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Hawaii Recommendations

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A sandy beach with waves crashing on the shore AI-generated content may be incorrect.
The beach in Kaʻaʻawa, Oʻahu

I lived on Oahu for almost ten years. Every now and then folks will ask me for recommendations of things to do during their upcoming Hawaii vacations. Here is a very brief run-down by island of some of my favorite things.

Oʻahu

First off, where to stay? Most of the hotels are in Waikiki.

  • My favorite Oahu hotel is the grand dame of hotels in the islands: Moana Surfrider. It first opened in 1901, is right on the beach, has an amazing Afternoon Tea, and is full of history. The banyan tree in the courtyard is magnificent, and live radio shows would be broadcast from under its branches during World War II. If you can, this is where I would recommend staying.
  • The Royal Hawaiian – the big pink hotel – opened soon after the Surfrider. I haven’t stayed there, but I will someday. It, too, is right in the thick of things and its doors open onto the beach as well.
  • Hilton Village Waikiki is another cool place, right on the western end of Waikiki beach. You’ll see the hotel frequently in TV and movies, easily recognizable by the giant rainbow mural on the side of the tower.
  • I’ll mention the Queen Kapiolani Hotel. It’s a couple blocks away from Waikiki beach, but it has stunning views of Diamond Head and contains one of my favorite breakfast restaurants, The Deck.
  • If you have littles, you can stay at the Disney Aulani Resort at Koʻolina.
  • If you’re a couple looking for a special romantic getaway, try the Turtle Bay Resort way up on the North Shore. You might recognize this place from TV and movies; “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” was filmed here, among many others. Good restaurants, and even better hikes along the surrounding coastline.

Although I lived there for almost ten years, I still never did all the things I had wanted to. But here are some must-sees if you’re visiting:

