Stunning, relaxing, and absolutely free, hanging out at Ko Olina's beautiful man made lagoons is definitely an activity that will make a great addition to anyone's Hawaii Bucket List. Simply drive over to the west side, park your car, and venture out to one of the four lagoons of Ko Olina, taking in the amazing West Side of Oahu.
Earlier in the week, my friend Danielle invited me to join her and a group of friends to do a Sunday all-you-can-eat brunch at the Four Seasons hotel at Ko Olina. In my younger years (like 2 years ago) I was all about brunch. However, I have since learned my lack of self control will inevitably make me gorge copious amounts of food, thus leaving me incapacitated for one or even two days after. Therefore, I avoid said brunches. However, Danielle also pitched we would check out Ko Olina's luxurious lagoons after, allowing us to digest and soak in the beauty. I thought it a great opportunity to check out another Oahu spot I might not otherwise venture to myself. All I had to do was survive that brunch...
Ok brunch was not actually a struggle. It was fantastic food. There was a raw fish bar, fresh shrimp and oysters, grilled lobster, tenderloin, lamb, bloody marys and more desserts than the eye could see (and that's only half of it). It is a whopping $65, but every now and then you gotta treat yoself. And we treated ourselves handsomely.
Needless to say, after two and a half hours of gorging, we decided to roll (almost literally) over to one of the lagoons to relax. There's 4 in total each with its own parking lot. Parking is a premium in these lots so you have to go early, get lucky, or just be patient. After trolling around for a bit, we finally got a spot in Lagoon #2 where we were greeted with this pleasant sight.
A beautiful lagoon right on the West coast of Oahu with vast views of the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean. Such an amazing place to just sit and take it all in. Sadly, these lagoons are not natural, but man made. But hey, every now and then we humans can create something beautiful.
A weird rule I was informed of is that you cannot bring your own umbrellas to this beach. You can however set up camp underneath one of these many tropical thatch umbrellas. That is of course if there are any open. I suppose you could always join a group and make friends. Feeling bloated and antisocial, we decided to find our own spot to plop down.
After digesting enough to be functional, I decided to get out the drone and do some laps. If you are a droner, this is a phenomenal place to fly. There's very little air traffic from tourist helicopters, great places to launch from, and of course beautiful scenery. This is a shot right above lagoon #2. I love how you can see all those thatch umbrellas symmetrically aligned.
And now we will fly South. That is lagoons #3 and #4 and the Ko Olina Marina. Today, I was very content doing a tour of the lagoons this way vice walking to each of them.
And probably the most scenic of all the Lagoons, #1, surrounded by the Four Seasons (left) and the Aulani Disney Resort (right). Typically, I prefer natural wonders, but I'll admit the way this looked from the drone was incredibly appealing.
And one last shot looking North, capturing the lagoons, the resort, the Waianae Range and the gentle roll of the ocean waves all in one shot. Doesn't quite feel real does it?
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Also Check Out:
- Ko Olina's official website for more info on everything this resort town has to offer
