HAWAIIAN HONEYMOON - OAHU

BY THE EM ALEXANDER

When we decided to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon I began researching the best places to go on each of the islands we were visiting – Oahu, the Big Island, and Maui. I first came across Turtle Bay when checking out the Hawaii’s Hottest Hotels for Honeymooners feature in Brides Magazine. I was a bit torn between staying on the North Shore of Oahu or staying in Waikiki so we could be sure we would have enough time to go to Pearl Harbor, but I couldn’t get Turtle Bay out of my head! This place has everything you could ask for, five miles of beach front, surfing, a spa, horse back riding, and so much more! Also, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Lost, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and most recently Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates were all filmed at Turtle Bay. As we walked around the resort I kept pointing out spots I knew from Forgetting Sarah Marshall that I remembered.

We arrived at Turtle Bay around 11:00 pm on July 3rd after the hour drive from the Honolulu airport. If you are going to stay at Turtle Bay definitely rent a vehicle for the drive. We looked into getting a shuttle and it was going to cost close to $400 one way – seriously!! We were starving when we arrived at the hotel and thankfully they have a late night menu available for room service.

We slept so well in the comfy king beds, and with the time difference we were up at 5:30 am to watch the sunrise. We started our day with in-room Kona coffee, which was delicious, then headed down to the Kula Grille for their buffet breakfast. Josh and I are rarely able to find a place for breakfast that we can agree on; his idea of breakfast is eggs, bacon, bacon, and some more bacon, where as my idea of breakfast is fruit, Chia seeds or Hemp Hearts, yogurt, and a bit of bacon. The Kula Grille had a huge buffet that satisfied both of our breakfast food desires, and some of the best waffles I have ever eaten!

After breakfast we toured around the beaches, checked out the stables, and walking trails, taking in all the beautiful scenery and watching the surfing competition taking place that morning.

Turtle Bay hosts a huge party for the Fourth of July each year, featuring a food truck festival, local musicians, and artisans. The celebrations started in the afternoon so we relaxed by the pool and enjoyed some cocktails – I had the lava flow, get it – until the party started. The food truck festival was awesome, as was the fireworks show that night! There is a big expanse of property between the villas and The Stables, which is where the festival was set up. After stuffing ourselves with fish tacos and beef brisket sandwiches, we headed back to the pool to watch the fireworks show. The resort closes off the pool to guests since it has the best view of the show. We had so much fun celebrating the fourth with everyone and watching the light show. Since we were up to watch the sunrise, we fell asleep shortly after the fireworks show ended.

The next morning we were up again to watch the sunrise. We picked up breakfast at the Lobby Lounge, an Acai bowl for me, an egg & cheese bagel for Josh, then headed down to the beach to walk in the water and enjoy the view before we had to check out. When we first woke up it was raining on and off, which lead to the most beautiful rainbow cresting the length of the resort.

Although our time at Turtle Bay was short, we really loved it there – except I didn’t see any turtles! A very cute and lazy Monk Seal lounging on the beach made up for the lack of sea turtles.


If you’re considering a stay on Oahu and want a spot that isn’t as busy as Waikiki, I would definitely recommend Turtle Bay and the North Shore. I can't wait to go back one day and enjoy the stunning scenery and laid back vibes once again.