For decades travel agents have provided a valuable service by putting together the best deals for travelers. Travel Agents do all the research for us to be able to provide us with the convenience of bundling Hawaii packages that include lodging (hotel or vacation rental), ground transportation (airport shuttle, car or van) and air.
You can book many of these package deals with Ola Properties’ rooms. Packaging travel partner giants like Pleasant Holidays, Journese, AAA Travel, All About Hawaii, United Vacations, Mark Travel, Fun Jet Vacations, and Blue Sky Tours now all carry units at the Beach Villas at Ko Olina by Ola Properties. You can also book your Room & Car (and Air too) Packages independently with Online Travel Agent (OTA) giants like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotels.com, Priceline, Hotwire and find Beach Villa units there too (Booking.com carries Ola Properties’ units too, but they don’t carry packages).
So the next time you’re looking at booking an Air, Room & Car package you can book the Beach Villas at Ko Olina by Ola Properties through your favorite Travel Agent. We’ll continue to find ways to make it easier for you to find the best deals, but are proud to be available to the traditional sector of the travel community.
No true Hawaiian experience is complete without at least one snorkeling adventure. Beloved by visitors and locals alike, snorkeling allows you to experience breathtaking ocean sights in a way that nothing else can match. Because almost no instruction is required, this aquatic adventure can allow swimmers of all ages and skill levels to explore the ocean in comfort. Though masks and flippers can be rented almost anywhere along the shore, we have gathered a few of our favorite nearby snorkeling spots on Oahu here.
Ko Olina Ocean Adventures offers a few different tour options, but our favorite is the Speedboat Dolphin Snorkel. This trip includes stops in two tropical reefs teeming with fish and wildlife, but most importantly, allows guests to snorkel alongside Hawaiian spinner dolphins. Swimming with these friendly creatures in their natural environment is a once in a lifetime experience. Morning and afternoon tour options are available.
The Hawaii Real Nature Tour of snorkeling spots along North Shore and Sharks Cove features some protected locations where boats are not allowed, making this a very safe and tranquil option. This area is known not only for its bright tropical fish but for being a favorite spot for sea turtles to visit. Guests here can swim along with and even take close pictures of these beautiful creatures. This company also has private instruction options for less experienced swimmers.
Wild Side Hawaii is a company committed to conservation, education, and environmental stewardship. Guests on this tour experience a hands-on approach to learning about local ecology and wildlife while connecting with dolphins, turtles, and whales throughout the trip. This immersive educational experience leaves guests with a deeper appreciation for the ocean and the creatures that live within it.
The Sunset Snorkel from Ocean Joy Cruises includes dinner and an evening tour along the coast. This tour travels along the west side of the island and features an hour-long snorkeling excursion in the waters of Makua. After swimming, guests can enjoy dinner while taking in the gorgeous sunset views and listening to tales of the islands’ history.
These are just a few of our favorite snorkeling tours, easily accessible from Ko Olina Resort. The beauty of the waters that surround the North Shore is unmatched, and the snorkeling spots on Oahu just can’t be beaten.
Oahu is a beautiful island and what better way to experience the majesty than going on an Oahu eco-tour? An eco-tour is a guided trip that highlights the natural landscape of the area, often in remote and hard-to-access places. Since it is a tropical island, Hawaii is known for its pristine beaches, lush landscapes, and immense biodiversity, and going on an eco-tour is a popular way to experience its natural beauty.
There are many types of eco-tours on Oahu. Whether you are seeking the thrill of adventure, or a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki, there is something for everyone.
Is the ocean calling your name? Ocean Joy Cruises offers exquisite views of the Waianae coastline for your chance to view sea turtles, dolphins, and even whales. If you’d like to get in the ocean, there are options to go snorkeling as well.
Perhaps the land is more your speed. Oahu Nature Tours offers a variety of hiking options, including excursions that focus on waterfalls, wildlife, or the geologically unique Diamond Head Crater.
For the creative spirits out there, a guided photography tour is a perfect way to bring home memories of your trip to Oahu. Oahu Photography Tours will bring you on a guided excursion and help photographers of all levels capture the perfect image. They even offer guided moonlight tours for something a little different!
