What to Do ibn Five Days on Oahu in January

Judy, have you considered staying on the Windward side of the island? You may find more availability of cottages or condos with kitchen facilities on the Windward side (Kailua Lanikai Kaneohe). Kailua better connected without a car than the other areas. Then you could rent your car for the North Shore when you are ready.

On the north shore, we enjoyed the locally popular Kua Aina Sandwich Shop in Haleiwa.

Hi Judy, we’ve stayed a couple of times at the Hilton which is on the shore. We didn’t rent a car - just did a couple of day tours - Pearl Harbor, the North Shore. We rode the shuttle over to the nearby mall, relaxed at the beach and rode the city bus a few times. And generally, we enjoyed the beautiful grounds of the Hilton complex and went to one of their events on the grounds. We also took a city bike tour. I would also suggest having at least one boat ride.

Happy 80th birthday celebration!

Stan reminded me about Haleiwa. Be sure and stop at Matsumoto for the best shave ice on the planet.

We stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa. Kind of a typical Marriott, but we liked the location on the beach. I booked an ocean facing room with balcony which made the stay special with the view. You can easily walk up and down the beach - you might check out other properties along there like the Hilton noted above. There is overnight parking for a rental car. The current TripAdvisor reviews are mixed, but I, personally, would discount some of the reviews mentioning noise and expectations that are probably not reasonable.

Restaurants within walking distance. Hubby ran down to MacDonald's one day and came home with food to enjoy on our balcony. (Sigh.) Other restaurants in the hotel and easy walking as well.

If you are interested in Pacific Island and Polynesian artifacts, art, and history do try to get to the Bishop Museum. Recognized as one of the best around for that. We enjoyed the Iolani Palace very much and as art lovers, the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Honolulu Museum of Art. Smaller but interesting places if you have a car and are passing by: Queen Emma Summer Palace and Hawaiian Mission Houses Historical Site (close to some of the other museums - we did this with a rental car). I should note that Hawaiian history was new to us so we enjoyed the palaces and historical sites, but this is perhaps not of interest to all. The National Cemetery of the Pacific Punchbowl is also moving - a cemetery and incredible views. Well worth a drive if you have a rental and it is near your planned routes.

We spent an entire day at the Pearl Harbor sites. Moving. You may need to book the Arizona early - check their website. The boat to the memorial frequently sells out. (if you do this with a rental car as we did plan in advance - may not be as much of a concern if you do a day trip)

Watch the day tours to Diamond Head. If they include walking up to the summit, a traveler might find it a bit more rigorous than the literature indicates. We passed many in the 40 - 50 age range that were huffing and puffing and giving up. Of course, it isn't required to complete the hike.

We were unimpressed with the North Shore - perhaps we missed something basic!

Happy celebration!!!!!

Thank you all for the suggestions. They are just what I was looking for. I had forgotten about the Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace. They are a definite! And the other suggestions sound good too. We enjoy art museums and didn't realize there was such a variety. I will check out your hotel recommendations also. We would go for five days minimum, maybe a week. And a one day car rental to see the rest of the island should be all we need. i hear public transportation in the Honolulu area is quite good.
Thank you all again! Mahalo!

The North Shore is the less touristed side of the island and IMHO, just lovely. Especially fun is to catch the big wave surfers when they are riding the waves and even better a competition. If you have a car, I would definitely drive over there to check it out for yourself. I loved my dives over there, but you may not be a diver. It was my first time seeing a sea turtle in the water!

Thank you, Diveloonie. I definitely want to explore parts of Oahu outside of the Honolulu area. When on Hawaii, we circumnavigated that island and saw some beautiful and more isolated areas, especially north of Hilo. This, plus the surfing scene, are what we hope to see.

Judy, since this trip is planned for January, it is very likely that there will be big wave surfing out on the North Shore and maybe a competition.

Woohoo! That sounds great. I will check dates for competitions and try to plan our dates to see some of them. My surfing son will be jealous!

When I have stayed in Waikiki it has been at a condo building called Four Paddle. One bedroom apartments with a sofa bed in the living room. Don’t know what the rental is as I stay with a friend who owns there. It’s an older building but well located on Kuhlo street., opposite the Ritz-charlton and it has a pool which I understand is now heated! Also a nice terrace for sunning and a BBQ area. There is a large ABC market in the Ritz-Charlton complex, also a rather pricy bakery/sandwich place. It’s a 10 - 15 min walk to the beach and some of the fancy hotels.

If you are interested in aquatic life, I always enjoy the Waikiki Aquarium. Lots of buses run along Kuhlo Street to take you into Honolulu. Every Friday night the Hilton Hotel has a nice firework display which can be seen from many places in Waikiki.

About 2 blocks in from the ocean and across the street from the zoo is the Queen Kapiolani hotel. It’s in Waikiki but a little off the main drag so a little less expensive. Renovated about 2 years ago. If you are on Oahu on a Saturday consider going to the Kapiolani Community College farmer’s market. A wonderful place to browse local produce and there are pop-up tents with food from some of the most popular restaurants. If school is in session at the community college see if the culinary school’s restaurant is open. Many of Hawaii’s chefs trained there and the food and pastries are great. It’s BYOB for a small corkage fee.

