Calling all HI residents!

Unrelated about living in Hawaii but can I fit in your suitcase?

I want to go.

Koolina located on the west side of Oahu is awesome for swimming with babies/ little kids. It's a man made beach so no waves, very calm. Go early for parking. During the summer north shore is calm, south side has waves. ???☀️?

I grew up on Oahu for 10 years!

If you're looking for something more local you could rent a beach house in Haleiwa. Unfortunately most of Oahu is going to be very city-like and touristy. But there are definitely some great beaches of course. I lived on the Gold Coast near diamond head and I loved it.

If you're looking for a very rural and native experience I would suggest Molokai, but it is very unpopulated. If you're looking for something in between, I would suggest Kauai. In my opinion it is the most beautiful island. The Big Island is fun but to see everything it requires a lot of driving, a lot of things are very spread out.

Following!

Moving to Hawaii next year for 3 years!

I don't have a recommendation for where to stay, but you have to go to dukes and get some hula pie. It's so good.

Thanks ladies! We're so excited! We just want to make sure wherever we stay has a good swimming beach for the kiddos! I know the north shore is big waves in the winter but I did read they calmed down a bit in the summer.

Kailua/Kaneohe is definitely the nicer area of the island. I would stay there if you can. Don't forget to visit the North Shore and get some shave ice from Matsumoto's. As far as beaches go, I personally love Bellows beach. It's located at bellows air station. One side is for military, and the other side is open to the public mon-fri after 12pm. It's open all the time on the weekends.

If you are going to be there for two weeks though I do suggest maybe taking a day trip to a different island (I suggest Kauai or Maui depending on what you want to do our see). There are little island hopper planes (though the prices will be high during the peak season, I think around $60+ per person).

Ok then yes, I would highly recommend taking the 63 from Honolulu to the north east side of the island to Kaneohe. Very laid back, but some areas are a bit more Haole (white) and still a bit more commercialized. You can take the 830 or the 83 (the 830 turns into the 83 eventually) along the coast to the north of the island. You can always stop and check out each beach to see what looks good, I'm not really sure where are the safe ones.

I've only been to Kauai and omg I loved it so much and its not a big island so it was even better.

Yes, more than likely we will stay in Oahu.

Are you staying on Oahu? I love visiting my family in Kaneohe. Less touristy but still a good infrastructure.