We had a free weekend so we decided to run hop on a plane to Hawaii for the weekend. We got into Honolulu around 8:00 at night. To get to Waikiki from the airport board bus #19 or #20 Waikiki Beach and Hotels. First bus from Waikiki is 4:46 a.m. on weekdays and 5:25 a.m. on weekends. The last bus leaving the Airport to Waikiki is 11:31 p.m. on weekdays and 11:39 p.m. on weekends. Buses run about 20 minutes apart during the day, and 30 minutes apart in the evenings. It took a little over a half an hour to get to waikiki and the bus dropped driver was helpful and dropped us off right near our Hotel. We stayed at the Hawaiin Prince a 4-star hotel and got it on priceline for $75. We used biddingfortravel.com to check the going rates for priceline. The next morning we headed to Hanauma Bay to snorkel. Hanauma Bay is a nature reserve on the southeast end of Oahu Island. The bus stops are frequent and easy to find anywhere in Waikiki. The bus cost 2.25 a person and was very convenient. The entrance fee was $15 a person but it is well worth it, they also had snorkel gear that you could rent. The beach and bay are well taken care of and it is great snorkeling, there were tons of fish! Some people saw octopus and there are turtles there but we never saw any. On the way back we asked the bus driver where we could get some real authentic Hawaiian food and he dropped us off at a local joint. The food was good but a little greasy for Laurens taste. Hawaiian food isn't anything fancy. That was Saturday, our first and second to last day.
On Sunday we had two choices, go up to the north shore and see the huge waves or stay at the beach and just enjoy the sun. Since our trip was so short we decided to stay close and not spend more time on the bus traveling. The beach was great, we snagged some chairs from one of the hotels and just relaxed all day. That night we took the bus back to the airport, which was pretty easy, and got on our overnight flight back home. Getting off the airplane at 7:00 am and going straight to work was rough but well worth getting to go to Hawaii for the first time.
Total trip cost: 2 Nights Hotel $150 + Bus Fares $25 + Hanauma Bay $30 = $210