Trotter and Leslie, Thank you for the added information. I am adding to my activities for our stay.
Mahalo!

We enjoyed a week in Honolulu two years ago. We used the local bus with the senior Holo card. We used the bus to get to the Airport, Mall, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head and the Saturday farmers market. https://www.thebus.org/Fare/TheBusFares.asp

We booked an all day tour that took us up to the north shore. We stayed at The Laylow hotel in Waikiki Beach giving us great access to the beach, shopping and restaurants.

We enjoyed the vibrancy of the city as a contrast to our lovely week on Kauai.

EDIT: We also used The Bus to get us to the wonderful Bishop Museum. It was a little tricky finding the place to turn in our form we filled out online, buying the $2 Holo card and getting our picture taken.

Mona,
That is great news regarding the bus. It sounds like you had a wonderful time!
Mahalo

Ride The Bus from Waikiki to Honolulu Chinatown and the Foster Botanical Garden.
"From Waikiki, take TheBus no. 2 or 20 toward downtown; get off on North Hotel Street (after Maunakea St.)."
https://www.frommers.com/destinations/oahu/walking-tours/walking-tour-1

Self-guided walking tour exploring Historic Honolulu's Chinatown and Arts District:
https://www.gpsmycity.com/discovery/chinatown-and-arts-district-walk-368.html

Lei and flower sellers on Maunakea Street. Honolulu style Chinese dim sum lunch in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza. After lunch walk through the Forster Botanical Garden.
https://www.legendseafoodhonolulu.com/
https://www.honolulu.gov/parks/hbg/honolulu-botanical-gardens/182-site-dpr-cat/568-foster-botanical-garden.html

If you do have a car, a botanical garden more spectacular than Foster is Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden on the windward side of Oahu. Stop and enjoy the view from the Pali on the drive to Kaneohe.
https://www.honolulu.gov/parks/hbg/honolulu-botanical-gardens/182-site-dpr-cat/569-ho-omaluhia-botanical-garden.html

Edgar, thank you for your detailed help. I am really looking forward to all that Oahu has to offer. I love Hawaii Island and Kauai, but it seems Oahu has a different, but exciting vibe. And not needing a car for much of the trip is wonderful!
Mahalo

To all you helpful forum members,
We have flights and hotel arranged for January 2024 for Honolulu. Trotter, we are staying at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel. Thanks for the recommendation. It looks like a good fit for us, and we have good nonstop flights.

Now to line up our activities.
Afternoon/evening of arrival, walk to beach and explore area around hotel (Kapiolani Park?)

Do any of you feel that we need a full day of Pearl Harbor activity/visit? (Arizona Memorial, Missouri Memorial, Pearl Harbor Valor Museum), or is a full morning or afternoon enough time? (Hubby is a Vietnam combat vet, so military history is perhaps more interesting to him than the average bear.) If not a full day, a beach stroll or market visit as well. Or perhaps the Army Museum?

We will rent a car or take a tour of the North Shore and rest of the island. I picture a full day for this. Any thoughts on which is better? I lean toward our own car, but have heard traffic/driving on Oahu can be a big pain. Stopping for lunch someplace with a nice view, or while watching surfers taking on the big waves, sounds great. (Haleiwa?) Our own car seems best suited, and a one day rental, even at Hawaii prices shouldn't be m uch more than two tour tickets. Any thoughts?

I figure Iolani Palace and the Bishop Museum can be done on the same day with a comfortable lunch break in between.

One other day's excursion to one or two gardens, depending on locations, and maybe a trip to Diamond Head (sans hiking...knee refuses to participate in hikes, esp. on hills)

To fill in or change, we may take in an art museum (any recs?), check out outdoor markets, take a boat ride (any recs here as well?), visit the cathedral, stroll on one of the nearby beaches. I welcome your "must-sees" and "must-dos". We have done a luau on Kauai, so don't feel the need to spend the money on one, but are there any smaller or less expensive cultural shows?

Will be there on Hubby's 81st birthday, and my 80th will be two weeks before, so perhaps one (slightly) fancy dinner recommendation would be appreciated.

Mahalo!
Judy

I figure Iolani Palace and the Bishop Museum can be done on the same
day with a comfortable lunch break in between.

To fill in or change, we may take in an art museum (any recs?),

Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA): https://honolulumuseum.org/
HoMA is less than a mile walk towars Dimond Head from the Iolani Palace. HoMA has a museum cafe for light meals. Cafe reservations suggested.. Check museum days/hours. Closed Mon-Tue.

BTW compass directions in Honolulu are often:
Diamod Head vs Ewa
Mauka (montains) vs Makai (ocean)

Edgar, thanks for the suggestion! Sounds like a nice combination for a day. I will check hours online to plan that day. And the orientation hints are appreciated!