Ko Olina – A little slice of Paradise in Hawaii

There is really no place on earth like Hawaii. Lindsay and I have been lucky enough to visit this amazing place twice during our married life. The first was a Christmas vacation with my family (the Duncan's) and the second was a once in a lifetime trip with Lindsay's mom Pat (her whole life she has dreamed about going to Hawaii). Both times we have been lucky enough to stay at my brother-in-laws families house in the beautiful area of Oahu called Ko-Olina. This new development sits only a few minutes outside of Honolulu so you are close enough to the city to enjoy all of the sights but far enough away to not be bothered by the thousands of other tourists. Ko Olina is a development that sits around 4 half moon shaped coves full of sandy beaches, grass and endless palm trees. There is an enormous golf course (with incredible landscaping), a JW Marriott Hotel and numerous private homes (one of which we stayed in). The house we stayed in sat right next to the golf course and when you looked out the back deck all you could see were palm trees, grass and ponds…it was spectacular. The home had a golf cart and numerous scooters which was the perfect way to get to the beach if you didn’t feel like making the short 10 minute walk. During both of our trips we mostly just hung out at the beach and snorkeled (one time seeing a sea turtle), laid out, swam, etc. Because of Ko Olinas central location it is incredibly easy to head into Honolulu, up to the North Shore, over to Pearl Harbor, etc. Some of the most relaxing memories Lindsay and I have are just hanging out in the coves of Ko Olina listening to the waves and watching the palm trees sway. Now that we have stayed in Ko Olina it will always be our number 1 choice for a home base in beautiful Hawaii.