Matt of Canada

Day 12: We spent most of our day walking around Waikiki and on the beach, which is always enjoyable. Waikiki is essentially a mix of Beach, Fifth Avenue, and Tokyo. 

Day 13: Today was our day to explore the rest of Oahu. We went to Hanauma Bay in the morning to try out the snorkelling, but we got there late (almost 11) so the parking lot was closed. Luckily, we had some good snorkelling on the other islands so we weren’t disappointed. Instead we drove down a little to Sandy Beach, where we watched the surfers and the big waves.

After returning to Waikiki for a little I took the car for a quick tour of Oahu. We took the interstate to Haleiwa so we could start with lunch. I started to regret staying in Waikiki the instant we turned onto the main road in Haleiwa. It’s a great little tourist town filled end to end with food trucks and small restaurants – I wish I had a week there to try everything! I would say that it’s my favourite town in Hawaii. We had read good reviews about Opal Thai Food so we chose to go there for lunch. The food was incredible – the best Asian food of any kind I’ve had in my life. Everyone who worked there is so friendly and the chef/owner takes/discusses your order. I highly recommend going to anyone staying in Oahu.

We ate way too much Thai food, but we stopped at Haleiwa Bowls to share a small Acai bowl anyways. We crossed the street and looked inside Matsumoto Shave Ice (very long line) but didn’t get any. We got back in the car to continue the drive, and soon after we saw a sign for the Waimea Farmers Market (Thursdays only, but luckily for us it was Thursday). We walked around but sadly had no room for any more food (now I really regretted not staying on the North Shore!). We continued driving along the coast, which was beautiful. My favourite spots were Kahana Beach and Laie Point. We took the Likelike Highway (nice mountain views) back to Waikiki. Next time I come to Hawaii, I will make sure to spend a couple of days on the North Shore here in Oahu!