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Three words: DESTINATION. BACHELORETTE. PARTIES. I recently went to Hawaii for one of my best friend's bachelorette party. We went to the island of Oahu in the middle of August and spent 3 days there. It was the classiest and most adventurous bachelorette party I have ever been to! The island was so beautiful, the people are so friendly, and the food is amazing. I would love to share our itinerary with you and inspire you to visit Oahu (a big shout out to the maid of honor for planning and organizing everything)!
Friday:
Brunch at Koko Head Cafe
We started our morning with an island style brunch at the Koko Head Cafe. There is a bit of wait and they do not take reservations, but I promise it's so worth it! We ordered the Auntie Alohi Cakes (koena, local banana, sour cream, and guava jam) and the Poke Omelette (fried local poke, masago aioli, salad, and toast). It was my first time having fried poke and oh my goodness, it was delicious.
Musubi Cafe Iyasume
We had a beach day planned that day so we decided to grab some spam musubi to go so that we can eat them on the beach. Make sure to go to the Musubi Cafe Iyasume, they are so good, try every flavor! They also sell super cute spam musubi lunch boxes to store your musubi for the road.
Ho'omaluhia Botantical Garden
This was our first stop, it was such a gorgeous botanical garden! There is no charge to enter this lush 400 acre plot of land. You can either walk or drive through it, we chose to drive throughout the garden and stopped at our favorite spots. Towering over the garden is the Koolau Mountain Range which made for an amazing backdrop for photos!
Kailua Beach
Next stop was the Kailua Beach, which is rated as one of the most beautiful Oahu beaches and it definitely lives up to the hype! The water was crystal blue and clear, you can even see little fishes at your feet. You can lounge on the beach or there are kayak and paddle board rentals if that's more your thing.
Hanauma Bay
On the way back from the beach we stopped by the nature preserve Hanauma Bay. We only had time to take a look at the viewpoint but otherwise this is a place you can easily spend a whole day at. It's a beautiful bay to snorkel the coral reefs, there's also more than 400 species of Hawaiian fishes and turtles. It does cost $7.50 per person to enter and it's open from 6am to 7pm everyday except closed on Tuesdays. We got lucky and arrived around 6pm and they didn't charge us.
Dinner at Morimoto Asia
You really cannot go wrong eating at any Morimoto restaurant. He is a Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show. Make sure to make a reservation though and I would highly recommend eating there around sunset and eat on the outdoor patio. There is an amazing view of the beach and you get a great vibe outside!
Saturday:
Kualoa Ranch
Kualoa Ranch is the place I was most excited for because this is where they filmed Jurassic Park! There are a ton of activities you can sign up for at this incredible private nature reserve including ziplining, secret beach tour, hollywood movie sites tour, ATV tour, kayaking, horseback riding, jungle jeep tours, food tours, and more! Just make sure to plan early and sign up for them on their website before you go. There is literally something for everyone! We decided to do the 2 hour ziplining and the Secret Island Tour activities. Make sure to arrive there early to account for parking and checking in! If you are going on a weekend, the lines do get long!
This place was just epic, I loved it so much. It was a 4000 acre privately owned nature reserve and cattle ranch. Not only was Jurassic Park filmed here but there has been over 70 movies and TV shows that have been filmed there since the 1950's including 50 First Dates, Jumanji, Godzilla, Lost, and King Kong Skull Island.
Ziplining at Kualoa Ranch
The first activity we did was the 2 hour zipline tour around the park. It was so much fun and was probably my favorite activity we did on the entire trip. The tour is $165 per person and it even includes transportation from Waikiki to Kualoa Ranch if you need it. Once you get there, you start at the top of Ka'a'awa Valley and go down 7 different ziplines, each one getting longer in distance, the longest one being a quarter of a mile long! You also get to go on 2 suspension bridges! They do take pictures of you throughout the tour and you get to choose the ones you want to buy at the end, or you can bring your own camera or Iphone but at your own discretion. I brought a GoPro camera and they had helmets with the attachments on them. I also saw people bring their Iphone in a lanyard pouch which looked like a good idea. They have lockers there for you to store your things. You do not have to have any experience to do this and the tour guides are super nice, helpful, and they make it really fun. You feel super safe while ziplining and by the end you feel like a freaking badass going down those ziplines!
Secret Island Tour at Kualoa Ranch
The next activity we signed up for was the Secret Island Tour. From Kualoa Ranch, you take a short boat ride to the Secret Island Beach where there are a ton of activities like kayaking, canoe riding, paddle boarding, volleyball, boat rides to see sea turtles, or just chill on beach chairs and hammocks. There are showers and changing rooms on the beach, all you need to do is bring a towel because they do not provide those. The Secret Island Tour is $47.95 for Adults and $36.95 for Children for a half day (which is all you need really). The only thing I wish they had there was a bar, I know, so touristy of me but hey-- we were celebrating and on a bachelorette party, so give me a break! Next time, I will definitely BYOB.
Boat ride to see the Sea Turles at the Secret Island Beach
One of the activities we chose to do at the Secret Island Beach was the boat ride to see the sea turtles in the water. We just had to see at least one sea turtle on this trip and this boat ride did not disappoint! It was a short ride to the shallow parts of the ocean and we saw a few turtles in the water! You aren't allowed to jump off the boat but it was a nice ride out to the ocean.
Shaved Ice at Island Snow
After a whole day in the sun, all we wanted was some shaved ice! We just googled the nearest shaved ice place from Kualoa Ranch and this one came up! It's called Island Snow, it was so delicious! I got the shaved ice with macadamia nut ice cream (it had bits of macadamia nuts in it) and natural flavor syrup (pineapple and mango). It was so good!
Paradise Cove Luau
For our nighttime activity we went to a luau! Honestly, in my opinion it was a bit of a tourist trap, but if you have never gone to a luau before, it's worth going to once. It's basically a sunset dinner and a show. The sunset views were amazing but the food is buffet style (nothing to brag about and be prepared to eat a lot) and you sit family style with everyone. The mixed drinks were good but they were not included. The show was pretty good, especially the fire dancers. But the best part of the luau was probably the beginning before it starts, you can walk around and get a temporary tattoo or shop at the little vendors, it was like a Hawaiian fair.
Waikiki Beach
We left the luau and decided to just walk around Waikiki beach. It was a mix of bars, restaurants, and the beach. Even at night, the water was still crystal blue! I absolutely loved it. Highly recommend going bar hopping along the beach, there are a ton! You really can't go wrong with any of the restaurants beach side either.
Sunday:
Relax at the hotel pool & eat poke!
The other girls had an early flight and my flight didn't leave until 8pm. After all of the action packed days, it was a good time to just relax and do nothing. I always try and make time to lounge! I decided to spend the entire day under a shaded umbrella at the rooftop pool of our hotel. I grabbed some poke from the Poke Bar and just chilled.
I hope you enjoyed reading about what we did for my best friend's bachelorette party! It was a mix of adventure, class, and everything in between. I am definitely making destination bachelorette parties a thing now!
<3,
Laura C.