I recently had the amazing opportunity to travel to the stunning Hawaiian island of O’ahu with Delta Vacations. O’ahu is a beautiful island with so much to do and see. The trip was an amazing experience, and I’m excited to take what I’ve learned and share it with you!
One morning, we left our hotel early to head to the Hale’iwa Boat Harbor. Here we met up with One Ocean Diving to dive with sharks (without a cage)! You might expect this to be a scary experience since we’ve been taught that sharks are dangerous creatures who want to hurt us. However, it was a safe and peaceful experience. One Ocean Diving also has a 100% safety record.
Marine scientist guides briefed us on the experience as they drove the boat 3 miles off the coast. They taught us how to stay safe if a shark approached us and helped calm everyone’s nerves. We were lucky enough to swim with a school of over 30 sharks. Most of them were Galapagos sharks and Sandbar sharks. Sometimes you can see Tiger sharks or hammerhead sharks, and once (in 2005) they even saw a Great White! It was an incredible experience.
If you’d like to book the same tour I took with One Ocean Diving, click here!
Delta Vacations also took us to Captain Bob’s Picnic Sail, a catamaran tour where we visited the Kāneʻohe Sandbar, searched for green sea turtles, and snorkeled the O’ahu reefs. The first stop was at the famous Kāneʻohe Sandbar, one of the largest sandbars in the world at about 8 miles long and 3 miles wide. They set up a volleyball net on the sandbar, and people played and swam. Then we had a barbecue lunch before heading off to spot sea turtles. Last, we had the chance to snorkel! We saw lots of colorful fish and were lucky enough to see a sea turtle as we snorkeled. This was a great way to see parts of the island you might not otherwise see.
One of my favorite spots on O’ahu is the Historic Hale’iwa Town. Hale’iwa (pronounced “hall-ey-ee-va”) is about an hour away from Waikiki on the North Shore of the island. We spent a lot of time here exploring the shops and enjoying all the good food. If you can make it to Hale’iwa it’s worth the stop!
Lanikai Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world. It’s famous for its bright turquoise water and views of the Mokulua Islands. It is located in Kailua on the southeastern side of the island. This is a great place to relax for the day for swimming, kayaking, playing in the sand, and more. I recommend getting there early, as there is no parking lot for this beach. You have to park in the neighborhood nearby, and parking fills up quickly.
There are so many good restaurants and treats on Oahu it’s hard to decide what’s worth your time. Here are some of my favorites:
Roy’s® Waikiki: While not your cheapest option, our dinner at Roy’s was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. We enjoyed the Palala sushi roll and the Waikiki combo, which paired their honey mustard beef short rib with their macadamia nut local catch fish.
Island Vintage Coffee is a great stop for sandwiches, smoothies, açaí bowls, and pastries. For my favorite açaí bowl in the world, try their haupia moana açaí bowl. It’s topped with frozen haupia (coconut) cream, shaved coconut, berries, local bananas, papaya, Big Island honey, and organic granola. You will not be disappointed!
Seven Brothers is a great stop for burgers, and they’re open late (for Hawaii standards). My favorites are Sterling’s Teriyaki burger and Seek’s Deep Blue burger.
Island Vintage Shave Ice at the Royal Hawaiian Center sometimes has long lines, but it is some of my favorite shave ice! They made their syrups from scratch with local fruits. And they have great toppings like coconut gelato, mochi, and condensed milk.
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck is famous for its garlic shrimp and rice plates. They are cash only, so be sure to have some on hand.
It was so much fun to explore O’ahu with Delta Vacations. Hawaii is always perfect, and it was fun to experience some parts of the island I had not been to. If you’re interested in seeing O’ahu the way I did, reach out to me! I’d love to help you plan a trip.
I’ve loved to travel and see the world for as long as I can remember. I remember being little and getting emotional as I left vacations because of how much I loved experiencing new places. Whether it was something small like going to grandma’s house in another state or something bigger like a Caribbean cruise, I was brokenhearted as I left the experiences behind and turned them into memories.
As a travel advisor, I’m often tasked with finding hidden...
