north shore of oahu

[jennlin]

we will be staying at turtle bay in about 3 weeks (eeek!) it's supposed to be a quick, easy, breezy weekend for us (weds to mon). our friend is having a small wedding in waikiki, and wants to spend a lot of time with their guests (there's only i think 10 of us) but we REALLY want to stay out of waikiki--what are some good places to visit on the north shore that we can suggest to the couple, that are infant friendly? i will have my 4mos old with me.

[mdgirl]

I think Lei Lei's, the golf course restaurant at Turtle Bay, would be perfect. It's pretty casual (especially for lunch). Although really just about everything on Oahu is kid friendly except the absolute fanciest of restaurants. Also if you'd like a midpoint meeting place, I think Kailua would be pretty fair for both of you.

[basilosaurus]

Are you looking for things for yourself to do? It sounds like you want group activities on the north shore that include the b&g, having them drive from Waikiki up to where you're staying. That's over an hour drive on a good day. I'm sorry but I don't think that's realistic. It's busy enough when you have a wedding, even with only 10 guests, without driving that far. Where is everyone else staying? Are they also in Waikiki?

As for you guys without the couple, you can easily visit the shrimp trucks, go to haleiwa, byodo-in wouldn't be that far a drive, and it's a beautiful one. There's also waimea falls, although I can't personally say anything about it b/c I've never wanted to pay the entrance fee.

[mesjms]

Hit up Haleiwa, Dole Plantation, Sunset Beach. Waimea Falls is beautiful but the entrance fee is a little pricey (but so are most things in Hawaii). The Polynesian Cultural Center is fun but I would skip the luau. You can see one for free on Waikiki Beach. When we were there the admission price was good for two days in case you don't get to see everything. If you do go to Waikiki, park at Ala Moana Mall and take the trolley downtown. It's cheap and takes you everywhere on Waikiki Beach. Another tip.....avoid the main highways if you can. We had a house on the North Shore and traffic in Waikiki is horrible! Take 83 around the island which runs into 99. The island isn't that big so you won't be wasting time sitting in traffic. Pearl Harbor is free but get there early to get tickets.

[Deleted]

May 16, 2012 22:07:09 GMT -5 kooshball said:

Do you have the blue book? I would recommend picking it up. I have one you can have if you want to meet me somewhere in the next couple weeks. Make sure you go to Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, Uncle Bobo's Smoked BBQ and finally, Side Street Inn for the BEST fried rice EVERRRRR!

I would do your best to not drive to Waikiki too often. The drive from the north shore is going to kill you.

PM me if you want the book.

I agree with all of this. We just spent 10 days at Turtle Bay was one of my favorites. Have fun!

[jennlin]

we're looking for stuff to do anywhere from halfway point and north. we realize it's a long drive, but the b&g go to HI often, and are always in waikiki, so we're hoping we can be like, "oh check out this place up north!"

koosh, i don't know what the bluebook is, but i'd be happy to meet you for it if people say it's worth it! what is it exactly? we're leaving early june, i'll PM you when i know i'm headed down your way...cause you know i never go down that direction!

[basilosaurus]

Having planned a DW, I'm a bit more sympathetic to the b&g. If they like Waikiki, it seems pretty selfish to want to make them drive to where you want to be. They're going to be busy, even with a low key small wedding. I was a really low key bride, but except for one day of the 5, I didn't have that kind of driving time to spare. Maybe they'll be up for a day trip, but I wouldn't try to push it too much.

That said, Kailua is a beautiful beach and a fairly easy drive from Waikiki (30 minutes without traffic). The byodo-in temple is also about 30 min. I haven't heard much good about PCC, but I admit I'm waiting to go until I have a visitor in town who wants to go so I can't say personally. Also, their luau doesn't have alcohol, if that matters to you, b/c it's run by the Mormons. If they're into hiking, there are some decent easy hikes off the Pali highway, in between Honolulu and Kailua.

Traffic in Waikiki proper is actually minimal IM(daily)E. It's going on the highways that's a PITA. Traffic on the north shore on the weekend b/t Haleiwa and Turtle Bay can be even more hellish, especially if the surf is up. It has taken me more than an hour to go from Haleiwa to Turtle Bay. If you want to meet at Haleiwa, I've done that drive in an hour from Waikiki on a Saturday. I'll go get garlic shrimp and then drive to turtle beach, and I think it's entirely worth it when I have nothing else going on, so it's worth suggesting.

[Deleted]

Ditto Sibil - you're asking a lot of the bride and groom - they may not have as much as time as you think they will and the drive between Waikiki and the north shore can be a huge PITA.

There's tons of stuff to do all over Oahu so I would try to find something halfway between the two so you aren't being a huge inconvenience to them. The Dole Plantation or Kailua beach would be my suggestions for something kid-friendly and central to both.

the North Shore is fantastic so enjoy your trip!