Naman Shrestha
A sequel to ‘Vacation Friends,’ Hulu’s ‘Vacation Friends 2’ is a comedy film that picks up a few months after the events of the parent movie. The newly married couple — Marcus and Emily — invite their newly wedded best friends, Ron and Kyla, who also have a baby, to join them on an extravagant vacation when Marcus receives a paid trip to a scenic Caribbean resort. Besides relaxation, Marcus’ main motive for traveling to the resort is to meet with its owners to bid on a construction contract for their Chicago hotel.
However, things start spiraling out of control when Kyla’s imprisoned father Reese gets released from San Quentin only to show up at the couples’ resort unannounced. Not only does Reese rain on Marcus’ parade but he also manages to turn their perfect vacation into an utter disaster. The Clay Tarver directorial features hilarious onscreen performances by Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji, John Cena, Meredith Hagner, and Steve Buscemi. Originally titled ‘Honeymoon Friends,’ the movie unfolds mostly in a Caribbean resort with picturesque backdrops of the resort and the open waters, making the viewers wonder where ‘Vacation Friends 2’ was filmed.
Vacation Friends 2 Filming Locations
‘Vacation Friends 2’ was filmed in Hawaii, especially in Oahu. According to reports, principal photography for the John Cena starrer commenced in late September 2022 under the working title ‘Crashers’ and wrapped up in November of the same year. Now, without much ado, allow us to fill you in on all the details regarding the specific locations that feature in the Hulu film!
Oahu, Hawaii
Almost the entirety of ‘Vacation Friends 2’ was taped on the island of Oahu, which is known to be the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Oahu doubled for the Caribbean island where the two couples find themselves in a new adventure. The director and his team traveled across the island to lens a number of pivotal sequences against suitable backdrops. For instance, it is highly possible that the filming unit set up camp in the city of Honolulu. Situated along the southeast coast of the island of Oahu, it is the capital of the state of Hawaii. The commercial, retail, and residential district of Ala Moana in Honolulu seemingly features in a few scenes.
Furthermore, the shooting of some scenes of ‘Vacation Friends 2’ possibly took place in the census-designated place of Kahuku. As for the car chase and action scenes that take place on the road with trees on both sides, they were reportedly recorded on Kapaa Quarry Road in November 2022. Several parts of the road were closed for the public to allow the shooting of the car stunt scenes. The main reason behind the closure of the road was that precision drivers performed some dangerous car stunts along the Kapaa Quarry Road, which made it unsafe for other regular drivers.
From the looks of it, additional portions for the comedy film were also lensed in and around one of the resorts on the island of Oahu, such as Paradise Bay Resort, Tiki Moon Villas- Vacation Rentals Hawaii, The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki, and Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. Since there are many exterior scenes throughout the film, you are bound to notice a few local landmarks, including the Ala Moana Center, the Bishop Museum, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the ʻIolani Palace, and the Kualoa Ranch. Besides ‘Vacation Friends 2,’ Oahu’s locales have been featured in multiple film and TV projects over the years. Some of the notable ones are ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2,’ ‘Murder Mystery 2,’ ‘ Two Tickets to Paradise,’ ‘Love, for Real,’ and ‘Magnum P.I..’
Read More: Where Was Vacation Friends Filmed?
