This past summer, I had the opportunity to live in Oahu, Hawaii, for a month. While here I explored as much of the island as possible in my free time. And I’m sharing all my favorite things to help you!
In this post, you’ll see pictures taken on my iPhone, Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo, and Sony a6600. During my visit, I challenged myself to mostly use my Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo camera to document my adventures! I only allowed myself to take a picture with my Sony camera when I TRULY loved a scene.
This was an attempt to help myself stay more present in each moment rather than obsessively take pictures of everything like I usually do.
The Fujifilm pictures are definitely low-quality but it was so fun to use! If you’re interested in seeing what travel camera gear I shoot with you can check it all out here.
Before we begin, I want to mention that we paid for everything on this list. So I am only sharing what I liked and think was worth spending time and money on.
This list begins off with my favorite experiences, places to visit, and dining experiences, then ends with fun hikes to do in Oahu.
Ready to dive in? Me too. Let’s get to it!
Here’s What I Loved Most in Oahu
Kauloa Ranch Raptor Tour
The Kaulua Ranch is a private nature reserve in Kaneohe, Oahu. It’s a historic place that is the well-known filming location for many movies like Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, 50 First Dates, and Godzilla to name a few! And let me tell you, when you enter the ranch, it feels like you’re stepping into Jurassic Park.
The only catch is that to visit, you have to book a tour on their website. If you have a military affiliation, I found this website that offers a 15% military discount for retired and active-duty military members. And if you are planning on visiting, you should book long in advance, tours book quickly!
They have all kinds of tours, ranging from horseback riding to raptor rides, e-bike tours, movie site tours, and much more! We chose to book the UTV Raptour Tour and it was probably one of my favorite adventures we went on.
The ranch is an insanely beautiful place with unreal ridgelines and funky movie set items sprinkled throughout. Our tour guide had a great sense of humor and provided educational information about the ranch during the ride.
As someone who loves off-roading, I was excited to drive the UTV but quickly realized, I couldn’t take pictures while driving. At our first stopping point, my husband took over the drive for us so I could take pictures!
I decided to only bring my Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo and iPhone to take pictures on the UTV Raptor Tour!
I posted a few of my favorite images on the reel below.
Polynesian Cultural Center
The Polynesian Cultural Center is a non-profit tourist destination located in Laie, Oahu. The park has six different areas that showcase the culture and history of six different island nations.
To visit, you can arrive and browse the parks on their own or you can book a ticket in advance. We decided to book a package last minute. The only package available was the Super Ambassador Package. It included access to the park with a tour guide, the luau dinner, and a ticket to their HA: Breath of Life show!
Overall, it was a cool experience. It is a huge park and all-day experience that’s great for families!
We had a great tour guide but I would have rather roamed the park on my own. While the food wasn’t amazing at their luau dinner – the atmosphere, unlimited delicious virgin pina coladas, and luau show at dinner were great.
My favorite thing about the park was their HA: Breath of Life show at night. If I went back, I would just book a ticket to the park, their dinner, and the fire show at night.
The Kaneohe Bay SandBar
The Kaneohe Bay Sandbar was one of my top experiences on Oahu. It’s a sandbar located off-shore in Kaneohe Bay. The water can be as shallow as ankle deep at low tide and so fun to spend the day on! We even saw a few sea turtles swimming around while out here.
This is a little trickier to visit though. You can either book an excursion out here, bring your boat, or get a boating license for the area to rent a boat. If you’re affiliated with the military you can rent a pontoon boat through MCCS. But you have to watch a series of online videos, take an online test, and then pass a practical to get a license. This is what I did. I have no boating experience and the whole process was easy.
Pearl Harbor:
If you’re planning a trip to Oahu, you likely already have the Pearl Harbor National Memorial on your list of things to do. But you may not know that you need to book some things here long in advance.
We wanted to visit the U.S.S Arizona but we couldn’t get tickets. To see the memorial, you have to take a boat out to it and tickets are limited. Tickets are released 8 weeks and 24 hours in advance on their website. So if you want to visit, make sure to plan ahead and book a ticket on their website.
Despite not getting tickets, my friend and I decided to just walk around the Pearl Harbor museum and grounds (which is free). There were a handful of buildings with powerful stories inside that walk you through the events that led up to the tragic events that occurred on December 7, 1941, and the aftermath. If you love museums and want to learn more, it’s worth a visit.
While entry is free, you’re not allowed to bring any type of handbag into the memorial. Because car break-ins are common, they have an area where you can pay to store your bag. We took our chances and locked our bags in our car trunk and had no problems.
Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens:
The Ho’Omaluhia Botanical Gardens are located in Kaneohe, free to visit, and gorgeous. I can’t quite explain it, but these gardens feel like Hawaii. As soon as you enter the park, you feel like you’re transported into a different world.
Once you enter the park, you will begin your drive down a long scenic road. If you want, you can stop by the visitor center to grab a free map of the gardens. If you have the time, I recommend walking the trail from the visitor center to the lake. It’s a very easy path to follow with unique plants and a beautiful area by the water.
Wandering Waikiki:
Waikiki is a neighborhood located in Honolulu. It’s a tourist hot spot, filled with high-rise hotels, plenty of shopping, and of course – beautiful beaches. While Waikiki wasn’t my favorite city on the island, it’s still a beautiful area to explore and walk around. Especially for my fellow photography lovers out there.
Below you can see a few pictures I took while wandering around town with my Fujifilm mini evo.
Looking for a place to eat in Waikiki? Here are some of my favorites!
- Fresh Catch Kapahulu: we ate here more times than I can count. Simple poke and good fish and chips.
- Ono Seafood: another great poke option, this place offers a few toppings too.
- Camado Ramen Tavern: delicious chicken tonkatsu ramen, simple place, but I ate here like 5 times.
- Machete’s Mean Sandwiches: a simple sandwich shop with delicious homemade bread. It’s nothing fancy but good when you want something basic.
- Hideout: sit-down restaurant with live music, an amazing outdoor patio atmosphere, and good food.
- Waiola Shave Ice: my favorite shave ice in Waikiki, you have to go to this location!
- Leonards: the iconic malasada donuts, everyone loves these but I wasn’t the biggest fan. They have locations everywhere. But this is a big one in Waikiki. I prefer Pipeline Bakeshop‘s malasadas to these!
The Tantalus Lookout
Want to see a panoramic view of Honolulu without having to hike or ride in a helicopter? Then you have to check out the Tantalus Lookout at sunset. It offers sweeping views of Honolulu without much effort. Many people said that the drive up was crazy but from my experience, the two-lane road wasn’t bad at all.
Here you can expect to find free parking at the park, a small grassy park to relax on, and a lookout area with a few historical plaques located on it.
Discovering Graffiti Art in Kaka’ako
If you love street art, you have to check out the street art in Kaka’ako, a neighborhood in Honolulu. It’s an urban area with beautiful street art plastered on the side of most of the buildings. You can learn more about it and find the address for some art here.
I stumbled upon this area because the gym I went to while here was located over here. So one day, after I finished working out and before grabbing breakfast, I walked around and took pictures of all the street art. You can see some in the post below.
If you’re in this area and looking for high-quality coffee and good scuffins (a mix between a scone and a muffin) check out 9Bar HNL. In the same complex, there’s a cool camera shop called Treehouse over here too.
There’s also Aloha Bakehouse & Cafe nearby, which is a hole-in-the-wall place I accidentally discovered with a good mango smoothie and DELICIOUS scuffins.
Exploring Haleiwa
If you want to hang out in a laid-back town on the North Shore, spend the day in Haleiwa.
We came here to walk through the Historic Downtown Area and grab some food at the well-known hot spots in town. You can easily paddleboard here too. We didn’t because it was so far from where we were staying.
Looking for a quick eat over here? We enjoyed an acai bowl from Hale’iwa Bowls and coffee at The Bird’s Nest.
Waimea Bay Beach Park
Want to hang out at the beach and jump off a big rock into the ocean while you’re in the North Shore? Then you have to check out Waimea Bay Beach. Many areas in Hawaii are not safe to jump off but this is a very popular spot to cliff jump. I made the jump in 2018 but when I visited Oahu for the third time in 2024, I just drove by.
Lanikai Beach
This might sound crazy, but I am not a big beach person. Even though I have always lived near the beach. I am terrible at relaxing and cannot make myself sit still for extended periods unless I have a captivating book to read. But with that said, Lanikai Beach is one of my favorite beaches on Oahu.
The beach itself is stunning and the Mokulua Islands off-shore add to the beauty of it. When we visited in 2018, my crazy husband decided to swim to the islands and back by himself. He’s a strong swimmer and a little nuts. You can visit the islands by kayak if you’re interested in exploring them too!
As a heads up parking is free in the neighborhood but a bit limited. We never had a problem parking here but you may have to drive around a little bit to find parking if you come later in the day.
