In July 2011, J surprised me with a trip. He messaged me one day and said: Paris or Oahu. I didn’t quite catch his meaning and chose Oahu (because so many of the places I want to see in Paris close for the summer months).
Turns out J had peeked at the travel account and realized we had enough to spend nearly a week at Turtle Bay. With less than a week to plan, I researched the best places to eat and visit and checked in with friends who either lived there or recently visited. I’ve sent this list to several friends and when I got a recent request, I decided to add it to the blog for easier reference.
One of the best meals we ate the entire time we were there was at Ola, which sadly closed in 2015, but we’ve heard the new location, Roy’s, is quite tasty. We had the misoyaki cod (a staple of restaurants on the island!) and it was buttery and to die for.
Also on the property, Lei Lei’s had the most amazing crab dip I’ve ever eaten, ever.
My most favorite beach was across the street from Ted’s Bakery, get there early and get their famous pie. Since you have a fridge, get a whole one. You’ll thank me later. We also got two of their hot breakfast plates, but one would have been more than enough for both of us. The beach was also where we saw our first rainbow of the trip! A double one!
The Dole Plantation (also this is the road we drove late at night that smelled of eucalyptus and pineapple…) for Dole Whip and all things pineapple. This was actually our first stop after the airport and it was worth it to get out, walk around and enjoy the super fresh and delicious pineapple.
The super adorable surf village is Haleiwa. This is town with the famous shaved ice and it’s absolutely work getting. We also enjoyed the Restaurant Haleiwa Joe’s where the Poisson Cru was amazing.
The famous shrimp truck (which is on the way to the Macadamia Nut farm) is Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck and it is amazing. We’re tried to recreate the recipe at home and have come pretty close.
When we drove around the north side of the island, we came across a blink and you’ll miss it Macadamia Nut farm. In fact, we had to turn around twice in order to make the entrance, but once we were in, it was absolutely worth it. Don’t worry about buying things and figuring out how to take them home, they’ll ship it to you. Last year for Christmas everyone got something from them.
Happy travels!