Must do's-sightseeing and tours

[Luv2trav]

We are going in July. What are you must do's. We are family of 4. With 2 teenage boys 16/14. This will be more than likely our first and only trip to Oahu. We plan on Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head. We are staying 9-10 nights. We want 2/3 resort days and rest sightseeing. Any and all recommendations what you loved. Thank you.

 

[trs518]

In terms of "must do", Pearl Harbor is one of the two. The other thing that I can think of: Go to a beach. Pick one, any one. Some of the more famous ones are Waikiki, Lanikai, and Kailua. Other people here can probably recommend others.

Other things that I would recommend:

1. Spend time on the North Shore
2. Leonard's Malasadas.
3. A Luau.
4. Shave Ice
5. Simply drive around the island, as each area is different.
6. Find animals; sea turtles, fish, dolphins, etc.

 

[rlk]

When we went to AUlani, our boys were 13 and 14, just a bit younger than yours. My family is not the type to hangout a the beach or pool all day. Out of our 12 days at Aulani, we had one full day at the rersort and the rest we would tour/explore for a part of the day. These are the things we all really enjoyed:

Dolphin excursion - early morning tour about 15 minute drive from Aulani. We got to snorkel and swim as hundreds of dolphins swam by.
Shark cage dive - my boys loved this.
Hikes/waterfalls
Diamond Head
Surf lesson- We stay in Waikiki our first night, so I scheduled an early morning surf lesson on Waikiki beach.
Hanauma Bay - get there before opening for low crowds and great snorkeling.
North shore - we drove to the North Shore twice. We found this amazing pizza cart on the side of the road.
Exploring all the great beaches
Polynesian Cultural Center- we did this, but no of us were overly thrilled with the experience. Don't know why, as others seem to love it.

Forgot to add that we toured Pearl Harbor too. A must do.

 

[DVCjj]

Swap Meet by Pearl Harbor. Yes, some think going to the Swap Meet is silly, but we thoroughly had a blast as it was extremely windy and tents were falling on our heads but it didn't stop our shopping, We laugh about it all the time and love everything we bought. Wouldn't go back to Aulani (hope we do) without spending time there.

 

[Luv2trav]

When we went to AUlani, our boys were 13 and 14, just a bit younger than yours. My family is not the type to hangout a the beach or pool all day. Out of our 12 days at Aulani, we had one full day at the rersort and the rest we would tour/explore for a part of the day. These are the things we all really enjoyed:

Dolphin excursion - early morning tour about 15 minute drive from Aulani. We got to snorkel and swim as hundreds of dolphins swam by.
Shark cage dive - my boys loved this.
Hikes/waterfalls
Diamond Head
Surf lesson- We stay in Waikiki our first night, so I scheduled an early morning surf lesson on Waikiki beach.
Hanauma Bay - get there before opening for low crowds and great snorkeling.
North shore - we drove to the North Shore twice. We found this amazing pizza cart on the side of the road.
Exploring all the great beaches
Polynesian Cultural Center- we did this, but no of us were overly thrilled with the experience. Don't know why, as others seem to love it.

I love your suggestions. We are seriously considering oahuprivatetours.com 2 day hybrid tours. We are not sit at the beach kind of people either. We like to be on the go with a day off here and there. That being said I want at least 2 days at resort to relax.

What was involved in shark cage? Sounds scary but interesting. Lol

 

[Luv2trav]

Swap Meet by Pearl Harbor. Yes, some think going to the Swap Meet is silly, but we thoroughly had a blast as it was extremely windy and tents were falling on our heads but it didn't stop our shopping, We laugh about it all the time and love everything we bought. Wouldn't go back to Aulani (hope we do) without spending time there.

Is it like a flea market? Good shopping? Touristy stuff or local? Thanks

 

[flinkerfrosch]

We loved
*Pearl Harbour

*Hanauma Bay (Closed on Tuesday’s)•••We arrived in the afternoon around 1pm and had no problem with parking

*Kaneohe Bay (Sandbar)

*Loved the North Shore (We did 4 trips to the North Shore)

*Surfing on the North Shore

*Kailua Beach

*Halona Beach Cove & Blowhole (Their is also a beach to the left (Sandy Beach Park) when facing the ocean. My boys played in the waves and did some boogie boarding here)

*Makaha Beach Park (Great for snorkeling)

Have a great trip!

