THINGS TO DO ON OAHU
|
OUR FAVOURITES IN WAIKIKI
Most of the bigger touristy things to do on Oahu are outside of Waikiki but there are a few things that we absolutely love to do in Waikiki and recommend to all of our friends
Sunset at the Halekulani - The Halekulani is the most luxurious hotel in Waikiki, right on the beach and one of our favorite things to do is to have sunset cocktails and small bites on the lawn at the ‘House without a Key’ (Their beach front restaurant and bar). They have live music and hula performers nightly with Diamond Head in the background... it doesn’t get much better than this!
The hula is classic hula performed by some of the most well known hula artists often a former Miss Hawaii, you wont find grass skirts and fire dancers here. Go early to get a good seat, drinks are expensive but well worth it for the experience. You have to walk through the Halekulani to the bar and then ask for seats for cocktails. I recommend this to everyone as its such a nice experience. Sometimes there is a $5 cover charge per person but this is often waived if you order a second round of drinks. Great lawn for kids to run around on. The restaurant does serve dinner however it is a very high end restaurant so unless its a special occasion, we recommend drinks and then moving on for dinner. Breakfast at the Halekulani - If you are looking for something special for a celebration or just want to treat yourselves, breakfast at Orchids Restaurant at the Halekulani is a must. This is a full silver service breakfast with a Waikiki and Diamond Head View. Their complete breakfast includes bacon, eggs, toast or pastry, sausage, fruit, fruit juice and your choice of tea or coffee is $39USD but worth if for a great experience.
The Halekulani is at the end of Lewers Street. Friday night fireworks – The Hilton Hawaiian Village has fireworks every Friday night. Its a nice end to the holiday week and you can BYO drinks and nibbles while you watch the show. You can see the Fireworks form Fort De Russey park so don’t need to go the whole way to the HHV.
|
BEST BEACHES TO VISIT
Waikiki
Outside of Waikiki
|
THINGS TO DO FOR FREE
No one wants to spend more than they need to on holiday and luckily there are plenty of things to do on Oahu that are free or low cost. Find out more about how to save a few dollars while in Hawaii on out 'Hawaii on a Budget' page
- Free hula lessons are all over the island, our favorites are right in Waikiki
- Waikiki Beach Walk - free but you need to book tickets
- Royal Hawaiian Shopping Centre - right in the middle of Waikiki
- Hiking Diamond Head costs about $5USD per person.
- Hiking at other state parks across the island are either free or at low cost. You can find out more on the Oahu state parks site
- Visit a state park and have a picnic. There are an abundance of parks across the island that are free to access and have picnic facilities
- Listen to live music in a park or at a hotel (you don't need to be a hotel guest to do this)
- Visit a farmers market
- Explore Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor and the boat ride out to the memorial are all free as this is a state monument. There is additional cost f you want to visit the Bowfin or the USS Missouri
- Take a bike ride. There are now bikes all over waikiki available for a very low hourly rate. Biki is a bike share company designed to get you around town. There are also long day rentals across the city.