  • Kualoa Ranch – this is in my neck of the woods; I lived only a mile further down the road. They got everything: horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, ATVs, zip lines, movie tours, and more. They film A LOT of big movies and tv-shows there. So much that it’s fun for my family and me to recognize the valley when watching stuff. But be warned: book your tours ahead of time. They do sell out. Every year our kid’s elementary school would have a 5k fun-run through the valley as a fund raiser (it would sell out, too). I would put on one of those inflatable t-rex costumes, stand by the Jurassic Park log, and goof around with all the folks as they took photos. So much fun!
  • Pearl Harbor. If I never go to Pearl Harbor again, I would not be sad. Good museum but can be a tad crowded. We got so tired of everyone who came to visit wanting to go there, we started dropping them off at the gate and doing something else while they spent the day there. Good air museum on Ford Island, though. Don’t get me wrong: if you haven’t been, it’s a good thing to check out.
  • Waikīkī – honestly, as Island residents, we avoided Waikīkī as much as possible and only went there when guests specifically asked to be taken. Crowded, touristy, expensive shopping, but famous, historic, and pretty. Most of the best restaurants on the island are in that area, but we hardly ever went, so I don’t really have many recommendations (as I said, we avoided it). When forced to go there, we usually took people to breakfast at The Deck; their “Tokyo Style Pancakes” with the fruit compote are super-yummy. Dukeʻs is also fun. In ancient times Waikīkī beach was reserved for royalty, and they would while away their time surfing the mild waves. You can hop on a catamaran, a canoe, a surfboard, or just swim in the warm waters. Waikīkī means “spouting water” because the area was very swampy and full of natural springs before the Army Corps of Engineers came in and drained the whole area by constructing the Alawai Canal.
  • If you’re looking for a fun, quirky original Hawaii Tiki-bar style restaurant, check out La Mariana. Good onion rings and fun kitsch.
  • Iolani Palace is a great tour. Very historic – the only royal palace within the United States. When the US government illegally overthrew the native monarchy, they imprisoned the last Queen of Hawaii, Liliuokalani, in house-arrest here. Across the street you will find the famous statue of Kamehameha you might’ve seen in TV and movies.
  • Bishop Museum – we were members of the museum for many, many years. I can’t even begin to estimate how many hours I’ve spent pouring over their exhibits. I would frequently take a long lunch before the pandemic and hop over for an hour or so (I worked nearby, over at the airport). Hawaiian history and native culture on gorgeous display.
  • Diamond Head State Park – GREAT hike up to the top with iconic views of Honolulu. But get there early; it will be crowded. Might not be great for small children, unless yours are prone to high-energy zooming up seemingly endless stairs. Leʻahi is called “Diamond Head” because it had lots of calcite deposits that sailors would notice sparkling from their ships. They thought it might be diamonds and were quite disappointed to find that wasn’t the case – but the name stuck.
  • Makapuu Point Lighthouse Trail – super-easy hike. It’s more of a walk. It’s entirely paved and not too steep. You’ll see a lot of locals with their dogs, people in wheelchairs, etc. But it is a stunningly gorgeous view. One of my favorite parts is the likelihood of seeing ʻiwa – giant frigate birds that will wheel around the trail and the cliffs either alone or in small groups. Get there early, but if the lot fills up, you can park along the highway and have an extra bit of exercise getting to the trailhead.
  • Waimea falls – there’s a nice, paved walk back into the valley through an arboretum and some historical displays. Might even be a craft fair or farmers’ market – they hold them there all the time. The falls are pretty, but not stunning. You can go into the water and get under the falls, but it’s crowded. I never bothered going in. But it’s fun to see all the plants and other displays while getting there.
  • Kaena Point Trail – in March and April the albatross chicks will be in their nests. You walk a flat trail along the coast (gorgeous views), go through some wildlife-protection gates, and then enormous adult albatross will be cartwheeling over your heads within the protected area. The chicks are amazing – they look like large, black, fuzzy Muppets just sitting there in their ground nests waiting for their parents to return and feed them. Kaena Point is culturally important because the ancient Hawaiians believed that when folks die, their spirits travel to a specific flat white rock and leap off to enter the afterworld.
  • Skydive Hawaii – if you’re super-adventurous, I highly recommend this one. I did the tandem HALO jump with my sister and my youngest for his high-school graduation. The view from up there is incredible – you can see the entire island of Oahu and even some of the closer neighbor islands.
  • Haleʻiwa town, on the North Shore is a cute little town, famous in the islands as a vacation destination for locals and tourists alike. Matsumoto’s shave ice is famous, but honestly not one of my favorites, especially given how long you might wait in line. But they have some good restaurants in town; we especially enjoyed Uncle Bo’s. The original Haleiwa Joe’s is there, but we usually took people to the one in Kaneohe. It’s the kind of restaurant kids would take their prom dates to. Decent food, but a little expensive.
  • One Ocean Diving Shark Tour – this is an amazing and wonderful experience. I did it twice and someday I’ll do it again. Actual marine biologists who run conservation research as their occupation will take you out, impart some great knowledge, and make sure your experience is safe and utterly mind-blowing. No chumming of the water and no cages; just you and a carp-ton of large pelagic sharks. Mostly lemon and sand sharks, but if you’re lucky, a tiger shark might mosey on by. And during humpback whale season you might hear their eerie songs or even encounter one.
  • Sharks Cove is the best snorkeling on the north shore. No sharks, but plenty of colorful fish, eels, turtles, etc.
  • Ehukai Beach Park, otherwise known as the “Bonzai Pipeline” is a world-class surfing spot. The waves in the wintertime are ginormous, and we’ve gone to watch the craziesprofessionals surf them. In winter, the ground literally shakes as the waves break – it’s breath-taking. If the waves aren’t gargantuan, you might be able to get some wild body-surfing in. Don’t let your small kids get in the water, though.
  • Kahana Bay is a very pretty beach, popular with the locals. Our paddling club, Lahui o Koolauloa, used to take visitors in outrigger canoes to paddle in the bay and ride the waves. If you’re interested, call them and see if you can arrange something. You can also hike up into the valley – it’s a protected park now, but in ancient times it was a large population center, with only a few Hawaiian families still living back there now. The bay itself is a known hammerhead shark breeding ground. I never saw one alive, but we did see a baby washed up on shore once (just a couple feet long). The bay is home to tons of honu, and during humpback season, mothers and their calves lounge in the sheltered bay. I spent many, many days paddling canoes and stand-up paddleboards in that bay.
  • Mokolii island, commonly known as “Chinaman’s Hat” (but that’s not the preferred nomenclature), is a popular postcard vista. Cute little island, right off Kualoa Beach Park. It looks far out, but if you wear reef shoes you can simply walk out to it. Not more than waist deep all the way. There are frequently kayak or paddleboard rentals out at the park, though, so rent one of those and head on out. You can land on the island and walk all the way around it. You can even scamper up to the top if you’re willing.
  • Kanohe Bay Sandbar – this is a hugely popular destination for locals. On a gorgeous day you can see hundreds of boats and people all out there having a good time. I would recommend renting a two-person kayak at Heeia Park and just padding out. The bar itself is anywhere from barely above-water at low tide to ankle-to-shin deep at high tide.
  • Byodo-In temple in Temple Valley. There’s a big multi-faith cemetery called Temple Valley, but in the back is this gorgeous reproduction of a Japanese Buddhist temple that you can walk through. It’s at the foot of the Koʻolau mountains and is just gorgeous.
  • Kailua is a cool little town. One of my favorite breakfast restaurants is there, Over Easy. I highly recommend the Kalua Pig Hash.
  • Waimanalo Beach Park is probably my favorite Oahu beach. The sand is powder-soft.
  • Nuuanu Pali Lookout – this is perhaps my favorite historical site on Oahu. When Kamehameha’s army conquered Oahu, they landed their canoes at Waikiki and began an epic days-long battle, going right up Nuuanu Valley, until they pushed the local army right off the pali (cliff). Literally. Entirely wiped them out. When the Pali tunnels were built in the 50s, the construction crews kept discovering human skeletons in the jungles at the base of the cliff. The lookout itself is beautiful and gazes out over Kaneohe Bay and Kailua.
  • Hanauma Bay – great snorkeling, but so popular they started limiting visitors. I think you need reservations if you’re interested. But there is a great hike on the hills to the right side of the bay, up the hill and back down to the ocean. And to the left – I don’t think they let people go to the Toilet Bowl anymore. Back when I was a teenager I got “flushed” accidentally during heavy seas and literally almost died. Good times, good times.
  • If you drive from the Honolulu side to the windward side (Kaneohe), be sure to take the H3 highway at least once. It’s been voted America’s Most-Beautiful Freeway. If you exit the tunnel Kaneohe-bound on a rainy day, you are suddenly surrounded 180-degrees by dozens of waterfalls gushing down thousand-foot cliffs. Stunning. But even without the waterfalls, the view of Kaneohe Bay is exquisite. I drove this to work and back every day before the pandemic. Makes one almost look forward to their commute.
  • If you get out to Koʻolina, check out Hawaiian Ocean Adventures. Take an outrigger tour with them and you’ll likely see honu and dolphins and a bunch of other wildlife. The owner builds traditional outrigger canoes and has consulted with Disney to build canoes for the live-action Moana movie.

