North Shore Beaches

Shark's Cove & Tide Pools at Pupukea

Shark's Cove

This location is great for snorkeling during the summer months. During low tide you can walk around the tide pools and climb up to the rocks for better views. You can also snorkel in shark's cove as shown on the entry point on the photo. We don't recommend going to the eel hole, but just know that there are underwater caves nearby! Bring flip flops or footwear that you don't mind wearing underwater to protect your feet from vana (sea urchins) and the sharp rocks.

Sunset beach from the north

Sunset Beach

Luckily, during the summer months the surf on the north shore isn't crazy raging. This beach is very popular and don't be surprised to see bus after bus of tourist being dropped off to take photos. If you can ignore them, this beach has a steep shoreline and waterline which are great of being lazy! Ted's Bakery is also pretty much across the street, so even better yet. Eat pie, be lazy.

Banzai Pipeline

Ehukai Beach Park

This is the location of the world famous banzai pipeline where classic tube-shaped waves roll ashore. In the summer, the waves are not as fierce and actually transport into a beach perfect for swimming. Parking is hard here, but sometimes you can find parking across the street or along the highway.

bodysurfers at waimea bay shoreline

Waimea Bay Beach Park

This place is famous for 20-40+ feet waves in the winter. In the summer this bay is quite placid and lake-lie. The south end of the bay has an area for snorkeling and there is a giant rock used for cliff-diving. Please be careful of what you leave in your car at this parking lot. There have been a lot of reports of car break-ins and robberies on the beach.

Swimming with Dolphins

Hello Flipper!

If swimming with sharks isn't your thing but you would like to swim with something a little more friendly, we suggest trying out this tour! On Adrian's first trip to Hawaii we went on this tour and had a great time. There are tons and tons of ocean critters all over this tour. You'll definitely need an underwater camera for this.

Cost: $109 per person
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Pali Lookout

Pali Lookout looking towards Kaneohe Town

Does this place look familiar? Maybe you've seen it before? Maybe in our save the date video?? This scenic point on the way to the windward side from the Pali Highway would be a great quick stop on the way to the Polynesian Cultural Center or our wedding! Squint, you can see China Man's Hat Island.

Cost: $3 per car
Information: Wiki
Reviews: Trip Advisor, Yelp

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve

View of the bay from above

Hanauma Bay is a great place to snorkel for beginners. Make sure to bring a waterproof camera to take photos of fish and coral alike! If you would like to visit, please make sure not to go on a Tuesday (they're closed) and to be as early as possible. Fish are most active at dawn and people are least active which makes for lots of parking.

Cost: $7.50 entrance fee + snorkel rental fee

Information: Official

Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

USS Arizona Memorial

USS Arizona Memorial from Waiting Area

This landmark sits above the sunken USS Arizona from the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor. When you arrive you will receive a ticket for the boat ride over to the memorial. They allow you to wait your time in the small museum and watching a 23 minute film. Allow for a minimum of two hours for this activity.

Since this is one of the most popular landmarks for tourist to visit on Oahu the lines are always long. We suggest visiting first thing in the morning. A good idea would be to visit on Wednesday and if you come across a line, take a ticket and wait out the several hours at the aloha stadium swap meet.

Very nearby there is also the USS Missouri Battleship and the USS Bowfin (submarine) available for tours. These are not free but are quite impressive if you are a History buff. Fun fact, the Japanese signed a surrender agreement on the deck of the USS Missouri Battleship.

Cost: Free (first come, first serve basis)

Information: Official, Visiting

Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Diamond Head Summit Hike

View From the Summit of Diamond Head

I think that everyone has seen or knows the outline of Diamond Head... It's pretty much synonymous with the outline of Waikiki skyline! At the Diamond Head Crater Park, there is a quick and easy hike that all tourist must do on their first trip to Oahu. I'm not sure why it's listed as a two hour hike, but it is actually more like 30 minutes each way. You can see the trail here... It's also relatively easy. I've seen young Japanese tourist do the hike in heels ladies!

We'll be planning a group trip for this hike, so please let us know if you want to come with.

Cost: $5 per car
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Swimming with Sharks

Appetizer, Entree & Desert... Oh my!

On Adrian's first visit to Hawaii he told my Mom that he really wanted to swim with Sharks. Thanks to our Mama-San, she set us up with Hawaii Shark Encounters Tours. We took the boat ride out of Hale'iwa, saw the sharks and only one of us went in the cage... it wasn't me.