 

[rlk]

I love your suggestions. We are seriously considering oahuprivatetours.com 2 day hybrid tours. We are not sit at the beach kind of people either. We like to be on the go with a day off here and there. That being said I want at least 2 days at resort to relax.

What was involved in shark cage? Sounds scary but interesting. Lol

After our one full day at the resort, my husband was going crazy. While we did do something most every other day, sometimes it was just for a few hours. We did enjoy coming back early afternoon to enjoy the resort.

The shark dive wasn't that scary. If you decide to do it, try to reserve a tour as early in the morning as you can; the water will be at its calmest then. We used North Shore Shark Adventures(I had to look for my son's t-shirt to remember the name), they were very professional and helpful.

 

[rlk]

We loved
*Pearl Harbour

*Hanauma Bay (Closed on Tuesday’s)•••We arrived in the afternoon around 1pm and had no problem with parking

*Kaneohe Bay (Sandbar)

*Loved the North Shore (We did 4 trips to the North Shore)

*Surfing on the North Shore

*Kailua Beach

*Halona Beach Cove & Blowhole (Their is also a beach to the left (Sandy Beach Park) when facing the ocean. My boys played in the waves and did some boogie boarding here)

*Makaha Beach Park (Great for snorkeling)

Have a great trip!

We loved all these beaches too!

 

[DVCjj]

Is it like a flea market? Good shopping? Touristy stuff or local? Thanks

Definitely did not feel it was a flea market. More like a craft fair/art fair. Bought tons of inexpensive fabric totes, fabric purses, fabric cosmetic purses, fabric coin purses (most matching sets) all made in Hawaii. I see them in the ABC Catalog I subscribe to at much higher prices. Love my $5 plumeria umbrella, Hawaiian apron, LUGGAGE (!), keychains, picture frame, etc. Everything we saw was new. Tried to convince DH to buy a Hawaiian shirt for next to nothing but he decided on a turtle instead (see below).

Brought back many gifts, for others and myself. Everything about the 1-1/2 hours we spent there roaming around makes me smile.

I'm sure there were children's things there but mine are grown (and went nuts there also).
Oh, DH bought a very cool wooden carved large-ish turtle for the family room. We named him Tommy and he makes us think of Hawaii.

And yes, there are public (real) washrooms.

 

[cgattis]

Definitely did not feel it was a flea market. More like a craft fair/art fair. Bought tons of inexpensive fabric totes, fabric purses, fabric cosmetic purses, fabric coin purses (most matching sets) all made in Hawaii. I see them in the ABC Catalog I subscribe to at much higher prices. Love my $5 plumeria umbrella, Hawaiian apron, LUGGAGE (!), keychains, picture frame, etc. Everything we saw was new. Tried to convince DH to buy a Hawaiian shirt for next to nothing but he decided on a turtle instead (see below).

Brought back many gifts, for others and myself. Everything about the 1-1/2 hours we spent there roaming around makes me smile.

I'm sure there were children's things there but mine are grown (and went nuts there also).
Oh, DH bought a very cool wooden carved large-ish turtle for the family room. We named him Tommy and he makes us think of Hawaii.

And yes, there are public (real) washrooms.

I have to chime in here and say I was actually disappointed with the swap meet. Obviously there are different vendors on different days, and we didn't make it all the way around the stadium before it closed, but...I found very few locally made things. Most were from the Philippines or China. I also didn't find anything vintage but I'm not sure if that's much of a thing in Hawaii; I didn't see many antique stores anywhere either. I would still go back if I was going to Pearl Harbor, but I will have different expectations.

Also, the real restrooms are at the stadium, and the gift shop is open during swap meet hours. We had to pick up a few Rainbows souvenirs too. It was fun to get a peek inside the stadium after seeing it on TV so many times!

 

[Pete W.]

Can anyone describe the difference between the 'swap meet' and the 'marketplace' at the Aloha Stadium? We may go on Sunday morning during our upcoming trip in April and the swap meet starts at 6:30am while the marketplace hours begin at 8am. Trying to decide how early we'll get there and what's the upside/downside (if any) of arriving before 8am. Thanks!

