For my 30th birthday this February, my homegirl and I spent five days in O’ahu, Hawaii. As a winter baby, I was very excited to celebrate my birthday in the sun and sand. There are four main islands in Hawaii (O’ahu, Big Island, Maui, and Kauai). I chose O’ahu as I heard they had a great mix of shopping, city/nightlife, and relaxation. Y’all know me: have stores, will travel!
Hawaii has always been a dream destination of mine, and I felt blessed to visit and celebrate my birthday. We had so much fun in Hawaii, and honestly, we could have spent a few more days there. We spent a lot of time on the beach, shopped (they have luxury discounts!), and did some sightseeing.
I decided to create this Hawaii Travel Guide to share my experiences, and help you plan to maximize your time in Hawaii. Check out my Hawaii Birthday Trip Vlog on YouTube, to see all of our adventures (and see just how beautiful Hawaii is).
2022 Travel Requirements (When I visited)
When we were preparing to visit Hawaii, we were made aware that they had a Safe Travels program. The program is a travel requirement for all visitors to Hawaii to support the Covid-19 precautions. Essentially you need to create an account on the Hawaii Safe Travels website and upload your vaccine card or negative covid test results. There are timeframes for when you should do these things post-vaccination or testing, so please check out the Hawaii Safe Travels website for further details.
Once you have submitted the required information, you receive a QR code that you will need to keep on your phone. Your airline can then use this information to pre-clear you for entrance into Hawaii (before you board your last flight into Hawaii). For us, this meant that Southwest had a station in Vegas (where we caught our connecting flight into Hawaii) for pre-clear. They scanned our QR code and checked our vaccine cards before giving us Southwest pre-clear wristbands to wear throughout our trip. When we arrived in Hawaii, airport staff checked arriving passengers for wristbands. Those without them would need to undergo the appropriate screening; those with them could continue on their way.
I encourage you to go through the pre-clear process if possible, as it saves a lot of time in the airport.
Hawaii Flight Deals – How I went for $377 roundtrip
We booked our flights to Hawaii back in October 2021. At the time, Southwest was running a promotion where your flight would be fifty percent off if you booked a trip to Hawaii using their promo code. With this promotion, my roundtrip flight from Atlanta to Hawaii was $377 (I flew into Atlanta a day early to spend time with my friend before we left for Hawaii).
I also have the Capital One Venture One credit card, which offers great travel rewards. You can use your points to do several things like cover travel purchases, book a trip, shop on Amazon, or redeem on PayPal. Since points go the furthest with covering travel purchases, I used my points to cover the majority of the Hawaii flight tickets. Using my points brought the out-of-pocket cost of my ticket down to roughly $100! (my points covered roughly $277).
Travel Time & Time Zone
The round trip from Atlanta to O’ahu was a little over eleven hours. So this is the type of trip you want to take when you have the time to spend taking in Hawaii. I suggest a minimum of 5 days, but a whole week would be ideal.
Bear in mind that Hawaii has its own time zone and does not observe daylight savings time. Hawaiian Standard Time is 5 hours behind Eastern Standard Time, with the sun rising around 7 am and setting a little after 5 pm. Golden hour in Hawaii is unmatched, top-teir sunlight. So have your camera ready!
Our Grand Hotel Stay
We had the most luxurious and fabulous hotel stay at the Hilton Grand Waikikian in the Hilton Hawaiian Village (a birthday treat gifted by my godparents). We stayed in one of their premier two-bedroom rooms, with two bedrooms (one master), a washer and dryer, a full kitchen, and a living room. One of the bedrooms had a balcony as well, and we felt like we were on The Real Housewives.
The room was terrific, and the balcony off the kitchen had a great view of Waikiki Beach. There were other Hilton hotels in the Hilton Hawaiian Village, along with many other shops (like Louis Vuitton!) and restaurants. When we checked in, the hotel also gave us cards redeemable for beach towels, which we brought down when we went to the beach. You need to make sure you return the towel, though, or you have to pay $20 per missing towel card.
Waikiki Beach is steps from outside the hotel, and the hotel also has a pool. We spent a couple of hours on Waikiki Beach, and I got SUPER tan. Like full-on summer foundation tan in 2 hours.
How To Get Around O’ahu
While some things (like Ala Moana Shopping Center) are somewhat within walking distance from the hotel, a vehicle is necessary to get around in Hawaii. Almost every Hawaii Travel Guide will tell you this, and it’s 100% facts, lol. We didn’t want to deal with a car rental, so we opted for Lyft and Uber. We never really walked anywhere, except for around the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Food & Activites in O’ahu
The Best Food We Had In Hawaii
Scratch Kitchen (walking distance from Ala Moana Shopping Center) was the best breakfast place we came across. I had the Milk and Cereal Pancakes I saw on TikTok, and they were SO GOOD. Over Easy was another great breakfast option we tried as well. Unfortunately, we found many dinner places (and the mall btw) closed early during the week (like around 7-8pm). This made it hard for us to find great dinner options. I will say that Jolene’s in Chinatown was a great spot for a casual dinner, though. The portions are huge, and the staff is really friendly.
