Vacationing in Hawaii 101

If you’re like me, then you LOVE what tropical paradises have to offer: the cool mountain breeze, toasty warm sand, and the wide oceanic panorama. But this is only a small part of what makes Hawaii great. Hawaii has all those things to offer and then some.

1. Diversity
   I have never seen so much diversity anywhere else. Hawaii is a melting pot. When I went to Hawaii, I expected to see 2 groups of people: a large tourist population (which there was) and natives of the land. I did NOT expect to see such a high oriental mix of an Asian (Japanese, Pilipino, Indonesian, etc.) population. I thought to myself, “Wow, this is great!” I mean it’s so densely populated by immigrants from Asian countries that street signs were written in Asian languages! So cool! And it turns out there aren’t many “natives” on Oahu.

2. To do
   There’s a LOT of things to do in Hawaii. I think this is a given, but I’m going to say it anyway. If you’re going to Hawaii for leisure, you should never have a chance to be bored. I was there for 5 days, and I only got to do a handful of things on my list. I’ll delve into the details of everything I did in Hawaii a little later, but for now, if you’re planning a short get-away to Hawaii, you may want to consider extending your trip a little bit!

3. The Islands
   By far, the most visited island is Oahu, and it shows. I would have loved to go see all of the Hawaiian Islands, but Oahu is hands down the island that has the most assorted things to do.

4. Transportation
   If you want to go between island to island, you’ll have to ride a plane. Unfortunately, Hawaii doesn’t have ferries that go from island to island, due to the choppy waters. I only got to visit Oahu so I didn’t get to see the volcano ☹ You’ll definitely need a mode of transportation to travel the island, though. I rented a car for really cheap while I was there, and it was totally worth it. I literally got to explore the entirety of the island.

5. Cha-ching
   In case you needed any confirmation, Hawaii is EXPENSIVE, even more pricey than NYC, LA, and Seattle due to having everything imported from the main land. When I visited Hawaii, I had a set budget (which is the best thing to do because otherwise you’ll end up spending way more than you want). Most likely, your biggest expense will be where you stay. Whether you’re staying in a hotel, renting out a condo, or staying at somebody else's house, this will be where the biggest chunk of change goes.

6. Beauty
   Hawaii is extremely easy to fall in love with. I’ve never seen beauty like I did in Hawaii. It’s by far the greenest place I’ve ever been, especially towards the heart of the island. There’s so much scenery in Hawaii, you’ll never want to leave.

In the next post I'll be sharing where I stayed in Hawaii AND...we'll take a trip together to see how chocolate is made!!!!