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Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to be able to pick up a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii. I'm a junior flight attendant, so a Honolulu trip doesn't come around all that often for me, so naturally, I wanted to make the most of our 24-hour layover!
My grandpa is from Oahu and I grew up going to Oahu often but it had been a while since the last time I went so I was extra excited for this trip!
The crew and I discussed getting together in the evening so I had about 5 hours of daylight to maximize. Initially, I was going to go to Waikiki Beach but I couldn't figure out how to keep my valuables (phone, ID, $$$) safe while I was in the water (still new to this solo traveling thing- if you have any recommendations, hollerrrrr!). So, I decided that I would get some lunch and hike Diamond Head. I took a Lyft over to my friends' seafood/poke shop, Ahi Assassins and had the best/freshest poke bowl. I then took another Lyft (and sat in Honolulu traffic) to the Diamond Head State Monument to commence my hike! The Lyft driver dropped me off, I paid my $1 park entrance fee and began the trek.
Can't start any Hawaii trip without some Hawaiian Sun in my life.
milleniGAL's tips on hiking Diamond Head
Make sure you bring cash, the park entrance is strictly cash only.
Bring water!!! It's not a crazy or intense hike but it's a lot of uphill walking/climbing so you will get thirsty and there's nowhere to get water on the trail once you begin.
Bring and apply sunscreen. Even if it's overcast, chances are you might still get sunburned.
Try to go around a time where it's not overly crowded so you can enjoy the trail and the breathtaking views. I went around 3:30 (last hike is at 4:30) and it was perfect. There was still a large presence of hikers but it wasn't too crowded to the point where I couldn't enjoy the scenery.
Bring a camera! I wish I had brought my Nikon and extended lens for the epic views even though my iPhone definitely did the trick. But next time, I'm definitely bringing my Nikon.
Seriously?! Is this view real?!
Checkin' out that weeee little lighthouse down below
Can I just stay here forever?!
Major heart eyes rn.
xx,
milleniGAL
