O'ahu Hawaii Mini Guide

Hawaii has been a bucket list trip for me since I was little, so when my cousin let me know he was having a destination wedding in Hawaii I was extra excited! A and I right away discussed some island hopping options and what our top interests were. The wedding was in Honolulu so we knew that we would be spending some time on O’ahu, and I convinced A that a lava boat tour of Volcanoes National Park would be a wild adventure, bringing us over to Big Island. Now this didn’t all end up going according to plan (as it turned out we were traveling during Hurricane Lane!) but our first week in O’ahu was the perfect weather, much to the bride and groom’s relief! We planned a full itinerary around the wedding activities, detailed below.

What to Do

WAIKIKI

We stayed at an Airbnb in Waikiki just a couple blocks from the beach. This is a major hotel hub and tourist heavy area which we normally would have tried to avoid, but it was the most reasonable area for where the wedding was taking place. That being said, Waikiki had a lot to offer and we did have a fantastic time here. There are plenty of restaurants and bars to explore, shopping, and beautiful stretches of beach within walking distance just about everywhere. One of Hawaii’s most recognizable landmarks, Diamond Head, is also located in Waikiki. Diamond Head (pictured below) is a great hike with rich history and fantastic views of the Waikiki coastline.

PEARL HARBOR

Pearl Harbor is the number one visitor destination in O’ahu. As A is a massive history buff, this was the top of his list. I did a little digging, and found that it is highly recommended that you book tickets online in advance, as there is a limit to the number of guests visiting per day. Unfortunately, at the time of our trip the USS Arizona Memorial was being renovated, however we still had the opportunity to explore the museums, take a boat tour around the USS Arizona and Battleship Missouri Memorials, and walk the grounds to take in all the history. We booked a tour with transportation to and from Waikiki through the Pearl Harbor website directly, and had a fantastic driver with so much knowledge to share about Hawaiian culture and language, locations we passed, and the history of Pearl Harbor. I highly recommend this excursion for the driver’s knowledge alone, but do plan on being promptly back at the bus at the scheduled time as they run a tight schedule and will leave you behind if you aren’t present or reachable by phone! Luckily this didn’t happen to us, but there was a couple who missed the bus back to Waikiki and was left to wait for the next available shuttle.

HIKING

Aside from beaches, I’d say hiking is one the biggest thing to do in O’ahu! As mentioned above Diamond Head is one of the most well known hikes on the island, and the most accessible if you’re staying in the Waikiki area. My favorite hike from our trip was the Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail, located about a 20 minute drive east of Waikiki. Hiking in Hawaii is like nothing else I’ve experienced before, the lush mountain landscapes are truly captivating. Check out my post on Hiking Wiliwilinui Ridge for all the details and what to expect for the day.

Wiliwilinui Ridge

THE ROYAL HAWAIIAN PINK HOTEL

This “Insta-famous” pink hotel opened in 1927, and is officially known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific. It’s an incredibly beautiful luxury hotel in the heart of Waikiki with exclusive accommodations and services, including the Aha Aina, Waikiki’s only oceanfront luau. Although we didn’t stay at The Royal Hawaiian, we did enjoy exploring the grounds for some fun photo-ops (be sure to come back at night, there are string lights and it’s so pretty!) as well as getting a round of drinks at the original Mai Tai Bar.

SWIM WITH DOLPHINS

There are plenty of options to swim with dolphins in O’ahu and I highly recommend Dolphin Excursions on the west coast. Dolphin Excursions specializes in small group ocean safaris and are operated by seasoned naturalists and marine biologists to ensure responsible wildlife interactions. The west coast is known for calm and clear waters, prime for wildlife viewing including spinner dolphins, Hawaiian sea turtles, and if you are there in the winter, humpback whales. Although we were there in summer and therefore missed humpback whales, we did get to see plenty of dolphins, fish, turtles and other ocean life. If you want to see more of what to expect from one of the ocean safaris, check out my more detailed blog post, Swimming with Dolphins in O’ahu.

