Hawaii June 2026: PART THREE

Happy Tuesday, friends!

I took a little break from writing about our Hawaii trip to share our quick trip to Orlando that we took just three days after we got home, but today I’m back with Part 3 of our Hawaiian adventure!

If you didn’t get a chance to read about the first half of our trip, here are links!

This trip was truly one for the books. We packed so much into eight days, made so many wonderful memories, and took hundreds (okay…probably thousands! 😂) of pictures along the way. There was just no way I could squeeze everything into one post, so I’m excited to continue sharing our adventure with you today!

Let’s get to it!

Day 5:

This was our last morning at the Royal Hawaiian before checking out and heading to Aulani for the rest of our trip!

Of course, we started the day with one more breakfast of Pink Palace Pancakes and açaí bowls. They were every bit as delicious as the day before!

After breakfast, we wandered around the hotel one last time, soaking it all in before saying goodbye. The Royal Hawaiian is such a beautiful hotel with so much history, so we made it a point to slow down, explore the grounds, and learn a little more about this iconic resort before we left.

Our first stop of the day was the Bishop Museum! Whenever we travel, I love learning about the place we’re visiting by exploring a museum or cultural center. Whenever we travel, I love learning about the place we’re visiting by exploring a museum or cultural center. I’m basically trying to become the modern-day Samantha Brown! 😂

The Bishop Museum was amazing! We learned so much about the history of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and it gave us such a greater appreciation for the culture and traditions of the islands. It was a wonderful experience, and I would definitely recommend adding it to your Oahu itinerary if you have the time.

After our visit to the Bishop Museum, we were starving and needed to grab something quick for lunch. We couldn’t believe there was a Chick-fil-A all the way out in Hawaii! It ended up being the perfect stop for a quick meal before we were off to our next adventure—the ʻIolani Palace!

The palace was amazing! There was so much history to take in, and we really enjoyed learning about Hawaii’s royal past. We chose the self-guided audio tour, which was great, but looking back, I wish we had done the docent-led tour instead. I think we would have enjoyed hearing the stories from a guide and probably would have learned even more.

The girls had a blast with their own audio headsets! They thought it was so fun to listen along and explore the palace at their own pace, which made the experience enjoyable for all of us.

After touring ʻIolani Palace, it was finally time to head to Aulani! As huge Disney fans, this was one of the parts of the trip we had been looking forward to the most.

When we arrived, we were so excited! It was hard to believe we had finally made it to Aulani after dreaming about it for so long. Since we arrived later in the afternoon, our room was already ready for us. We quickly dropped off our bags and headed out to explore everything Aulani had to offer.

Our first stop was dinner! We grabbed a quick bite at Off the Hook. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it definitely hit the spot after a full day of exploring.

By that point, the girls were more interested in the pools than the food anyway, so as soon as we finished eating, it was finally time to go swimming!

While John stayed with the girls at the pool, I snuck away to pick up our Aulani resort mugs! I was so excited to get them because we always buy resort mugs whenever we stay at Walt Disney World. We actually use them all the time at home, so adding an Aulani mug to our collection made them feel even more special. It was such a fun little souvenir from our trip!

We were soon ready for bed, so bedtime it was!

Day 6:

We finally slept in!!! It only took us almost a week to adjust to the time change, and of course we figured it out just in time to head back home. 😂

Day 6 also happened to be my birthday, and we were off to explore Pearl Harbor! Getting tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial ended up being one of the trickiest parts of planning our trip. Admission to Pearl Harbor is free, but the timed-entry tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial are just $1 through the National Park Service—and they sell out incredibly fast! This was the only day I was able to secure four tickets, so celebrating my birthday at Pearl Harbor was an easy decision.

After breakfast, we were off to Pearl Harbor. It was truly an incredible experience to stand in a place that holds so much history. Pearl Harbor is somewhere you read about in history class throughout your childhood, but being there in person and realizing the magnitude of what happened on December 7, 1941, is something entirely different. It’s hard to put into words just how moving the experience was.

We were also able to visit the USS Missouri, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, and explore one of the submarines. Each one offered a unique perspective on the events of World War II, and I’m so glad we took the time to experience them.

But my favorite part, by far, was stepping onto the USS Arizona Memorial. The sense of peace, quiet, and reverence there is hard to describe. It was one of the most powerful experiences of our entire Hawaii trip.

After our time at Pearl Harbor, we headed back to Aulani to get ready for my birthday dinner next door at Mina’s Fish House at the Four Seasons.

You guys…this meal was incredible! It honestly might have been the best meal of our entire Hawaii trip. From the food to the atmosphere, everything was absolutely wonderful, and it was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday.

This trip to Hawaii will always hold a special place in my heart, and I can’t believe that tomorrow I’ll be sharing the final chapter of our Hawaiian adventure with you.

Aloha and mahalo, friends! 🌺

-Holley