What are the key places I should visit? Where should I eat? What should I see on the North Shore?

I'd suggest a search on Oahu in this form. Dusty has posted a lot of suggestions and links on Oahu.

Pearl Harbor, Bishop Museum, Iolani Palace, Chinatown, Hanuama Bay.

Do you have sa specific question about places to eat? If you say your budget or what kind of thing you want might help us answer (cheap, fancy, luau, local, etc.).

With 3 days I would probably not make it up to the North Shore myself. Will you have a car?

The Arizona Memorial should definatly be a "don't miss." The North Shore is another place I would put high on my list. It's so beautiful. You can visit the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Dole Pineapple Plantation and the beautiful beaches.

Lots to do on Oahu:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34812564

We spent two and a half days on Oahu ourselves for our honeymoon last June. The day we arrived (around 1pm) we just relaxed on Waikiki Beach. The second day we got up early, went to Pearl Harbor Memorial, toured the Bowfin and Missouri and then drove around the island for a quick overview. The next day we got up and tried to get into Haunauma Bay, but couldn't (it was full). Instead we swam at Lanikai Beach (highly recommend that one) and toured around the island a bit more. There's a lot to see and do on Oahu, we plan on going back for a full week next year.

Hanama Bay is great for snorkling, but go early in the morning before the water gets mirky and the place fills up. The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in Honolulu was nice for dinner (if you liked the Forrest Gump movie).

You can do a nice tour of the island if you leave early from Waikiki, heading east towards Hanama Bay. Leave there around lunch time and keep heading around the island. It is a beautiful road and spectacular scenery. You will end up at the North Shore and then can cut right down the center of the island back to Waikiki/Honolulu. We also ate at the "Shore Bird", which I highly recommend. It had a spectacular view of Diamond Head from the open air dining room, and was memorable because of the way the food is prepared. When you order steak or chicken or fish, they bring it raw. Then you go over to a large BBQ where about 15 others are grilling their own entrees also and cook it your self - with the ocean breezes fanning you, about 15 feet from the water with diamond head in the background. This was one of the highlights of our trip.

The Dole Plantation was nice if you like plants (which I do) but some might think it a waste of time. If you go, get a snack of the pineapple sundae (fresh pineapple with pineapple/mango icecream). It was like a tropical explosion in our mouths!

We didn't get to see the Arizona because we didn't get there early enough in the day. It opened at 9:30 so we arrived at 9:00 - only to find hundreds of people in line. So, if you want to go there, go really early so you aren't disappointed.

"We didn't get to see the Arizona because we didn't get there early enough in the day. It opened at 9:30 so we arrived at 9:00 - only to find hundreds of people in line. So, if you want to go there, go really early so you aren't disappointed."

Don't let a long line scare you off.

They have about 4 tours per hour. Each tour has 150 people on it. 150 people fit into the theatre and on the ferry.

So even if the line is a couple hundred, it is not that long.

Hi Karina, you've been posting for a few months now so you should know how to do a search. If you just plug in "North Shore Oahu" in the search box, you'll get a ton of information, even stuff not relating to the North Shore, such as:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34805505

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34775575

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34779587

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34770316

So you picked Hawaii over the Caribbean?