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I’ve traveled enough in my lifetime to consider myself somewhat of an expert. I know what to bring and how to pack, how to budget, and how to plan my itinerary. However, after my most recent visit to Hawaii, I made some mistakes that reminded me that I still have room for improvement. I’m here to share the mistakes I made so that you can learn from them, and do better than me. 

1. Didn’t Bring Water Socks/Shoes

The best snorkeling spots are located at coral reefs. This is because they serve as the perfect environment for fish and aquatic life. There is one major downside to these coral reefs; they are SHARP. You are encouraged not to touch the coral, but accidents happen. Sometimes you get too close to the reef, or you need to stand up and you slice your foot on the reef. I’ve done it far too many times. There is a way to protect yourself from this. You can wear water socks or shoes to protect your feet from the sharp coral and hot sand. I’ve used these many times before, but I just simply forgot to bring them. I immediately regretted it the second I went snorkeling.

For a cheap option, I would recommend these socks. They provide adequate protection for your feet. If you are looking for something that is a little bit nicer and provides a little more comfort along with the protection, I would recommend these shoes. Either option will keep your feet nice and protected from the elements, and you won’t be sorry you had them. 

2.   Didn’t Bring a Beach Tote

We spent a significant amount of time on the beach. We had a lot of items we were carrying to and from the car to the beach. Unfortunately, all we had to carry our stuff was our backpacks, which were not super beach friendly. We had sand absolutely everywhere, and we ended up carrying a lot of items in our arms to avoid getting our backpacks wet and sandy. This caused multiple trips, messy bags and cars, and tired beachgoers. 

To avoid this, there is a very simple solution. Bring a beach tote. They have mesh bags that are perfect to avoid building up sand, they dry easily, and fit all the necessary beach items you’ll need. Throw in your towels, snorkeling gear, beach chairs, sandals, snacks, and water bottles to keep your hands free for other important items. This will also make it easy to shake off any sand to keep your bag, items, and car clean after leaving the beach. 

3. Not Wearing the Right Sun Hat 

I strongly believe in wearing SPF and staying covered up to avoid sunburns. Because I have fair skin, I’ve dealt with my fair share of sunburns over the years. I’ve come to learn that it’s just not worth the risk to not wear proper sun protection. I brought a wide-brimmed hat for the trip to keep my face and neck protected from the sun. However, it was very flimsy, easily blown off by the wind, and did not provide the kind of protection I was hoping for. My husband wore a sturdy wicker hat that he absolutely loved, and I wished the whole trip I could steal it from him. It stayed in place, did not blow off, and kept his head shaded. I promise that this hat is totally worth it. 

4.  Didn’t Have a Portable Charger

When you are driving around an island you aren’t particularly familiar with, it’s vital to have a GPS handy. I used my phone. However, if you haven’t noticed, the GPS absolutely drains your phone battery. Unfortunately, the rental car we had did not have a USB or USB C plug-in available, so there was absolutely no way for us to charge our phones if we were outside of the condo we were staying at. This proved to be a problem if we wanted to use our phones for anything else, like taking pictures or looking up digital tickets we had purchased. It also made it very difficult to navigate around the island. 

I would 100% recommend bringing a portable charger. This charger is magnetic safe, and sticks right onto the back of your phone. It charges your phone on the go, and you don’t need any extra cords to bring along with you. Worrying about my phone dying added an extra stress during our vacation that was completely avoidable, so I would definitely make sure to bring a portable charger with you. 

5. Not Spending Enough Time on the Islands

We had 7 total days, including travel, to visit two Hawaiian islands. We went to Oahu and Kauai. Now, it was absolutely amazing, and we had a great time. However, at the end of our trip we left wishing that we had spent more time on each of the islands. We felt quite rushed at times, and we had to pack a whole lot of activities into a very short itinerary. My recommendation for anyone planning a vacation to any of the Hawaiian islands is to spend at least 5 full days per island. That means if you are going to visit two islands, you should plan for at least a 10 day vacation. Again, you can go shorter, but you will be packing a lot of activities into a short amount of time and be very exhausted at the end. 

6. Not Having Cash on Hand

I know, I know. Who carries cash anymore? You have access to plenty of money using debit or credit cards. Bringing even a small amount of cash with you will make your life much easier. Some places still only accept cash, such as parking lots at popular tourist attractions. If you are staying in a resort, it will also make it much easier to have cash on hand if you would like to tip any of the workers. It is also good to have in case of emergencies. 

Unfortunately for us, our bank is only located in Utah, so we do not have access to ATMs when we travel out of state. It’s not impossible to get cash out of an ATM that is not associated with your bank, but you have to pay a fee to do so. I hate paying unnecessary fees, especially if it could have been avoided. We definitely could have avoided paying ATM fees for withdrawing cash from a bank other than our own if we would have just brought cash with us from the get-go. 

7. Not Planning Ahead for the Weather

Hawaii usually has beautiful, sunny skies and picturesque weather. The key word here is usually. Just like anywhere else, it can have its moments of bad weather. It can be rainy and windy which can get quite chilly. When packing, your first thought is going to be to bring bathing suits and sunscreen. Make sure to bring a jacket and small umbrella as well. Even if you don’t ever break them out during the trip, you will be very grateful if you ever need them. I did not bring a jacket, and there were a few times we were out during the night after the sun went down and it got very cold very quickly. Just make sure you bring an article of clothing for any weather you might encounter. 

Like I said before, our trip was absolutely amazing! It was so amazing and I can’t wait to go back to Hawaii. Hopefully I can learn from past mistakes to make the next vacation even better. What mistakes would you recommend avoiding?