Christmas in Hawaiʻi

The few years after COVID, I put a hault on most traveling, except to visit family in the US. Outside of US trips, in 2023 I went to Berlin and a town outside of Stockholm with work. Besides our honeymoon in Rhodes, in 2024 we traveled to the US to attend two weddings, and I went to Forli, Italy as well as Stockholm for softball.

And lastly, Linnea and I met my parents, siblings, niece, and nephew in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi! It was a short but sweet trip. If anyone is thinking of going, I would definitely recommend a minimum of one and a half weeks, with two being even better.

After we booked the trip, I began seeing various articles and social media posts about local Hawaiians not wanting tourists, due to people living there not being able to afford housing (and probably many other valid reasons). If going, one recommendation is to stay at hotels and resorts, not at Airbnbs, which directly compete with long-term housing and drive prices up.

On one hand, it’s more than unfair that access to housing is limited due to the tourism industry (in many cities across the world). On the other hand, traveling to Hawaiʻi as a family amidst unimaginable beauty was a lifetime opportunity. In the future, I will try to be more conscious of this dilemma and travel as responsibly as possible. While writing this, the least I can do is attempt to use the correct spellings. Though I am by no means an expert, as far as I have found, “Hawaiian” is an English word and should not use the ʻokina marking, which has too much space surrounding it in this font.

As is my typical style, let me walk you through our week:

Day 1: Arrival

This is actually more than one day due to the long travel times. On the first leg we took an 11-hour direct flight from Helsinki to Los Angeles. This was my longest flight thus far, and I could certainly feel it. That night we stayed at my cousin’s, who conveniently lives in the city. The next morning we took a second long flight, another six hours, to Honolulu, on the island of Oʻahu. Luckily we were able to arrive around the same time as my family coming from St. Louis.

After packing into the rental car, we drove to our Airbnb in Waikīkī, a lively neighborhood within walking distance of the beach as well as countless shops, restaurants, and entertainment. Due to travel fatigue, we had a simple evening of going out to dinner and walking along the beach during sunset.

Day 2: Island tour

As expected, none of us had the best sleep while on the trip, likely the combination of the time difference (12 hours from Helsinki) and sharing the space. In addition to lack of sleep, many of us unfortunately experienced some sort of sickness on the trip, whether it be cold symptoms or stomach issues (possibly from the water).

On this first morning I woke up to my dad sitting outside on the balcony. Imagine – I joined him only wearing shorts and a t-shirt! The temperature was comfortably between 20 and 30°C throughout our stay.

After breakfast and grocery shopping, we went on a driving tour around the south-eastern tip of the island. We ended up going to Diamond Head Beach Park – where we dipped our feed in the water, Lānaʻi Lookout, and Makapuʻu Lookout. Then we circled back around through Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve, taking in the mountain views.

Day 3: Christmas

Though we have had some warm Christmas days in St. Louis (nearly 20°C one year), I have certainly never spent Christmas on the beach! Due to the aforementioned poor sleep, we were all up and the kids were opening presents by 6:00 a.m., all wearing the matching pajamas that my sister ordered for us. After relaxing, we spent a few hours on the beach, which was expectedly crowded but still nice. The day ended with a not-so-Christmassy dinner, where we enjoyed island-inspired cuisine and each other’s company.

Day 4: Whale watching

Today we went on a two-hour whale watching cruise. Though we didn’t see any whales for the first hour, it was an enjoyable ride and worth the wait to see the whales eventually. Along the way we learned all about the humpback whales that come to the island in the winter to mate, give birth, and raise their calves. Later that evening we went to a Japanese restaurant near the harbor, which was definitely the highlight meal of the trip.

Day 5: Polynesian Cultural Center

On the fifth day of the trip, we made the drive along the eastern coast of the island to the must-visit Polynesian Cultural Center. The drive was incredibly scenic, and we even passed Koʻolau Range and Kualoa Ranch where parts of Jurassic Park were filmed. I cannot do it justice with a few words, but like the website states, the center represents, “the vibrant cultures of 6 Pacific Islands in one unique place” through song, dance, cultural presentations, and interactive activities. If I could only recommend one place to visit on Oʻahu, it would have to be this. However, I do acknowledge that the experience is on the edge of another dilemma: learning about someone else’s culture vs. someone else’s culture being sold to tourists. Anyway you look at it, I think my whole family was grateful to be exposed to Polynesian culture, which is regrettably hardly taught or mentioned in the Western world.

Day 6: Mānoa Falls

My sister and the kids went to the beach, while the rest of us took a short hike to see Mānoa Falls. Though the actual waterfall was rather anti-climactic, the tropical rainforest scenery along the way was breathtaking. Both my mom and Linnea said this was their favorite part of the trip. Since it began lightly raining after we reached the waterfall, it was quite slippery on the way back down the steep and rocky hill. Finally, we joined the others and spent the last evening enjoying the beach until sunset.

Day 7: Departure

Linnea and I left on an early-morning flight back to Los Angeles and then Helsinki. We spent many weeks, even months, processing the wonder of this week. Huge thanks to Mom and Dad for making this trip possible!