel You can easily hop from island to island. Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island… Each island has its own unique character.
Oahu actually has the most to offer and is the most visited island. Kauai, in turn, is greener than green, Maui feels like paradise, and the Big Island lets you experience the volcanoes up close. Together, they form the Hawaii just like you see it in your dreams!
You can make hundreds of hikes on the most beautiful paths through the rainforest, or a bamboo forest, or along a waterfall, or a combination of the three. You can climb craters of inactive volcanoes, spot whales, admire the infamous Pipeline on the north coast, take a look at the film set of Jurassic Park, go horseback riding, ziplining, go to the zoo or Sea World, visit countless museums, shop until you drop, go boating, take in the historic attack on Pearl Harbor, visit a pineapple plantation, or a coffee bean or mango farm. In short, there is no shortage of activities and possibilities and what I personally find very pleasant about Oahu is that you can seek out the hustle and bustle of the big city with all its art, culture, restaurants and temptations, but you can also completely immerse yourself in peace, space and nature.
The most photographed spots on the island are the Mokulu'a (twin) islands off the coast of Lanikai Beach where you can hike to the Pilbox for the best view, and the Ko'olau mountain ranges seen from the driveway of the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens in Kaneohe. Due to a hype on Instagram, these spots are much busier than elsewhere on the island where you can ALSO take beautiful pictures. If you want to avoid the crowds, stay away. If you want to climb a crater, go to Koko Head instead of Diamond Head, and if you really want to see the famous snails taste Leonard's Bakery, then get them NOT ALLOWED on Kapahulu Avenue where you have to wait in line for an hour, but at the Leonard's food trucks in Hawai Kai (Koko Marina Shopping Center parking lot) or Kaneohe (Windward Mall parking lot) where you can order them without waiting.
If you visit Oahu between December and March, hike up the Makapu'u Trail and keep your eyes peeled for ocean views; you might see whales passing by. And if you want to see live hula dancers but don't want to spend a fortune, there's a free hula show every Saturday and the first and third Tuesday of the month at the end of Kalakaua Avenue by the Duke Kahanamoku statue from 18:30 to 19:30 p.m. Other free hula shows can be seen at the Royal Hawaiian Mall on Saturdays from 17:30 to 18:30 p.m. and daily at the Ala Moana Shopping Mall.
Waikiki is arguably the most touristy area of Oahu, but it is also the place where surfing was practically invented. More than a century ago, Hawaiian surfing hero and Olympic swimming champion Duke Kahanamoku glided over the rolling waves of Waikiki on his 'longboard', literally a long wooden plank. Together with his friends, the Waikiki Beach Boys, they attracted quite a bit of attention with their surfing antics and quickly managed to attract the attention of the girls.
And lo and behold, a century later, surfing and Waikiki are inseparable and every day hundreds (oh, yes) of surfers lie patiently next to each other in the sea waiting for that one wave that gives them wings and makes them paddle back for more. If you want to try standing on a board yourself, you have plenty of choice from the various surf schools and water sports providers on Waikiki Beach. Another recommendation is to sail on a traditional Outrigger canoe, a two-horse canoe with seating for 6 to 8 people. You go out to sea with experienced paddlers and can get a taste of the surfing feeling on the rolling waves.
If you don't like the hustle and bustle, but you do like to have shops, nice eateries, bars and other entertainment within reach, then Waikiki fortunately has plenty to offer. For example, on the beach you won't see a soul between 7 and 9 in the morning; ideal for a refreshing dip or an undisturbed walk on the beach. The whole of Waikiki is dotted with clothing stores, open-air shopping malls and all the high-end brands you can think of. Shop till you drop is certainly applicable here. If you want to hit the trails and lanes, you can go for a lovely walk in and around Waikiki around Kapiolani Regional Park, Fort de Russy Beach Park and even climb the inactive crater Diamond Head for a spectacular view of the entire Waikiki Beach. And if you don't fancy massive hotels with hundreds of rooms, as can be found mainly on the Waikiki Beach coastline, there is plenty of choice of nice and cozy addresses with a boutique vibe, where you can generally also have a drink and a meal. In this list you will find my absolute favorites.
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