What to do on Oahu

We recently went on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Oahu, Hawaii. We worked in the day time, stayed on Texas time (starting at 4am Hawaii Time), and explored the island after work. Thankfully we had our in-laws to watch our little one – who invited us there in the first place – otherwise we wouldn’t be able to swing it. But I would totally do it again in a heartbeat. See below for some of the things we saw and enjoyed while there if you need any ideas!

 

• Byodo-In Temple
• Lahaina Beach
• Waikiki Beach
• Aloha Stadium Flea Market
• Island Vintage Shave Ice
• Maguro Brothers Hawaii – Waikiki
• Nu’uanu Pali
• Diamond Head hike
• Manoa Falls
• Polynesian Cultural Center
• U.S.S Arizona Memorial
• Dole Plantation

Byodo-In Temple – The Byodo-In Temple was a beautiful structure against the cloudy and lush green forest backdrop of Ahuimanu, Hawaii. A non-denominational Buddhist temple, it was established in 1968 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The grounds were a quick but tranquil visit, punctuated by the occasional bassy ringing of a reverberating bell. I’ve heard that there are peacocks on the ground, but we didn’t see any, unfortunately. Tickets were $5 per person to access the grounds. There’s a giftshop with unique Asian-themed souvenirs. Also, you can buy fish food to feed the myriad of koi in the ponds. It would take about 30 mins to walk around. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Lahaina Beach – Ranked 8th most beautiful beach in the world, I would totally agree with that assertion. White, powdery sand, clear of debris, clear aquamarine waters, only a few people there when we visited, and islands not far from shore. It was one of the prettiest beaches I’ve been to (for reference, I’ve been to Maui, Cozumel, Jamaica and Grand Cayman islands). Parking can be a little tricky, but we went after 5pm and we were able to park along a neighborhood street about five minutes walk away.

Waikiki Beach – this is one of the most famous. It was pretty and a great location to stay by, as there are lot of shops and vendors, places to rent surfboards, areas of the beach with minimal waves which cater well to young ones (or older ones looking not to be tossed around by waves), the view of Diamond Head, the view of fireworks on Friday (courtesy of Hilton Waikiki resort)

Aloha Stadium Flea Market – while I didn’t have a chance to visit this, my mother-in-law highly recommends going (open Wednesdays and Saturdays 8am-3pm) if you’re looking for unique and affordable souvenirs.

Island Vintage Shave Ice – This was one of the best shave ice places I’ve ever been to. The lilikoi/passionfruit flavors were amazing. And plus fresh fruit. Now, while it wasn’t exactly cheap, the price wasn’t exorbitant and one can be big enough to share.

Get Poke – Poke here was amazing! I would recommend Maguro Brothers Hawaii – Waikiki. Affordable and delicious! I dream about this poke place sometimes.

Nu‘uanu Pali – this amazing lookout over the lush and verdant Nu’uanu valley and windward coast of Oahu is definitely a must do if you can swing by it. It’ll only take like ten/fifteen minutes to stop and look (unless you want to spend more time to take it all in, which I definitely wanted to do), but the view is amazing and I think my favorite on the island. 

https://gostateparks.hawaii.gov/diamondhead/about

Diamond Head hike – this took about 37 minutes for us to hike to the top (for context, I had a 22lb baby on my back and I wouldn’t say we’re in great shape, but husband runs about 3 miles every other day and I walk the same amount almost every day). Most people said on average it took about 45 mins to get to the top. The views were cool and at the top I was definitely getting Your Name vibes. Make sure you get a reservation in advance as parking can be a hassle last minute. If you have the ability, if no more parking reservations are available, you can be dropped off or take a bus or Uber/Lyft as walk-in (without parking) reservations tend be available last minute. This is the link to reservations: https://gostateparks.hawaii.gov/diamondhead/about

Manoa Falls – when they say they filmed part of Jurassic Park here, you’ll believe them when you get there. It definitely is like a step back into a land of dinosaurs. We visited early in the morning, right as it opened. We were somewhat concerned about mosquitos, however, we didn’t have any mosquitos bother us while we were there – but we wore long sleeves and pants and my mother-in-law bought one of the mosquito repellant wipes at the entrance. While the water fall itself wasn’t particular impressive (in comparison with let’s say, the waterfalls you’d see in Oregon), it was pretty, worth hiking to, and the hike along the way was thrilling enough to make the trip. 

Polynesian Cultural Center (North Shore)– this is an all-day event. You could even make it two days if you wanted. It is on the far side of the island if you’re staying in Waikiki (the North Shore). It’s kind of like Hawaii Disneyland. Different parts of the center represent different polynesian islands, their cultures, presentations, dances, foods,etc. The ticket is a little steep, but it goes to scholarships for students of BYU-Hawaii. There is also an add-on, where you can eat at the buffet (which was an amazing spread) for dinner, and see the “Ha – Breath of Life” show, which in a way was kind of a presentation of all the dances in story-mode, with an absolutely amazing fire-dance at the end.

U.S.S Arizona Memorial – visiting this memorial was a somber event. I shed a few tears during the presentation before we visited the actual memorial. We did have to visit on another day then we had planned as the winds were too strong and since you take a boat out to the memorial, they weren’t letting anyone go on the boat. Just a warning. I learned more about Pearl Harbor than I knew before visiting here, and would definitely recommend for history buffs. Also, while reservations to take the boat out onto the memorial are recommended, many people have said that if you just wait in the stand-by line you are able to get in within a reasonable amount of time. Further, there are a lot of other things to visit at the memorial site, which may be somewhat confusing. But you can enter the site for free, the U.S.S Arizona Memorial requires a reservation and the other things to see there (submarines, etc) do require an entrance fee.

Dole Plantation (North Shore-ish) – when we visited, we didn’t have much time to spend here, as we were trying to fit in lots of things along the north shore that day, but we definitely did stop for Dole Whip. And there are other places that claim to sell dole whip, which we tried, but it did not compare to what we got at the Dole Plantation. We added coconut shavings to ours. Also, they have presentations on pineapples where they will show you how to cut a pineapple and then give you samples at the end. Didn’t take very long at all, and the pineapple was definitely tasty.

Leonard’s Bakery (several locations)- this is definitely something to do, but it wasn’t at the top of my list. The flavors were interesting but they were pretty much just a special kind of doughnut in my opinion. Not worth the hype, but if you don’t know what to do and have already had poke and shave ice and have some time to kill (because it’ll probably be at least a half hour wait, as that is how long I waited about half an hour after opening) then by all means, go for it.

If I could do it again, and only had to choose a few things to do out of my favorites, I would get shave ice, eat poke, go to Laihana beach, Manoa falls and Nu’uanu Pali. But Oahu is amazing however you choose to spend your time and money and hope this helps you make some decisions on how to choose what to do along the way.