23 June 2017

Friday it was time to get in the car and explore some of the island. We started at the Dole Plantation where we did the pineapple maze which the kids enjoyed. They made it a competition, girls against boys, and the girls smoked us.

From there we headed to the famed North Shore from the historic Haleiwa up to Turtle Bay.  We stopped briefly at Turtle Bay but moved back down to other beaches we wanted to explore further. If we had more time, I think Turtle Bay would be an excellent choice for families. Turns out it is a resort that includes public access. It is a great find for families because it provides resort class facilities for public access cost, free! You can also rent cabanas and water gear, although it costs you more than the paying guests of course.

First stop was at Pupukea Beach which has lousy facilities, limited parking, and almost no sand… but what is does have is clear blue water, rocks and coral for snorkeling which made it quite popular. The kids loved it. If sitting on the rocks was not so uncomfortable, we might have spent the entire day there. The next stop was a famous surfer haunt, the Banzai Pipeline, just south of Sunset Beach. I don’t think this was the best place for a family to play in the surf and sand but we had fun.

Pupukea Beach

Banzai Pipeline

After a long day we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up, ordered some take-out pizza, did some souvenir shopping, and relaxed. Tomorrow, we go to Pearl Harbor.