Oahu Trip: Family, Friends, and Island Adventures

Touchdown in Oahu

I have a friend in the military who moves to a different location about every three years. Over the years, he has been stationed in several different cities, and we have visited him whenever he moves somewhere new. This time, he had moved to Hawai‘i. We called him up and set up a date to visit him.

When we visited him at different cities, like Seattle and North Carolina, our routine was very simple. We went out for a little bit of sightseeing, and usually stayed up all night drinking and talking about our lives. And that is what we did most of the nights. We would stay up till 4 or 5 in the morning and then sleep in the next day. 

Those happy days are all in the past now as we grow our families. He has 9-year-old twin toys and we have two boys. We can only stay up so late, because the kids wake us up in the morning. The first couple of nights we tried our old routine of staying up late and drinking, but next day, we were too tired. So our nights got significantly shorter in order to properly entertain our kids during the day. 

Friend's wife cooked like a restaurant chef the entire tip

His wife cooked like a restaurant chef to feed us throughout our stay. An endless variety of food, from Korean to Italian to Japanese, you name it. We were basically being fed nonstop, getting ready to gain a few pounds and there was nothing to complain about.

There are so many things to see and do on Oahu, Hawai‘i, but this trip was a little different. With our two boys, who were just 3 and 5 years old, we decided not to fill our schedule with too many tourist attractions. We wanted to take things a little slower and enjoy time with my friend's family.

We didn't have to pack or buy much. My friend prepared most of things for us. He let us use his Tesla, and he already had car seats installed and waiting for us. Our flight luggage was lighter than we thought it would be. We also got to stay with them and didn't have to pay for a hotel, which saved us quite a bit of money.

We stayed at their house in Mililani, in the central area of Oahu. It sounds far, but it only took us about 30 minutes from the airport. 

We could have stayed home all day and night, but since we had kids to entertain, we had to go out and do something. And we were in Hawai'i. People spend money to come here and explore the area. We hadn't planned on doing that, but we ended up doing it anyway. Thanks to our friend.

There are many attractions people go to, but in this post, I would like to go through few places we visited during this trip, including a horse-riding DLT Ranch, Kualoa Ranch, and a Pupukea beach Park.

Da Zoo @ DLT Ranch

Kids went from cautiously feeding to riding ponies in ten minutes

My friend booked this place so our kids could experience riding horses. It is located in the southeast part of Oahu. We drove two cars to get there from his house, and it took us about 40 minutes. We didn't get to see the ocean during the drive, but driving on H3 highway almost felt like we were on a scenic drive. 

Since the ranch operates by reservation only, nobody else was there when we arrived. We simply parked in the open dirt area.

Once we arrived, they told us to wait outside and explore the area. There were donkeys, horses, and lambs in a fenced area, and the kids were able to feed them through the fence.

We spent some time exploring, and when the horse handler came out, the kids had to wear helmets and took turns getting on the horses. They absolutely fell in love with it, starting from touching and petting them, and before long, they were excited to get on and ride. The riding area was about a quarter of the size of a soccer field, and a horse handler led a horse around the property.

Admission was only $15 per person, plus $5 for a pony ride, so we spent about $140 altogether. My best host friend also prepared food and drinks for us, they let you bring your own, so we were able to enjoy a little picnic while the kids had fun.

It wasn't a full-day adventure, we probably spent couple hours here, but with four kids between the ages of 3 and 9, it was the perfect short getaway from the house.

Kualoa Ranch

Kualoa Ranch was hands-down the Kids' favorite stop

Everyone who comes to Hawai'i wants to visit this place. I had no idea about this ranch until we got here. Parking was a breeze. There's plenty of space available with no cost.

Once we entered the ranch, though, I couldn't believe how big the property was. They call it ranch, but it is almost the size of a city, and I couldn't see how we would explore the whole ranch in a few hours. 

We booked a 3-hour tour, and that was a good choice. The older kids loved the dinosaurs, and my 3-year-old got scared at some point, but managed to take a nap here and there. 

The kids were fascinated to see how big the gate was for the dinosaurs. We then drove into the actual movie set. They got to touch the fake dinosaurs and sit on a raptor to take photos, and our tour guide was kind enough to take scenic photos for us as well. It was literally a park full of dinosaurs, and I felt like a kid again. I couldn't believe how genius Steven Spielberg was to think of all this back in the 90s. So much respect to him.

We moved on to a cave-like set area. Inside, we were able to see movie-set animals and dinosaurs that looked like real thing. The kids were amazed by all these production-ready figures and got to enjoy their time. 

The set was right next to the cliff, and as we walked out from the cliff, we were able to see the beautiful ocean with a lot of breeze. It was generally warm in Hawaii, but it felt chilly with the breeze.

Doing a tour at the ranch was expensive. Adults were $200 and kids were $130. Our group of eight spent about $1,200, and that was after a 15% military discount, which saved us about $200. 

In the U.S., wherever you go, you get some sort of discount if you're in the military. My friend thought it was a good idea to come see this ranch while he lives in Hawaii. Thanks again to him for taking us to a place that was so memorable for all of us.

Pupukea Beach Park

Floating around on top of the lava rocks

This was my fourth time visiting Oahu, and I had never heard of this place before. Maybe I'm just a little lazy when it comes to searching for new places to visit, but this turned out to be a lot of fun for both the kids and adults.

Parking was a little different this time. At many beaches in Oahu, we either parked in a designated parking area or on the street. This time was similar until we started walking toward the beach.

We didn't just walk down to the beach, but we had to hike down a dirt trail. With four kids and all the stuff we had to carry, it wasn't exactly easy.

My friend told me that this was one of the best spots for snorkeling, so we expected it to be like any other beach with an extra activity to enjoy.

 But that wasn't the only obstacle we had to deal with.

This wasn't your typical sandy beach. If we wanted to get into the water, we had to make our way across sharp black lava rocks to reach the clear snorkeling area.

The water was also quite shallow, so we couldn't simply swim over the rocks. Since we hadn't prepared aqua shoes, I ended up wearing my slippers and carrying my kids across the rocks.

It was a little dangerous for the kids, but once we reached a spot where we could actually snorkel, kids stopped whining about the dirt trail and the sharp lava rocks.

We did bring a tube for the kids, but it didn't last very long. It got punctured, and eventually, we had to head back home.

Still, the kids enjoyed the experience. They were able to lie on the tube and see a little bit of the ocean life underneath them, and that was enough to make them happy.

If you ever plan to visit this place, make sure you bring a good pair of aqua shoes. You'll definitely want them.

A Trip Made Special by Our Friends

We didn't expect our friend to plan this much for us, but his family was incredibly thoughtful and spent so much time showing us around the island.

Since we only get to see them about once a year, we were already happy just to spend time together at their house. I'm sure he planned all of this well before we arrived, and I really appreciate all the thought he put into making the trip special for us.

The kids had a blast hanging out with their 9-year-old twin boys, and getting out of the house to visit these different places made our Hawai'i trip even more memorable.

Looking back, the best part of this trip wasn't necessarily the attractions themselves. It was being able to spend time with our friends, let the kids play together, eat way too much amazing food, and simply enjoy being together.

Next time, I definitely need to bring more presents for my friend's family.

LET'S GO!