Looking for best Oahu vacation rental location for 25th Wedding Anniversary Trip (Feb 05) where we can:

1. Be on nice, quiet beach - good waves.
2. Air conditioning
3. Safe location

I have gone to vrbo but would really prefer NAMES of places where you have stayed and please indicate best areas of Oahu -- vrbo sorts by location but I don't know one from the other. Please help - Thanks.

I think the prettiest scenery and beaches are on the east coast of Oahu. Like at Sandy Beach Park, Makapu'u Beach, etc. Also, Kailua Beach is very nice. I've only stayed in Waikiki and that obviously doesn't meet your quiet preference, so I don't know much about vacation rental - sorry. I hope you have a wonderful time though.

We had (on OUR 25th anniversary in Aug/Sept '01) the trip of a lifetime on the North Shore of Oahu. Mokuleia Beach Colony: a gated group of duplex cottages; not luxe but clean and homey, georgous grounds, and we lucked into an oceanfront unit (8 steps to beach, palm trees, the sound of the ocean coming in the door.....) We never saw more than three people on the beach. No AC though.

We loved the location - it's "out in the country", but only 10 minutes to Haleiwa (awesome beach town w/all the services you could want/need), and there are several other small towns nearby. And day trips to "the city" were only 45 minutes or so, but we were so glad we that we weren't staying in Honolulu - the North Shore felt so much more like a "real" Hawaiian experience.

I could go on and on.....but can definitely recommend North Shore Oahu.....

Oh yes, definitely north shore! We loved our house, the "Sunset Beach Hale". It was all windows, with water as far as the eye could see. No air conditioning, but never needed it. Here's the website (but these pictures don't do it justice):
http://www.vrbo.com/16818

hens4th,
Do you have contact info for the place at Mokuleia Beach Colony? Is it the place rented by Patricia Blackley that is listed on Cyber Rentals?
Thanks.
-Bill

Bill, Yes, Pat Blackley was the owner of our duplex. She was a delight to work with - and she even had a beautiful bouquet of tropical flowers delivered to us at the cottage on our anniversary!

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have on this rental - we truly had the vacation of a lifetime staying there.....

Thanks for confirming Hens. This place has been on my radar screen for awhile. We'll probably check it out next year. I have not been to Oahu in about 15 years, so it's about time.
Mahalo,
Bill

Nice to hear good things about Mokuleia Beach Colony and Patricia Blackley. My daughter and her boyfriend are graduating college in June and I booked with Patricia for a seven day stay (for them not me!). I know this is a question I can post to Patricia but hens4th, do you recall if there is a BBQ grill on her property? Any tips you can share that they may want to know beforehand? Mahalo.

Trav - There was indeed a BBQ grill for our use, and boy! did we use it! Tell the kids to make a point of stopping at the second Haleiwa Beach Park (there are two - the first one facing north is a lovely "swimming" beach, the second one is to the east of the breakwater - across from Jamison's restaurant - and is more of a "fisherman's" beach) where they can purchase fresh-caught ahi from a fisherman. We were told about this by a local. We dined like kings (and very affordably) several evenings, with grilled fresh ahi along with fresh pineapple from the Dole Pineapple Plantation, eaten by candlelight on the oceanfront lanai, with the palm trees swaying and the sound of the surf and the georgous sunset.....wonderful evenings! We decided no $100 meal in any fancy restaurant in the world could compare with those meals we cooked on that lanai.

There are so many other things I could talk about/recommend, that I don't know where to start.....

Oh thank you for your reassurance that I choose a nice (and affordable) place for them to stay. This is my graduation gift to them (I also got their tickets with my FF miles for $5.00 each on AA nonstop). I am giving them a big (combined) graduation party with a luau theme the day before departure (on the beach in Santa Cruz, CA). I'm sure many of the guests will be asking, "What can I get them?" Any suggestions that I may give them?...gift certificates? The rental car will be their biggest expense because of their ages (19 and 21).

They really deserve this vacation. Both have sped through undergrad and are preparing for grad school in the fall. My gift to them is all the love that goes into the planning.

So, PLEASE feel free to make suggestions. Mahalo.

PS I am giving them Oahu Revealed and matching Hawaiian shirts for Christmas! And, yes, Patrica Blackley is wonderful to work with. She only lives a few miles from us. Received her information packet in the mail yesterday (maps and all).