Oahu, Hawaii is one of my favorite destinations, so it was definitely hard to come up with some reasons to hate it. But I keep thinking of more and more loves, I’m sure I could add 10 more! Without further ado, here’s my 5 Love/Hates I discovered while visiting Oahu.

1. 

Love – Easy Navigation

Since the island of Oahu isn’t much larger than a big city, it’s easy to get to your island destinations. To drive the perimeter of the island only takes about 2.5 hours, so everything is considerably close!

Hate – Parking

Parking either doesn’t exist or there is nowhere near enough spots for the amount of visitors. Plus, if you’re staying in the city like we were, in Waikiki we had to pay to park anywhere we went. Parking just kinda sucked most of the time.

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2.

Love – So Much Nature

Hawaii is all natural. In one day, we could go on a Catamaran cruise to see whales, end up seeing a rainbow and then visit a beach populated by sea turtles. There are endless experiences to see the most beautiful side of nature!

Hate – Sharks

There’s 40 species of sharks native to Hawaii, which barely equates to the possibility of a shark attack, not to scare you. There are 2-3 shark attacks in Hawaii per year. Compared to millions of people who are actually out swimming in the ocean, your chances of a shark attack are actually pretty slim.

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3.

Love – Variety of People

The people in Oahu were from everywhere! It may be slightly surprising but the most dominant racial group is Japanese. There is also a high concentration of Filipino, Chinese, Hispanic, Korean, and Vietnamese. It’s a melting pot, where the East meets the West with lots and lots of history. Plus the abundance of tourists from all over the world.

Hate – Theft/Crime

I traveled with a female companion, during the first couple days I felt relatively safe where ever we went. But something very dramatic happened and I’ve tried not to let it leave a bad taste in my mouth. While we stopped at a public beach for 5 minutes, in broad daylight at 10am, our rental car was broken into. Someone smashed out the window and stole our belongings – including credit cards and identification. On top of that, the car rental company out of Honolulu charged $300 for the broken window and has yet to comply with the insurance claim from 2015. So be aware! Leave all belongings out of sight, rent a car with a trunk and carry valuables if you must!

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4.

Love – Jaw dropping Sunsets

It didn’t matter where we were, the sunsets were phenomenal! Even when the weather was rainy, the sunsets made up for it! I have so many amazing sunset shots from all over the island of Oahu.

Hate – Huge Waves

We scheduled an excursion to swim with sharks but it was cancelled every day while we were there; due to high winds and weather conditions. We ended up meeting a local who bought the tickets from us. Also, at many of the beaches there were warning signs for strong current, normally the only people in the water were surfers. The waves were so high and rough, I didn’t dare go further than my ankles.

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5.

Love – Old School

It literally felt like I was reliving my teen years while we were there. Wherever we went, we heard 90’s music – from the car radio, to the stores and hang out spots. I WAS NOT complaining one bit, I love a good throwback jam!

Hate – Time Difference

It was hard to adjust to a 6 hour time difference. Each night I hit the sack by 10 pm and I was exhausted – because back home it was actually 4 am! It was also a little tricky to work out a time to talk to loved ones back home, by the time they were off work, it was my bed time in Oahu.

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