So, are you trying to decide where to stay in Oahu? The majority of people will stay on Waikiki. But with that being said, the majority of tourists are jam packed in Waikiki. Personally, if I’m on vacation I don’t want to be fighting for a spot on a beach with hundreds of other people. The plus side to staying there is that Waikiki has EVERYTHING that you could think of. It was super easy to find a place to eat, as well as bar hop! There’s malls and stores everywhere. It appears as if there is ABC stores on every corner. Here they will have anything that you may have forgotten or lost. We ended up at these stores almost every day.
I personally love renting a house or apartment any chance I’m on vacation. The first time I stayed in Oahu, we ended up with half a duplex which was literally right on top of the water. A lot of these places are in residential areas. So the downside is that you may have to go a farther distance to get to anything. This may be a huge downside if your plan was to stay out late and drink most nights.
If I could give you one piece of advice, PLEASE RENT A CAR. There is so much that Oahu has to offer, but it’s obviously spread out over an entire island. To me, I looked at Oahu as basically being split up into a few different main “areas”. You have the general Honolulu/downtown area, the North shore, the West and East Side. Each area is roughly 30 minutes to an hour away from one another. If you don’t happen to rent a car, I have heard of a bus that goes all the way around the island. I personally have never used it, but I’ve read that it is extremely time consuming!
You can get cars for fairly cheap. A lot of people don’t realize that your personal car insurance information works for renting a car as well. I have State Farm, and they cover us anytime we rent. You just NEED to remember to bring the actual card with. This will help you save a good chunk of money on the car rental. The first time I went to Oahu, we got a simple compact car that was good on gas. Keep in mind, like mostly everything in Hawaii, gas is more expensive. The second time we rented a Jeep, and it was so much fun to drive! Jeeps appears to be the rental choice of a lot of tourists. Anytime I go back to the islands I will make sure to get a Jeep, even though I may have to pay a little more.
The Lanikai Area is probably one of my favorite areas on the island. It’s a residential area, that also has plenty of things to do and see. It is that picturesque Hawaiian neighborhood that you might picture in your head. The Lanikai beach is accessible through beach ways which are sporadically placed in between houses. The beach is very clean with soft white sand that overlooks the Mokulua Islands.
The water in this area doesn’t reach more than 8-12 feet deep all the way up to those Mokes (Islands). You do have to go a ways out in the ocean, before you really see any fish or other wild life. For people who love a relaxing beach with breathtaking views, this is going to be your beach. The average age of people around appeared to be young adults. There is no specific parking for this beach. So you do need to park in the residential neighborhood, which usually takes some time. You basically have to weave through the streets until you find parking.
The Lanikai Pill Box Hike is one of my top favorite hikes that I’ve recently done. Similar to parking for the beach, there is no designated parking and you must park in the nearby neighborhood. The trailhead starts across the street from the entrance to Mid Pacific Country Club. The hike takes about 30 minutes to get to the second Pillbox. If you’re like me, it might take a lot longer due to the fact that I take too many pictures. It’s pretty easy for most people to hike, although it is a bit of a workout.
Make sure that you have good shoes for it. The beginning of the hike is usually fairly muddy and pretty steep. There is a few parts of the hike where you are fairly close to the edge of the cliff. But, it’s not something where you feel uncomfortably close. At the top of the hike you’ll find two pillboxes. If you know anything relating to WW2, you’ll know that these had a significant importance after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. To this day you can still find these pillboxes spread out over the island.
Kailua beach is a few blocks from Lanikai beach. This is a really popular beach as well. Personally I wasn’t the biggest fan of Kailua. There was A LOT of young children running around. Also, the view isn’t quite as good as Lanikai beach either. The beach looks out onto Flat Island. The island is exactly what the name implies, flat. Also, I’m not sure if it was a fluke situation, but there was sand constantly being blown at us. This want very appealing, when trying to relax. This beach did have restrooms and showers on the property. If you are looking for a nice beach to bring young children, I would suggest coming to this area. There is restaurants, bathrooms, showers and water fountains all within quick walking distance from the beach.
There are a few different companies that rent out kayaks, SUP boards, bikes, etc., near Kailua beach. Make sure you check out the prices of all the rental shops nearby. I found that there was a few shops significantly cheaper, the further you were the beach. If you don’t get a car, you might want to go with the company closest to Kailua beach. They give out carts, where you can transport the kayaks on. Once we got our kayak, we drove back to Lanikai beach and went out to the mokes from there. If you leave from Kailua beach, it takes roughly and hour to get the mokes. But, if you leave from Lanikai, It’ll be closer to 30 minutes.
