Day 1 – Visit one of the most beautiful beaches in the world
Lanikai Beach
Lanikai Beach, located in Kailua, is ranked as one of the world’s most beautiful beaches (Kailua Beach Park is also a great neighboring family beach). Two small islands just off the beach can be reached via kayak or paddleboard. The calm channel provides a picturesque opportunity for adventurous families to feel like a hawaiian waterman for the day. You can find additional information about the area here. Lanikai and Kailua Beach are very close to each other. Lanikai does not have public facilities like Kailua does (restrooms, places to rent snorkels, kayaks, etc). If your family requires those things you could easily visit Lanikai for a bit and then spend the rest of the day at the neighboring Kailua Beach Park (less than 3 minutes away by car). You will not be disappointed! Map
Rent bikes in Kailua with the Family
Another must thing to do is to rent bikes in Kailua and ride along the beach area and large grass parks right on the beach. You can rent electric bikes or traditional bikes for a few hours and ride around the beach park and up through the neighborhood. Try this link for Pedego rental shop Website. They are so easy to deal with and helped us when one of the bikes wasn’t all the way charged. We had a great time but one bike was holding us back a bit. They ended up giving us a huge discount which made up for it plus some! Website
Family Pillbox hike
If you are travelling with older children, a great hike opportunity is the Lanikai Pillbox Hike, it’s one of the easier hikes on the Island but it really is an exquisite view. The hike is along a dirt ridge with an incline and leads you up to two different WWII bunkers. Because it’s a dirt path, after rainy weather, I would forgo the hike because it can be really muddy and slippery. And it can be steep and narrow along some portions. The very beginning of the hike is actually the steepest. You will arrive at the first Pillbox and just relax and take in the view of Kailua Valley. You’ll notice the tiny islands that you may have kayaked too earlier in the day at Lanikai Beach, the Mokulua Islands. One awesome part is the pillboxes themselves are covered in graffiti, which makes for a really unique and cool backdrop. A little grit coupled with that natural beauty makes for a really special moment. Then you’ll continue up towards the second Pillbox and the higher elevation allows you to see panoramic ocean views of the sparkling cobalt pacific waters! At the second pillbox, I would turn around and head back down. The hike, start to finish, is about an hour.
Parking can be kind of tricky, you need to find parking along the street on Kaelepulu Drive. Park and then walk up the street. Just before the road enters a gated community you’ll see a road that goes off to the left. Take this road to the trailhead, on the right side. Also, because you’ll be walking through neighborhoods to get to the trail, make sure you’re courteous and quiet. Because of hikers, they have already made the closer neighborhood streets off limits for parking, so make sure we keep this beautiful hike open and available to the public. Also, it’s important to know that there are no bathrooms near this hike. This will be a hike you’ll never forget! Map
|
