Aloha West Coast- family trip to celebrate a double 50th!

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by Minnie Mum

Update-
Change of accommodation for North Shore.
After reading Cornishfrogboy and Smithlane trip reports on condos in turtle bay we decided to relook at these thought Airbnb.

We have booked a 1 bedroom with a loft space which has 2 beds for the kids and 2 bathrooms.
It’s on the Kulima West resort in Turtle bay, has recently been remodelled and has great reviews.
Having a bit more space for 4 night will be good as well as a washing machine as hoping to travel lighter than we normally do!
Also full kitchen for breakfast should hopefully help with the costs.

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It looks wonderful!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Minnie Mum

Update-
Change of accommodation for North Shore.
After reading Cornishfrogboy and Smithlane trip reports on condos in turtle bay we decided to relook at these thought Airbnb.

We have booked a 1 bedroom with a loft space which has 2 beds for the kids and 2 bathrooms.
It’s on the Kulima West resort in Turtle bay, has recently been remodelled and has great reviews.
Having a bit more space for 4 night will be good as well as a washing machine as hoping to travel lighter than we normally do!
Also full kitchen for breakfast should hopefully help with the costs.

See more...

I’m so pleased, you honestly won’t regret the change. It’s such a short walk to the main hotel and beach and you will get to see the most beautiful sunsets there 😍. I’m very jealous, I want to go back! 😂 xx

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by smithlane

I’m so pleased, you honestly won’t regret the change. It’s such a short walk to the main hotel and beach and you will get to see the most beautiful sunsets there 😍. I’m very jealous, I want to go back! 😂 xx

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And so do I… Paradise is not Waikiki as many believe… but the North Shore.

[Minnie Mum]

Reading your trip report and then going back to @cornishfrogboy one gave me the push.

Think it was about £80 more but we would of had to pay for parking at courtyard at $20 per night so no difference. Having our own room, a kitchen and the washing machine will be great.

Plus… being able to walk to the beach and beach bar will be lovely.

Think we will try to have main meal at lunch and then bring food back based on the early closing in north shore and dont fancy driving in the pitch black on coast roads🤣

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by Minnie Mum

Reading your trip report and then going back to @cornishfrogboy one gave me the push.

Think it was about £80 more but we would of had to pay for parking at courtyard at $20 per night so no difference. Having our own room, a kitchen and the washing machine will be great.

Plus… being able to walk to the beach and beach bar will be lovely.

Think we will try to have main meal at lunch and then bring food back based on the early closing in north shore and dont fancy driving in the pitch black on coast roads🤣

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There is really only the one road on the N Shore and whilst it runs within 30 yards of the beach, it is not in any way dangerous. There are no cliffs or anything and thus, it is no different to any other such road. There are few bends on it either.
I really would not worry in the slightest about driving it in the dark.

[Minnie Mum]

Thats good know. Thanks

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

And so do I… Paradise is not Waikiki as many believe… but the North Shore.

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Absolutely agree, we really didn’t need 3 nights in Waikiki - 1 would have sufficed!

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by smithlane

Absolutely agree, we really didn’t need 3 nights in Waikiki - 1 would have sufficed!

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I agree.

Waikiki, whilst clearly a bucket list, iconic destination, was actually rather disappointing. It was very busy, very congested, very ‘touristy’ and little different to any overdeveloped Mediterranean resort with high rise with shops under, fronted by a road along its length, fronted by beach… only everything was more expensive.
Yes, we loved Diamond Head nearby.. and we had great Catamaran Trips.. and nearby Pearl Harbour was absolutely awesome.

But having said all of the above, the North Shore along Kamehameha Highway and also the East Shore, with the Laie Cultural Center, Kualoa (site of Jurassic Park) etc were imho in a different league to Honolulu.

We had a fantastic vacation, but not necessarily in the areas that we expected to. I am simply not into Cities or Crowds!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

I agree.

Waikiki, whilst clearly a bucket list, iconic destination, was actually rather disappointing. It was very busy, very congested, very ‘touristy’ and little different to any overdeveloped Mediterranean resort with high rise with shops under, fronted by a road along its length, fronted by beach… only everything was more expensive.
Yes, we loved Diamond Head nearby.. and we had great Catamaran Trips.. and nearby Pearl Harbour was absolutely awesome.

But having said all of the above, the North Shore along Kamehameha Highway and also the East Shore, with the Laie Cultural Center, Kualoa (site of Jurassic Park) etc were imho in a different league to Honolulu.

We had a fantastic vacation, but not necessarily in the areas that we expected to. I am simply not into Cities or Crowds!

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Absolutely, the North Shore round to Lanikai stole the show for us. We also loved Maui so if you ever return to Hawaii I urge you to go there too, the sunrise on top of Haleakala will stay with me for a lifetime ☺️

[Minnie Mum]

The second element of our Hawaii trip is Maui.

We have flights booked for the 23rd with Hawaiian Airlines from HNL-OGG which is only a 44-minute flight. I booked 2 sets of 2 seats and didn’t pay for these.

We will collect the car from the airport and drive to Ka'anapali which is the West Side of the Island.

I had originally booked the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa which looks like an amazing resort. I had a Guest of Honour pass gifted to me which mean we could access Club level; no be charged resort fees and get a room upgrade if one was availble. However, it means sharing a room and paying for a roll out bed and parking each day ($50 per day)

With the age of the children space is a premium but I also wanted a resort setting where the 17-year-old can go to the gym and get some space from his sister.

So, I decided to cancel the Hyatt and booked Honua Kai resort and Spa which is on the same stretch of beach but a condo resort giving us a large 2-bedroom condo.

Honua Kai is owned by Outrigger and apartment can be booked via them or local companies from private owner. We have booked through a local company so know the individual condo we are getting which get great reviews and saves about $400 without including the additional saving of parking and being able to eat meals in.

The resort looks amazing and is beach front but also has numerous pools, water slide, lazy rivers, hot tubs, restaurants on sites (including Dukes) and a huge gym. Its also walkable to food trucks, supermarket and local stores. Hoping this will work out best for us.

Apartment;

We are then in Maui for 5 nights before flighting back to LAX and staying 2 nights on Manhattan beach at The Sea View Inn at the Beach.