One of our favorite vacation destinations is Hawaii. And we are saying this today, after spending a full week in Honolulu…for the first time ever!

We planned the whole trip around The Royal Hawaiian, the iconic pink resort that rests on the shores of Waikiki since 1927 and is said to be responsible for a new era of luxurious resort travel to Hawaii. In fact, The Royal Hawaiian was one of the first hotels established in Waikiki, and, over its 90 years of history, it has been host to a wide array of celebrities and world dignitaries (and, well, us, the Travel Blogueras!). The hotel’s facade is made out of concrete stucco, as inspired by Spanish and Moorish styled architecture. Inside, we were delighted by its rich history, wood-carved interiors and fastidiously curated…pink! We loved the pink in the wallpaper, the chairs in the lobby, the rugs and much more. They even had a full pink store that only sold pink artifacts and gifts.

There’s something about being on the beach, surround by pink, in one of the most beautiful places in the world, with the most amazing food and weather that well, just screams out ROMANTIC. We took long strolls by the shops, lounged around the pool, had drinks overlooking the sunset (every single day!), and could not help wondering…okay, how could we possibly move here? And I’m not talking about moving to Waikiki, though that would be pretty awesome, I’m talking about moving to The Royal Hawaiian altogether. Did I mention they also offer free yoga classes at their manicured gardens twice a week? Oh, and they even gave us PINK robes. Can a girl really ask for anything else? (Another trip to The Royal Hawaiian, maybe??)

We were extremely fortunate to have had the comprehensive and kind advice of Ayaka, who patiently answered all our questions and gave us great recommendations for things to do, see and eat around Ohau (thank you Ayaka!). We will be posting in the next few weeks more about Hawaii, especially our top restaurant list and itinerary, so stay tuned, as we thought Ayaka’s list was too good not to share with you guys. In fact, we wish we had an Ayaka at every single hotel we go to!

In the meantime, here’s our top 5 list of favorite things to do around Waikiki for couples in their honeymoons…

GET A FLOATIE. ESPECIALLY A PINK FLAMINGO ONE.

We know, we know. This is supposed to be an ADULT vacation, but, trust us on this one, everyone has one. And we mean it. We were hesitant to get one and we truly waited till the very last day, and well, we were sorry! We had the most fun we ever had at a beach just by trying ride the waves using a ridiculous orange, donut-shaped floatie. We laughed so hard our ribs hurt. And, we stayed on the beach till it was so dark we couldn’t see our faces. Now, that was so romantic I’m kind of sad we are 11 hours away from it!

WALK TO DIAMOND HEAD, AND BACK

This honestly took us 5 full hours of non-stop walking. We got rained on maybe three or four times. But we ran into the most ridiculous characters (there was a little angry man who complained that girls on Instagram only care about taking selifes, well, duh!), a botanical garden, and the most amazing ice cream truck which served ice cream made solely from bananas and acai. Yum.

ISLAND VINTAGE COFFEE

It’s just a few minutes from The Royal Hawaiian, on the second floor of the complex. The place gets crazy packed after 7:30am so you have to wake up and get going! We fell in love with their acai bowls and an iced coffee drinks made with macadamia and coconut syrup. You can buy coffee beans to take home too!

HAVE AN ACAI BOWL FOR BREAKFAST

The acai berry is actually from Brazil, but for some reason, Honlolulu adopted it as theirs, and we loved them for it, so much! The acai bowl is served pretty much anywhere, and has the consistency of a thicker smoothie, with granola, bananas and strawberries on top. It’s just sweet enough to get you you going in the morning, and also works very well for a carb-loaded snack in the afternoon. And it’s purple!

This was by far one of our favorite experiences on the island. In ancient times the Hawaiian people came together to celebrate momentous occasions, these gatherings were called ‘Aha‘aina (which translates to gathering for a meal).  The Royal Hawaiian is located on sacred grounds and they have created a modern, yet timeless Aha Aina, A Royal Luau, to honor the land’s majestic history through food, song, stories, hula, and culture—a true celebration of The Royal and its heritage. Waikiki’s only oceanfront dinner show transforms the traditional island experience in grand Royal Hawaiian style every Monday evening.

We didn’t have the chance to actually see it on the beach, as it happened to rain on our only Monday there, yet, we had such an amazing and fun experience, we highly recommend it. As you can see, below, we could not stop taking pictures!

Dan had a great time with the open bar and all the authentic Hawaiian pork you can ever eat! I was, personally, a fan of the poke, which is one of our new dishes that we make now at home.

Finally, the fire performance is a can not miss. Ever. We were happily surprise, too, to see him on the Today Show the very next day. #onlyattheroyal!

Do you have stories about The Royal Hawaiian or Waikiki to share? Drop as an email if you are interested in becoming a guest blogger with us!

Mahalo!

Andrea&Dan