Inga
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 21, 1999
Hi All
We are here in Oahu so thought I would drop a few updates to ya’ll as I have gotten so much back from these boards over the years!
Scene: DH and I, from Halifax NS. Spending one week Waikiki Beach, 1 week Aulani. First trip out of province since pre-Covid. Have been to Hawaii a handful of times in the past. Are DVC members
Trip dates/flight path: planned to overnight in Toronto on Fri the 5th but ice storm forced us out a day earlier- so we flew out on the last plane on Thursday, Feb 4th, night in Toronto, then Toronto - Vancouver, then Vancouver- Honolulu. We were able to change our flight with Air Canada for free only when there was a travel advisory due to weather, so it was a mad rush that day to get everything packed up and ready to go.
Covid stuff: had a rapid test in Halifax through a private company on the day of departure. I do a rapid Covid test every 72 hours for work (I work in a hospital) so this was easy peasy as I normally ram that thing up so far my nose, and their application was a gentle dusting of the nostrils! I knew it was going to be negative because I did a rapid earlier that morning and it was negative. We had to bring our passport to the test appointment so it could be added to our documentation related to the test result. Within 15 minutes I got an email and we printed off the doc and brought it with us to the airport. Because we were travelling directly from Canada, we did not have to complete any online safe travels Hawaii stuff.
Airport experience: Checking in online was a much longer process than previously as we had to upload new documents, etc. it was extensive. In Halifax, the airport is like a ghost town. Many of the restaurants are closed. The Air Canada agent went through all of our Covid docs and was able to print off boarding passes with notation on the boarding pass itself that we met all of our flight to Hawaii requirements, and checked our bags all the way to Hawaii which was great. Security was a breeze in Halifax as volumes are low, although the security staff were cranky. At the Toronto airport it felt like it was business as usual…lots of people. Very cold and very snowy. We stayed overnight on Marriott points at the Element…was great. Hot breakfast included. Flights to Vancouver and Honolulu uneventful….wearing a mask all the time is a drag tho. Makes my nose itch so I am forever touching my face which is not good infection control measures! On the flight, it felt safe. The airports tho, physical distancing is almost non-existent. Everyone is wearing a mask.
Arrival in Honolulu Airport: got off the plane, no special lines, to baggage claim, got bags, and left. Super easy. No special additional Covid checks at arrival or anything. No waits. We had pre-arranged a car to pick us up through Super Limosine Service. We have booked them to pick us up from airport to Waikiki, Waikiki to Aulani, then at the end of our trip from Aulani to airport. We were a bit put off that they charged us immediately after booking, but frankly they have been nothing but accommodating and attentive so far. We had to change our arrival and departure times several times due to the airline changes, with no problem. They were waiting for us when we arrived - we went out to meet them (no person with a sign at the airport, we went to a designated place). We bought the Lei package so they gave us a lei before getting into…get this…a white stretch limo. We weren’t expecting that. It had chasing lights on the inside, could have fit 8 people. We thought it was pretty funny!
Stay at Queen Kapiolani, Waikiki Beach: First time staying at Queen Kapiolani, love this place. We have a diamond head/ocean view…amazing. We had to book an extra night for our early arrival and they were able to link it to our other 7 day stay so no moving around. We can hear the zoo animals at dusk and dawn getting riled up. There is still plenty of action at this end of Waikiki beach but not as intense. We see the sunrise and sunset every morning from our room or our deck. Think 180 panorama of diamond head and the beach, from our bed as it’s all windows. Lovely. First day we headed out for coffee and macadamia croissants and didn’t have to go far - went to the cafe within the hotel (note: no coffee machine in room!). Was great but of course expensive ($38 CDN for 2 coffees two croissants). Then once daylight, went for a walk further down on the beach walk toward Diamondhead and had a pineapple smoothie (in a pineapple of course) at Barefoot beach cafe. Great place to people watch, we’ll be back for supper and we understand they have live music too. We made a last minute reservation for 10:30am at Hulu Grill (we watch a lot of Amanda and Felix youtube videos so some of our food choices reflect that) where we had the loco moco and the mac pancakes. All good. They checked our vaccine status at the door and had no issue with our Canadian docs. There was a Chinese New Year celebration happening throughout the area so we got some great interaction with dancing dragons! We had an afternoon nap and then went to the Deck for happy hour. Friendly staff, the sliders were good, great views of diamond head. Their Mai Tai isn’t our favourite by a long shot, actually none of the 2 happy hour cocktails we liked. We also spent $93 CDN for 4 drinks and 2 appetizers during happy hour! This will be an expensive food trip. We went for a walk, then came back and they serve dole whips at our hotel - pretty good.
