A Touristy Drive Around Oahu
For a first-time visitor to Oahu, renting a car is a great way to drive around and see the rest of the rural island. We recommend renting a car from Akamai Rentals in the heart of Waikiki Beach. It’s a small local and women owned business that provided great effortless service!
While one can drive continuously around the island in about 4 hours, we obviously took our time to stop and explore so the day ended up being a full one from 8am to 6pm.
This is a list of the mostly touristed scenic viewpoints we went to!
Diamond Head Vista Point
It’s at the base of Diamond Head and does not include a hike up to the peak. We watched surfers enjoying the morning waves below.
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
A few things to note. This coveted snorkeling bay is closed Mondays and Tuesdays so we were unable to make it. We spied on the bay from a service road nearby. Also, the number of visitors is restricted so reservations are now required to enjoy this amazingly beautiful nature preserve.
Halona Beach Cove, Blow Hole?
The cove was beautiful, but the blow hole was a dud due to low tide! No water sprays blowing through during our visit. Just a timing issue I guess. Moving on…
Makapuu Lighthouse
There were plenty of visitors but we learned why the big tour buses don’t stop here! It’s a 1.5 mile all uphill trek under the blazing sun to get to the viewpoint to see the lighthouse. Once there, it’s a stunning view and was well worth it. This time of year, there’s plenty of whale watching also! Bring lots of water and expect to be here for at least an hour.
Byodo-in Buddhist Temple
For a change of pace, we visited this temple which was built in 1968 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants that came to Hawaii. The temple is a replica of the 11th century Phoenix Hall in Uji, Japan.
Kualoa Beach
This beach was cool to see the contrast between the black lava rocks against the white beach and the turquoise water. This is also near the Kualoa Ranch, famous for being the location of the Jurassic Park movie.
Poor Man’s huli huli chicken lunch plate
We got hungry and the chicken that crossed the road led us to the fate of his friends on the rotisserie.
Ritz Carlton Turtle Bay
This beautiful resort is located on the north shore near the Banzai Pipeline. We stopped by for a drink at the bar overlooking the waves crashing in, and took a walk around the property.
Banzai Pipeline
The famous north shore waves! Definitely photos do not do the magnitude and power of the waves justice. We were mesmerized by them. We missed stopping at the one area where the surfers were congregating around but did not see any brave souls in the actual water while we were there.
Dole Plantation
We barely made it before closing time so missed the Pineapple Express tram through the plantation, but had just enough time for a Dole Whip!
Surfjack Hotel and Swim Club: Our Awesome Stay in Waikiki Beach!
Finally, Surfjack Hotel made our 5 days in Waikiki Beach an amazing experience for us who are on a modest budget. Even if we were on a blowout spending vacation, we’d still probably stay at Surfjack for its location, retro laid-back surf vibes, great cocktails, cool entertainment, and a tasty restaurant. We had a sliver of a view of Waikiki beach from our 9th floor balcony.
