How should I spend 10 hours in Honolulu?
 

My last day in the Hawaiian Islands will consist of a 10:00 am flight from Kauai and about 10 hours to do as I please in Honolulu until my 10:35 pm flight back to the mainland.

Any suggestions for what to do there? I'd definitely love to go see the Arizona Memorial, anything else that would make sense?

you can fill those 10 hours (maybe less then 10 I guess) easily in and around USS Arizona Memorial.
Go first to the visitor center and take the numbered ticket which will show you at what time your FREE boat tour to USS Arizona will start, then, while waiting for that time, you can walk around to the museum and Remembrance Circle.

There is also a documentary film on the attack to Pearl Harbour before boarding the boat.

You can extend your visit to the Park with a ticket to the submarine Bowfin and then with a shuttle bus to the ship Missouri.

At the very end of the day, if weather is good, having had also your lunch and relaxing coffe breaks in the area you will not have so much additional time to go somewhere else in town !

have fun !

Here are three tours you can choose from:


1. Tour Chinatown & historic area of Honolulu & Aloha Tower. Also drive through Waikiki & Diamond Head Lookout. You can drive around Diamond Head and Drive into the crater if you want. Drive throught the tunnel and turn around just before the ticket booth. Add National Cemetery of the Pacific & Tantalus/Roundtop Drive. 4-5 hours


2. Mini-circle island tour.

Include driving through Honolulu historic area on S. King St past Iolani Palace. Drive through Waikiki.

Continue around the island stopping at Diamond Head Lookout.

Continue around island to Hanauma Bay (don't need to go to the visitor's center). You can get some excellent views from the steps and lookouts.

Continue to Halona Blowhole and Halona Cove (From Here to Eternity Beach) next to it.

Continue to Makapuu Pt. Lookout. Overlooks Manana (Rabbit) Island & Makapuu Beach.

Continue to Waimanalo Bay Recreation Area (Just past Waimanalo Beach.

Continue to Highway 61 (Pali Highway). Make a left onto Pali Highway. Take it back to Honolulu, stopping at Pali Lookout. 4-5 hours


3. Circle island tour. Take Pali Highway (61) across to Kaneohe. Stop at Pali Lookaout.

Continue to Kaneohe. Make a left onto Highway 83 to Kaneohe.

At the far side of Windward Mall, make a left. This will become Haiku Rd. Take Haiku Rd. across Kahekili Highway to Haiku Gardens. The botanical garden is just below Haleiwa Joe's Restaurant.

Go back to Kahekili Hwy. Turn left. Go about two miles. Turn left into Valley of the Temples (Byodo-In Temple).

Back to Kahekili Hwy. Continue around the island. In a mile or so Kahekili Hwy will end and intersect with Kamehameha Hwy. Continue around the island to Haleiwa.

Stops:

Kualoa Beach Park. Chinaman's Hat

In Laie, make a right at the stoplight. Go to Laie Pt.

Sunset Beach Park

Ehukai Beach Park (Banzai Pipeline)

Pupakea Beach Park (Shark's Cove)

Waimea Bay Beach Park

Laniakea Beach (Chun's Reef) About 1/2 way between Waimea Bay and Haleiwa. Look for parking on the opposite side of the road. Several sea turtles are here.

Just before Haleiwa, make a left onto the bypass to Honolulu. (Go through Haleiwa if you have more time). Take Highway 99 to Honolulu. Follow signs to Honolulu. You will pass Dole Pineapple Center. Stop there if you have time.

Continue to Honolulu. About a 5 hour tour.

The farthest you will ever be on any of the tours is about 1 hour from the airport so you could leave at any time.

10am is your arrival time in HNL or departure time from Kauai ?

You will not be at USS Arizona memorial before late morning and your boat tour will be even later, probably after lunch, according to how many people you will have ahead on line, then if you complete the visit with SS Missouri and Bowfin there is not much time left for driving ! 7pm dinner and 8pm back at airport !

Assuming that you really have a full 10 hours on Oahu, you can see quite a bit if you are up to it. If you land in Honolulu at 10:00, then I assume that you should be able to get out of the airport with a rental car by 11:00...and will need to return the rental by 9:00p to make your flight...so that's 10 hours.

I recommend doing a combination of the 2 circle tours that dusty posted.