After reading through the options, you may be thinking, “what’s next?” The tips below will help you get the most out of your Oahu eco-tour.
Paradise Baby supplies our guests with everything they need for their younger keiki (children). This makes it easier on packing, as you don’t have to figure out how to safely send your furniture through baggage, no need to spend on extra baggage fees, no need to juggle your luggage and baby furniture at baggage claim, and no need to hire a moving van to transport all your baby furniture to your rental home.
You may be pleaseantly surprised how affordable it is to rent your furniture. A Crib, for example, is listed at $60 per week, a Graco Pack-n-Play is listed at $40 per week, and a High Chair is listed at $32 per week. That would make this 3-piece set for under $140 for the week (including tax); baggage fees alone would come to $150. They also carry car seats, baby carrier back packs, beach toys, strollers, and a whole lot of other items too.
Once you decide what you need and give them your vacation information Paradise Baby contact our Guest Services. We will arrange to be the middle man to make sure what you ordered is staged and waiting in your unit before you arrive. We will also escort Paradise Baby into your unit after you leave to return your items on your behalf.
Paradise Baby – (808) 561-1061 – info@ParadiseBabyCo.com – www.ParadiseBabyCo.com
Looking for gifts to bring home? Macadamia Nuts are almost a symbol of Hawaii. In fact, Hawaii grows almost 90% of the world’s macadamia nuts, which makes it almost mandatory for all visitors to bring some back as a highlight of their trip. Native to Australia, the first Hawaiian macadamia nut tree has been said to be planted on the Big Island in 1882. A tree finally made its way to Oahu in 1921, but did not start processing commercially until 1934, with international distributed starting 1976.
Also known as Macadamia Nut Clusters, people buy Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts by the dozens. Today chocolate macadamia nuts come in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, caramel, and even fruit. Macadamia Nuts can even be sold as cooking oil, which is known to have a higher smoke point than olive oil, is lower in polyunsaturated fats and many believe is the better choice for cooking.
Nuts, in general, are known to be a very healthy way of snacking. Macadamia Nuts are rich with Vitamin A, iron, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folates. They also contain moderate amounts of zinc, copper, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. Macadamia contains antioxidants like polyphenols, amino acids, flavones, and selenium. It also increases your good cholesterol while decreasing your bad cholesteroal. Macadamia Nuts are one of the seven healthiest nuts to snack on. While you’re in Hawaii you should open a box for yourself as an end of day reward to a great day. When you go back home, you’ll need to share these end of day rewards with the people you care about.
Chocolate Covered Hawaiian Macadamia Nuts also come in various sizes, from small snack pouches to a deluxe double layer of 48 morsels. Most stores carry a convenient carrying case of 6-boxes, Costco and Marukai have a carrying case that holds a dozen boxes. They are so easy to find that they are sold in almost every major store in Hawaii, including Costco, Long’s (also known as CVS), Safeway, Target, Walgreens and Walmart. For those who prefer a more savory treat, Macadamia Nuts can be found roasted and salted in cans, bottles, and pouches.
There are four main brands: Hawaiian Host, Hawaiian Sun, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts, and Menehune Mac. There are many other brands, each has something special to offer, so you may as well buy them all.
Oh yes, “Fruit Punch” is available in every restaurant in Hawaii. In fact, you can get Hawaiian fruit punch in all fast food restaurants as well as the fancy ones. Fruit Punch is so popular in Hawaii it is the second highest selling drink in most fountains, next to the colas. It out sells Sprite (or 7-Up), and Diet Coke (or Diet Pepsi).
“Punch” is tradionally a drink served at parties and probably has a different taste at every party (based on a set of “secret” ingredients). In Hawaii “Fruit Punch” basically tastes the same no matter what restaurant you go to, a staple like cola or iced tea. Most fast food restaurants use one of two brands of syrup so that the standard taste can be served.
Additionally many picnics and parties that serve beverages from a drink dispenser (instead of canned or bottled drinks) will have that same brand of Fruit Punch, which is sold at any store that sells beverages (like Longs-CVS, Target, Walmart or any grocery store).
So add Hawaiian Fruit Punch to your must do list. Stop at your nearest fast food restaurant and try this popular drink.
