Planning a Trip to Hawaii? My Trip to Oahu Can Help

Hi! I know it's been a little while, but I've been so busy for the past few weeks planning my first trip to Hawaii! We just got back, and it was ahhhh-mazing! My husband had already been several times before we met, so he wanted to make sure I got to see as much as possible on our trip. In this week's article, I'm going to talk about things to do, where we stayed, and what I learned while I was there. So if you're planning a trip to the island, hopefully my trip to Oahu can help you plan yours.

Choose Your Island

Planning a trip to Hawaii is a little different from planning a visit to any other state because it's a chain of islands, instead of one single land mass. So when you say you're going to Hawaii, the first question most people ask is, "which island are you going to?" For me, it felt a little overwhelming at first to decide which island to visit. There are options for people who want to hop around to all the islands; this will involve booking a cruise or multiple flights to get from island to island. Many people do that so they can have the island-hopping experience and get the most out of their visit. For our visit, I didn't want to pack up and leave every couple of days, so we chose to stay on Oahu; it has the capital city of Honolulu, the famous North Shore beaches with surfing competitions, Waikiki Beach, and tons of activities.

Where We Stayed

We stayed in Waikiki Beach, right in the middle of everything - restaurants, beaches, shopping, food trucks, and the most amazing views you'll ever see. Our hotel was the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, and it had everything you could want or need. Seriously, if all you want is to relax on the beach and/or by the pool, do a little shopping, and soak up the atmosphere, you'd never have to leave this hotel. You don't even have to bring a beach towel because they have what I called "towel lockers" where you scan your key card and take a beach towel for the day, then return it when you come back inside. Their beach shop provides two chairs and toys (i.e., skim boards) per day for each room. Also included in your stay are yoga classes in the open-air courtyard, ukulele lessons in the on-site ukulele store, and probably more that I don't even know about. Probably my favorite part of this hotel is their spacious, open-air lobby; you can sit down there listening to the Hawaiian music and enjoying the cool breeze, and not even feel like you're in a hotel lobby.

Open-air lobby in Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa

Open-air lobby of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa

The Marriott also offers an authentic luau with a buffet, local dancers, and a host who provides information on the history of the islands throughout the show. We went, and I highly recommend. We went early in the week, and it wasn't very crowded but later in the week there were a lot more people there, with longer lines at the buffet. Just something to keep in mind before booking. (NOTE: the luau is a separate purchase and isn't included as part of your room reservation.)

Now for those who want to explore the island, the hotel also has an Enterprise car rental office in the hotel (I wish I'd known that before I booked my car to be picked up and returned at the airport), and desks to rent scooters, day trips for whale watching, and snorkeling adventures. You should be aware that all the activities I've mentioned are very popular, so I recommend booking them as far in advance as you can - even before you leave on your trip.

What We Did

For this part, I'm going to list our main activities, because we also left time in the schedule to just wander aimlessly and explore on our own. I'll add my own experiences for each one.

• Drive to Kailua Beach Park - If you rent a car, this day trip is a must. Kailua is 12 miles from Waikiki and about a 30-minute drive over the Pali Highway. The drive itself is full of scenic views, and there are places to pull over and take pictures if you want, The park has free parking, public restrooms, outdoor showers, picnic tables and lifeguards on duty. The area is popular for kayaking, paddleboarding, swimming, snorkeling, bicycling, bodyboarding, hiking, and kiteboarding. There are rental shops nearby where you can rent equipment. The beaches are white sand, the water is turquois (and cold!), and it's all framed by the volcanic mountains. You'll also see a few coconuts lying around on the sandy beach, which was a complete novelty to this NC girl.

  
  

  

  
  

• E Noa Circle Island Tour - This driving tour around the island takes about 9 hours and takes you to the following locations: Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, Byodo-In Temple, Tropical Farms, lunch stop (light meal included), Waimea Valley, Dole Plantation, and a scenic North Shore drive on the way back. They picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel, so it was quite convenient. This wasn't a big bus, it was a small bus with only about 15 people in the tour, so that was also nice. The scenic stops were great with lots of photo ops and the driver was very knowledgeable, but there were some things that weren't what I expected:

  • We did go to the Dole Plantation, but taking the tour at the plantation wasn't part of this tour. You had to pay extra to ride their train, and that's only if you get there and have enough time before the E Noa tour leaves. Really the only thing we saw at the Dole Plantation was the gift shop and restaurant.