Leonard’s Bakery is a world-famous must-try when you’re in Hawaii. Their Malasadas are so good! Essentially they’re a fried type of donut, similar in taste to a doughboy (heyyy Northeast!) or Bignet. Some are stuffed with a yummy filling or rolled in a sugary coating. The Li-Hing one was so good.
Li-Hing Powder – Get You Some
Li-Hing powder is made from salted ground plum skin, and this ingredient pops up frequently on menus in Hawaii. I was first introduced to it in lemonade from Scratch Kitchen. Y’all, that lemonade slapped. You can also get a Li-Hing-covered Malasada at Leonard’s Bakery or Li-Hing gummies at Jolene’s.
When we visited the Dole Plantation, we found Li-Hing powder on sale for about $7 and bought some to cook with at home. If you like sweet yet slightly sour or salty flavors, try something with Li-Hing. It’s so good. I didn’t see this is any other Hawaii Travel Guide I checked out before I went, so remember who put you on lol.
O’ahu Activities
Before our arrival, I created a google sheets document with our Hawaii Itinerary. When planning a trip to a place like Hawaii that has so much to see, I feel like an itenerary (and a good Hawaii travel guide) are essential so you don’t get overwhelmed. It also included food and activities. We tried to squeeze a lot in and were able to spend time on the beach, visit Dole Plantation (the Pineapple whip was so good!), and hike Diamond Head Trail. Pink Sails Waikiki offers a Sunset Cruise, which I found on Groupon (around $60 for 2). They offer drinks and allow people to swim once they park further out in the water.
I want to go back to Hawaii and spend more time there. Next time I want to make it to the Iolani Palace to learn more about the rich Hawaiian culture and Kualoa Ranch (where Jurassic Park was filmed). I also want to check out a luau and the Pearl Harbor memorial.
The Best Shopping Spots
Now for my favorite section in this Hawaii Travel Guide: shopping. We checked out two shopping centers (both of which are outdoor) while in O’ahu. The Ala Moana Shopping Center and the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. My preference was Ala Moana. Both shopping centers have luxury stores (like Dior, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc.); however, Ala Moana Shopping Center has way more stores to offer (like Zara and Target). They also have a Dior cafe. The only store I couldn’t find there was H&M (which is in the Royal Hawaiian). There’s also a TJMaxx and Nordstrom Rack near the Ala Moana Shopping Center.
Hawaii has something called “The Hawaii Price,” a Hawaii-exclusive discount at Luxury Stores. Separate blog post on that, and my first YSL purchases are coming soon.
Both shopping centers are outdoor, so be prepared to experience Hawaii’s brief sunshowers. They only lasted a couple of minutes, and it was never enough to mess up my hair or attire. They did occur daily, though, usually mid-day or at night.
The Beaches You Must See
We visited Waikiki Beach, as it was right outside our hotel. It was pretty crowded later in the day, but not enough to where you couldn’t find your own space. We rented a beach umbrella and chairs for about $25 for 2 hours, and it was well worth it. I usually don’t bring beach umbrellas, but the sun at Waikiki Beach was harsh.
Lanikai Beach was the other beach we visited while in O’ahu, and it was our favorite. The sand was white, the temperature was cooler, less crowded, and the sun wasn’t as harsh. It is quite a ride from the Hilton Hawaiian Village (so you have to drive or get a ride there and back).
I didn’t go chasing any waterfalls, but I heard there are some great ones at Manoa falls!
Don’t Forgot To Bring These
There are a few things you need to bring with you if you’re planning a trip to O’ahu soon. Due to the current travel restrictions, you definitely will need either your vaccine card or negative COVID test results on hand. It would be best if you also bring sunglasses, coral reef-safe sunscreen (a rule in Hawaii), shorts, and comfortable flat sandals. Sneakers if you are planning to hike or ride ATVs at Kualoa Ranch. This two-piece set with leggings I got on Amazon (Retail $28) was the perfect attire for our hike.
My Hawaii Outfits
If you’re looking for links to all my Hawaii outfits, check out this blog post here.
Are you planning a trip to O’ahu? Let me know in the comments! I hope my Hawaii Travel Guide was helpful, and be sure to check out my Hawaii Birthday Trip Vlog on YouTube too.
My Hawaii Birthday Trip Vlog
Stylishly Yours,
Theresa Seyi
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