I went to Hawaii for the first time. My trip would've been better if I'd known these 5 things before I left.
Megan duBois
- I visited Hawaii for the first time, and there are things I wish I'd known before the trip.
- Figuring out that there's more than one Leonard's Bakery on Oahu would've saved me some stress.
Well over 1 million people have already visited the Hawaiian Islands this year, and I was lucky enough to be one of them.
I went on a nine-day trip to Oahu that included a stay at Disney's Aulani Resort in Ko Olina.
Because this was my first time visiting Hawaii, I tried to do as much research as possible before my trip. But after arriving, I still wish I'd known a few things.
I thought it would be much harder to get around the island.
Before leaving for Oahu, I'd heard from friends and read on social-media groups that getting around can be difficult. My fears of sitting in traffic for the whole week set in before I even stepped foot off the plane.
In reality, my family and I never got stuck in gridlocked traffic over our six days on the island.
According to a hotel worker we met, no matter what part of the island you're at, the big secret is to head out after 9 a.m. and try to make your way back either before 3 p.m. or after 6 p.m.
My family and I followed this rule every day of our trip and never had much traffic to deal with while we traveled from Ko Olina to Pearl Harbor and Ko Olina to the North Shore.
We also found the drivers to be much more courteous than we're used to back in Florida. No one weaved in and out of the cars around us.
The kind of sunscreen you pack matters.
My packing list for Hawaii was long, but one of the most important items was sunscreen. Hawaii is close to the equator, so the UV rays are even stronger on the islands.
But I wished I'd known more about the islands' rules around reef-safe sunscreen before I started packing.
Hawaii passed a law banning the sale of sunscreens with the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate in 2021. And some counties only allow mineral-based sunscreens.
I ended up using Sun Bum sunscreen throughout my stay, and now that I know more, I'll continue to use it in Florida to help protect coral reefs.
I wish I'd known that there's more than one Leonard’s Bakery on the island.
One of the most talked about spots on Oahu is Leonard's Bakery, known for its Portuguese-style doughnuts called malasadas.
The main store is located near Honolulu, which was about a 40-minute drive from where we were staying. I'd pretty much accepted that we'd have to budget a few hours one day to try the sugary treats.
But once we landed on Oahu, we noticed a Leonard's Bakery food truck — lovingly called Malasadamobiles — about 10 minutes from the resort.
The truck dished out hot malasadas to order, but it didn't offer the main bakery's extended menu. That was the only real trade-off for us, but it was worth it to save on driving time.
The weather can change depending on what side of the island you’re on.
The weather can be drastically different around Oahu. For instance, when my family left Ko Olina on the western side of the island to drive to the North Shore, the sun was out and it was very warm.
About an hour into our drive, we passed by Kuala Ranch (a filming location for "Jurassic Park"), and it was suddenly cooler and cloudy.
Once we got to the North Shore, the sun was back out and we were able to enjoy our day of beach hopping.
Learning a few key Hawaiian phrases goes a long way with locals.
Knowing some key sayings and phrases in a native language goes a long way with locals, no matter where you're traveling. I knew some basic Hawaiian words — like "aloha" (hello) and "mahalo" (thank you) — but I wish I'd learned a few more.
While I was there, one new phrase I learned that came in handy was "a hui hou," which means until we meet again.
We stayed in some spots for a few days, so it was nice to say that to the people we'd connected with on our way out.
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