Day 24 Oahu - Kualoa Ranch, North Shore and Dole Plantation

August 15, 2022

Today, in this vacation, it's probably the last time we have to get up early!

At 7:20 am, we start this morning for our last booked excursion. We are going to Kualoa Ranch, where we decided to take the Hollywood Tour, the most affordable tour.

Many movies have been filmed at Kualoa Ranch, including Jurassic Park, Jumanji, Godzilla, and more.

The Ranch offers different tours, but since we have already done 3 not so cheap excursions and a 'basic' tour is enough for us, we have chosen the 90-minute Hollywood Tour.

Our tour starts at 9:20 am, and you should be there at least 45 minutes before, so at 8:35 am - but we are stuck in Downtown Honolulu traffic...

It takes what feels like an eternity until we finally get on the highway and drive towards Kualoa Ranch.

Contrary to expectations, we actually reach the Ranch on time at 8:30 am and go through the shop to the ticket counter. However, we don't understand why we should be there 45 minutes earlier. Although all tours are fully booked today, there is no line at the counter, and the rush of tourists on the Ranch grounds is limited.

We look around, past the horse stables where horses are saddled for rides, on to the animal enclosures where there are donkeys, goats, and giant turtles.

Our tour is called, and we are allowed to get on one of the large former school buses (tip: on the left side - opposite the bus driver - you can see a little bit more) and off we go.

The first stop is an old bunker with props, posters, and pictures of movies that were filmed here (Hawaii Five-0 is also included 😉). After going through the bunker, we continue by bus on the other side. Our driver is very funny and entertains us with lots of jokes, but when we go into the 'Valley,' I have the feeling that I'm taking an agricultural course. We learn how certain fruits and vegetables are planted and harvested, and of course, there are always references to the in-house shop that sells all the products. Well, okay, you know this self-promotion from everywhere...

We pass some herds of cattle and drive across the Valley. Posters and signs with movie titles show which movie was filmed here.

We pass Godzilla's footprint and arrive at the only stop where you can get off: the film set of 'KONG: Skull Island,' where besides dinosaur bones, a giant monkey skull is waiting for us. And surprise: it's all made of styrofoam!

In the corner, there is also 'King Kong,' a large tree trunk with the words 'Jurassic Valley' makes you want to take photos in front of the beautiful landscape of the Valley.

Besides the fun facts about the movies, the actual highlight of the tour is, of course, the breathtaking landscape of the Valley.

Our tour ends after about 90 minutes, and we are satisfied.

After taking selfies with almost all the dinosaurs on the Ranch, we continue. We drive along the coast and make a photo stop at Kahana Bay Beach Park, in Punaluu at a few food trucks, where we treat ourselves to lunch. Sonny gets a burger with fries, the rest of us eat Thai food.

After the meal, we continue along the coast, passing many shrimp food trucks and shrimp breeding ponds. We make a short stop at Turtle Bay Resort and consider if we want to go swimming here, but it doesn't look so great.

Somehow, we can't find 'Turtle Bay' on Google Maps, and we don't feel like searching for it on this hot day anymore. (Later we realize that we visited the wrong 'Turtle Bay.')

So, we continue along the coast. We would like to visit one of the beaches we pass, but all the parking lots are completely full. But the worst thing is the traffic jam we are now stuck in. We can't move a centimeter. Oh, how annoying!

For a distance that normally takes 20 minutes, we need almost an hour, and we are just annoyed. We actually wanted to go snorkeling at Sharks Cove, but the kids don't feel like it. Besides, finding a parking space seems to be impossible. Completely annoyed, the husband slowly inches forward towards Wailua Beach Park. When we finally get there, the parking lot is completely crowded. Oh no, today is really not a good day for the North Shore.

Then we have the unbelievable luck, as we stand in line at the parking lot, that a car in front of us leaves its parking space and we can drive in. Phew. Made it.

We find a shady spot under a palm tree and enjoy the ocean. It's great here!

It's almost 4 pm when we leave the beach and stop at Dole Plantation on the way back to Honolulu.

We arrive at Dole Plantation around 4:30 pm and want to have the famous pineapple ice cream. Again, Hawaiian prices strike: the smallest pineapple ice cream costs $8, but the four of us treat ourselves to a 'Sipper Cup Float,' pineapple soft-serve ice cream in an pineapple cup (which we take home!) for only $13. But the ice cream is really delicious!

You can actually skip the rest of the plantation. We look at everything; it's like an amusement park here with a train through the pineapple plantation. The Maze costs almost $9 per person, but when we want to leave the plantation shortly after 5 pm, we see that the ticket booth at the Maze is unattended and the Maze is free to enter 🤷🏻‍♀️😅

Well, we explore the Maze 'for free' at our leisure and then continue towards Honolulu. We are back in Honolulu at half past six, and while the kids relax on their beds, the husband and I walk to Fort de Russy Beach to watch the sunset.

We are rewarded with a colorful sunset. That was another eventful and great day!