Things To Do In Hawaii During A Ten-Hour Layover

After having experienced our very own version of "airport tourism" firsthand, the time has come for us to give back and help a friend who just had a ten-hour layover at the Honolulu International Airport (HNL).

(If you'd like to read about our "airport tourism" experience, please read my previous blogpost.)

The historic landmark - this is where you'll find Kahuku Grill

Why ten hours?!

Our friend's next layover was going to be in Anchorage, Alaska, and the airline of his choice flies out of Honolulu to Anchorage only once per day.

The reasonably-priced menu

As a result, he had roughly seven hours to burn (since three of them had to be spent at the airport) outside of HNL.

He arrived around lunch time so we decided to go to the North Shore to look for some good food while seeing some nice views of the ocean along the way.

Stop #1 - Kahuku Grill:  We originally thought of eating at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, but I felt that this place offered more variety, especially for children. The traffic was horrible and it took us nearly two hours just to get to this place from the airport. It was worth the wait, though! The adults ordered the Garlic Shrimp Plate with organic salad greens locally grown in Pupukea. The children ordered a massive cheeseburger (made fresh when you order) with fries (essentially yummy, seasoned potato slices, that came with a mouth-watering special dip).

Refreshing Tongan Drinks at Vula Express

Stop #2 - Vula Express: While waiting for our order, I walked over to the other side to purchase specialty drinks at Vula Express (it's like a local 7-Eleven store). They sell delicious Tongan drinks known as "otai", a mixture of coconut flakes, mango, pineapple, and sugar (the watermelon mix isn't available as the fruit isn't currently in season). We also got to try their "banana donuts"--a deep-fried pastry shaped into a ball.

My photo of the store's photo of their sugar cane juice

Stop #3 - Wili Wili Shave Ice: This store was right next door to Kahuku Grill. We wanted to try their Sugar Cane Juice (they posted a photo of it along with a list of many health benefits); unfortunately, they didn't have any of that juice available that day (they usually do, they claimed, just not on that day). Oh well, maybe next time.

Dragon Fruit for Sale at the Kahuku Land Farms Fruit Stand (this is an older photo)

Signage at Kawaiola Ranch

Stop #4 - Kahuku Land Farms Fruit Stand: Well, we almost stopped by here (as originally planned); but, we were so stuffed as a result of devouring the mega-licious food from the first two stops. We usually would stop by here to buy some fresh coconut juice and banana lumpia (or "turon" in Tagalog). So, instead of stopping, we decided to keep driving all the way back to town. Along the way, we saw beautiful views of the many famous beaches along the coastline, including Laniakea Beach (also known as "Turtle Beach"--usually the main cause of the traffic buildup in the area), Pupukea Beach Park, Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay, Shark's Cove, etc. We also saw a bunch of beautiful horses while passing many ranches near the North Shore (one of them is Kawaiola Ranch).

Laniakea Beach a.k.a. Turtle Beach

I spotted "Brutus" at Turtle Beach once upon a time.

Stop #5 - Aloha Tower Marketplace: The baby started crying during our long drive, as it took another two hours to get to this place from the North Shore area in the pouring rain. We arrived around 4:45PM and had to pay a flat rate of $5.00 for "evening parking". I stayed in the car to breastfeed the baby while everyone else headed over to the Aloha Tower in frantic search for a restroom! Although the main purpose for making this stop was to purchase coffee from Island Vintage Coffee, the need for a bio break took precedence!!!

The Aloha Tower Marketplace

Anyway, I was hoping to purchase some chocolate-covered coffee beans from here as well as check-out the pricing for a huge bag of Kona Peaberry coffee beans--maybe, just maybe, someone would gift me with this ginormous bag of coffee beans before we leave for the Philippines. One can hope, yeah?

The huge bag costs a little under $300 the last time I checked!

Chocolate-Covered Kona Peaberry Coffee Beans

Unfortunately, we found out that the coffee shop closes early on Saturdays. We walked away from the Aloha Tower Marketplace, sorely empty-handed (I took the above photos earlier this month).

At least, we were able to take care of some very important matters, i.e. bio break + breastfeeding break --at a $5.00 (parking) cost!

Stop #6 - Ala Moana Mall: We then proceeded to the Ala Moana Mall as I had thought of picking up some food for my husband and delivering it to where he works (since we were in the area). While at the mall, we were also able to kill some time until we had to take our friend back to the airport.

Kona Peaberries serve as backdrop
for Island Vintage Coffee logo

Stop #7 - Zippy's Restaurant: We went to Zippy's (ground floor, Ala Moana Mall) to purchase a Zip-Pac for my husband. It's like a bento box with furikake rice topped with SPAM, teriyaki meat, and fried chicken. It's not my husband's favorite thing to eat, but it was the best thing to get for him given our timeline, our situation (kids in tow), the heavy traffic, and the pouring rain. We needed to stay indoors (and the mall had a parking garage).

Stop #8 - Old Navy: I dragged everyone to come with me to an Old Navy store (just around the corner) to look for some new, glittery slippahs for use at the beach--okay, okay...I said they were for my enjoyment in the Philippines. I found two pairs, and they were on sale at only $7.00 each!!!

Stop #9 - Island Vintage Coffee: We still had a little bit more time left to spare. Of course, our trip to the Ala Moana Mall wouldn't be complete without a quick stop at Island Vintage Coffee (especially since we missed it at the Aloha Tower Marketplace). We picked up a few Hawaiian Honey Lattes for the adults--these are soooo good! While waiting for our coffee to be ready, I saw even more interesting products inside this store that I don't believe I ever got to see at their other store at the Aloha Tower Marketplace.

 Orange Chocolate Macadamia Nuts

I found three different variations of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts: they came in orange, white chocolate, and chocolate (not sure if dark or milk chocolate). The orange one was the most unique-looking, in my opinion. The sales associate said that it's indeed chocolate-covered just like the rest, only that it also has a coat that tastes like orange!

Then, I saw a different version of chocolate-covered coffee beans! It looks like they come in chocolate and white chocolate. I particularly enjoyed their creativity in packaging them in mini soda bottles! They make wonderful, small travel gifts or "omiyage" (Japanese) or "pasalubong" (Tagalog).

Gotta love the creative packaging of these chocolate-covered coffee beans for sale at Island Vintage Coffee

Stop #10 - Time To See My Husband: After our quick caffeine refueling, we headed out to where my husband works so that we could specially hand-deliver his dinner. It was nice to see him even for a little bit as he usually works long hours. In addition, I was glad that he could personally bid our friend "farewell" and "have a safe trip" just before leaving Hawaii.

I guess we could say that we almost "half-circled" the island (and back) during our friend's ten-hour layover. This just proves that some extended layovers can actually be fun!

NOTE: Special thanks to the children for behaving the whole way through. The baby did not cry as much this time!

DISCLAIMER: I am by no means affiliated with any of the organizations listed in this blogpost. For the most accurate and recent information on any of these organizations, please visit their website or contact them directly.