I spent one week travelling solo in the North Shore of Oahu, and I’m sharing my experiences, where I stayed, and what I did on the island.

My first solo adventure kicked off in the North Shore of Oahu when Leung graciously dropped me off at Kalani Private Lodging (where I’d be staying at) with the rental car before heading to the Honolulu airport with the rest of our friends. This saved me 3 hours of travel time because going up to the North Shore by bus from Waikiki involved one transfer and a total of 187 stops. It was a bittersweet moment when they dropped me off to go on my own, and I still have the feeling ingrained in my head to this day. I felt a surge of uncertainty because my plans all depended on the people I’d soon meet at the hostel. At that point, it was around 2PM and my check-in wasn’t until 6PM, so I went to the nearest beach called Rocky Point (which I’ve grown to love) located right across the place where I’ll be staying. Because I had a 40 lb. backpack on my back that is packed in layers, I was reluctant to grab my beach towel situated on the bottom, so I decided to call the hostel to see whether I could check-in early.

The owner of Kalani Lodging, Bernie, answered my call right away and told me to walk to the entrance so he could drive his car to the lodge and let me in. I was so grateful because waiting for 4 hours on a beach with no shade wouldn’t have been the best thing. Once I signed some papers and paid my remaining balance for the duration of my stay, I was directed to my dorm that I shared with four other girls. At that point of the day, all the girls were out enjoying Hawaii, so I unpacked, relaxed for a bit, and headed back out to Rocky Point beach to watch the sunset.

Upon the sunset, one of the workers from the lodge offered to drop-by near Foodland (the supermarket) because she would be going to the food trucks for dinner, so I hopped in the car and went along with her. I thought that she would just pick-up food, eat it quickly, and leave, so I bought my groceries super quickly and went back to where she parked her car in the food truck area. Sure enough, the car was still there but she was nowhere in sight. I walked around trying to find her within that area, but it was pitch black and I couldn’t really see much. It started raining heavily soon after and I decided to just hide under a tree next to the car and wait because I was certain she’d drop by the car before going back to the hostel, but one minute turned into 15, so I walked around again, looking intently at every face I passed by (note that I’ve also briefly met her so her appearance didn’t really stick in my mind). Probably at my 6th round of walking around the very dark outdoor seating area, she finally saw me and called me over. It turned out she was having dinner with a few of her other friends, so it didn’t occur to me to look for large groups of people. I joined them for a bit just listening to their conversation and an hour after that, I finally arrived back to the hostel with my groceries.

The girls were back in the hostel as well, so we introduced each other and we ended up making plans to go to Waimea Valley the next day, just like the owner of the lodge suggested we do. Since it was also on my list to-do in the North Shore, I agreed and we set off the next morning after a yummy breakfast of papaya and coconut yogurt.

One tip I’ve learned is to always bring your student card with you wherever you go because you never know when places offer student discounts. Because I use a different wallet when travelling and I don’t take anything but my ID, cash, and a credit card with me, I forgot my student card and ended up paying the regular pricing to enter the valley. The valley is a family friendly “hike” that is more like a paved scenic walk around different gardens until you reach the waterfall. Visitors can swim in the waterfall if they wish, but are required to wear a life jacket because one person drowned a while back (which I don’t really understand how because it’s a very small waterfall). The girls from the hostel (Lucie & Laurine), and I all wanted to go in because the walk was kind of underwhelming, so we all jumped in after being handed our life vests. The guy who was handing out the life vests looked extremely bored and said in the exact same words “I know it’s lame, but you have to wear these”. Very convincing, I know.

After a brief dip into the waterfall, we went to Shark’s Cove to snorkel. This was my favourite snorkel place and I ended up returning two more times for snorkelling before I left Oahu because there was just so much marine life. Getting into the water can be tricky because of the waves and the rocks that make up the “beach”. It’s a rocky shoreline so you have to be very careful when walking into the water. Once you get in, the reefs are right below you so you don’t have much space to kick and swim out without hitting something, so it takes some practice to get out into the ocean. Once you’re out, you’ll see schools of fish swimming right around you and turtles paddling on the right side of the cove. Make sure to stop by Shark’s Cove for some really epic snorkelling! It’s been rated one of the top snorkelling spots of the world, so don’t miss it if you come to the island!

I wanted to hike both Ehukai Pillbox as well as Kaena Point in the duration of my trip, but because Kaena Point required a car to get to the edge of the highway and the girls from the hostel have already done it, I didn’t have the chance to do it… but this gives me an excuse to visit the island again!

