Hiking and mountain trails near hotel

[hopeful4fl]

Can anyone please provide information on mountain trails near the hotel we can hike on? Are there other trails recommended on the island that someone has done? Thanks in advance.

 

[KristieGriggs]

We hiked Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail and Diamond Head. Neither are near Aulani though. We stayed two nights in Waikiki and one night on the North Shore before checking into Aulani for seven nights. That made it easier to see that side of the island. I've heard many on this board talk about the bad traffic. We never had any issues with traffic. Perhaps since we stayed at different places.
Both of those trails were really nice! Makepu'u was paved the entire way, but still kinda steep so it was still a workout. But plenty of kids were doing it too. A couple older people were out there and looked like they were struggling though. The views from the top were beautiful! And Diamond Head was amazing. Definitely a little harder, but worth it!

 

[sydneymorganmom]

Last time we were in Oahu (10 years ago) we hiked Diamondhead and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It's not that close to the hotel but you should definitely try to go. We are going again the first week in August and it's top of our list to do again. Breathtaking views and a great workout to burn off vacation calories! Be sure to start very early before it gets too hot and crowded (we went around 7). We are from the East Coast so we were up early. It is challenging but very doable for adults but not sure about kids. There is one portion where you have to go through a very small tunnel to keep going to the top and I am very claustrophobic so I was anxious but the payoff is well worth it. Oh, and keep hydrated!

 

[Twohsieh]

Hello! My family of five (kids ages 9, 8 and 6) hiked Manoa Falls and the Lanikai Pillboxes when we were vacationing at Aulani in June 2015.

Manoa Falls in Honolulu has a beautiful waterfall at the end of the hike. The hike is surrounded by lush green giant trees and plants. It rained the night prior to our hike, so the grounds were a bit muddy. We were so glad we wore our hiking shoes as there were slippery rocks along the path but I saw a few people hiking up the trail in their everyday slip on shoes. I would rate this a pretty easy hike for the whole family.

The Lanikai Pillbox trail is located on the east side of the island. The hike starts with a steep hike up a hill. We didn't see as many kids along this trail but we saw a few. It got very windy as we climbed closer to the top of the hills. There are two separate "pillbox" bunkers that all the hikers climb on the rooftop to look at the beautiful deep blue-green ocean. It's a very breath taking view. Please make sure you take a lot of water and try to get to the hike early to avoid the summer heat. This hike was one of my family's favorite hike. I would rate this hike easy but may be considered a moderate hike to many.