Tropical Farms Macadamia Nuts
While I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to come here, if you’re driving past Tropical Farms Macadamia Nuts, you should absolutely stop by.
This is a small macadamia nut farm where you can sample nuts and coffee. Of course, I tried both and ended up buying a couple of bags of macadamia nuts.
But naturally, I was most excited by the way the back of their store looked. You can see the scene below!
Green World Coffee Farm:
Stop by Green World Coffee Farm on your way to or from the North Shore. It’s a unique coffee farm where you can order a coffee, browse the store filled with eclectic signs and knick-knacks, and walk through a small coffee bean garden.
You can see a couple of pictures I took here on my Fujifilm camera in my Instagram post below.
Drinking Iced Coffee
If you know me, you know I love trying coffee shops whenever I travel. I tried a lot. These were my favorite coffee shops on Oahu.
- Island Brew Coffeehouse – Hawaii Kai: this is a must-visit coffee shop with a great atmosphere/views and good coffee. It’s a great place to work with your computer too!
- Tradition Coffee Roasters: The best iced coffee I had on Oahu. It’s in a cool area too!
- ChadLou’s Coffee Roasters: a laid-back place with outdoor seating. Delicious kula latte with oat milk.
- Green World Coffee Farm: a unique coffee farm, grab a coffee and walk through the garden.
- 9Bar HNL: high-quality coffee and good scuffins (mix between a scone and muffin.
- The Sunrise Shack – Kailua: for the bulletproof coffee lovers. Too strong for me but my husband loved it.
The Sunrise Shack
I know I just mentioned the sunrise shack above. But I feel it needs its own spot. If you want a good açaí bowl, in an aesthetically pleasing Hawaii-feeling environment, you have to visit a sunrise shack.
There are several locations and not all are created equal. My favorite locations were here in Kailua and here on the North Shore. My favorite was the blue dream bowl. The picture above and below were both taken at the North Shore location.
Dinner at Haleiwa Joe’s
Haleiwa Joe’s Haiku Gardens was the coolest place we had dinner. They have several locations but you have to eat at this one. The food was great but it’s all about the atmosphere. You can see the view below!
Go for a Hike on Oahu
There are SO many hiking options in Oahu and options for people of all levels. You can find hikes with nice paved walking paths, moderate waterfall hikes, rugged ridgeline routes, quick hikes to old pillboxes, and more. More often than not, the paths can be quite muddy, so I recommend bringing a pair of hiking shoes with a good grip that you don’t mind getting dirty.
Below, I have included hikes that I completed this summer that I think are worth sharing. Under each hike, you will find a hyperlink to each hike’s trail route on Alltrails.
Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail
The Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail was one of my favorite ridgeline hikes that we did in Oahu this summer. We hiked around sunset and only saw a handful of other people while there. It was great. Lucky for us, it wasn’t that muddy either, which can make hiking much harder in Oahu.
The trail begins pretty moderately before you reach the stair section of the hike. There were a few steep areas on this portion of the hike with ropes (that I didn’t need to use) and slippery steps but it wasn’t anything crazy. As you’re hiking up you might be like shoot this is going to be hard to go down, but it wasn’t that hard. If anything, you can just sit on your butt on the way down.
Unfortunately for us, the clouds decided to roll in when we got to the top. So we weren’t rewarded with what is supposed to be a stunning view. But that was okay! My favorite part of this hike was the tower at the top. It felt otherwordly up there with the clouds and tower. Overall, I highly recommend this hike!
Distance: 4.7 miles, Elevation gain: 1,512 ft, Duration: 1 hour 46 minutes.
Parking: free parking near the trailhead. Must pass through a neighborhood gate and get a parking pass.
Kuli’ou’ou Ridge Trail
The Kuli’ou’ou Ridge Trail is another hike often recommended alongside the Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail. I have mixed feelings about this hike. Everyone recommends it but I honestly wasn’t the biggest fan of it. I am sharing it because this might be due to the muddy conditions we experienced.
The beginning of this hike is pretty easy. You’ll walk through a forest along a moderate path. The only downside to this section is that there are a LOT of exposed tree roots. So if you happen to go on a wet morning like we did, it will likely be very slippery. After you make it out of the forest, you will climb up a bunch of steps. For us, these steps were VERY muddy and slippery. But the views at the top are stellar!
Distance: 4.4 miles, Elevation gain: 1,666 ft, Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes
Parking: free parking along the street in the neighborhood by the trailhead.
