If we leave from the Outrigger Waikiki at 7:00 a.m., would it be reasonable for us to drive there, park, hike to the top, and be back to the hotel by 11:00 a.m. to check-out? This would be with 2 healthy adults and 2 teen boys, so we could keep a pretty good pace.

I wouldn't try to fit that in before check out. It's possible in that amount of time but you're not leaving anything to chance. Even if you hike at a good pace the trail is very steep and takes longer than you think.

We're hikers but still found ourselves stopping some on the way up to rest. Plus you want to enjoy the experience, take photos, look at the view. And many narrow parts of the trail (lots of steps) will have slower walkers in front of you.

Hi emmaandamber

I was in Oahu last March. We left the Halekulani Hotel at 6am, hiked Diamondhead (park opens at 6am), watched sunrise and was back to the hotel with plenty of time to eat breakfast and check out by 10:30am. But this is two 30-somethings who usually go at hikes at pretty fast paces.

But I am not sure how far your hotel is from Diamondhead (I'd have to look at a map). Our hotel was rather close which made it fairly easy. Plus there wasn't much traffic at 6am-ish.

if it were me, I'd try to get there by 6 or 630 am to beat the heat and the crowds. I think it will take you about 10 to 15 minutes to get there from your hotel, if that.

The hike can get pretty hot since there's basically no shade, so you'd need to factor in time for you all to get back to your room and shower before checking out, too.

My husband and I (forty-somethings) did this hike on a four and a half hour layover in Honolulu, including renting a car at the airport. I don't remember how much time the hike took, but it wasn't over an hour. We hustled up, took some photos at the top, then hustled back to our car. We did wind up with enough time for lunch and we even got on an earlier interisland flight on standby. We did this in July 2003. We were hot and sweaty and had to change our clothes at the airport. It's doable if you don't mind doing it quickly. We thought it was fun.

You can do it! It took us about 40mins to hike to the top and back. We had an 11am flight to catch to the Big Island and we managed to fit in a quick shower before checking out of the hotel!
We arrived at Diamond Head at 7am and we met several hikers on their way down so it's definitely under an hour to the top and back for the majority. It was Thanksgiving morning and there were lots of people around including regular hikers and fully madeup Japanese tourists in delicate spiky heels!
We're a family with a teenage boy and an 8 yr daughter and she's not a great hiker so you should have no problems!

Yes -- but my favorite hotel in all of Hawaii (OW) will asuredly give you a late check out if you need just an extra hour. At a fast pace its less than a 30 minute climb. Driving fron the OW to the DH parking lot on Monsarratt is perhaps 10 minutes ("behind" Diamond Head). If you can't get a late check out -- the OW has changing rooms with showers and baggage check for departing guests. [I agree with the more adventurous responses.]

Take a big bottle of water with you, easy walk, nice view, stairs not so nice

So, if you're not a regular hiker...should you skip this and save for some other time if you're in Honolulu just for the weekend?

Thoughts?

skater, definitely hike to the top of Diamond Head. It's worth it, for sure. Doesn't take long.

iceeu,

should I assume that I don't need hiking boots? We are not in the best shape, but I'm willing to give it a try.

Thinking that we could do this early Saturday morning since we will likely wake up before the crack of dawn. We could then head back to the hotel and change clothes before our self-driven Island circle tour.

You definitely want to wear shoes with a good sturdy (non-skid) sole and ankle support if possible. I've done this climb many times and have always managed to slip or trip at least once each time!

skater, I think we just wore our Keen's h2's when we did Diamond Head. I don't remember wearing hiking boots. Tennis shoes would be fine. Now, you do see all kinds of footwear..flip flops,etc. If I'm remembering correctly, it is all paved. Steps...lots and lots of steps.

I did it in less than an hour, and no one would mistake me for an athlete. Just start early to avoid the worst of the sun, bring water, and stop to enjoy the view.

For an experienced hiker, Diamond Head is a very average hike. Not hard to do in two hours round trip assuming you get there early enough to secure a parking spot without a wait. I'm not a regular or experienced hiker at all (although I'm in good physical shape, regular exercise) and I hiked it fairly quickly in December. The views from the top are terrific - well worth the time to hike it, although the hike itself wasn't much to write home about.

We did it last year as 70-yr-olds, and it took us a little longer than our kids. In fact, a young woman passed us on the way down, turned around and came back, and said, "I just want to tell you all how much I admire you for doing this." I jokingly said to my husband that it's bad enough to get old without having some youngster congratulate us on it. (We are in good health.)

We wore athletic shoes and were fine, but the path isn't paved.

hi:

I wasn't particularly impressed with Diamond Head. The views at the top were nice, but the hike itself was dusty, hot and kind of annoying. I like the paved road out to the lighthouse much better. It is totally doable in that time as long as you are packed and ready to go.
Kristen

Oh, certainly you can do it. That's plenty of time, and I am NO athlete, believe me!