What To Do In Honolulu When Your Flight Has Been Canceled

You know everything that taking a flight entails.  Starting with a nearly sleepless night waiting for the alarm to ring to checking in bags and finding a cup o’ joe near the gate.

Well, after we had completed all those tasks and were waiting to board our plane this week, we heard the dreaded announcement.  Our flight had been canceled.  Ugh.

Hub got us rebooked for 12 hours later and that left us with a whole day to spend for better or for worse.

We also had four bags in tow so complications were arising.

There are a lot worse places to be stranded than Hawaii on a perfect sunny day.  In fact, this day was better than any day of our vacation.

So what to do in Honolulu when your flight has been canceled?  Here’s how we spent a delightful day.

Rent a Car

After considering all of our options both in and out of the airport, the most cost-effective decision was to rent a car for the day.

With four bags, finding storage would have cost about $70 alone.  Daily car rental was much cheaper and the bags fit perfectly in the trunk.

I was lucky enough to have lugged my laptop on vacation with me, so while we were sitting in the terminal I quickly booked a car through National where I have an account and we walked across the street and exited with a car in just a few minutes.

Find a Hidden Gem Place to Eat

We were starting to get hungry and asked the rental car attendant for a recommendation of a restaurant off the beaten path.  He suggested a place and darn if it wasn’t open. 

But!  There was a hopping bakery restaurant next door and we tried that.  Excellent choice.

We had a relaxing meal and spied lots of beautiful baked goods.  Not to tattle, but one of us who is not supposed to eat gluten had two cream puffs.

Avoid Traffic

The last thing we needed was the stress of traffic and lots of tourists.  But we did want to wander around.

We ended up parking at the pier and looking at the cruise ships and just enjoying the marina.

Next we took a trip up the hill to the Punchbowl.

We last visited the crater created in an extinct volcano on our honeymoon.  And you know how long ago that was!

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is expanding to make room for more veterans who choose to be buried there. We chatted for quite awhile with the security guard and he filled us in on the expansion as well as his favorite view spots.

It is so lovely viewing Honolulu, feeling the peace of the park and honoring those lives visiting the Honolulu Memorial.

Wrap Up

We are dead tired and way too old for all nighters.  Ha!  But I don’t regret spending an extra lovely day of vacation.

In case you missed it; I don’t think my email sent, I shared our Costco run and how you might want to shop for an Airbnb stay.

Okay, no more vacation posts from this trip.  I promise.

Oh, except PS. The yellow hibiscus is the state flower.