Be aware of your kayaking abilities. If you aren’t a good kayaker, or confident being in the water I probably wouldn’t suggest going all the way to the islands. The waves break at about the same distance the islands are, which creates massive swells that wrap around the island. This basically leaves you a small area straight out in front of the island that you’re able to kayak through. My friend who Kayaked out with me was not confident being out out the ocean. So she struggled a bit being out there by ourselves. I’ve read a lot of stories about people flipping there kayaks, and having to swim back to shore. If it still interests you but you aren’t the most confident, there is tour groups that go out throughout the day. This will cost more though, and it is usually about half a day long.
The island is also a bird sanctuary. So when you’re out there you are not allowed on the grassy areas, which are clearly marked. It’s home to many endangered birds, as well as the endangered Hawaiian seal. They are often seen sun bathing and playing on the beach.
Although you can’t hike up onto the island, you are able to hike around it. You will need to bring some sort of shoe or sandal for this, since the pathways around are made of sharp lava rock. When you get around to the other side, depending on the time of day it can also be extremely dangerous. You can easily be swept off the lava rock, or severely scraped up. The guy we rented our kayaks from, warned us to just stay away from the areas that are wet. Around the island there are multiple tide pools. Some of these are big enough for you to swim in. One of these is nicknamed The Queens Bath. Since the water has been basking in the hot Hawaiian sun all day, it’s is surprisingly warm. These areas do make for some good photos!
The Diamond Head Hike is probably the most popular hike on the entire island. This is easily accessible for everyone, and the entire hike is on a paved trail. Being such a short distance from Waikiki, this brings in a large amount of tourists. The views once you get to the top are breathtaking. You get to look out over Waikiki, as well as the entire South Side of the island. If you plan to hike Diamond Head Crater, I highly recommend going at dawn or right before the park closes. Mid-day is when the majority of people go. You’ll be fighting for a spot at the top of the hike, and constantly running into people.
Another popular hike nearby is Koko Head Railway. This hike is a workout! Having played college hockey and recently ran a marathon, I still had to take a lot of breaks. If you love getting on the stair climber, this is the hike for you. The trail is essentially just old railroad planks going up the side of a mountain. 1,048 of them to be exact! The railway was built during World War 2 in order to efficiently get supplies to the top of the hill. At about the “3/4ths mark” the railway does become pretty steep. You find yourself almost climbing at this point.
Once you do finally get to the top, you have a beautiful panoramic view. I made the mistake of doing this hike mid-day. The amount of people wasn’t too bad, but the sun just beats down on you. If you do find yourself needing some breaks, It’s very easy to just step to the side of the trail and let people pass. You will see a lot of people trying to break different time records. I heard the fastest it was done, was roughly 11 minutes. You will also see a few locals trying to see how many times they can do it in a row. Once was enough for us!
Pearl Harbor is definitely a must see, especially if you haven’t been. I love everything related to WW2, so I found everything extremely interesting. It does take a lot longer to see everything, then I had initially anticipated. I would plan for at least half a day. I also strongly advise getting there early. The first 1,300 people through the gates, get a free ticket to the park. I would check their website prior to going, to check if the deal is still going on though.
We got there about 15-20 minutes early, and there was already a very long line. If you’re going with a large group, it would save you a lot of money. Going to certain ships, is an additional cost. The main thing you have to add on to the package is the USS Arizona. This is the main ship everyone thinks of, with the white memorial over it. The memorial itself is gorgeous. Something that surprised me is that the ship still leaks oil. They won’t go and fix it either, since it’s now categorized as a tomb for the fallen military members.
I also suggest that you check out the USS Missouri. You can tour the majority of the battleship, and see how the sailors and marines managed living for months at a time. This is always where the surrendering of Japan took place. If you guys took my advice and went to the memorial early, you’ll probably be done touring around lunch time. A block away from the memorial there is a restaurant called Restaurant 604. I really liked this place, and it is a perfect outside restaurant that looks over Pearl Harbor.
The North Shore is another one of my favorite parts of the island. This is also home to the Banzai Pipeline. This stretch of beach hosts many different professional surf competitions throughout the year. Due to the way the reef is formed, these massive swells are created that make perfect tunnels. If you come out at either dusk or dawn, the ocean will be packed with surfers.