 

[DVCjj]

Can anyone describe the difference between the 'swap meet' and the 'marketplace' at the Aloha Stadium? We may go on Sunday morning during our upcoming trip in April and the swap meet starts at 6:30am while the marketplace hours begin at 8am. Trying to decide how early we'll get there and what's the upside/downside (if any) of arriving before 8am. Thanks!

I’m sorry I don’t know. We went around 12:00. Everyone kept calling it the Swap Meet because but it really was a Marketolace.

Can anyone describe the difference between the 'swap meet' and the 'marketplace' at the Aloha Stadium? We may go on Sunday morning during our upcoming trip in April and the swap meet starts at 6:30am while the marketplace hours begin at 8am. Trying to decide how early we'll get there and what's the upside/downside (if any) of arriving before 8am. Thanks!

It's called Aloha Stadium Swap Meet & Marketplace I believe. We went at noon.

 

[cgattis]

I don't have an answer either. That's what it says on the sign out front--swap meet and marketplace--but I didn't see any distinction inside. All the tents/booths looked the same, and all the handmade/homegrown stuff was just mixed in amongst the imported "stuff."

 

[sparkyboy]

hike diamond head;
bishops museum;
Pearl Harbor
Polynesian culture center was okay but was "touristy" on our opinion and involved a full day.
scuba diving;
snorkeling;
koahal ranch;
north shore drive;
Honolulu zoo;
shaved ice;
hike waterfalls

 

[dolewhipdreams]

We did a guided kayak tour out of Kailua that went out to the Mokulua Islands and it was amazing. It might have been one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was adventurous and exciting, plus it included a stop at Lanikai Beach (which is absolutely stunning). Our guides were from Kailua Beach Adventures and I highly recommend them.

I would also recommend finding a snorkeling tour that specifically involves spending time with sea turtles. We had the Go Oahu card (which may help you save a ton of money- look into it if you haven't yet) and included was a catamaran sail, which we upgraded to include snorkeling at Turtle Canyon. We spent an hour in the water surrounded by sea turtles. It was incredible.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

diamond head, pearl harbor, hanauma bay and manoa falls are all very popular with tourists (and for good reason...worth checking out if its your first or only trip).

swap meet isn’t really special in any way from any other swap meet anywhere else...if you like then, check it out, if not skip it.

kailua beaches are going to be packed...parking will be a massive pain, so if you can find a tour or some option that doesn’t involve having to park you’ll have a much better time.

north shore beaches won’t have their big waves people like to see, so won’t be as packed, but the main beaches will still be crowded (haleiwa through pipeline)

don’t neglect a “shopping trip” to ala moana and/or waikiki...not necesarily to buy stuff but for the free entertainment.

kaena point might be ok, but it is a long hike so be prepared with water/etc. and in july...its probably going to be a brutal walk from around noon till 4 or so.

zoo is fine (very small) sea life park is also very small, but there are at least some better activities you can do there (for an extra fee) but it is effectively on the other side of the island from aulani.

pali lookout is probably another thing to check out (be prepared for potentially very high winds)

 

[JM735]

I love your suggestions. We are seriously considering oahuprivatetours.com 2 day hybrid tours.

We spent two days with Oahu Private tours last week and they were great. While we didn't do hybrid tours (one day was exploring the North shore and the other day on the South), our guide did a cliff jump for us and spoke about the more active tours he has done with other groups. I cannot speak highly enough about Oahu Private Tours - including the booking process, the actual tour days and follow-up afterwards.

 

[tikisunset77]

stop at one of those shrimp stands just past the north shore area going east
they are worth the wait

 

[ebenmax]

We spent two days with Oahu Private tours last week and they were great. While we didn't do hybrid tours (one day was exploring the North shore and the other day on the South), our guide did a cliff jump for us and spoke about the more active tours he has done with other groups. I cannot speak highly enough about Oahu Private Tours - including the booking process, the actual tour days and follow-up afterwards.

We are booked with them for the North Shore hybrid (supposed to include cliff jumping). Did you cliff jump or just your guide? What were some of the highlights of your tour?