Only Rose has asked to do a Shark Tour so far. So if anyone else is interested, let us know so that we can try to set something up!

Cost: $105 per person
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Iolani Place

Center Staircase

Iolani Palace is a reminder that Hawaii was its own kingdom until 1893 when the Hawaiian Monarch Queen Lili'uokalani was overthrown. We suggest doing either the self guided audio tour or guided tour. The guided tour takes you behind the scenes to areas that are only available to the guided tour. 

Also, after the tour walk across the street to see the 18 foot Bronze King Kamehameha Statue.

Cost: $13 (self-guided audio tour) or $20 (guided tour)
Information: Official, Visitors

Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Extreme Hiking

Hold on!!

Bring your hiking shoes!! We're going Hiking!!

Oahu has numerous hiking trails that end at gorgeous scenic routes... I'm sure we'll end up choosing at least two to share with you and do as a group, but I just had to post these two blogs for people to check out.

This is what I would call extremeee hiking and I can't believe these people do this without safety gear! Seriously, these people are cray-cray.

Extreme Blog Example #1
Extreme Blog Example #2

I think I'll just live vicariously through them from the safety of my computer at home. No way would I scoot my way across the ridges like these folks!

Aloha Stadium Swap Meet

Tiki Dudes handmade at the swap meet

Please don't buy any trinkets from any of the ABC stores in Waikiki.... This is the best place to pick up lots of small omiyage (gifts in japanese) for friends and family. Just be forewarned, everyone has the same type of goods but at different prices so feel free to haggle for the best prices. The best day to go is Wednesday because there are not as many people walking around.

Cost: $1 per person
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Byodo-In Temple

Main Temple with Ko'olaus in background

The Byodo-In Temple is located at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. It was established on June 7, 1968, to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The temple is built entirely without nails. It is a scale replica of a temple in Uji, Japan, that was constructed over 950 years ago.

The Temple grounds are a lushly landscaped paradise nestled in a cleft of the pali and are home to wild peacocks and hundreds of Japanese koi carp. The beautiful grounds include a large reflecting pond, meditation niches, and small waterfalls.

The TV series Hawaii Five-O and Magnum, P.I. featured several episodes where the temple is incorporated into the plot. The temple and its gardens also appeared in an episode of the ABC series Lost, "House of the Rising Sun" in season one as the home of Sun's father. The Byodo-In Temple is a Hawaii State Landmark.

We recommend stopping in on the way to an activity. The grounds are worth visiting and taking a look around. 

Cost: $3 per person
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck

Shrimpy.

Delish. Located on the north shore in Kahuku is the white written all over Giovanni's Shrimp Truck serving up plate after plate of shrimp. People rave about the garlic shrimp plate. If you're up on the north shore, this place is worth taking a stop by. I mean, can 900 people on yelp be wrong? Do be careful, the lines get very very long at this food truck!

Cost: $13
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Adam Richman

Diners, Drive Inns & Dives Hawaii

Guy at the Fish Market

Guy Fieri shipped his retro car over 2,000 miles to Hawaii to shoot this episode. I've attached a link here to all of the places he visited. You can youtube the entire episode if you feel the need. He is a boisterous character.

No Reservations Hawaii

nice aloha shirt

I love Anthony Bourdain. If he wasn't already married and in love with his super buff brazilian jiu jitsu loving wife, I would be more obsessed. Nonetheless, here is a link to the places he visited on his trip here. I'm sure we will be doing another entry about side street inn soon. It's a great place to eat and grab a couple of drinks on the fly.

Bizarre Foods Hawaii

Andrew Zimmerman showing off his Luau Plate Face

Here is a video recap of Andrew Zimmerman's epiosode in Hawaii. It's funny to think that of all things he hated, it was Spam. The most beloved cheap piece of beat in Hawaii. Here's the link to his video recap.

Man vs Food Hawaii Edition

Adam Richman gears up!

Overeating is like a local past time. Here are the three places that Adam Richmann took viewers to while filiming the Hawaii episode. Link to the travel channel website is here. This was also back when he actually did the food challenges himself.

Dole Plantation

World's Largest Maze is a pineapple! Oh my!

In 2008, Dole Plantation’s giant Pineapple Garden Maze was declared the world’s largest maze. The maze stretches over three acres and includes nearly two and one-half miles of paths crafted from 14,000 colorful Hawaiian plants. Walk through the flora of the islands as you seek out eight secret stations that each lead you closer to the mystery at the heart of this larger-than-life labyrinth, one of only a handful of permanent botanical mazes in America.