I think that you should do the "mini-circle tour" in reverse order, adding the Byodo-In Temple and Haiku Gardens in between Pali Lookout and Waimanalo Bay (which to me is worth skipping if you can fit in the first two). It will require slight backtracking at the beginning, but it's really not much -- and certainly not a waste of time. I really didn't find the drive between Byodo-In Temple and the North Shore all that exciting...It is beautiful, but it's a long drive of the same thing. The North Shore and the town of Haleiwa also were nice, but not really what I expected. I found the best part of the island to be what I'm covering in this recommendation. If you were to look at a map of Oahu and draw a line from Pearl Harbor to the northern part of Kaneohe Bay, then everything to the right of that line is what I found the most beautiful, intriguing, memorable, and fun.

This would be my mini-tour recommendation (times are approximate guesses and really don't allow a lot of breathing time, but this fits in the best of the island, in my opinion):

9:30 - Pali Lookout (doesn't take very long and it's on your way anyway)
10:00 - Byodo-In Temple (cute little souvenir store across from the handicap ramp and probably the only souvenir store that you'll be so convenient to on this tour)
11:00 - Haiku Gardens (very close to Byodo-In Temple - about 2 miles)
11:15 - Lunch at Haleiwa Joe's (you will have parked here to walk down to Haiku Gardens anyway)
Noon - I recommend a drive through Kailua and a stop at Kailua beach and just driving through the Waimanalo area. If it interests you enough, then go ahead and stop, but I found that I just drove through. You can probably rush the next two stops a little more than I have planned anyway.
1:30 - Continue to Makapuu Pt. Lookout. Overlooks Rabbit Island & Makapuu Beach. There's a short hike towards a lighthouse in this area, I think.
2:30 - Halona Blowhole
3:30 - Hanauma Bay. If you want to snorkel, you may have enough time to spend a little time in the water here. You would have to go through the visitor center and go through a short video orientation, but the line moved VERY quickly when I was there.
5:30 - Diamond Head Lookout - Takes maybe 1.5 hours to do the hike up and back. The view is certainly worth it. You may need to check the sunset schedule for your day just to make sure you'll have daylight for this.
7:30 - Dinner somewhere on Waikiki beach.
9:00 - Drop off your rental and check-in at the airport.

The problem with going to Pearl Harbor is that you have no idea how long it will take for you to get on the boat tour. Getting there late in the morning will mean that you are wasting a lot of time waiting for your boat tour, in my opinion...when you could be out seeing Oahu. If history is your thing, though, then it may be worth it to you....Just depends on whether you like history over nature. There's no way that you could do both Pearl Harbor and any significant driving tour in the time you have. If you do choose Pearl Harbor, then once you leave there, I'd spend the rest of your time in Honolulu/Waikiki.

Have fun whatever you decide!

Aloha, KMG--It didn't sound like you planned to rent a car for that 10 hour period. IF you did, the tours are a good idea. But since,
you want to go to Pearl Harbor, and the Arizona Memorial (a MUST DO ) I agree with Fabio's advice. Just getting to the memorial, waiting for your number, going throgh the museum and gift shop there,seeing that remarkable documentary ( which brings tears, even after seeing ift five times) and the actual memorial, then walking to the Bowfin exhibit right next door, and the shuttle Missouri--will be a great way to spend your time. It means you can relax without having to feel time pressure, or the hassle of renting/returning a car. Personally, if I had those ten hours, that's what I'd do.

Again, assuming you do that, here's some info for you.
Not sure if there is a checked luggage area at HNL airport. You CANNOT bring bags into Arizona memorial, tho they do have a checked bag area set up there, usually with a long line of people.
There are shuttles from the airport directly to the Az Memorial, then back to the airport.

Reliable Shuttle o/from Arizona Memorial every hour going and every hour coming back(people can choose return time of their own and are not confined to a specific return time).    Tel: 1 808 924-9292
VIP Transportation offers shuttle services to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial    Tel: 1 808 836-0317

Or, you can take a public bus:(808) 848-4500 Customer Service
City Buses arrive approximately every 30 minutes depending on route number.
Fees: Adults $2.00
Senior Citizen (with Reduced Fare card or valid Medicare card) $1.00
Baggage Rules: No backpacks with metal frames allowed.  All bags must be able to be placed under the feet or on the lap without protruding into the aisle way.
No larger than 18"x24"x12"

 Bus Route No. 19:
Eastbound route goes from the airport, then to Kalihi Kai (via Nimitz Highway), downtown Honolulu, the Honolulu Civic Center, Ala Moana Shopping Center and ends in Waikiki.

