Several people have asked for Hawaii vacay tips, so I’m going to share our itinerary with you! In 2017, I graduated from law school, took (& passed!) the Georgia Bar Exam, and we decided to move in together. To celebrate, all of this, and or four-year anniversary, we planned our first big vacation together, to Hawaii!! I’ll be using the hashtag HawaiianVacay to mark these posts, so hopefully you’ll check back in with them. Follow the hashtag to see the entire itinerary.

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So here it goes: #HawaiianVacay Day 1.1- Arriving in Hawaii!

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We booked out tickets in May and found that the best time of year to go, for the cheapest miles was in September. This is probably because most kids are just going back to school, so people aren’t taking family vacations. We used that view on the Delta website where you can see a grid showing days you leave against days you return and picked the cheapest date range that allowed us to have 10 days. We also knew ahead of time that we would each need a checked bag. I get 1 free each leg, Kyle would need to pay for his. For this round trip flight, we each spent: 45,000 miles x 2 + $11.20 x 2 + $25.00 x 2 = $72.40.

We were able to get two roundtrip tickets for only 45,000 Delta miles each!! Direct flights ATL to HNL.

Also- you can see the whole itinerary including links to the companies that we used, and costs of the “funtivities” (we like to be very open about how much activities cost in case other people want to se the same companies or want to know how to budget most effectively.

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Tips for keeping flight costs down:

1. if you don’t mind layovers, don’t be afraid of them
2. if you’re booking with Delta (or any airline that offers it) be sure to check out the “grid view” to maximize your savings!
3. check out deals on HawaiianAirlines from LA or Phoenix or Seattle and consider buying a separate ticket on a different airline to one of those cities if you can get a good deal. United has also been advertising affordable nonstop flights to different islands from “the main land”! Southwest also launched flights to Hawaii!
4. know your airline rewards! I have a Delta credit card that gets me a free checked bag, and builds up miles quickly, so for us, this is how we cut down our costs majorly.
5. check out Expedia vacation deals; Costco Travel; Amex Travel; Delta Vacations plans – all of these are good options if you want some help planning your whole vacation
6. follow the flights on hopper; kayak; kiwi; google flights; and sky scanner to keep up do date on the best prices available!
7. comment below to share how you find the best deals!

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We were very lucky because Kyle’s good friend was stationed in Honolulu (airforce) with his fiancé ((we’re actually going to their wedding in 2 weeks!!)) They were celebrating a friend’s birthday, so we tagged along to some happy hours! Have you been to any good happy hours or cocktail bars in Honolulu or on O’ahu? Comment below!

After all of that fun, we crashed pretty early. Our GOAL was to stay on Atlanta time. We wanted to be able to wake up early and do fun-tivities and then go nap on a beach or by a pool, and wake back up for dinner. *This time difference is exactly the reason why I think you actually could do a Hawaii trip in 6 days (budgeting for 1 travel day on either end & 4 fun-filled days!). As long as you stay on mainland time, you can do sooo much stuff!

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Some highlights from our first day:

• Our friends’ apartment had an incredible view. We saw a rainbow almost every day! It was amazing! I’ve never seen one start to finish before, & it looked so close. #HawaiianVacay Day 1.2
  • If it wasn’t a rainbow, it was a stunning sunset.
• We went back to their apartment, then went out with them to one of their friends’ birthdays.
  • Maui Brewing Co., in Waikiki #HawaiianVacay Day 1.3
    • Sadly, this was not the actual brewing company, just a restaurant. It’s basically like going to Taco Mac. But it’s also a must-do if you’re in Hawaii. We went back on our last night on O’ahu and got a fun glass-set! Another plus: they have a “mocktail” menu, which I really respect since (1) there’s a lot of driving in Hawaii and (2) it makes this restaurant both pregnancy- and kid-friendly.

• Azure, in Waikiki #HawaiianVacay Day 1.4
  • I think this is the next place that we went to. It was basically overpriced cocktails. But we sat on the roof. But it was a low (like 2nd/ 3rd story) roof and it was also windy…. So the views weren’t really worth the chill. Just trying to be 100% honest 🙂

• Cuckoo’s Coconuts, in Waikiki #HawaiianVacay Day 1.5
  • Okay this place was PERFECT! It was the absolute best kitschy tiki bar that we could ask for! They had live music that was actually GOOD, silly drinks that came in fun glassware, and cheap bar food. Kyle got his first Mai Thai of the trip!
  • I would absolutely go back here!!

Tell me your favorite places to eat in Waikiki!