We've never personally done the maze, but it looks like a lot of fun! We just come here for the pineapple soft serve sundaes in a pineapple. They're to die for! There is also a cute shop with lots of chances to purchase gifts for family and friends. But seriously, get a pineapple soft serve sundae!

Information: Official 
Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor, Urban Spoon

Waiola Shave Ice

Rainbow Ice Cream Bowl

Snow Cones don't have anything on Hawaiian Shave Ice. Everyone in Hawaii has a favorite spot and this is ours. It may be just shaved ice in a bowl with sugary syrup, but it will be the most amazing shaved ice with sugary syrup you EVER eat. There are dozens and dozens of flavors to try so go crazy or be a kama'aina keiki (little local person) and get a rainbow which is a triple flavor of vanilla, strawberry and banana.

Cost: $5 for my favorite (ice cream bowl with strawberry and li hing mui)
Reviews: Yelp, Urban Spoon

Rainbows Drive-In

Loco Moco (Rice, Hamburger Patty, Fried Egg & Macaroni Salad)

Rainbows has been a family drive-in for many years now. They serve up quick local food known as plate lunches. Their food is quick, inexpensive and represents a good sample of what the local plate lunch culture of Hawaii is all about. Try the slush float as well!

Cost: $7 for a plate lunch
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Leonard's Bakery Malasadas

Pure Fluffy Fried Deliciousness

A Malasada is a Portugese donut known as Pao Doce. It is fluffy fried dough covered in sugar or a mixture of sugary topings. We like the original sugar coating.

Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Trip Advisor

Ted's Bakery

Chocolate Haupia (Creamy Coconut) Pie

Cakes and Pie, Cakes and Pie! Well mostly only Pie here...Ted's sells individual and whole pies. Flavors are endless, but I always stick with my favorite chocolate haupia!

Cost: $2 for a slice
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp

Zippy's

Zippy's Bentos

If Hawaii had a fast food chain, this would be it. There are Zippy's located all around Oahu and for good reason, it has been a staple of local families for decades.

All of the locations serve more or less the same menu and your food is normally ready in about 10 minutes. Our favorites are the chicken beanLESS chilli plate and korean chicken plate. This is great place to pick up a bento (photo above) to take with you to the beach.

Cost: about $7 per person
Information: Official
Reviews: Yelp, Virtual Tourist

Airfare

We know that most of you are pretty avid travelers, but we thought we would give our favorite websites and tips for booking airfare...

• Bing
  Bing Travel has a price predictor built in to your search. It also graphs (oh yeah, something nerdy!) the fare history of your search so you know what the current trends are. You can also set up alerts so anytime the pricing dramatically changes, bing will email you.

• Kayak
  Kayak is great because it gives you the option to see what airfare other people have found for your dates so that you can flex your schedule to your budget. There's also an iPhone app that lets you save and track the airfare you want.

You can't purchase airfare from either of these websites so we suggest finding the cheapest airfare then going to that specific airlines website to verify the price. If you find a multi airline route, you'll have to book through one of the other mainstream travel agents (travelocity, priceline, expedia, hotwire, etc).

Call me superstitious but we usually buy our airfare on Tuesday night. It's rumored to be a good time to buy, but before buying airfare we suggest tracking it. Airfare to Hawaii can be very finicky and fluctuate a lot.

Also, we're also planning to have a week of festivities beforehand. You know, all of the wedding pre-parties like the bachelor/bacehlorette events? If possible, please try to come the week before so that we can include you in the festivities!


Refer to the schedule tab of this website for the most updated group activities schedule!

**Update**
We will be posting updates for reduced airfare soon!

Travel Book

Best Oahu Travel Book EV-ER

When Adrian came to Oahu for the very first time I bought him this book and let him flag out all of the things that he wanted to do. I would equate it to going to a restaurant with a picture menu. It just makes decisions that much simpler.

Nonetheless, if you are thinking about getting a travel book this is the book that I would recommend, it's only $12! I'll try to reference pages in the book for places that we recommend too.

Okay, now go order this book on amazon!

**12.08.11 Update**
The website for the book is pretty amazing too... 

Oahu Vacation Planner

The official visitors bureau website has a free downloadable vacation planner available online. Shout out to page 6 and 7 for highlighting our wedding venue in such an amazing photo!