I hiked the Ehukai Pillbox by myself late afternoon after a morning of snorkelling, and it was very easy to find and well-marked up until the first pillbox. Although the trail is kind of overgrown by really tall grasses, it was still easy to follow. When you get to the first pillbox however, you continue and the trail starts to slope down and you’ll soon reach the second pillbox. It’s kind of hidden, but if you feel like you are going downhill, you are probably on the right track! I was a little worried when doing the trail by myself because everybody just stopped at the first pillbox and returned back down, but the second pillbox is really where the view is at!

 

One food that you cannot miss when you’re in the North Shore that I cannot stop raving or dreaming about is Benzai Bowls, which is located right beside the store of a Chevron gas station by Sunset Beach. I regret not going there more because it continues to be the best acai/pitaya bowl I have ever and will ever have (and I’ve probably had a bowl every second day I’m here in Hawaii). Part of its deliciousness is its value because the bowl is so humongous and it was only $12 for probably 2 liters of pitaya/acai bowl with the perfect fruit, smoothie, and granola ratio. Absolutely to die for, and I would return to Oahu just to get more!

If I’m not eating acai/pitaya bowls, I’d be eating a papaya from the farmer’s market with some cashew yogurt topped with ice-cream bananas (it’s a type of banana they grow here in Hawaii!). Meals are always simple here on the island, especially when I’m living at a hostel and need to eat everything I buy before heading to another destination.

I haven’t talked much about the hostel that I stayed at. Although it’s about the same price (just a tad pricier) of other hostel options, it was the cleanest place I have ever stayed at (including all the hotels I’ve stayed in when I travelled with my parents). It felt cleaner than an expensive hotel room, the decor was so adorable and so Hawaiian, and I felt like I was in a vacation home. It’s a really nice house with an extremely beautiful and furnished patio that I completely fell in love with (despite getting a ridiculous amount of mosquito bites there because that was where you’d always find me) when I was at the lodge.

The picture above is from the viewpoint on the patio one morning when I saw the faintest rainbow during breakfast after a rainy night. Kalani is truly a magical place to stay at; I’m already planning my trip back!

 

Haleiwa (Ha-la-ee-va) town was the closest town from the hostel, and I took the bus there on my last day in Oahu to explore for a bit. There are loads of boutiques, some beaches, and some good food around. There was a bakery called Wailua Bakery and Juice Bar that is family-owned and they serve fresh sandwiches with veggies that they grow and bread that they bake in-house. For dessert, you can grab one of their $1 fresh baked cookies! Options include chocolate chip mac nut and chocolate chip walnut… they all looked so good! I grabbed one for myself and one for the lady who worked at the lodge.

One of the girls I met also raved about the coffee at Coffee Gallery; she loved it so much she bussed back to Haleiwa just to get another cup before she had to go to the airport to catch her flight! So if you’re a coffee fan, be sure to check that out! I also heard good things about Island Vintage Coffee Company, so perhaps try both if you get the chance to.

Another place I’d recommend you visiting is the Old Sugar Mill Brand Waialua Coffee, where they offer little “tours” of how they grow coffee and cacao beans here on the island. You get to sample some really delicious dark chocolate and raw cacao as well! I think I went on a Sunday, so there was a farmer’s market right by the entrance. I picked up a really amazing avocado and some lychees to enjoy.

Waimea Bay was also a really fun place to visit if you want a little thrill and have always wanted to jump off a cliff (in safe conditions). It was where Lucie and I hesitated probably around 45 minutes before making the jump off the rock. We watched sea turtles float by on the rock, and our feet were burning while we climbed, but it was so worth it in the end. After the first jump, I only wanted to jump again! It’s very very difficult to find a parking space at Waimea Bay even on a weekday, so a tip for you would be to park at Waimea Valley (it’s free) and take a stroll to the bay to avoid the crazy parking lot. It’s around a 15 minute walk to the bay, which isn’t bad at all!

One thing I absolutely fell in love with was heading to the beach to watch the sunset every day at around 6:45PM. Every day, I’d walk to Rocky Point beach (super quiet and mostly locals who live nearby) to watch the sun disappear against the horizon. There’s something about watching the sunset that makes me feel so present but also allows me to reflect about the amazing day I’ve lived that day. It’s really nice to just shower and rest after watching the sunset, and waking up when the sun rises. I haven’t felt so in tune with the Earth’s natural alarm clock.

 

Oahu was truly paradise, and will be a place that I will cherish in my hart forever. I felt like my solo-travelling on this island could not have gone any better, and everything just fell into place. Oahu was where I felt so at home I was extremely reluctant to leave. The people I met there will stay with my memories forever. I’ll be back North Shore, Oahu. You’ve really stolen a piece of my heart.