There are so many cool little hikes on Oahu, I can’t even possibly list them all. And every time we crossed one off our list, someone would say, “Oh, if you liked that one, try these two others!” No matter how many we walked, the list just kept getting longer. A few of my favorite off the beaten track:

  • Puumaelieli Trail in Temple Valley. Park in the parking lot between the McDonalds and the grocery store and walk up Kahekili highway towards the end of the condos. Right behind them is the trailhead. This hike is short, but it’s all uphill – I wouldn’t call it “easy,” but it’s not difficult. At the top are some WWII pillboxes and views of Kaneohe Bay that will take your breath away.
  • Right around the corner from my old house in Kaaawa is Makaua Falls trail. Park at Swanzy Beach park, walk over to the fire station, and take that road straight to the back. There will be a “no trespassing” sign at the end of the cul-de-sac, but it means to stay off the homeowners’ properties. There is a little trail marked that takes you between the back two houses, and it goes right up the valley. If it has rained recently, the waterfall is very pretty; if not, there will be no waterfall, but there will be little ponds of water with bizarre-looking crawfish in them. There are ropes at the end to go up the waterfall wall if you are so inclined.
  • If I looked out my front door, I would be looking up at Crouching Lion. There’s a very short but very steep trail to the top on the Kahana Bay side, and the view from the top is simply stunning. Don’t go if it’s been raining recently, or you’ll be sliding back down on your ʻokole and getting mud in places mud should never be. I won’t say how I know this. But please be careful – I can’t even begin to count how many times we watched helicopters rescuing hapless hikers up there. Deaths do happen on those steep pali.

Hawaiʻi

The Big Island is my favorite, despite Maui’s famous tagline. I’m going to focus on the Kona side of the island with a couple side-trips to the Hilo side. As an ancient proverb goes, “Dark with rain is Hilo.” It’s very pretty, but there’s not as much to do besides enjoy the natural beauty. There are some great waterfall hikes, though.

  • Original Hawaii Chocolate Factory Plantation Tour. I’ve done this tour multiple times. They make chocolate from orchard to finished bars. They will take you into the Cacao orchard, explain the whole process from harvesting, drying to tempering. You get to taste the raw beans when he cuts open a pod (the geckos LOVE it when he does that). And at the end there’s a finished-bar chocolate tasting opportunity. If you or your kids love chocolate the way I do, this is a must-see stop.
  • Hawaiian Vanilla Company farm tour and meal. Fascinating tour for how vanilla is cultivated and made. It’s an extremely manual process. And the meal is amazingly good – everything is made with the vanilla from the farm. Vanilla is made by soaking the dried beans in alcohol for months, though, so if alcohol is an issue for you, you might not be much interested in this.
  • HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK! You can spend anywhere from a couple hours to a full day there. The odds of you seeing lava are slim, but there are times (like as I’m writing this) when lava might be fountaining hundreds of feet into the air from the caldera. Kīlauea is a very active volcano. Must see:
    • Visitor’s Center
    • Artists’ Shoppe (by the Visitor’s Center)
    • Steam vents – short walk around a bunch of steam vents right off the road.
    • Jagger Volcano Observatory – might not be open. I know it had been damaged in an earlier eruption, and they were fixing it last time I was there, but it might be open again. Even if it’s not, it’s a good place to drive, stop in the parking lot, get out, and look down into the caldera.
    • Stop at the Volcano House inn, park in the parking lot, and follow the signs for a GREAT little hike right down into the caldera. It’s a short, easy hike, it’s gorgeous, and the view at the bottom is super-cool.
    • Thurston Lava Tube – it has a wood-plank walkway and lots of lights. Even moderately claustrophobic folks should be just fine. At the end of the public walkway, there’s an un-modified extension that is usually gated off; but if it’s open, it’s an absolute HOOT to walk back in there and turn off the flashlight to experience utter and complete darkness (NOT for the claustrophobic). But I’ve been there several times, and it was only open once.
    • Continue driving down the Chain of Craters Road all the way to the end. A relatively recent eruption (80s?) had a lava flow destroy the road, so you can’t go any further once you get there, but there’s a great place to take photos with a half-buried street sign sticking out of the lava. And along the road, you can pull over at various craters from eruptions over the last few hundred years. They usually have good info plaques.
  • Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau – “Place of Refuge.” In the ancient times, they didn’t have prisons or fines. There was only one punishment if you broke a law: DEATH. But… if you broke a rule (or lost a battle, or whatever else might get you killed), if you made it into a Place of Refuge, the priest there would bless you and all would be forgiven. This park is a pristine and beautiful example – one that Kamehameha himself used to visit all the time. Take a tour; there are lots of details you would otherwise walk right by if you didn’t know (like the big rock Kamehameha’s favorite wife would hide under whenever she pissed him off).
  • Best snorkeling: Two Step at Honaunau, right next to the Place of Refuge. So many fish to see, it’s amazing. If you’re lucky, a pod of spinner dolphins frequently hang out there. I had a simply magical encounter with a huge barracuda there once.
  • Best beach: Hapuna. Get there early; the parking fills up fast. If you snorkel around the big black rocks jutting out from the middle of the beach, you are almost guaranteed to see honu (big green sea turtles)
  • If you’re feeling adventurous and either have a 4WD rental or are willing to pay a local to drive you out, the Green Sand Beach is amazing! But don’t try to walk out there from the parking lot – it’s a long, windy, dry, dirty walk that might give your spouse and children something to hold over your head forever.
  • Kailua-Kona is a cool little tourist-heavy town. Lots of chotckies to be purchased, and some decent restaurants (and some crap ones). I always liked visiting the Huliheʻe Palace: it’s a fun little piece of historic Hawaiiana.
  • Manta Ray Snorkeling at Keauhou Bay! This was something I will never forget. You take the boat a few hundred yards out into the bay at dusk, they roll out this long floaty with bright lights, and you snorkel out and hold onto the floaty. The lights shine down and attract the krill, which draw in these MASSIVE manta rays. They will majestically turn cartwheels under the lights, feeding on the krill, so close to you, they might sometimes even bump you.
  • Waimea is a cool little town (literally; it’s high up enough in the mountains to always be cooler than down by the beach). Good farmers markets.
  • Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site. Kamehameha was from this part of the islands. First, he had to conquer his home island before the rest of them (except Kauai). After he conquered the Big Island, he received a prophecy that if he built a big heiau (sacred temple) here, he would unify all the islands. So he built it – and by “he” I of course mean his subjects did most of the work. But he did help construct it as well, personally placing quite a few of the stones. He even carried a huge rock from its source down alongside the hand-over-hand chain of folks to help motivate everyone. He carried it to a spot and dropped it where it still sits today: it was too big for anyone else to move. (He was a big guy – like, 7’ tall or something). If you drive to Pololu (see below) and keep a wary eye out, there’s a historical marker on the side of the road right next to a big, honkin’ rock.
  • The big harbor just north of Waikoloa is Kawaihae. There’s a carp-ton of sharks in the bay. In ancient times there was a temple platform built in the middle of the harbor. Folks would canoe out there and make offerings to the sharks from the platform. I swear if you sit there for a while and stare out into the bay, it won’t be long before you might notice shark fins cutting the surface. Also, during whale season it’s not uncommon to see them breaching further out along the coast.
  • My favorite shave ice is Anuenue Ice Cream and Shave Ice in Kawaihae. Get it with an ice cream center and a snowcap. And it’s “shave ice” – don’t ever call it “shaved ice” or you’ll be pegged as another dumb haole. This is because the Hawaiian language doesn’t conjugate nouns to turn them into adjectives (or verb, or adverbs, or whatever), so you end up with phrases like “shave ice,” “smoke meat,” etc. Just don’t add “ed” to the end of anything and you’ll be good to go.
  • Keep driving up to Kapaau to see the originalstatue of King Kamehameha. There are three. This one was the original, but the ship that was bringing it to Hawaii sunk and it was eventually (much later) fished out of the water and brought here. The most famous copy is in Honolulu.
  • Keep driving up and around the top of the island, to the end of the road, and hike down the path to Pololu Beach. You can’t swim in the water (way too rough), but the black sand is as fine as talcum powder. Take off your slippahs and enjoy the feeling on your bare feet.
  • If you’re adventurous, you can find the birthplace of Kamehameha. It’s only ruins and stone foundations out in the middle of nowhere, but it’s cool if you’re into the history stuff.
  • The observatories atop Mauna Kea (“White Mountain”) I think are open for tours. Might want to call ahead. Another thing I still haven’t gotten around to yet. Mauna Kea is called the white mountain because it frequently snows up there. It’s the tallest mountain on Earth if you measure from its base to its summit – it’s just that the base is way under water. Anyway, locals like to do sand-and-snow runs up to the mountain to frolic in the snow in the morning and then head down and sun themselves on the hot beach in the afternoon.
  • The Captain Cook Monument Trail is yet another thing I have yet to do. But boy, do I have some fascinating stories about Captain Cook and his adventures in The Islands. Heh.
  • If you do go to Hilo, find the Naha Stone in front of the Hilo public library. Very culturally important: legend has it that Kamehameha lifted the stone because a prophesy stated whoever could move it would eventually unify the islands. Did I mention this guy was practically a giant? From measuring his surviving royal capes, and knowing how they were typically hemmed, they estimate this guy was over 7 feet tall. And since he was a very successful warrior (he didn’t direct his battles from the rear, he was leading from the front every time), you know he wasn’t some out-of-shape slouch in his prime.

Maui

I haven’t really done much there, unfortunately. But:

  • I was only there a few times, and they were all before the Lahaina fire. But it always was a cool little town. I don’t know if they’ve made much progress in rebuilding yet. The town was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii before it was moved to Honolulu (the capital before that was in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island).
  • I was going to suggest going to the famous Maui Nakalele Heart Rock, but apparently is it no more! What a bummer! But there is still a great blowhole to see at that spot.
  • Leoda’s Kitchen is a great little sandwich and pie stop. Very famous in the islands.
  • I never did try snorkeling at Molokini Crater. Always wanted to, though. It’s a gorgeous crescent-shaped island right off the southern Maui coast. Lots of boats will take you out there.
  • The Road to Hana is another thing I always wanted to do but never did. From what I hear, it’s a full-day drive, and you shouldn’t go if you get car-sick. But there are supposed to be tons of small waterfall hikes to stop at along the way.
  • Haleakala National Park is the bigger volcano on Maui. You can drive all the way to the top for a stunning view, especially at sunrise. You can even hike down through the caldera and camp in little cabins you can reserve ahead of time for free. There are native plants living there that can only be found here and nowhere else in the world! Haleakalā means the “House of the Sun.”

Kauaʻi

I haven’t really done much there either, sadly. But:

  • Mountain tubing!!! Both times I went to Kauai, it was specifically to do this. It is a TOTAL BLAST! Can’t recommend it enough.
  • Hanalei Bay is up on the north side of the island. Absolutely gorgeous.
  • Waimea Canyon State Park is called “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” I always wanted to go, but I never did.