This is our first trip to Hawaii and we weren’t sure whether to stay somewhere more rural or closer to Honolulu so we decided to do both, with 4 of our 7 nights being spent here. The Coconut Hut was a great find and our family of 5 really enjoyed our stay. We had absolutely zero complaints. It was very well stocked in the kitchen and had plenty of towels too. Beds were comfortable. It was so quiet and peaceful at night and we all slept so well, even my daughter who slept on the couch. We really appreciated having the snorkeling gear and body boards available to use, which saved us a lot of time, money and hassle of not having to rent that stuff.
The family was very friendly to us in the limited contact we had, and Tuika was very responsive to us. Our kids enjoyed playing with the dogs when they came around and loved playing tetherball as well. Tuika’s father cut down some bananas and coconuts from the property and generously shared them with us.
We spent most of our time out exploring the island. Ironically, a couple of those days we actually were in the southern part of the island but the drive to and from that area was pleasant and beautiful. About an hour to Lanikai Beach and 1:20 to Hanauma Bay. We did explore some places on the North Shore also, and enjoyed the food trucks just a few miles north of here and ate there almost every night. Also had fun watching surfers on the Banzai Pipeline while the sun was setting, seeing Waimea Falls, and my kids loved Matsumoto’s shaved ice.
There are several beaches nearby to see the sunrise (like 5 minute walk or 2 minute drive) and it’s not far from sunset viewing on the North Shore, maybe 20 minutes. We were here in October and the waters were a little bit wavy and so we ended up going further south for our beach times, but we didn’t mind it at all. (If you’re doing your research you’ll know that the waters are calmer here in the summer months than the winter months, and we seemed to be hitting it in the transition. Honestly it probably would have been fine but we had a 10 year old in a cast and needed calmer waters for her.)
Overall this is just a very pleasant area to visit and a great place to stay. Very low-key, good food, friendly people, a bit of a surfer vibe in some spots, and a good mix of different people and food choices overall. You really can’t go wrong staying at this home or in this area. Thank you Tuika and family for a wonderful stay!