NORTH SHORE & HALEIWA

After doing a bit of research, I found that the North Shore of O’ahu has the reputation of being the most beautiful, especially in Haleiwa, an old surf town. So we decided to rent a car and make a day trip of it! We headed first to Waimea Beach, known for fantastic cliff jumping, rock climbing and underwater tunnels. I’d recommend getting there by 10-10:30am if you want to find parking. After a full morning of cliff jumping from The Rock, a 32-foot tall rock that straddles the shore with one end in the sand and one in the water, we headed up to some food trucks along the main road for lunch. We then headed south down the street to Laniakea Beach where we heard we were most likely to find sea turtles, and we were not disappointed. We hung around in the shallows with sea turtles swimming around in the vicinity and basking in the sand and setting sun. We stopped at the famous Matsumotos Shave Ice (more on this stop below!) along the way home.

I had also found a company, One Ocean Diving, that operates out of the North Shore specializing in research, conservation, education and diving tours where you can swim with sharks! Unfortunately not only did we not have enough time for this, but A thought I was insane for even considering it. Apparently I have bigger dare-devil tendencies when it comes to ocean activities than he does. So although I cannot recommend it based on experience, it did seem like a real once in a lifetime experience, and it’s something I’d definitely do if I had the opportunity again in the future.

KUALOA RANCH

Otherwise known as Hollywood’s Hawaii Backlot, Kualoa Ranch is a really fun day trip for anyone interested in film pop culture! I got my Jurassic Park nerd on here, with plenty of filming locations from the original movies as well as the newer Jurassic World. There are plenty of filming locations for all kinds of film buffs, as well as tours offering ATV rides, horseback riding, secret beaches, and plenty of Hawaiian food and culture. Check out my post about our entire day trip, Escaping Jurassic Valley, for more info.

Where to Eat

The Edge of Waikiki

This is where we got drinks on our first night in Hawaii and we had no regrets! The Edge is in the Sheraton Waikiki so it is very much a touristy location, but they have a fantastic happy hour, live music, and are known for their Mai Tai cocktails and a gorgeous infinity pool overlooking the ocean.

Banán

There are a couple locations in the area, and we went to the food truck near the base of Diamond Head. This looks like ice cream, but actually it’s a plant based soft serve made from Hawaiian grown bananas and other fruits! We got ours served in papaya boats, and my god they were SO delicious, and surprisingly healthy all things considered! Banán is also helping to revive the banana industry in Hawaii and I love a local company that gives back to their community.

Rainbow Drive-In

This was right down the street from our Airbnb, and came highly recommended by our Airbnb host. When we got there on a weekday evening and saw the huge line, we knew we were in for a treat. They are known for their classic, Hawaii-style plate lunches and we ordered the local specialty, the Loco Moco Plate. It was two hamburger patties served over two scoops of rice, smothered in gravy with two eggs to top it all off! Ridiculously satiating, it’s the perfect dinner after a more physically active, outdoorsy kind of day.

Poké Bar

I’m not very big on raw seafood, but how can I be in Hawaii and not try a poké bowl? I’m still not the biggest fan, however I will say I could appreciate the flavors and fresh ingredients! A on the other hand is a big seafood fan, and he loved these poke bowls. So, if you’re good with raw fish definitely pop in to Poké Bar for a quick bite!

Matsumoto Shave Ice

Matsumoto’s comes highly recommended, and it is absolutely worth the hype! I had heard about a really popular spot on the north side for shave ice, often commanding huge lines of locals and tourists alike and serving over a thousand shave ices a day. We made it a point to come here while we were on the north shore; we got there about an hour before closing and although the line was huge it moves quite fast! They are a family owned business, and this is actually the only location in the world. My biggest tip: don’t hesitate on the azuki beans, they are sweet Japanese red beans and are so delicious! (Azuki beans not pictured below, but I promise you’ll love em!)

Island Hopping

We figured if we’re flying all the way out to Hawaii, we might as well do a bit of island hopping while we can! We settled on going to Big Island to see Volcanoes National Park, and scheduled an inter-island flight on Hawaiian Airlines (they were the easiest and most available between the islands) that was a very quick 40 minutes! It turned out that we were doing our hop right in the middle of hurricane Lane, so as we were packing up to leave O’ahu locals were beginning to prep their homes and businesses for the impending storms. We got very lucky and were able to still fly to Big Island, getting there right after the worst of the storms had passed. Check out the Big Island blog to see what it was like being on the islands during a hurricane, and for a mini guide of great things to do in Kona!