Before we touched down in Hawaii, we had an 8-hour layover in Los Angeles and we decided to give the city a little visit. What I want to note about Los Angeles and LAX Airport is that even though the airport is so close to the city, taking a cab from the airport can get really expensive. But since we didn’t have any mobile data and wanted to make the little trip outside the airport and back as time-efficient as possible, and to be honest, we really couldn’t find the right bus stop, we took a cab indeed.
I figured after 2 flights (Riga-Copenhagen-Los Angeles) it would be nice to give Venice beach a visit. Our taxi driver happened to be from Oahu, so we got some good recommendations from him ahead of our final flight. Venice beach was a great laid-back destination to walk around, enjoy the sun, grab something fresh to eat and head back to the airport.
The first day in Honolulu was a rather unproductive one because our main baggage didn’t get to the same flight as us and was delivered to us the next day in the afternoon. That was my first time using the United Airlines app which was very helpful because it tracked my baggage itself. And I also got compensation from my insurance company for the delay.
Our first hike was near home and the very popular DIAMOND HEAD HIKE. The hike is relatively easy and the weather was partly cloudy, which made it also more enjoyable. From the top you can have a very good view on Waikiki and small towns on the other side of Diamond Head.
Having an Airbnb close to Diamond Head is also very convenient because there are some really good cafes on Monsarrat Avenue. First, we visited CAFE MOREY’S for some mojitos and anchovy garlic butter fries. Another cafe on that Avenue which we visited on the same week is named BOGART’S CAFE where we had fresh juice, salad and a sweet icy coffee shake.
Continuing on the drinks and food topic, as Hawaii is such an expensive state to live in, we looked up some of the best bars in Waikiki that had happy hour menus. Sometimes unplanned and sometimes planned, we used the opportunity to enjoy some drinks and snacks at more reasonable prices for us. For example, a cocktail can easily cost usually $15-25, but on happy hour they are generally around $10.
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