Next day (Sunday) we rented a car and went to the Aloha swap meet at the Stadium. Hertz rental at the Hyatt was super easy, especially if you are gold members. we got some great stuff at the swap meet, lots of inexpensive Hawaiian stuff…it’s so big….we were there for a few hours and our feet were aching by the end of it. But got a nice haul of stuff, and even 4 wine glasses for $1.50 - as our room is very short on these things, it was a cheap way to get glasses. We ended up that night getting a bottle(s) of wine to enjoy on our deck. We then went to Honolulu to the Original Pancake House (another Amanda and Felix recommendation) and we really loved it. As they say, super OG and local vibe. If you go there, get the apple pancake, it’s incredible. They not only check your vaccine documentation, but take your temperature. We then went for a drive to Kailua beach. This is one frickin beautiful beach. Tough to get parking on the weekend tho, probably spent more time finding parking than actual time on the beach. We walked the beach…gorgeous.
Returned the car to Hertz and picked up some munchies from the ABC store, and that was pretty well the end to the evening! In reflection I guess we did quite a bit, while also watching Scotties and Olympic curling!
More adventure awaits today!
We are here in Oahu so thought I would drop a few updates to ya’ll as I have gotten so much back from these boards over the years!
Scene: DH and I, from Halifax NS. Spending one week Waikiki Beach, 1 week Aulani. First trip out of province since pre-Covid. Have been to Hawaii a handful of times in the past. Are DVC members
Trip dates/flight path: planned to overnight in Toronto on Fri the 5th but ice storm forced us out a day earlier- so we flew out on the last plane on Thursday, Feb 4th, night in Toronto, then Toronto - Vancouver, then Vancouver- Honolulu. We were able to change our flight with Air Canada for free only when there was a travel advisory due to weather, so it was a mad rush that day to get everything packed up and ready to go.
Covid stuff: had a rapid test in Halifax through a private company on the day of departure. I do a rapid Covid test every 72 hours for work (I work in a hospital) so this was easy peasy as I normally ram that thing up so far my nose, and their application was a gentle dusting of the nostrils! I knew it was going to be negative because I did a rapid earlier that morning and it was negative. We had to bring our passport to the test appointment so it could be added to our documentation related to the test result. Within 15 minutes I got an email and we printed off the doc and brought it with us to the airport. Because we were travelling directly from Canada, we did not have to complete any online safe travels Hawaii stuff.
Airport experience: Checking in online was a much longer process than previously as we had to upload new documents, etc. it was extensive. In Halifax, the airport is like a ghost town. Many of the restaurants are closed. The Air Canada agent went through all of our Covid docs and was able to print off boarding passes with notation on the boarding pass itself that we met all of our flight to Hawaii requirements, and checked our bags all the way to Hawaii which was great. Security was a breeze in Halifax as volumes are low, although the security staff were cranky. At the Toronto airport it felt like it was business as usual…lots of people. Very cold and very snowy. We stayed overnight on Marriott points at the Element…was great. Hot breakfast included. Flights to Vancouver and Honolulu uneventful….wearing a mask all the time is a drag tho. Makes my nose itch so I am forever touching my face which is not good infection control measures! On the flight, it felt safe. The airports tho, physical distancing is almost non-existent. Everyone is wearing a mask.
