Hello, my name is Grace Lee, a committee chair for I.Lead.

I did my first solo trip to Hawaii on the 30th November 2023 with my walker and wheelchair for assistance, and I went for 9 days. I was nervous, and I had no expectations as I didn’t know what is going to happen or what I am going to do. 

It was almost Winter there but it was still beautiful weather everyday. When it rained, it was only for brief moment, and still warm/hot. The Sun there wasn’t as harsh there as in Auckland, so even though I got a nice tan, I didn’t get sunburned. 

I went exploring to different parts of Honolulu. The Ala Moana was quite central to everything and connected to a mall, so it was easy to go shopping. I also went to Waikiki and visited the beach, which had an accessible mat so I could sit on the matt in the sand area. I either took an Uber around the island, or the Trolleys/Buses which did hop on/hop off tours.  I met lots of interesting people from different walks of life. I definitely made new friends every day I was there, I went to their houses and even got shown spots and did a road trip to Turtle Bay. Everyone and everything were so beautiful there. 

Overall, Hawaii is an amazing place, and would definitely recommend for anyone.  I hope to visit Hawaii again next year and hope to take people with me. If not, at least I have friends in Hawaii now, and I know I can always make new ones too.  It definitely changed me as an individual and gave me a massive confidence boost in solo traveling.