Oahu, HI - A 3 Day Guide to the Island
If you’re planning a trip to Oahu, HI - read more!! I’m sharing some of the fun experiences we had, places we ate, things we saw and so much more on this post! This is just a small glimpse into our entire 12 day trip! To read about our entire 12 day trip, check out THIS blog post!
OAHU
Day 1— fly into Oahu. We took a 10 hour flight from Charlotte, North Carolina and were pretty tired when we arrived around 4pm, but we were so excited to be there.
We went during the Covid Restrictions and once we got off the plane we were ushered into a line to check our Travel Hawaii account. Even now, you will need to make an account with Travel.Hawaii.gov— you can click here for their website. Here you will find an up to date resource of all the requirements to enter Hawaii now.
Our experience required a Negative PCR Covid test from a Trusted Testing and Travel partner. Walgreens and CVS are included in this and offer FREE testing. We tested with Walgreens and CVS throughout our time in Hawaii and were able to receive results within 72 hours for all 4 of our tests. Your negative covid test MUST be back before your flight leaves the mainland for Hawaii.
You can make an appointment with Walgreens here. Make sure to do so at least 3 days prior to when you want to schedule the test to ensure appointment availability.
You can make an appointment with CVS here. Make sure to do so at least 3 days prior to when you want to schedule the test to ensure appointment availability.
Once you arrive, they will ask for your QR code— you will receive this via email once you complete the Travel Hawaii portal, you will also present your license or another form of ID. They verify all your documents and you are good to go. This is not something you can bypass— even if you somehow slip past them, you will have to show your Travel Hawaii account to check into a hotel, rent a car, go on excursions and to eat in some restaurants.
We took an Uber from the airport— there are plenty available and reasonably priced, to our hotel. We stayed at Ala Moana Honolulu by Mantra located just outside of the true Waikiki area. It was about a 5 minute drive to downtown Waikiki which is where most everything is located.
We grabbed dinner at Hideout at Laylow— you can make reservations here. They offer live entertainment nightly, artisanal cocktails and craft beers aplenty all within the best atmosphere.
This was a great place to come to on the first night— calm, beautiful, excellent food and sorta low key, but in a good way.
Day 2— We woke up pretty early, and got ready for a full day of activities. First things first pick up the rental car from Cheap Rent a Car. This was $99 per day and not only one of the only options we could find with availability, but not a bad price. The rental car market in Hawaii is HOT so be sure to make reservations early to ensure you have a car.
From there we were off— we did our drive thru Covid Test at Walgreens and set out to our first destination. We had planned out a small loop near Oahu but fair warning, it takes about 30-45 minutes to get anywhere due to the traffic!
Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden was our first stop and it was so beautiful. You can drive or stroll through these incredible lush gardens with mountains in the back ground! There is an iconic picture spot on the road you drive in on, unfortunately you are not allowed to stop or get out of your car at this time. There is a guard at the beginning of the road and police regularly drive thru. We did get incredible shots in other places though! Admission is FREE and the gardens are open daily from 9am-4pm.
Up next we drove to Byodo-In Temple near by! This is another incredible destination with a lot of history. It was established on June 7, 1968, to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The Byodo-In Temple in O'ahu is a smaller-scale replica of the over 950-year-old Byodo-in Temple, a United Nations World Heritage Site in Uji, Japan. It costs $5 to enter here and is open 8:30am-5pm daily. You can buy tickets at the door.
After an amazing first two stops we grabbed our first acai bowl of the trip at Lanikai Juice— it was everything I was dreaming of and more!
We had a quick outfit change in Target and set out to hike the iconic Pill Box Hike! This hike is a moderate hike due to the steep elevation gain but the views are so incredibly worth it! I use Alltrails to scope out trails before I leave as you can often find recent trail conditions listed. You can find that here. It is a 1.8 mile trail, but 649 feet in elevation gain! We went in the late afternoon and it was perfect timing!
The trail overlooks Lanikai Beach— one of the best rated beaches in the world. You will need to park on the street and walk up to the tail head. There were plenty of signs. This trail features “pillboxes” that were originally used by the military. You can climb on top of them and even go inside if you’re brave!
We then walked down to hangout on Lanikai Beach for a little bit. There is public access all along the residental road and we brought towels to lounge on. You do not want to miss this crystal clear beach that draws people in for activities such as paddle boarding, kayaking, swimming and more!
If you’re feeling up for it you can grab a drink at the Edge of Waikiki before dinner. This is located back downtown at the Sheraton Waikiki with an infinity pool overlooking the beach.
For dinner we kept it casual since we had a jammed packed day. We got Marukame Udon Waikiki— these are the famed Udon Noodles and there is always a line around the corner for this place. You can order online and pick up to avoid the line. Highly recommend checking them out while you are in town— they are made to order and authentic! You can see their instagram here.
Day 3— We started our morning with Sunrise Shack for açaí bowls. OMG these are incredible. I had the Blue Dream Bowl and it was so so good. You will find this inside the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort. They also have an authentic ‘shack’ on the North Shore, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to make it out there.
Next up we set out to hike Makapu’u Light House Trail. We originally were going to hike Diamond Head Crater but they are closed on Wednesdays! So never the less, we found an incredible trail. The trail at Makapu’u Lighthouse is paved which is a plus! But the main attraction here is the tide pools you can hike down to. Technically they are closed but most people on the trail go down.
To see the tidepools you will hike almost until the end of the trail, where you will see a sign on the right side of the trail with a warning sign. This is where you start to descend down the mountain. There are white paint markers on the rocks to help guide you down. Once down there it is incredible sights! Waves crashing on the rocks— one thing you can do to be safe is check the tide reports. We were told by other hikers it was generally safe there until 10/11am that day. This changes often and you can check the tide reports here.
The hike is 2.5 miles, and paved unless you go down to the tide pools. There is a parking lot at the trail head, but it often fills up early with overflow parking on the street. You can snorkel in the pools and beware there are sea urchins so you need shoes to wear in the water!
Next up we stopped in Halona Blowhole Lookout— you can go down here and lounge on the beach and even swim in the water, but it looks a bit rough. We just stopped in to see the lookout.
We were dreaming of snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. You will need a reservation to enter here, which we didn’t know so we were unable to go. To ensure you can go here is what you need to know— they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. You will need a reservation which can be made here. The entrance fee is $25 per person and parking is $3 for visitors. Hawaii residents, active military or children 12 and under can enter for free.
We finished the afternoon on the famed Waikiki Beach and even got a sweet treat at Lappert’s Hawaii for an afternoon scoop of ice cream! So good! There is free public parking for Waikiki Beach you can navigate here with maps.
We couldn’t leave without going to a traditional luau! We decided on Chief’s Luau as they had incredible reviews. I will say, it was a bit cheesy, but I am glad we went. They offer 2 packages, we went with the cheaper— the Paradise Experience which included unlimited food, 2 drinks, and a lei upon arrival for $155. Personally, I don’t see a need to do the more expensive one. The show is great offering dances from all Polynesian Islands and history. It ends with fire dancing. In addition they offer round trip transportation to Waikiki for $40 which is a plus. It is located about an hour outside of the downtown area.
Our Covid Test finally came back while we were at the luau and we were cleared to go to Kauai in the morning!!! We got home and pack our bags!
