Hawaii: Solos, Sunshine & Santa Pours

Arrive in Honolulu, check into Waikiki and immediately realise Christmas looks very different in 28°C.

Optional visit to Pearl Harbor for a moment of culture, reflection and behaving like a respectable group (briefly).

Evening Welcome Mixer at Arnold’s Bar where tropical cocktails replace mulled wine and strangers quickly become “who’s getting the next round?”.

Tipple Tours icebreakers ensure names are learned…or at least confidently guessed.

Dress code: festive, colourful and slightly louder than necessary.

Overnight in Waikiki.

Start the day with a full brewery tour across Waikiki Brewing Company, Aloha Beer Company and Honolulu Beerworks, where festive spirit comes in pint form.

Continue to a beach bar crawl where Christmas Eve is celebrated in the only logical way: sunshine, beers and increasingly confident storytelling.

Sunset Social at Bar 35 with craft beers, small bites and the realisation you now know everyone far too well for day two.

Continue into Waikiki nightlife because “early night before Christmas” was never really the plan.

Overnight in Waikiki.

Wake up on Christmas morning somewhere between refreshed and optimistic.

After breakfast we will open our Secret Santa presents - each guest will bring a secret gift to be distributed randomly to the group.

Head to the North Shore with stops at Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach, swapping snow for surf.

Group photo at Banzai Pipeline where Santa hats may or may not appear.

Lunch in Haleiwa before beers at Haleiwa Beach House with ocean views that make you question your life choices back home.

Tasting session at Haleiwa Distilling Company where Christmas spirit takes on a stronger meaning.

Evening at Cholo’s with drinks, music and s’mores under the stars — a Christmas dinner you definitely didn’t grow up with.

Overnight in Waikiki.

Head to Kailua Beach for a Boxing Day that involves zero boxing and maximum relaxation.

Paddleboarding, volleyball or lying down and calling it “recovery”.

Visit Lanikai Brewing Company for tropical beers and confident retelling of the past 48 hours.

Evening at La Mariana Sailing Club, a retro tiki bar where Boxing Day becomes a long, colourful blur.

Mai tais flow, shuffleboard rivalries escalate, and someone insists they’ve “found their new lifestyle”.

Overnight in Waikiki.

Explore historic Honolulu, briefly returning to a more civilised version of yourselves.

Visit Iolani Palace, Kawaiahaʻo Church and the King Kamehameha Statue.

Final stop at Aloha Beer Company for a farewell toast that becomes more emotional than expected.

Evening luau at Germaine’s with food, music, dancing and a full festive send-off.

Realisation that this has been the least traditional (and most enjoyable) Christmas in years.

Overnight in Kapolei.

Check out, say your goodbyes and promise to stay in touch (surprisingly likely).

Depart with a tan, a group chat and a completely redefined idea of Christmas.