In the mood for a fluffy, sweet treat? Chow down on one of Hawaii’s staple desserts: the malasada. Malasadas are native to Portugal and are a fried, donut like dessert but without the pesky hole in the middle for more deliciousness per bite. The traditional malasada is simply rolled in sugar after frying but there are a large variety of malasadas available throughout Hawaii, including custard-filled and glazed. If you’re thinking about visiting the Oahu island, be sure to check out these top 3 bakeries with the best malasadas on Oahu:
Leonard’s Bakery
Leonard’s Bakery is a local favorite in Honolulu (and my personal favorite). Founded in 1952, the bakery quickly became a hit with locals and only prospered more when they introduced malasadas to their menu in 1953, earning them the title of “Hawaii’s original malasada bakery.” Now, guests to the bakery can choose from a variety of different flavored malasadas. For the traditional malasada, coatings include: sugar, cinnamon sugar, and Li Hing (dried plum powder). For the filled malasadas, called “puffs,” fillings include: custard, chocolate, and coconut.
Liliha Bakery
Liliha Bakery prides itself on always serving fresh baked goods, malasadas not being an exception. With two locations in Honolulu, guests can take their pick on which to visit to soothe their appetite, but for those who enjoy a midnight snack every once in a while, the original location on North Kuakini Street is open 24 hours Tuesday through Sunday. Malasadas at Liliha Bakery include the Apple Malasada, Azuki Malasada, Haupia (coconut) Malasada, Lilikoi (yellow passion fruit) Malasada. Liliha’s also includes a coffee shop where guests can order breakfast, lunch, and dinner items.
Kamehameha Bakery
More known for its selection of donuts, Kamehameha Bakery still makes this list due to its delicious and popular haupia malasada. Customers rave about the small, coconut-filled balls of dough and continue to come back for more. Costing only 95 cents each or $11.40 by the dozen, Kamehameha Bakery’s haupia malasadas are tasty treats to buy for yourself or to share the next time you visit Honolulu. The bakery also offers a traditional malasada for 75 cents or $9 for a dozen.
For your next visit to Oahu, make sure to try these bakeries out for a chance to taste some of Honolulu’s best malasalas and rate them for yourself!
For information on beautiful places to stay while vacationing in West Oahu, visit our vacation rental page or call us at (888) 737-4188 or (808) 726-2878.
We’ve enjoyed luscious lattes at the cafe and tasty pizzas and salads for lunch, and we are now happy to say, we’ve enjoyed Kalapawai Cafe’s delicious dinner menu. Larry and I dined at Kapolei’s newest local restaurant and gem of our second city, the Kalapawai Cafe, last night and it was absolutely delish! It was an easy walk across the street from our Ola Properties office to arrive at 7:15 PM. It’s a casual, relaxed atmosphere and they do not take reservations, however, we were warmly greeted and asked if we wanted to dine inside or out on the terrace. We decided to dine alfresco because it was a beautiful evening with a pink-painted sunset sky here on the west side of Oahu. The only downside to the outside dining is a little noise from the buses going down the street but otherwise, it is lovely.
Our server brought us water and let us know about Chef Jason Iwane’s specials which are in addition to the full menu. We shared a wonderful salad of golden beets, vine ripe tomato & fresh mozzarella w/ basil pesto, honey-balsamic reduction & garlic-grilled crouton ($14). It was a large portion so we were glad we shared it. It was a fresh twist on the well known Caprese Salad, adding the golden beets.
For my entree, I decided to try the “Auction fresh fish.” Tonight’s auction fish was a local ono sautéed with a lemongrass risotto, braised kale,local mushroom, micro cilantro, red curry aïoli ($30). The fish was cooked to perfection, the presentation was beautiful and the taste was so ‘ono (delicious). Larry had the “Mai Ke Kai” – chef’s daily seafood selection ($26) which was a seared ahi over a fresh selection of roasted vegetables. Again, it was a lovely presentation and delicious entree.
