I had wished to visit Hawaii for as long as I can remember. However, I’d always put it on the backburner, as there were more international destinations I had ranked higher on my priority list. In early 2022, with Covid-19 still looming over our summer travel plans, my boyfriend Mike and I decided to stay domestic and visit the Aloha State in June. 

We visited three islands: Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island and were on each island 2-3 days. I loved this approach, as it gave us a taste of each island and helped us determine which ones we may want to spend more time at in the future. Here are all my details from our trip to help you plan something similar!

Itinerary

Friday:

Fly to Honolulu and stay in Waikiki. We stayed at Queen Kapi’olani.

Saturday:

Spend your morning in Pearl Harbor. I recommend making a reservation at 8am to make the most out of your time. Visit the USS Arizona, USS Missouri, and the Aviation Museum. Spend about four hours at Pearl Harbor if you want to do all of these stops. If not, you can spend more time on Waikiki Beach. You may be a little jet-lagged, so head back to your hotel for a quick nap. Spend your evening on a sunset catamaran on Waikiki. The boat leaves the shore at 5:30pm and trip lasts about 1.5 hours. Have dinner at your hotel and get a good night’s sleep.

Sunday:

Start your day with an acai bowl at Lanikai Juice. Hike Kuli’ou’ou Ridge, which is about 6 miles round trip. Get some lunch on the way back into town at Fresh Catch. This was some of the best poke I had on our trip! Spend the rest of your day exploring North Shore. We shopped in Haleiwa, got shave ice at Aoki’s, hung out on Ali ‘i Beach, stopped by the Banzai Pipeline, and got dinner at the food trucks.

Monday:

Get some delicious custard-filled doughnuts at Leonard’s Bakery. Then head to Kualoa Ranch for a Jurassic Park Tour. Start your tour early at 8:20am. The tour lasts about 2.5 hours. Drive through the Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden and admire the beautiful foliage. Grab some lunch at Kalapawai Cafe & Deli before heading to the airport. Fly to Kauai, which takes about 40 minutes. Head straight to dinner in Poipu at Beach House Restaurant. The food and views here are incredible! Stay at an Airbnb or hotel in Kapaa.

Tuesday:

You’ll likely be tired from how action packed the first few days have been, so take it easy this morning by relaxing on the beach in Kapaa in the morning. Take a doors-off afternoon helicopter ride with the company Jack Harter. They’ll take you all around the island for some amazing views. After you get back, drive to the other side of the island for a sunset hike at Kalepa Ridge. The hike is fairly short, only two miles round trip.

Wednesday:

Spend the morning at the beach in Kapaa, and then explore the cute town of Hanalei on the north shore. Get some acai at Nourish Hanalei, my favorite of our trip. Then fly to the Big Island. Pick up some pizza at Kai Eats and Drinks and take it to your Airbnb or hotel in Kona.

Thursday:

Head to Kahalu’u Beach Park for some snorkeling. This area has some of the best marine life on the island. Then explore the town of Kona poking into some shops and grabbing a quick lunch. Get dinner at Umekes Fish Market, where I had my favorite meal on this island. Do a manta ray snorkeling tour with Big Island Divers. The tour starts at sunset and you jump into the water after dark. They attract the manta rays by shining lights into the water, which attract plankton.

Friday:

Relax at the pool or beach in the morning. Grab some lunch in town and check out the farmers market. Head towards Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and stop at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach on the way. The weather wasn’t good for us that afternoon and was raining the entire time we were at the national park. However, we were able to witness the glow of the erupting lava illuminating the sky after it got dark.

Saturday:

Stop by the Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, which is about 40 minutes south of Kona. Take a self-guided walking tour to learn about the area’s history. Stop by Greenwell Farms for a free Coffee Farm Tour. Kona coffee is delicious and makes an excellent souvenir! Have lunch at Kona Brewing, where we had one of the best pizzas we’ve ever had! Fly back to Oahu that evening and stay near the airport.

Sunday:

Spend your last day flying home.

Lodging

We visited Hawaii during their peak season in June, which means lodging was very expensive. This was probably the most I have ever paid for lodging on a trip ever. In general, we looked for nice places without wanting to pay anything outrageous. On average we paid about $330/night for one room that sleeps two people. We stayed in a hotel on Oahu along Waikiki Beach that was our most expensive lodging at about $365/night. In Kauai and the Big Island, we stayed in Airbnbs that were a bit cheaper. The Airbnbs also allowed us to make breakfast every morning which helped keep food costs down a little. Our last night was our cheapest, as we stayed in a no-frills airport hotel. That was still over $200! 

If you are going during the peak season, I highly recommend booking as early as you can. We booked about four months ahead of our trip.

Weather

The weather during our nine days in Hawaii was phenomenal. The only rain we got was on the Big Island, and the only time that slowed us down was during our visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was definitely warm, but there was a consistent sea breeze most places that kept it feeling quite pleasant. 

Flights

We were coming from Atlanta, so we flew with Delta to Honolulu with a layover in LAX. The flights were roughly five hours each, and it was nice to break up the trip with a layover so we could get food and stretch our legs. 

While in Hawaii, we flew with Hawaiian Airlines between the islands. Our experience was good in general. The flights were quick and easy. Two of the three did get delayed by about an hour, but that seems to be happening just about everywhere these days due to Covid-19.

Food

Most of the food we had was amazing! A few things I definitely recommend having would be acai bowls, poke bowls, Leonard’s Malasadas, fresh pineapple from any grocery store, passion orange guava juice from any grocery store, Spam Musubi from 7/11 or ABC stores, and shave ice. Mmm, I already want to go back just for the food!!

Costs per Person (Two People Total)

Flights & baggage fees: $1300

Lodging 9 nights: $1475

Food & drinks: $500

Activities: $755

Rental cars & gas: $270

Other transportation & parking: $30

TOTAL: $4,330

Note that I was traveling with one other person, so if you were to do this trip on your own, it would be more expensive.

Overall Thoughts

I really enjoyed Hawaii. It is definitely a place everyone should experience at least once. I would say if you just want to sit on the beach and are on the east coast, there are closer places that are similar. The flight and time change was quite rough and (in my opinion) only worth it if you are going to be experiencing things that are unique to Hawaii. There are so many things to do and see in Hawaii, and I feel like we only scratched the surface. I will be back one day!

You may also be interested in:

Three Day Itinerary for Oahu
How to Spend Two Days in Kauai
Highlights from the Big Island of Hawaii
30 Photos That Will Make You Want to Visit Hawaii