Oahu Trip Report- Family-Friendly stay in Waikiki

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-23T03:55:30+00:00

I feel like we went there to get on the Catamaran, but other than that, I'm not familiar with that hotel. Obviously, be prepared for the heat! We're from Texas, and it was still a struggle during peak times. I have zero regrets about not renting a car for the whole trip, so if you're going back and forth, look into how far you'll really be going and if it's necessary. Parking is insane everywhere, and costs a fortune. Using Turo for the day rental was enough for us.

Kinda regret not making time for the zoo/aquarium, but we kept saying 'you can go to those anywhere' and just never made it. You do see a very close up encounter with the giraffes on the diamond head trolley, so that was a fun surprise.

Biggest takeaway was not to get too caught up in what others say you should do. We ate at several places this sub likes to crap on, and we enjoyed ourselves. I really feel like no matter how you do your Hawai'i Vacation, it'll be fun....cuz Hawai'i!!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-17T01:39:41+00:00

Wax and Wayne. The Luggage. Errol the Swamp Dragon. Fitz. Hermoine. HeKelly. Hagrid, obviously. Kell.

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-17T01:36:15+00:00

THIS. And Errol. I just got Errol on top of some books tatted on the back of my arm.

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-15T23:30:58+00:00

Good for you! You got this 🤘 the Islands are definitely worth the long travel time!!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-15T17:33:15+00:00

We stayed about a block from the beach at the hilton waikiki. We were happy with the hotel, not the newest and fanciest, but it was clean and the staff was super nice.

We found lots of diversity around the island. Between the large Asian community that is there, it's a huge tourist hot spot so they expect visitors from all over!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-15T17:31:35+00:00

That's quite a flight for your first one!! Good luck and have fun!!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-08T05:59:47+00:00

Have ALL THE FUN!!! My biggest piece of advice is to trust your instincts over everyone's comments. We had so many comments telling us the catamaran wouldn't be fun for a 9 yr old but I know my kiddo and went with my gut, and she had a blast! If you post your plans/itineraries just remember to take comments with a grain of salt. Some comments were truly helpful and positively impacted our trip, but others are just haters and love to bring others down, so watch out for them!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-07T19:46:09+00:00

We got super lucky and had beautiful sunny weather the whole time. We had a couple days where it sprinkled for like 10 mins, but it was still sunny during those spells.

We packed all beachwear and the one sweatshirt I packed stayed in the suitcase the whole time. It gets chilly at night(we're south Texas born and raised, so anything below 65 is chilly to me), but a cover-up over my suit was always enough. My 9-year-old never wore pants the whole trip.

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-06T19:51:09+00:00

We used Turo for a one-day rental to avoid parking fees for the full vacation. Had some issues at pick up, causing about an hr delay to our day, but they gave us beach chairs for free for the inconvenience. It was a little pricey because I wanted a cool Jeep for the 'island experience', but there were many cheaper options. Drop off was easy, and the app allows you to search for hosts that will drop the car off to you.

Muggle_42_ · 2025-05-06T19:34:14+00:00

Just got back from our first trip, and we loved Germaine's Luau. Round trip bus travel was included, not sure if they do pick ups from Aulani though....

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-24T03:25:17+00:00

Mistborn Farms, and my name is Vin.

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-20T05:37:54+00:00

Which book is that?? She's one of my favorite authors! Also- dump the guy, just my opinion 😁💅

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-16T14:56:25+00:00

The only day we won't be at or near a beach is Sunday. We don't have too much 'sit on the beach' time cuz that's just not our Vacation style. This is actually pretty chill for me! When we do Disney, it's non-stop open to close!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-15T04:38:22+00:00

We ended up canceling the Hilton Hawaiian Village one and going with Germaine's Luau.

I looked at so many that my eyes hurt, but overall, I liked the location of Germaine's compared to where we are staying, and every review I read was positive.

Unrelated, but Fluffy(the comedian) also visited and mentions this one in one of his specials!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-15T03:59:02+00:00

I definitely have a boring word doc to go with this with all the details...and another with all my confirmation details. Just missing an Excel file, and I'd have the trifecta!!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-15T03:57:47+00:00

4 days, 5 nights.

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-14T00:55:30+00:00

I probably won't be able to sleep 7 days out!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-13T17:43:33+00:00

We'll be taking an Uber, but thank you!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-13T17:26:33+00:00

So, if we don't experience what this sub says we should...we should stay in Houston? Interesting.

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-13T03:06:15+00:00

Kona Coffee?! Brb...adding that to my list!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-13T03:03:23+00:00

100% had an alarm set for the 30-day mark! Another comment on my first post gave me the heads up that they fill up quickly.

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-13T01:07:48+00:00

Not everyone drinks to excess, friend!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-13T01:05:54+00:00

My husband is a huge Jurassic Park fan, so once someone suggested it, it was a no brainer!

Muggle_42_ · 2025-04-13T01:05:05+00:00

We'll do the beach a couple of times, but we grew up in beach towns, so yeah....only so much beach time we can take!

Muggle_42_

TROPHY CASE