Bus Route No. 20:
Eastbound route goes from the airport, then to Kalihi (via Nimitz Highway), downtown Honolulu, the Honolulu Civic Center, Ala Moana Shopping Center and ends in Waikiki.
Westbound route goes from the airport to the Arizona Memorial, Aloha Stadium, Aiea and ends at Pearlridge Shopping Center.

 OR you can take a taxi: AMPCO Express (808) 861-8294 . Not sure of cost, but might be worth it to maximize available time and minimize lines, waits, etc.
If find info about HNL left luggage, will poist it here.

Oops, more typos. Meant shuttle TO battleship Missouri.
I phoned visitor info for the airport in Hnl (808-836-6413) and, like many airports, they no longer have a left luggage area (security reasons). However, the man who answered recommended phoning your outgoing, mainland-bound airline to ask about it. Perhaps, if you are getting your luggage after the flight from Kauai to Hnl, you can check it in early on the airline that's taking you back home. OF course, if it is checked thru directly to your final destination, you won't have to handle it at your transfer point in Hnl, and this won't be a problem.

Thank you for the wonderful suggestions, everyone! I can't believe I just found this sight. You are all so very helpful!

I don't think we will rent a car since I'm sure our budget will be in the negative by the time we get back to Honolulu!

Thanks for checking into the luggage checking, Cali. I will give the airlines a call to see first, if I can check it straight through from my Kauai flight and secondly with checking it early on the mainland flight.

Again, thanks so much for all the helpful suggestions!

We just want to help you have a great time. Don't completely rule out renting a car though -- the cheapest car for a one day period should be no more than $20-$30. But, if it's Pearl Harbor that interests you most, and the luggage situation works out (if you go through the Agricultural inspection in Kauai, you should be able to check it all in Kauai and ask them to transport it to your second airline. Then, you won't have to claim it, go through agricultural inspection, and recheck it. Make sure that you have your final flight information with you.)

I'm not much of a history buff, so Pearl Harbor wasn't very exciting to me...but since that's truly your interest, then CaliNurse has provided you with adequate travel information that will alleviate the car rental issue.

Enjoy your short time on Oahu!!

Guess, I didn't really finish my sentence:

But, if it's Pearl Harbor that interests you most, and the luggage situation works out, then definitely do that!!

You will spend as much or more on busses, shuttles, taxis or whatever as you would renting a car.

So you may as well rent a car. It's not advisable to leave luggage in the trunk. But many people do and it is usually safe as long as you don't open the trunk when you get to the tourist areas.

This is true...I do agree that renting a car will be at least equitable in price and time when compared to public transportation...and more convenient and reliable. You should at least look into the car rental situation - even if you are just going to Pearl Harbor. Pickup and drop off at HNL is very easy and fast. And prices on Oahu tend to be very cheap compared to most other places. Just on a whim, I checked Hotwire for rates for a rental for this Saturday.
Prices are (all with unlimited mileage):
Economy $18.95
Compact $18.95
Mid-size $20.95
Standard $20.95
Full size $20.95
Premium $34.95
Convertible $50.95 (just for fun)

I still recommend trying to check all your luggage straight through from Kauai and just packing a daypack (or your carry-on) with items that you'll need throughout the day and on the return flight to the mainland.

Don't cut it too close getting back to the airport. Honolulu freeway traffic can get really snarled up. -aloha

There is no place to leave your bags at the airport, and you can't check them in with the airlines more than 6 hours prior to your flight. If you rent a car and are planning to drive to the Arizona Memorial, please see the following from their website:

http://www.nps.gov/usar/pphtml/planyourvisit.html

"Security measures are strictly enforced at all three visitor destinations on Pearl Harbor. Federal law enforcement officers and security bike patrols monitor the parking lots. However it is not recommended to secure items of value in your car. Be safe; do not travel with valuables and use the storage locker." (and remember that the storage locker will NOT accept suitcases).

((S))((*))