Koko Head Crater Trail
The Koko Head Crater Trail is a unique hike that is worth doing at least once while you’re in Oahu. I did it twice, once when I first arrived and once before my flight home. On this hike, you’ll climb up 1,048 steps to the top of the Koko Head Crater. The stairs are old railroad tracks that were once used during the war to transport goods up to the pillbox at the top of the crater.
The hike itself is super quick and in my opinion, easy. The stairs aren’t bad at the beginning but they become steeper at the end. The only downside to this hike is that it can be very crowded. On our first visit, we arrived at sunrise and it was already slammed. On my second visit, it wasn’t too bad. Go at sunrise or sunset!
Distance: 1.6 miles, Elevation gain: 912 ft, Duration: 50 minutes
Parking: free at the baseball fields here
Hanauma Bay Ridge Hike
If you don’t feel comfortable hiking up the Koko Head Crater, you can hike up the Hanauma Bay Ridge Trail which is just across the way. You can start this hike from the same parking lot as the Koko Head Crater where parking is free. It takes you through a small path before you cross the road and begin hiking up the Hanauma Bay Ridge.
Once you start hiking up the ridge, it’s a long steady paved path. This hike has great views of the bay and Hawaii Kai, the paved path is easy to walk on, and it’s cool to see people walking up Koko Head Crater when you’re headed back down. I hiked around sunrise by myself and only saw two other people on the path. It was great!
Distance: 3.1 miles, Elevation gain: 1,020 ft, Duration: 51 minutes (I turned around early).
Parking: free at the baseball fields here
Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Hike
Speaking of paved paths, the Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trail is a great hike that has a paved path. It is straight up until you reach the lighthouse lookout area but because it’s paved and gradual, I never felt out of breath while walking up. It’s more of a walk than a hike but the views are worth it.
Distance: 2.5 miles, Elevation gain: 475 ft, Duration: 1 hour and 28 minutes (we took lots of pictures)
Parking: there is VERY limited free parking next to the trailhead. And a parking lot down the road.
Pink Pillbox hike (Pu’u O Hulu Trail)
This Pink Pillbox Trail was my favorite pillbox hike on Oahu. The only downside is that it’s out of the way to get to and there really isn’t much else around here to do. But I think worth making the trek here!
This is a short, steep, quick hike. But the views combined with the pillbox are unlike anything else in Oahu.
This hike is supposed to be great at sunset, but my friend and I decided to hike this route at sunrise. And we only saw one person on the way up, and a group at the top briefly. It felt like we had the pillboxes to ourselves, which was a nice change of pace.
And super random, but we saw lots of goats just out of reach on the side of the mountain hiking up. I think it’s because we went early!
Distance: 1.3 miles, Elevation gain: 613 ft, Duration: (not sure)
Parking: free parking along the road by the trailhead.
Lanikai Pillbox
The Lanikai Pillobox Trail is a quick sceneic hike in Lanikai. You can hike here and then go to the Lanikai beach! This hike, like many of the pillbox hikes, is short, steep, and has fantastic views.
This is my second favorite pillbox hike on the island (and I did almost all of them). It’s great because it’s located near things to do, it’s not too challenging and offers panoramic views nearly the entire time with the Mokulua islands in the background.
Distance: 1.7 miles Elevation gain: 620 ft, Duration: (not sure)
Parking: limited free street parking in the neighborhood down below, go early to get a spot.
Crouching Lion
The Crouching Lion Trail is supposedly illegal to do, so even though it looked awesome, I was hesitant to do it. I read countless blogs that said it’s fine to do but I didn’t want to break any laws.
After doing the Kualoa Ranch UTV Raptor Tour, we decided to drive by. And we saw tons of people at the top of the hike. So we did it. And it was pretty packed.
The trail is super short (a whopping 0.4 miles) and isn’t that bad but it is steep and dusty. I imagine it would be a little tricky to get up if it was muddy but thankfully for us, we went on a very dry day.
We went to the first rock which many confuse for the Crouching Lion but it isn’t. Then climbed up a little further to the actual Crouching Lion Rock where there’s a cool photo spot. Then went right back down. Do it at your own risk!
Distance: 0.4 miles, Elevation gain: 216 ft, Duration: (not sure)
Parking: free parking near the trailhead on the main road.
Conclusion:
Well, there you have it. A full list of the experiences, cool spots, unique hikes, and food places I loved most in Oahu. There were many popular experiences, places, hikes, and places that we tried and didn’t like, so I didn’t include them on this list.
If you’re headed to Oahu for a quick vacation, I hope this blog helps you plan some fun things to do. Make sure to save this post below to come back to later!