  • We were told we'd be going to the Polynesian Cultural Center, which we did, BUT it was only to eat lunch in the restaurant there. The Cultural Center costs extra (starting at about $94, depending on the options you want), and it takes 5-9 hours to make your way through everything. So this definitely wasn't part of the tour.

  Because of these two unexpected things, I probably wouldn't recommend this group/tour, unless you're sure you don't want to do those two events. I felt like we could've gotten the same scenery driving ourselves to the Dole Plantation and the Polynesian Cultural Center, without paying the cost of what was basically a sightseeing bus tour. But there are other companies that offer circle island tours; I've always had great experiences when I book with Viator. I've taken their tours in the UK and I also booked with them to see Pearl Harbor on this trip (more on that later). They're reasonably priced, very professional, and you know what you're getting from the information on their website when you book the tour.

  
  

  

  Byodo-In Temple

• Fishing trip with Ultimate Boating Adventures - My husband is more into fishing than I am, but the chance to be on the water while he fished was too good to pass up. This is a family-friendly activity, and the waters are known for Yellowfin Tuna, Skipjack Tuna, Black Marlin, Blue Marlin, Pacific Barracuda, and more. The boat is a 29’ Saltwater fishing boat that can carry up to 4 passengers. The Captain and First Mate are experienced and can help you with your gear and ensure a good experience. He had all the expected equipment and knew the waters well. We recommend this experience.

• Polynesian Cultural Center - This is an amazing experience, especially if you have any interest in the history and culture of Hawaii and the islands of its ancestors. You can visit authentic villages and mingle with natives from six Pacific cultures as they demonstrate their arts, crafts and traditions. They also have what locals told us is the most authentic luau on the island (which we only learned about after we'd attended the luau at our hotel). It takes about an hour to drive from Waikiki, and the full experience takes about 6-9 hours (depending on what activities you choose). But there is a self-guided option that takes as little as 2 hours, and they offer a motor coach that will pick you up at your hotel. They also offer a circle island sightseeing tour before arriving at the Cultural Center. As if all that wasn't enough, the money they raise at the Cultural center helps native Hawaiians attend the University of Hawaii for free, and educates Hawaiian children in their culture, heritage, and dances.

  
  

  

  
  

• Pearl Harbor - Of course, no trip to Oahu would be complete without visiting Pearl Harbor. It is a beautiful monument that's also very emotional to visit and read about in the different parts of the park. You can visit the park and walk around very easily, but if you want to visit the USS Arizona Memorial you'll need a ticket for the ferry. The ferry is operated by the US Navy, and it takes about 10-12 minutes to get to the memorial. The tickets are free, but you need to get them well ahead of time. We didn't think of that while we were planning our trip, so I ended up booking with Viator to get ferry tickets. The tour package was $55 each, and it included transportation (a tour van, not a bus) from my hotel and back, a drive-through tour of historic locations in Honolulu, a bottle of water before going into the park, tickets to the ferry, and a snack before leaving the park.

  
  

  

  
  

• Ala Wai Boat Harbor - During one of our tours, I learned that the Ala Wai Boat Harbor is where part of the opening theme for Gilligan's Island was filmed. For those who remember, it's where their boat, The Minnow, left the harbor to go on the infamous 3-hour tour. So of course I wanted to visit and take some pictures. (You can see my little Instagram video here - sound on!) It was a 1.8 mile walk from our hotel; Waikiki and Honolulu are extremely walking-friendly with sidewalks everywhere. So that was a fun little excursion for myself. Also at the boat harbor is another little beach park, with benches in the shade, surf lessons, and a sandy beach for swimming or just watching boats come and go. There are beach parks everywhere on the island; it's fantastic.

Food

There are so many food options on Oahu, I can't possibly do a deep dive in this article. I will say that we chose to eat a lot of food truck food because we wanted the local experience. Food trucks are EVERYWHERE there; they often park in groups like an outdoor food court, but they also travel around different parts of the island. We did eat banana & macadamia nut pancakes at the highly-recommended Mac 24/7 diner, and also had the most incredible shaved ice from Island Vintage Shave Ice (hint: it's not strawberry sugar syrup, it's pureed strawberries). They also serve coffee, and I think the shop is actually called Island Vintage Coffee, with the Shave Ice counter sharing the space. As a bonus for us, it was literally right outside our hotel.

So That's My Trip to Oahu

That's a basic summary of what my first experience in Hawaii, and it was busy. I think if we go back - and I hope we do - we'll go to a different island and enjoy a quieter, more relaxing time. This trip was very exciting and informative, but next time we'll look for that "island time" experience. Are you planning a trip to Hawaii soon? Let me know!