Travel Photographer, Videographer, and Blogger
Sarah Marie Travel
HAWAI'I
ABOUT HAWAI'I
Hawai’i holds a very dear place in my heart. With extremely close family friends living on the island of Oahu, I am incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to explore this state several times. I recently had the opportunity to visit the Big Island for the first time in the summer of 2024. This highly traveled and sought-after destination fulfills countless bucketlist items for many travelers. Whether you are one to enjoy a relaxing vacation on the beach for a romantic getaway or a thrill-seeking adventurer like myself, Hawai’i has it all! Some of our top highlights are shark-cage diving and night snorkeling with manta rays – I truly could not recommend these expeditions more! I hope you get the chance to explore this tropical paradise.
Check out some of my favorite adventures from Hawai'i!
Travel Tips - Hawai'i
Lodging
When we stayed on the island of Oahu, we booked with Expedia at the Waikiki Resort Hotel in Honolulu. This stay was booked extremely last minute (less than 24 hours in advance!) but was a wonderfully welcome surprise! Overall, this stay was very nice for the amount of money we paid. Located in downtown Honolulu, we were able to easily walk to the beach and get around the city. The only issue was that the hotel is in a not so fantastic location, there were a few people arrested outside of the hotel which was quite a shock! Book this hotel at your own discretion, but the staff was exceptionally kind, and we enjoyed it.
During our time in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, we stayed at the Royal Kona Resort. This stay was absolutely exceptional. This resort was in a great location, close to the airport and a walkable distance to downtown. Additionally, they hosted various events, such as luaus and live music. Some things to keep in mind are that the WiFi is unreliable and does not fully work in our room. I had difficulty loading work applications and or sending emails. Keep this in mind if you are a remote traveler! Also, when we traveled there, there was construction going on in one of the towers – not fun! Finally, parking is $25/day and there are hidden resort fees of about $25/day as well that we were charged upon checking out. Aside from some of the hidden fees and lack of reliable WiFi, we absolutely loved our stay at the Royal Kona Resort and would recommend it.
Transportation
We find the absolute best way to get around the islands is to book a rental car. We booked through Hertz and had a great experience with it! We would recommend staying away from Turo, based on our personal experience of the individual whose car we were going to rent backing out a few days before our trip. Rental cars are a great way to get around the islands, and public transportation can otherwise be relatively unreliable and impossible to access areas off the beaten path. Truly, you can’t go wrong with a rental car!
Activities
There is no shortage of incredible things to do in Hawai'i but here are some of my favorites:
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Go ziplining in Oahu’s north shore
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Admire the “angels of the sea” night snorkeling
Things to do
Do a thrilling shark cage dive
Go ziplining in Oahu’s north shore
Go night snorkeling with manta rays
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