Client Blog: Celebrating 10 Years of Marriage - Vegas, Oahu & Seattle in Two Weeks

23,000 miles, 5 flights, 5 cities, 3 time zones, all in 14 days - what would you do to celebrate 10 years of marriage???

Go back to the honeymoon destination of Oahu, Hawaii for 7 nights?  Why not!

Whilst Oahu was the main destination, it was also a great opportunity to top and tail with stop overs in other locations.   10 years ago, we ventured to San Franscisco before travelling to Oahu and stopped at LA on the way back to the UK.  It's a great way to see more so this time we chose Las Vegas (3 nights) and Seattle (3 nights) as our top and tail.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas has certainly changed over the years.  Tourism is down 65% since covid and prices have increased but it's still bright lights, free and paid shows, and an atmosphere of party!  We stayed at Caesars Palace which is a great base and pretty central.  It also felt like the busiest hotel on the strip which is 4 miles long!   We wanted to do something different, so we headed to the most immersive experience we have ever encountered - The Sphere (www.thesphere.com).  We watched Postcard to Earth, but this has now changed to The Wizard of Oz.  It's a fair walk and sits behind The Venetian Hotel so would recommend a taxi.   It's not cheap but it really is a very surreal experience, notwithstanding the height the seats go. Sit low if you get jelly legs!!!    

Our next big splurge was dinner at The Paris Hotel.  We pre-reserved a window seat at $40 per person and had the most stunning meal and view of the Bellagio Fountains. (www.eiffeltowerrestaurant.com).  It wasn't cheap but was worth the fantastic food, service and all-around ambience.  We used this as our 10-year anniversary meal.

For anyone adventurous, you can zipline at The Linq or Freemont Street.

Top Tip: Use CVS Pharmacy stores to stock up on water and snacks as a bottle of water in hotels can cost $10!!!

45,000 steps over 2 days and we were packed and ready for Hawaii via LAX and a 2-hour layover.   Thankfully, as we were flying Vegas>LA>Oahu same day, our luggage went through without us worrying about collecting it and rechecking in.

Oahu

Landing in Oahu was the best feeling - 10 years on and the airport looked the same!  We stayed at the Reef Outrigger.  This hotel for me is the best atmosphere with the most amazing staff.  After 12 hours of travel, you can't help but smile when you hear authentic live Hawaiian music and greeted warmly by the team.  The hotel even has free lessons on Lei making and delivers multiple sessions everyday about Polynesian culture.

Having visited Pearl Harbour before, we decided to see more of the island and focus on the culture.  This started with a 2-hour sunset catamaran tour where we learned about native Hawaiian culture, history, food and song (Kamoauli.com).  We saw a monk seal on route to Diamond Head.  The experience was even more special as it was only the 2 of us.  Most people opted for the larger boats to party, but this cruise is for a maximum of 8 so you have the opportunity to learn more and ask questions.

Next, we went to a sister Outrigger hotel to see a Cirque du Soliel show called A'uana which is based on Polynesian culture but with the most breathtaking stunts.  All in an intimate theatre where dancers are often next to you.  I don't think any seat would be a bad seat.  

The final trip we booked with the hotel concierge was to go to a Luau.  Traditional food, drink and entertainment.  This was walking distance from our hotel at the Marriott, next to surfer's beach.  We arrived at 6pm and was greeted with a freshly made Lei.  Before the show, we had the opportunity for a temporary tattoo and a bracelet Lei too.   The entertain weaved in historic details of the culture, easier for us to understand having more detailed learning on our catamaran trip.  The dancers and fire eaters were amazing!

Hawaii has brilliant transport options for tourists to visit the whole island.  We chose to go to Diamond Head (not hike though) and be in the middle of an extinct volcano!  Apparently, many Hawaiians were born as a result of the Sunshine Festival in 70s where musicians such as Jimi Hendrix played... you can imagine what else went on with many summers of love!

Friday evenings, the Hilton Village have a firework display.  It's a few minutes but attracts lots of crowds and best of all - it's free!  We didn't think Hawaii was overly expensive, but it isn't cheap.  

Top Tip:  Breakfast at Denny's and using ABC Stores for cold drinks and snacks.  Most places have water filling stations, so we took the little concentrated squashes with us to add flavour.

Having lost count of steps, what day of the week we were on and being 11 hours behind the UK, it was time to say Aloha to Oahu and set off for Seattle.

Seattle

Now this is Sleepless in Seattle!  The city is surrounded by water and only 3 hours from Vancouver.  It's considered a new city as was developed in the 60s, the Space Needle opened in 1962 for a science convention but not the tallest building.  This is the Skyview Observatory at the Convention Centre, a mere 960 foot in the air with 360 views of Seattle and yet another jelly leg moment looking down!  Apart from Grey's Anatomy, Frazier and Sleepless in Seattle, the city is also famous for Pikes Fish Market where staff shout out orders to entertain the crowds.   It's a really easy city to navigate as built on a grid system.  My only gripe was the hop on, and off bus runs 10am - 4pm with a small sign for the stop.  If you are on the bus at 4pm, rather than the loop complete, you are sent packing!

Our stay at the Theodore Hotel was brilliant.   We asked for a suite as knew we needed extra room to live out the suitcase for the last 2 days of this trip.   They have a free wine hour at 5pm and a restaurant attached called Riders, so if you feel unsure about walking about late, everything is on your doorstep, including a Deli across the road for drinks and snacks without the hotel price.

Apart from walking miles, we took an hour's boat trip from Pier 55 to get our bearings, followed by the bus tour.  Tickets for the bus tour last 24 hours so you buy a ticket at 2pm one day, you can use it again until 2pm the next day, although we rarely got out ticket checked!  The best value for money had to be The Museum of Pop Culture.  Not only did we see an art installation of 700 guitars, there was also Nirvana, Horror, Fantasy, Gaming and music exhibits!  We saw costumes from Star Wars, Star Trek, Dark Crystal, Kermit the Frog to name but a few! It was amazing to see Jimi Hendrix guitars and an insight into his life and touring regime.  Sooo many guitars!   Loved it!

All transfers throughout our holiday were the best we have experienced.  We were able to text the drivers and be guided where our collection point was with no issues.  Flights all straight forward.  So apart from driving to and from London Heathrow, that's how you cover nearly 23,000 miles in 14 nights!

Would we do anything differently?  Yes... if we had more time in Seattle, we would have taken a trip to Vancouver and Mount Rainier but now thinking when we go back to Hawaii, we will fly in and out of Vancouver and see a bit of Canada.

We cannot thank Emma enough.  You only know how fabulous your agent is when things go wrong.   Our original hotel in Oahu was a Hilton.  It was nothing like the website, so we booked to the Reef Outrigger where we stayed before.  Emma was on hand to support and secured us a refund from the Hilton.  Her fast response meant at no point did we need to worry.  She had our back and was there to support us, even with the crazy time difference!  We have booked numerous holidays with Emma and really value her attention to detail and professional knowledge.  There are so many people saying they can book a holiday for you, but there are none with the experience and expertise of Emma.  Thank you