Lanikai Beach is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Come see why we love it so much and think you should visit there too!
Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, I had a dream of being a photographer. A National Geographic photograph to be exact. It was the first thing that came to mind whenever I was asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” My grandfather had piles of National Geographic publications and I remember always being drawn to the closeups of people from all over the world. Somewhere throughout life I lost track of that dream and eventually got involved in theatre and found another passion. I loved creating the sets and designing the lighting. It’s where I grew to love working with my hands and building. Let’s talk about our trip to Lanikai Beach.
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Oahu, Hawaii
Along the way all of these passions of mine merged together and Cherished Bliss was born. While interior design was definitely not on my radar until this blog developed, I always enjoyed creating beautiful things. At the end of the day it’s the photography that I enjoy most.
This year I have made it a goal of mine to really dive into photography and develop that skill. Along with that I want to travel more. It’s time I start really striving for the things I’ve always wanted to do. Last year my husband and I took our first REAL vacation in 11 years of marriage. We’ve taken short little trips that are usually in conjunction with family events or work trips. However we have never gone away, just the two of us with no strings attached. So we made the most of it, we went to Oahu, Hawaii!
Today I want to share with you our favorite spot on Oahu – Lanikai beach. I hope you enjoy our first of many travel videos.
Peaceful Weekdays on Lanikai Beach
Lanikai beach was a little more secluded than most. You get there by going through a gorgeous little neighborhood so it feels “off the beaten path”. There is definitely busier times of the day and week, but the first time we stopped it was late morning on a weekday and we pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves except for a few families chasing their little ones around.
Mokulua Islands from Lanikai Beach
Just out a little ways out from the beach sat the gorgeous Mokulua Islands. I it would be amazing to paddle board out to them but we didn’t get a chance to do that on this trip. Next time I will for sure make that a priority! If you’re interested in doing that you can head over to the Kailua Beach Park which is right next door to Lanikai. For us it was enough to just lay on the beach and enjoy the view!
Quaint Beach Setting
Lanikai beach is located in an upscale neighborhood with some of the most beautiful views you’ve ever seen. It’s completely lined with outriggers that creates this quaint vibe. In addition to the perfectly clear water and white sandy beaches, when you look around you see gorgeous mountains and coastline for miles! This is certainly a very popular beach on Oahu, but to me it felt way less touristy than anywhere else we visited. We stayed in Waikiki which is obviously overrun by tourist. This beach was a nice escape from the crowds! I highly suggest renting a car to see the whole island! We were constantly driving around and loved every second of it!
Lanikai Pillbox Hike
Honestly hiking the Lanikai Pillbox was one of the highlights of this trip for me. We woke up super early (Like 3:30 AM!!!) so we could make the hike and get to the pillbox before the sun rose. We were the first people to get to the top pillbox (there are 2) so we got to sit right at the edge and watch the sun rise behind the Mokulua Islands. Don’t forget to take some of Oahu’s hikes because the views are well worth the effort and some of the best you’ll ever see!
Snorkeling at Lanikai Beach in Oahu
The water was absolutely gorgeous. This was the first beach we actually got in to and I’ve never ever seen water like this before. It was the clearest most beautiful color I’ve ever seen in my whole life.
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This is a great place to take kids snorkeling. We were there in May and the water was extremely calm. There wasn’t a huge variety in wildlife, but you could definitely see fish swimming through the coral as you saw in our video. If you’re bringing kids I feel like this is a great place to introduce them to snorkeling at a fraction of the cost. We bought our own snorkel gear and I was soooo happy we did because we took it to every beach we were at and got to enjoy the water that much more!
Lanikai Beach was definitely our favorite place to sit and relax. Oahu is known for it’s tourist attractions, but once you get off the beaten path a little bit you will be amazed at what this island has to offer! We will be sharing more about Oahu so if you’re interested in travel posts make sure and sign up to receive our emails all about travel!
The post Lanikai Beach | Our Favorite Spot on Oahu first appeared on Cherished Bliss.
The post Lanikai Beach | Our Favorite Spot on Oahu appeared first on Cherished Bliss.