A lot of people come out to watch and photograph these guys (and ladies). This beach is perfect for relaxing, and includes a show. You will also get to see some of the best sunsets on the island. Don’t blink, because they do disappear fast. I always park at ‘Ehukai Beach Park. There are bathrooms that include showers at this beach as well as a lifeguard station. Again due to the large breaking waves right on the beach, I would not recommend swimming unless you’re a very good swimmer. There are usually signs posted on the beach stating this as well. Here you’ll see much more of that laid back Hawaiian vibes, and the beaches are far less crowded.
I can’t talk about the North Shore, without bringing up the Food Trucks. Whether it be here or anywhere else on the island, PLEASE order some food from the trucks. It’s fairly common to see them all over the island. But they seem to congregate on the North Shore. The truck EVERYONE seems to be lining up for is Giovanis. This seemed strange to me, since you would normally affiliate a name like Giovanis with Italian food. But their specialty is actually seafood! There’s a few different things you can choose from, but they all focus around shrimp. We ended up waiting around 40 minutes total to order our food and receive it.
There were A LOT of other food trucks around selling basically the same thing, but with zero lines. The food was good, but I’m not sure if it was worth the 40 minute wait. Especially when there was plenty of other options with similar menus just mere feet away. The first time I was on the island, we found a random food truck just driving around sightseeing. This truck had about three times the options that Giovanis did, gave you more food, and tasted better in my opinion. So check them all out, and decide for yourself!
Let’s talk about shark diving. While this may initially scare the majority of people off, stay with me. It’s a blast! Hawaii Adventure Diving is an amazing company that I went through both times on the island. The staff are super friendly and knowledgeable. The diver that gets in the water with you, is always watching the behavior of the sharks and making sure that they don’t get too close to you.
I opted for the free diving session both times. Essentially we just snorkeled above them, but they come surprisingly close. Noise appeared to attract the sharks, so every so often the captain would rev the boats engine and the sharks would shoot back up to the surface. There was the option to go out with a group and cage dive, but we opted for the more exciting version. This company always has an awesome Groupon deal, at least both times that I’ve gone. They also honor any price Groupon lists, including sales. When I talked with them last, they stated the Groupon will take about half the profits when people book through Groupon. So the company itself makes more money, if people book through them while still spending the same amount. Since this is a small business, I made sure to do that the second time.
Also if you bring cash, there is no tax. So you could save about 10-15 dollars, depending on the price at the time. Please remember to bring cash for a tip. Like I mentioned the captain and divers make the dive. A lot of the guys make the majority of their money on tips!
Not far up the shore from the sharks, is a really fun beach that has an area for cliff jumping. The “cliff” is roughly 30-35 feet high. The jump is short, but still really gets your adrenaline going. The water in the area, isn’t very deep. A lot of people described it as being “just deep enough.” I still felt completely comfortable doing it, and never felt too close to the bottom. It may be a slightly different feeling for a larger man making the jump, but that didn’t appear to stop anyone from jumping in! All throughout the day there was probably 8-12 people standing up on the rock. Everyone was taking there turns, or waiting on the people who were debating whether or not to jump.
The average age of this beach was probably young adults. Due to the waves here, It didn’t appear to be the most kid friendly. The waves were breaking right on the shore line. This really made no room for easy swimming, since the waves were so big and powerful right at the beginning. Most people that wanted to swim around had to go out past the break. This could have just been the tide/weather when I was there though
Just north of this beach is a “hiking trail” in the Waimea Valley. This “hike” is more comparable to an easy stroll through a park than an actual hike. It does cost about $16 dollars to get into the park. Which we didn’t know until we were partially up the hill. Make sure you bring cash with, otherwise it’s a long walk back to the car.
There’s a waterfall at the top and on some days you are allowed to swim in the stream underneath the waterfall. This was closed the day we went up there. I was later told that it wasn’t fun to do though, this was coming from some locals. Basically in order to swim at the waterfall you have to wear life jackets that are provided for you. You aren’t allowed to get too close to the waterfall, and a lifeguard is standing watch the whole time. While I probably wouldn’t go back to this place. If you’re interested in horticulture or have a green thumb, you would love this place. There’s hundreds of different flowers from all over the world. You could spend hours at this place, if you stopped to look at all the different plants.