Arrival in Honolulu Airport: got off the plane, no special lines, to baggage claim, got bags, and left. Super easy. No special additional Covid checks at arrival or anything. No waits. We had pre-arranged a car to pick us up through Super Limosine Service. We have booked them to pick us up from airport to Waikiki, Waikiki to Aulani, then at the end of our trip from Aulani to airport. We were a bit put off that they charged us immediately after booking, but frankly they have been nothing but accommodating and attentive so far. We had to change our arrival and departure times several times due to the airline changes, with no problem. They were waiting for us when we arrived - we went out to meet them (no person with a sign at the airport, we went to a designated place). We bought the Lei package so they gave us a lei before getting into…get this…a white stretch limo. We weren’t expecting that. It had chasing lights on the inside, could have fit 8 people. We thought it was pretty funny!
Stay at Queen Kapiolani, Waikiki Beach: First time staying at Queen Kapiolani, love this place. We have a diamond head/ocean view…amazing. We had to book an extra night for our early arrival and they were able to link it to our other 7 day stay so no moving around. We can hear the zoo animals at dusk and dawn getting riled up. There is still plenty of action at this end of Waikiki beach but not as intense. We see the sunrise and sunset every morning from our room or our deck. Think 180 panorama of diamond head and the beach, from our bed as it’s all windows. Lovely. First day we headed out for coffee and macadamia croissants and didn’t have to go far - went to the cafe within the hotel (note: no coffee machine in room!). Was great but of course expensive ($38 CDN for 2 coffees two croissants). Then once daylight, went for a walk further down on the beach walk toward Diamondhead and had a pineapple smoothie (in a pineapple of course) at Barefoot beach cafe. Great place to people watch, we’ll be back for supper and we understand they have live music too. We made a last minute reservation for 10:30am at Hulu Grill (we watch a lot of Amanda and Felix youtube videos so some of our food choices reflect that) where we had the loco moco and the mac pancakes. All good. They checked our vaccine status at the door and had no issue with our Canadian docs. There was a Chinese New Year celebration happening throughout the area so we got some great interaction with dancing dragons! We had an afternoon nap and then went to the Deck for happy hour. Friendly staff, the sliders were good, great views of diamond head. Their Mai Tai isn’t our favourite by a long shot, actually none of the 2 happy hour cocktails we liked. We also spent $93 CDN for 4 drinks and 2 appetizers during happy hour! This will be an expensive food trip. We went for a walk, then came back and they serve dole whips at our hotel - pretty good.
Next day (Sunday) we rented a car and went to the Aloha swap meet at the Stadium. Hertz rental at the Hyatt was super easy, especially if you are gold members. we got some great stuff at the swap meet, lots of inexpensive Hawaiian stuff…it’s so big….we were there for a few hours and our feet were aching by the end of it. But got a nice haul of stuff, and even 4 wine glasses for $1.50 - as our room is very short on these things, it was a cheap way to get glasses. We ended up that night getting a bottle(s) of wine to enjoy on our deck. We then went to Honolulu to the Original Pancake House (another Amanda and Felix recommendation) and we really loved it. As they say, super OG and local vibe. If you go there, get the apple pancake, it’s incredible. They not only check your vaccine documentation, but take your temperature. We then went for a drive to Kailua beach. This is one frickin beautiful beach. Tough to get parking on the weekend tho, probably spent more time finding parking than actual time on the beach. We walked the beach…gorgeous.
Returned the car to Hertz and picked up some munchies from the ABC store, and that was pretty well the end to the evening! In reflection I guess we did quite a bit, while also watching Scotties and Olympic curling!
More adventure awaits today!
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. They were very accepting of what we had even tho they weren’t familiar with it.
.
)…so, Monday Waikiki learnings:
