Beaches, tropical foliage, and snorkeling galore! Though just a six hour flight from California, Oahu is a world away from mainland United States. While many people go to Hawaii with the sole plan of relaxing by the beach, I’ve always been into more active travel.
I’ve been to Oahu twice and am sharing all my favorites from both trips for an itinerary that is the perfect mix of beach time and adventure! If you like beautiful beaches but want to do more during your time in Oahu, then this itinerary is for you!
Quick itinerary:
- Day 1: Arrive in Oahu around noon and hike Diamond Head Crater in the afternoon for views of Waikiki and the ocean
- Day 2: Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, visit the Byodo-In temple, and catch the sunset at Lanikai Beach or Kailua Beach
- Day 3: Visit the Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden and take a drive up to the north side of Oahu, stopping at beaches, the Dole Plantation and Green World Coffee Farm
- Day 4: Snorkel with dolphins and visit Makapu’u lookout – keep an eye out for whales!
- Day 5: Hike the Koko head trail in the morning and head home in the afternoon
Now for the long version with all the pro tips and restaurant recommendations!
Oahu is home to Hawaii’s capital, Honolulu, and is the the most populated of the Hawaiian islands. It’s a great island to visit for your first time in Hawaii, and you can also go back again and again with the variety of things to do in Oahu!
Where to Stay
The Waikiki area is where you’ll find most of the tourists, since it’s very convenient with restaurants, shopping, beaches, and tour pick-ups all within walking distance. If you want to stay away from the touristy crowds of Waikiki and the tall skyscrapers of Honolulu, stay in the North Shore or along the Windward side of the island.
In Waikiki, there are plenty of hotels right along the beach – which is great, but most of them are quite pricy! The Queen Kapiolani Hotel and Aston Waikiki Sunset are more affordable than most of the others in this area. I really liked the Queen Kapiolani, as they have Knots Coffee Roasters on the first floor, there’s a great view of Diamond Head Crater from the pool deck, and the hotel is pretty interesting to wander around.
Restaurant quick list The standouts from our trip
- Leonard’s Bakery This bakery has been around for almost 100 years! It’s still very popular – stop in to get your fix of yummy Portuguese malasadas.
- Rainbow Drive-in A great place to try a Hawaiian plate lunch or dinner
- Istanbul Hawaii Delicious Turkish food in a slightly upscale setting run by a mother and daughter team. We got the meze platter, imam bayildi (eggplant dish), baklava, and some tasty cocktails. Everything was excellent.
- Marugame Udon I’m not even actually much of an udon fan, but this had me craving another visit. Marugame usually has a long line outside the restaurant, but it moves pretty fast. Great value and super filling. The vegan udon was great, and they had lots of veggie tempura options too!
- Island Vintage Coffee A great place for both coffee and food, with so many interesting options. I got the grilled mushroom sandwich on a taro bun (yum!) and husband got the vegan curried quinoa plate. Both were delish, and I’ve also had their acai bowls. The island latte is divine.
- Kona Coffee Purveyors Delicious coffee and pastries. The coffee is 100% Kona coffee, so you can try this special coffee here without a flight to the Big Island!
- Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck Shrimp, what else?
- Sunrise Shack The cutest and happiest-looking sunny yellow shack serving acai bowls and smoothies with a variety of toppings. They have a few locations around the island. This link is to the one in the North Shore that I visited!
- Green World Coffee Farm A little coffee farm on the North Shore. There’s a café and a store with lots of cute items for purchase, including bags of their coffee beans. They have a few flavors of coffee samples to try as well.
- Knots Coffee Roasters This is inside the Queen Kapiolani Hotel where we stayed, so it was inevitable that we would make a visit here. Knots is a full on coffee shop with a calming aesthetic.
- Blind Ox We love exploring cocktail bars when traveling and this pursuit led us to the Blind Ox, where good cocktails and speakeasy style décor made for a lovely evening. I tried the Viva La Matcha (jasmine infused tequila, matcha, honey, elderflower, lemon, coconut foam) and highly recommend!
Day 1: Arrive in Oahu and hike Diamond Head Crater
Arrive by noon, so you can go drop off your luggage wherever you’re staying and go straight to lunch. After lunch, make your way to Diamond Head State Monument for a quick and easy hike with a beautiful view of Waikiki at the top, as well as a World War II military bunker (also known as a pillbox). You’ll see some cool birds on this hike, and you may even spot a mongoose!
Make sure to reserve tickets for Diamond Head, and especially parking, ahead of time. The last reservation for entry is at 4:30 pm and the park closes at 6:00 pm, so plan accordingly.
If you drive, and you don’t reserve parking, there is a small lot just outside the crater entrance, but it’s usually full. In that case, you would have to park all the way at the street level and walk up to the crater entrance in the sun – not ideal! You can also uber to the park if you don’t have a car or don’t want to worry about parking.
The hike itself starts inside Diamond Head Crater and the trail goes up one of the sides of the crater. It’s a pretty easy hike and took about 30 minutes to get to the top.
As you get closer to the top, pick your choice between the two options to get to the top – either a steep set of stairs, or a more winding flat path. After enjoying the views at Diamond Head, freshen up and go out to dinner to celebrate your first evening in Hawaii!
Day 2: Snorkel in Hanauma Bay, then drive to the West side to visit the Byodo-In temple and some beaches
Today you’ll be snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, a nature preserve where you can see lots of pretty fish in the waters right off the beach. There is an entrance fee and reservation system. Reservations become available a few days in advance, and they get booked pretty quickly.
If you can’t get reservations for the day you want to go, you can try going when they open in the morning (bright and early at 6:45 am), as they have a limited number of walk-in tickets available. You can also rent snorkel gear for a fee, or bring your own.
My top tips for Hanauma Bay are to go as early as you can (it gets very crowded and it’s nice to see the Bay in the morning hours without all the people), and to wear water shoes and a rash guard. The water is pretty shallow and the corals and other structures are close to the top – it’s easy to get scraped up on these, so the water shoes and rash guard will help protect from that.
You’ll see lots of colorful fish and they have signs on the beach identifying the fish species, so it’s cool to take a look afterwards and learn about the fish you saw.
After Hanauma Bay, get changed out of your snorkeling attire, grab lunch, and head to Byodo-In Temple, a Buddhist temple set against a dramatic backdrop of mountains. The beauty of the temple and its grounds are not to be missed.
I’ve been here twice and both times, the fog swimming around the mountains lent to the enchanting views of the temple. You can make an offering in the temple, feed the koi, and visit the gift shop.
Last stop for today is one more beach! Catch the sunset at Lanikai Beach or Kailua Beach (both within 10 minutes of each other), and about half an hour from Byodo-In Temple.
Day 3: Spend the morning at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden, then drive up to the North Shore
The Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden is home to 400 acres of plants from tropical regions around the world, and makes for a very pretty photo opportunity. Stroll the gardens and take some photos here this morning, maybe even pack a picnic lunch!
Next, you’re off to drive the North Shore. Make your way to Waimea Bay (where the surf competitions happen), and then Laniakea Beach, where giant sea turtles lounge on the shore.
Giant sea turtles frequent Laniakea Beach and while they’re incredible to watch, they are a protected species so make sure to give them ample space.
After enjoying some beach time, visit Green World Coffee Farm and the Dole Plantation, if you are so inclined – these are on the way back to Waikiki from the North Shore.
The Dole Plantation, in my opinion, is overhyped but it’s one of Oahu’s most popular tourist attractions, so visit if you want to check it out or love Dole whips!
Green World Coffee Farm is a little coffee farm, shop, and cafe, and it’s awesome. You can grab a drink in the cafe, check out the farm and see what coffee plants look like, try coffee and tea samples, and browse for cute trinkets in the store.
Day 4: Snorkel with dolphins and watch for whales from Makapu’u lookout
Today you have an early morning, as you’ll be going on a dolphin snorkel tour with Indigo Ocean Hawaii! Pick the morning tour option, as the water is usually calmer in the morning and you may have a better chance at spotting dolphins.
If you’re staying in Waikiki, you can be picked up from your hotel or a nearby hotel and driven to the boat dock on the West coast.
The boat ride out to view dolphins is beautiful, and the crew is so friendly and fun to talk to. It’s a great time on board as you go out in search of dolphins! Seeing the dolphins underwater is a magical experience that left me in awe.
Once you spend some time with the dolphins out in the deep blue sea, you’re taken to shallower waters to snorkel with sea turtles and pretty fish. This was definitely the highlight of both my trips, and I wholeheartedly recommend it if you like snorkeling!
After your epic dolphin adventure, you can relax and have a chill rest of the day. Stop by Makapu’u lookout and try to spot some whales. Bring binoculars if you have them.
Humpback whale migration season here is from December through April, and we were able to see some spouts when we visited in April! Then head to a nice dinner for your last evening in Oahu.
Day 5: Hike the Koko Head trail, then depart Oahu in the afternoon
Rise and shine early today to hike the Koko Head stairs! Why get up early for this one? Well, it’s a completely unshaded trail up the crater, and the stairs (which are actually old railroad ties from World War II) are pretty steep. There’s over 1000 stairs to the top, and it gets tiring fairly quickly.
So this is a hike that’s best to do before the sun is up in the center of the sky. There is a section where there’s a bridge with nothing but air underneath and a ravine some ways below. This can be scary and dangerous, but there is an alternate path around the bridge.
When you get to the top of Koko Head, take a sip of water and recover from that epic workout! Check out the pillbox at the top and enjoy the amazing views of Hanauma Bay from so far up.