Two places on the North Shore I still haven’t had the chance to see yet, Kualoa Ranch and the Dole Plantation. The Dole Plantation is the birth place of our pineapples! While I have heard this can be a tad touristy, I would still really like to see it. They have this delicious sounding “ice cream” called dole whip. Please google it, and I’m sure you’ll add it to your list of places to go as well.
Kualoa Ranch has repeatedly been on my list of things to do in Oahu. I still have no idea how I haven’t been here with how many times I’ve been to Oahu. Just picture Jurassic Park. No, but really. This is where they have filmed for the Jurassic Park series. A lot of filming has occurred here actually. There’s all different types of tours that you can do through the ranch. With that comes a wide variety in price. The walking tours and typical driving tours are fairly cheap. You can also explore the ranch via; ATV, zip line, horseback, etc. It all depends on how adventurous you want to be! I will FOR SURE be checking this place out next time I go.
Where To Eat On Oahu
Duke’s Waikiki; Waikiki Beach- Probably the most famous restaurant in the area. Named after the Ambassador of Aloha, Duke Paoa Kahnamoku. The restaurant always appears to be busy, it is one of the few places to eat that are right on Waikiki beach. I would suggest going there during sunset, to enjoy dinner with an amazing view. They have an area where you can eat right on the beach.
The wait is a little shorter if you eat inside. This area is still open, but it doesn’t have as good of view as eating on the beach. Plan on waiting a bit, if that is what you want to do. The food is really good, but a little overpriced. It’s one of those place where you expect to pay a little more. Since it’s so well known, they can afford to charge a little more since they know the people will come regardless. A tad touristy, but definitely worth the wait.
South Shore Grill; Waikiki Area- This is probably my favorite place to eat on the entire island! Very reasonably priced. We showed up here for a late lunch, so luckily we didn’t have to wait in line for very long. We drove by around dinner time, and there was a line out the door. It’s not fast food, but you order your food and pay right away. We had to wait about 5-10 minutes for it to cook.
There is places to sit inside, but it’s nothing fancy. I choice to sit right next to the front door, because the window looks out onto Diamond Head. The restaurant has food similar to what you would see out of the food trucks on the North shore. Some of their favorites are the fish tacos. I went with the shrimp, rice, and Hawaiian Mac salad when I was there. This was the best Mac salad I’ve ever have!
Maui Brewing Company; Waikiki Beach- I’ve been to the restaurant a few times now. I LOVE the atmosphere of this place. It’s a fairly large restaurant, on a roof top patio. The food is really good, at a very reasonable price. Their menu isn’t that large but I promise there will be something you’ll want. I highly suggest getting a beer flight here. It’s a really easy way to try, all their different beers. They carry a lot of local brews, so you don’t have to just choose from Maui’s beer.
Kalapawai Market; Lanikai/Kailua- If you took my advice and went to Lanikai. This place is a must. It’s the perfect place to stop, to grab some food to bring with you to the beach. They hand make delicious subs, salads, and other deli type food. You can also pick up their locally brewed coffee, beer, chips, etc. It’s very conveniently placed within walking distance of Kailua beach.
Haleiwa Joe’s Seafood Grill; Haileiwa- This restaurant is a little overpriced, but has great food. The majority of their menu is sea food based. I’m a huge sea food fan, so it was easy to make a choice. The restaurant has wonderful views of the harbor. If you did happen to swim with the sharks, or go on dolphin/whale tour, this is that same harbor. I’ve heard that if you go out with a fishing charter, they will cook up freshly caught fish for you. I did not do that here, but had a wonderful experience doing that when I was in Maui. There’s honestly nothing better.
Restaurant 604; Pearl Harbor- Like I mentioned earlier, the restaurant is right on the Harbor. It’s within walking distance of the parking lot for the Pearl Harbor memorial, but I would suggest driving down. There parking lot is fairly large, so it should be easy to find a spot. And after a few beers, the walk may seem long. The food is also very good, and always appears to be busy. Even if you have to wait a bit, the wait goes quicker than you’d expect. They’re known for their bloody Marys. Personally I thought the bloody Mary was a bit over spiced. But that can easily be fixed by following it up with a beer or two.
Lastly; FOOD TRUCKS, FOOD TRUCKS, and MORE FOOD TRUCKS
Make sure to check out the Ultimate Hawaii Packing List. Hawaii is a dream vacation, and you don’t want to forget a thing.