We saved a little room for dessert and I’m glad we did since they had a wonderful flourless chocolate cake topped with a layer of chocolate mousse and again it was large enough to share although I got the lion’s share!! Being gluten-free with a sweet tooth, my dessert choices are often limited to ice cream or sorbet. But fortunately the Kalapawai Cafe had a decadent gluten-free chocolate dessert for this chocoholic!
Although the restaurant started serving dinner on March 28, 2017, this was our first visit for dinner. After having lunch there a couple weeks ago and signing up for their rewards program, they sent me a 15% off dinner coupon which we used for our entire meal. The prices are reasonable for the quality and freshness of the food. Kalapawai Cafe always looks to buy from local farmers and ranchers first whenever possible.
We had a male server who was friendly and provided excellent service. One of my favorite things is that they make gluten-free pizza so ‘ono with a crust that’s nice and crispy. They also have a full-service bar, cafe, and deli. So give them a try for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and then come across the street to see Ola Properties and say “hola” or “aloha!”
http://www.kalapawaimarket.com/
711 Kamokila Blvd, Kapolei, HI 96707; Phone number (808) 674-1700
Dinner Hours:
Sunday-Thursday 5PM-9:30PM (bar open to 10:30PM)
Friday & Saturday 5PM-10PM (bar open to 11PM)
Breakfast & Lunch Hours:
Monday-Friday 5AM-5PM (kitchen opens at 5:30AM, bar open from 11AM)
Sat & Sunday 7AM-5PM (kitchen opens @ 7AM / bar open after 10AM)
What comes to mind when you hear the word “luau”? Hawaii? Hula dances? Feasts that are simply overflowing with food? Well, we’re going to introduce you to the basics of the contemporary luau from the history to the foods that you can expect to be served during your experience. Stick around as we delve into this exciting tradition.
Now, what is a traditional luau and how does it differ from the contemporary luau? The luau is a Hawaiian feast that includes high-spirited music, dance and performance. This feast was originally referred to as “ahaaina,” combining the words for gathering and meal. There was a transition to the use of the word “luau,” which is a taro leaf served throughout the Pacific Islands.
As we mentioned previously, a roast pig (or “Kalua pig,” which utilizes an underground oven) is both a traditional and contemporary staple that you should expect at any luau. Another staple is mashed taro root. If you aren’t already aware, taro is nutty, mild-tasting and is a root vegetable. Here are some of the other foods that are popular at the contemporary luau:
Is your mouth watering yet? Prepare to be dazzled the next time you stay with Ola Properties and attend a contemporary luau. At Ola Properties, we will help you make the most out of your tropical getaway.
After attending a meeting at HVCB (Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau) my wife & I went to the Ala Moana Mall yesterday to return (you guessed it) Christmas gifts. After shopping and returning for some time, we decided we’d like a dish of Gelato. Now I understand the rents at the mall must be very high and vendors there have a lot of other costs as well, but we felt that $7 plus for a single scoop of gelato was just too much. My wife had heard about another place the MAKES Gelato, La Gelateria, and looked it up on her phone. We drove over and found the store (thanking Google Maps the whole time) and pulled into the parking lot. As I say, we were at Ala Moana Mall and it wasn’t too far away but don’t ask me how we got there. La Gelateria is on a side street, behind a Meadow Gold Dairy facility but without Google, I don’t know that we would have ever found it.
All that aside, it was worth the trouble to find it! Turns out this is the place that makes Gelato for a lot of the high-end island restaurants. The “store” is located at the back of the facility and it seems you’re walking into a factory, which I guess you are. When you go in, you will be in a cramped space with a small desk, a friendly employee to help you and a large cooler with their various gelatos. I guess that due to it being part of their factory, the store hours are the same as the factory: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. Take some cash with you as they do not accept credit cards.
My wife went for the Peanut Butter Fudge and I got the Condensed Cream (which turns out is one of their most popular flavors) and we enjoyed our gelato sitting at one of their two tables outside the store in the parking lot. The gelato was excellent, and it was a good experience. One of those “hidden gems” we’re always looking for. Oh, and by the way, instead of paying $7 plus for one scoop at the mall we bought two scoops for $4 including tax.
If you’re in downtown Honolulu and get the urge for a cold, frosty dessert enter 819 Cedar Street into your GPS and enjoy a serving of really good gelato.
Larry-O
