Great vacation spot to see it all
Written: Mar 20 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of shopping, dining, beach and sun.
Cons: Lots of people.
The Bottom Line: If you have a chance to visit Waikiki, go! There is plenty to do and you will not be disappointed.
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| posingcarrot's Full Review: Waikiki |
Waikiki may be the most talked about and heard about place on the island of Oahu and there is a good reason for that, THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE!!
We were warned of this while we were looking for a vacation destination, but decided that this is where we wanted to go regardless of the crowds. I have to say that we made the right decision and I don’t think that anyone that goes here would say that they had an awful vacation. There is always plenty to do and quiet time is only a short drive away.
So on with the review:
The Beach and Ocean
The most important things in Hawaii are the beaches and the ocean, which Waikiki has plenty of both. Yes, the beach is crowded, but it is large enough for everyone and we never had a hard time finding a spot to lay with people far enough away to not hear our conversations. It is lovely sand, without much litter. With the amount of people I actually expected more litter, but it was kept pretty clean. The ocean is a beautiful blue with large enough waves to do some surfing. If waves aren’t your thing or you have smaller children they have blocked off some parts along the beach with huge concrete blocks that break the waves before reaching the beach. Of course some water spills over and they have little outlets around the barrier so that the water is as fresh as the rest of the ocean. We stayed around this area quiet a bit since it was easier to take a quick dip without the waves constantly coming over you. This was a great place for people with smaller children, as the children could wade in the water without having to worry about being knocked over by a wave. There are a lot of homeless people wondering the area directly behind the beach, but they never bothered anyone and all kept to themselves. We were never worried about our belongings on the beach while we were in the water.
Shopping
There is more shopping around Waikiki than one person can imagine. If your main goal is shopping you might get through all of it, but that wasn’t our goal and we didn’t even scratch the surface. The entire place is lined with shops of all kinds and small malls with shops galore. You can’t miss the ABC Store on every corner and sometimes in between, but don’t think that just because there are a multitude of them that they don’t have some neat stuff. We found some really good, cheaper souvenirs for our family and some t-shirts for ourselves. These stores are a little like convenience stores so you can find snacks, drinks and even some refrigerated sandwiches if you are in need of something small and quick to eat. The International Market is also located in this area and is something that you should take some time to see. It is a huge open market with lots of Hawaii like merchandise. You can get a conch shell of your own, a shell necklace and many other things to remind you of your trip to paradise at fairly good prices. Remember that you are in the biggest tourist area of Oahu so things are a bit more expensive but we really didn’t mind. Vacation is about splurging right?
Eating
You will never go hungry in Waikiki! There are plenty of places to eat at all different budget levels. I will admit that food is never our top priority while we are on vacation and most mornings we had a nice, quick McDonalds breakfast that was just a short walk from our hotel. For lunch and dinner you can find a wide array of fast or dine in food. We ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise and if you happen to stop in here be sure to get yourself one of their wonderful Mai Tais!!! They were served in a fresh pineapple and were my favorite part of the meal. My favorite and most romantic meal of the trip was at Duke’s Canoe Club. It is located in the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel and there were a lot of people eating there. They do take reservations and I would recommend making one no matter how many people are in your party. This was a hot place to eat and without reservations you could be waiting awhile. The downstairs part of the restaurant was a nice, dimly lit dining area with a group of performers walking to each table playing Hawaiian music and instruments. They were great and really added to the atmosphere nicely. Upstairs was the Barefoot bar for some less formal dining and a cheaper menu. We chose the downstairs area as we were looking for something nice and romantic. I had the White Sea Bass with a Macadamia nut white cream sauce and it was AMAZING! The prices were a little high but nothing more than we expected and it was well worth the experience. We had a lovely time there.
Night Life
You will never run out of things to do at night and one of our favorite things was just walking up and down the street and people watching. When the sun goes down all of the street performers come out and they are quiet a sight to see. There were people acting as statues, instrument players, singers, dancers, honestly anything you can think of, they were there. There were plenty of clubs and restaurants that stayed open late to serve drinks and provide dancing. Of course a nice walk along the beach is always nice at night also.
I am so glad that we didn’t let the talk of lots of tourist scare us away from this area. We had a wonderful time and were able to get away from it all by renting a car and driving to another beach. You don’t have to do that to have a good time but it is nice to see the other parts of Oahu that aren’t quiet as crowded. If this is ever a place that you think about visiting, do it, you won’t regret it!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
posingcarrot
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Location: Midland, TX
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 2 members
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