Category Archives: Hawaii 2025

Hawaii – Oahu 2025 Day 6 and 7

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Last full day in Oahu! We started the day by picking up our rental car from Enterprise (they are located at the hotel so pick up / drop off is easy, and don’t have to pay for parking), and then going back to the Ala Moana Center to buy a Grand Seiko watch (a friend needed to sleep on the decision). I also got a chance to try out the poke bowl at Foodland Farms. Details here:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/12/01/foodland-farms-poke-bowl-station/

We then headed to the north part of the island to check out surfers at The Banzai Pipeline. 

Along the way was stopped by the Dole Plantation to eat some Dole Whip (ice cream), and walk around the pineapple gardens. 

We also stopped by Shark’s Cove to see the waves (although didn’t see any sharks… apparently there are non-human eating sharks there).

When we finally got to The Banzai Pipeline, we spent 40 minutes there. There were lots of surfers, but only saw a handful actually riding the large waves (waves can get up to 20 feet). Was able to capture 2 videos though!

From the pipeline we were gonna head over to Lanakai Beach, but didn’t have enough time in terms of sunlight to do so, so we ended up heading back.

When we got back, we dropped of the car and headed to the International Marketplace to eat at a place called Herringbone. Here are the details:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/12/01/herringbone/

And that meal ended the night for us.

For the actual last day in Oahu (ie 3 hours before heading to the airport), checked out Waikiki beach and went into the water for 30 minutes. Then had our last (quick) meal at this poke bowl place:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/12/01/paradise-poke-hawaii/

So this trip was awesome. There was a few things I didn’t get to do that I plan to prioritize for next time. This includes:

  • District / Republic Club
  • Lanakai Beach (east part of the island)
  • Ko Olina (for catermeran and snorkeling)

Hawaii – Oahu 2025 Day 5

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Started the morning with hiking! We first went to Diamond Head for our 9am ticket. The hike was fairly easy and fast, only taking us about 45 minutes to complete. 

So we then decided to try a harder hike, Koko Crater. This hike was definitely intense. Needed to take five 30 seconds to 2 minutes breaks for the last 1/3 of the climb. Made it up to the top in 30 minutes, and slightly under 30 minutes back down. Definitely great view of Haunama Bay and Waikiki.

After, went to The Pig and the Lady at a town called Kaimuki (the town is a log the way back to the hotel. Apparently not really anything notable to do in the area except if you want to eat at a certain restaurant). Details can be found here:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/11/29/the-pig-and-the-lady/

We then headed to South Waikiki for coffee (started at the Aston at the Waikiki Banyan). Went to Kai Coffee. Details can be found here:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/11/29/kai-coffee/

Wanted to explore going from South Waikiki back to our hotel (which is considered North Waikiki), so we ended up walking back (without stops probably a 25 minute walk). 

Started walking close to the beach, where we ran into an old Banyan tree. Then the road sort of splits from the beach, so then explored where all the high end shops are, and the International Marketplace Mall. Then ended up in the “resort area” near our hotel (where we had been at night a few days ago), and then back at our hotel for Pina coladas.

After taking a quick nap, we headed over to the Ala Moana Center for some shopping (surprisingly it wasn’t busy for Black Friday).

Some stores we visited included: Rolex (wanted to confirm the fit of their 40mm Explorer), Grand Seiko (spent 40 minutes in this store. friend wanted to get a watch with Spring Drive), Travis Matthew’s, Uniqlo (got a tank top), and Foodland Farms (for a poke bowl, but just missed their poke station time. They close at 9pm while the store closes at 10pm).

After shopping got a lite bite and cocktails at a place called Eleven:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/11/29/eleven/

To end the night, saw an EDM show at a place called Hawaiian Brian’s Social Club (called HB), which is like a 5 minute walk from Ala Moana Center. Fake Illenium, Sabai, performed (gotta say he was better than the first time I saw him at midway).

Hawaii – Oahu 2025 Day 4

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Started the day early at 5am to venture to Haunama Bay.

As an fyi, we got tickets the day before noticing that there were two tickets available on the site for the 5:40am pick up.

From getting picked up, we stopped by a water sports rental place (ie to get towels or snorkel gear).

When we got to the entrance, needed to wait to hear a 10 minute orientation (about what to not do while snorkeling like touching fishes and turtles). So we effectively started our snorkel session at 8am.

Snorkeling at the bay was pretty decent. Still not as good as Big Island (specifically Cook’s Island). But there were still a variety of fish to see, and also got to see a turtle!

The beach itself was fairly clean, and well maintained. Water temperature went well with the weather.

And to sum it up, as one puts it, Haunama Bay experience is like Disney Land for snorkeling, in that it is fairly organized in terms of getting there and entrance fee (there is even a museum before the entrance area).

Pro tip for next time, bring a flask of whisky!

After snorkeling we went back to the hotel, and I got an Açaí bowl for lunch. Not gonna lie, I’m sold on it!

We then waited till 5:30pm for our Luau plus (thanksgiving) dinner.

At the luau they had things like temporary tattoos, and creating flower bracelets.

