My husband, two friends and I will be visiting Oahu in one week. I've looked over the other posts concerning Oahu, but since we are renting a condo unit not all of my questions have been answered. We will be renting a unit in Waikiki near Kuhio Avenue.

Where is a good place to purchase basic grocery items/supplies?
Do you have any suggestions of sites to see/experience that we should add to our list of things to do and see? We are already planning to visit Diamond Head and the Arizona Memorial. We will also be taking one morning to go scuba diving.

Which of the luaus, if you're not wanting to be overly touristy is worthwhile?

I appreciate any and all advice that anyone can give me.

Hi Brandi,

Will you have a car? If so, I would suggest going to Star Market on King Street - you take the Ala Wai Canal road (officially called Ala Wai Blvd.) and then turn right on McCully (on the bridge) and then a few streets up right on King Street. Both the Ala Wai and King Street are one way streets. Star Market is on your left. It is an easy supermarket to get to with plenty of parking. There is also a health food store right across the street called Down to Earth. I will insert a map below. To get back to Kuhio Ave, keep going down King Street and then take a right on Kapahulu Avenue. Kapahulu Avenue goes right into Waikiki where you can turn back on the Ala Wai or right on Kuhio Ave. There is another supermarket called Foodland on the corner before turning down Kapahulu Ave but the parking is more difficult. For little things, you can go to any ABC store. There are ABC stores on every corner in Waikiki. They are sort of like 7-11 stores.

I would suggest driving up to the North Shore one day. There are many beaches to stop at, some with lifeguards and bathrooms, and some without. When you first get to the North Shore, you will have the choice to go through Haleiwa or bypass it. There are lots of little stores that you can explore in Haleiwa as well as a great little place to eat called Kua Aina Burgers (where you can get both burgers and salads). You may want to go through Haleiwa either on your way to the beaches or on your way back to your condo. Even if you are not a "beach person", I would recommend going as the beaches are all very different and very beautiful. There is one little beach where you can see turtles. There are turtle signs and a lot of traffic in that area so just look for the signs.

Iolani Palace is quite an interesting tour. There's also Sea Life Park and the Polynesian Cultural Center. I found a website called Things to do in Hawaii which has links to these places as well as many other places to visit.

There are a few luau's offered on Oahu. I wish I could help you more but I really don't know much about any of them. I would suggest googling Oahu Luau and reading about the different choices.

I hope this helps some.

Map to get to Star Market (ignore all the red marks/couldn't figure out how to get rid of them):

Hi,

I will also be visiting Oahu. I am interested in spending Saturday in the North Shore. We have decided to rent a car. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to stop on the North Shore? Of any good maps? I already know that I would like to visit the Byodo Temple. Are there parks? Trails that are navigable without a tour? Botanical Gardens? Waterfalls? Beautiful Beaches?

Are things in Oahu closed on Sundays? Or close early? How about transportation? Do buses run regularly on Sunday?

Thanks!

Andrea

Hi Andrea,

I think renting a car was a good choice. Easy questions first. Most everything is open on Sundays although some of the stores close earlier that evening. The buses run on a "Sunday" schedule (which means fewer buses). If you google "THE BUS" you can take a look their schedule for specific times/routes. Many places close earlier on the North Shore every day than they do in Honolulu and probably even a little earlier on Sundays.

I have never been to the Byodo temple but that is really on the Windward side. I think it would be too much to see that, then keep on driving up to the North Shore, have time for the beach and also do a hike.

Border's bookstore at Ward Center and also Barnes and Nobles at Ala Moana both have great Hawaii sections where will find good hiking books. They will probably be able to give you much more information than I could on hikes, waterfalls, etc. There have been many books written about hiking trails in Hawaii. I would recommend "Oahu Trails" if it is still available. This book has hikes rated from easy to strenuous along with great descriptions and maps.

I think you will probably be able to pick up a good map at any ABC store in Waikiki.

All the beaches up on the North Shore are beautiful. My suggestion is just to stop when you see a beach that interests you. I usually stop at 2 or 3 along the way when I am up there if I have the time. The 2 famous ones are "Waimea Bay" and "Sunset Beach".

I am sure you will love the North Shore whatever you decide to do. It is as I mentioned earlier my favorite part of the island.

Thanks for your suggestions! I will need to look into that.

What I am thinking of doing, is examing some of the "around the island" tours, and pick the destinations that interest me and do that at my own pace. I really do want to see the Byodo Temple. I am not really even sure why. It just draws me to it.

Andrea

Girasoli,

Have you ever done the Diamond Head hike? I am trying to decide if it is worth waking up extra early for. It sounds nice and close by, since I am staying in Waikiki. I assume there is a bus that goes there. Do you really need a tour to do it? I personally like doing tours for safety sake. I don't like to hike alone. However, it sounds like there will be so many other people hiking, I will never be alone regardless of whether or not I take a tour.

Andrea

Yes, I have often done the Diamond Head hike. It is one hike that is very safe to do alone. It is very "commercialized" now as much of it is even paved with handrails but it still is a fun hike. I think it takes about 30-45 mins max to get to the top unless you walk extremely slow. I used to do it as part of my work out. The views are great from the top. I am sure you could take the bus to get there. It is about a 5 minute drive from Waikiki. I am not sure why you would need to wake up early though to hike it. People hike it all day long. You could also go mid-afternoon if you wanted to avoid the strongest sun period of the day.

WOW, I just looked at this website where they are charging $25.00!! That is a HUGE ripoff for this hike. You could even take a taxi for less!

If you google "Diamond Head hike" and go to images, you will see quite a few pictures of the trail. That may help some.

Hi Everyone,

I just read the forecast for next Tuesday and its calling for rain (60%) Not too happy about that! Oh well...

Can anyone tell me...during this time of the year..Is it more typical to rain all day or just a periodic downpour?

Also, any tips on good indoor activities in Waikiki/honolulu would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Andrea

Hi Andrea,

I have been to the island 3 times in the past 18 months and usually when it rains on one part of the island it is sunny on another part!

I actually was there just two weeks ago and the weather was perfect! I heard they got cold weather right after I got home which was really strange.

While I was in Waikiki, I went to Cirque Hawaii and enjoyed it very much! It will keep you indoors for a couple hours!

Aloha!

We've been having strange "winter" weather just like the rest of the US although for us that has meant rain and heavy winds instead of snow. I would not trust a forecast a week away. It is hard enough to forecast the weather here a few days away as it is rarely accurate. We are all hoping for sunnier weather.