The show itself was around 1 hour. They did dances from various Polynesian countries. Two thing I learned:

-New Zealand is one of the corner of the Polynesian triangle.

-Fire flame dance is from Samoa. 

Overall, I did enjoy the show and food, but not sure if it was worth $300 for a ticket (plus thought the luau show could have been at least 1.5 hours, and have more than 1 dance with fire).

And that pretty much ended the night (although watched Roofman as a night cap).

Hawaii – Oahu 2025 Day 3

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Started off the day with getting a ham quiche from a pastry / drip coffee place at the hotel, plus a latte from Lappert’s.

After took a long and non trivially priced uber to the north side of the island to Kualoa Ranch.

I ended up booking the Jurassic Adventure tour. Here are the highlights:

-Kualoa ranch has Kualoa Mountain behind it (hence its name).

-First stop was Jurassic World (the gate where the two kids in a jeep crash through).

-Second area pointed out the bunkers used in WWII by the military.

-The third area pointed out was the u-shaped military tunnel that goes through the mountain.

-The fourth stop was another Jurassic World scene.

-The fifth stop was from Jurassic Park (most of it was shot in Kaui, but this particular one was shot in Oahu).

-Sixth stop was Godzilla foot prints (they were 8 feet deep originally, but they filled them up since).

-There was also a shot in Pearl Harbor that was shot here that we drove by.

-The next stop was an area also from Jurassic World

-The final stop was also from Jurassic world

Overall I liked the tour as it gives you good coverage of the ranch and the movies that were shot there. Also great views! However I think it could have easily been under 2 hours instead of 2.5. Also waiting for an uber to pick me up took 30 minutes!

After decided to finish the Pearl Harbor Musesum (so yes Ubers there from Kualoa Ranch) and go to the USS Bowfin. Took only 20 minutes to go through the sub. 

Afterwards we explored around the Waikiki resort area (where our hotel is located. I will say that there are really nice resorts in the area. One of them is the Sheraton. We walked through it to get to cocktail bar called Mai Tai bar. Details can be found here:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/11/27/mai-tai-bar/

We then headed to another resort I would consider staying at, the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, which had the restaurant we were getting dinner at, called Monkeypod. Details here:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/11/28/monkeypod/

And that pretty much wrapped up the day. Next time would try to find maybe a rooftop bar in the Waikiki resort area.

Hawaii – Oahu 2025 Day 1 and 2

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First day we left SFO at 6:30pm, and arrived at HNL at 10pm (40 minutes earlier than expected). Took a taxi to the hotel (next time would take an uber since it’s cheaper and less pressure to pay cash). 

Arrived at the hotel / resort (Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Resort, Ali’i tower) at 10:30. Most of the shops in the resort were closed except the general store. So got some chips and High Noons, watches a bit of Pearl Habor and called it a night.

Next day woke up at 7:30am, and got coffee at a place called Lappert’s Hawaii. They also had ice cream. Wouldn’t probably go back for coffee since they don’t have oat milk, or hazelnut. But may go back for ice cream.

Also tried a spam musubi croissant for breakfast. Without the seaweed on top it tasted pretty good.

At 11am, arrived at Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. Put my name in the standby for the Arizona memorial, and got in at the 12:00pm slot. Visited the road to war museum while I waited near the visitor center.

The USS Arizona Memorial i think was worth it. The memorial is above the ship, and you could see parts of the ship penetrating the water line.

After the memorial headed to the USS Missouri using a shuttle (it is on Ford Island). I took the 35 minute guided tour, which I think is worth it to explain the significance of the ship with respect to WWII (took a tour of the bow, surrender deck where the Japanese surrendered, and the kamikaze deck where a Japanese pilot was found dead, but buried out to sea). After the guided tour, the 2nd deck was interesting. Although no weaponry, it focused on how it was like to live on the ship. It had the cafeteria, quarters, chief mess. Also going up to the bridge after was a different experience as well.

A history on the USS Missouri is that it was started to be built in Jan 1941 and finished 3 years later. It served in WWII, Cold War, and in the 80s. 

Afterwards (after waiting 40 minutes for the shuttle) headed to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. Because of time constraints, zipped by it fairly fast. Notable things I did look at was hanger 37 (start of the muses with Japanese Zero as the main showcase), the plane used in the Doolittle project, Hanger 79 (had planes like F-15a, and also mostly survived the attack.. and has a cool flag hanging in it) and the Ford Island control tower (looks like the movie).

Unfortunately was able to check out the USS Bowfin submarine (was 4 minutes late for the last entry).

One clear message from today: Freedom isn’t free.

Afterwards went to the hotel and caught a quick sunset at the beach at our hotel.

Then we headed for dinner near the Downtown / Chinatown area. Restaurant was called Yohei Sushi. Details can be found here:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/11/26/yohei-sushi/

Then head for drinks at a Tiki Bar in Chinatown. I will say that Chinatown area at night is a bit sketchy. However bars in it are good. Details can be found here on the bar:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/11/26/skull-and-crown/

Last stop of the night was at a more whisky themed based bar, also in Chinatown, called EP Bar. Details here:

https://food.johnmatienzo.com/2025/11/26/ep-bar/