Is Kaneohe Bay and the hills above it a good location for a week long stay in Oahu? Appears centrally located, but is overlooked in guidebooks - is that with good reason? Advice please?

There are no beaches nearby and it is ofen cloudy in Kaneohe. If that's not important to you, you are right in thinking it is a central location. To me, it is a typical suburban area with tract houses, a shopping mall, fast food places, etc. The Byodo-in-temple is nearby, but otherwise no tourist attractions. If the place I was staying had a pool and a view of the bay, I would consider staying there.

I love the east side of Oahu. I would go a little further south to Kailua/Lanikai and stay there. You could stay in Kanehoe but would have to drive to beaches. It is a quiet peaceful side of the island but more residential. I have stayed at the Kanehoe Marine Corp base and it was wonderful!

I agree with the others. Nearby Kailua would be better because of the beach there.

But, if you can get a good deal, nothing wrong with Kaneohe either.

The island is small enough that no location is bad.

If you ahve a good deal and are happy with the accomodation then go for it. Maybe the guidebooks are focusing more on the trendy and well kown places or soemthing.

As far as driving is concerned I loved driving the eastside and nothing is very far away so don;t worry about a convenient location. The most you'll have to drive is 1 1/2 hours wwhich is nothing

We lived in Kaneohe for three years; it's great on the windward side, and with the new H-3 freeway getting to Pearl Harbor area is a breeze.

It is suburban, with all the services therein, and if you get a view of the bay, that will be lovely. But you do need to drive to the beaches, maybe 15'. I strongly endorse the suggestion to get a place in Lanikai or Kailua if you can get a place near the beach, but it will likely be much more $$$ than Kaneohe.

Keds, if this is your first trip to Oahu, you may want to re-evaluate staying in Kaneohe. It's a nice place to live (being rural) but it's quite a bit away from all the sights & activities. It's not really "centrally located" as you describe. Central would be in Metro Honolulu.

I guess what I meant by central was easy access towards both the north shore of the island and the city. I really can't find of anything in Kailua/Lanikai that's air conditioned or right on the beach that's not a studio(don't want)or a 4-6 bedroom deal which would be silly with it being just the two of us. Isn't the bay suppose to be great with people kayaking to the sandbars?

What I meant by central was easy access to both the north shore of the island and the city. I figured since it will be our first time visiting Oahu we'd be driving to many different beaches throughout the week. But isn't Kaneohe Bay suppose to be quite nice with people kayaking to the sandbars?

Kaneohe is centrally located. H-1, Likelike Highway and Pali Highway all go from Kaneohe to Honolulu.

It is not a bad place to stay.

People do kayak to the sandbar at low tide. Some party on the sandbar there. But that is way overated as you can kayak many places on Oahu.

My daughter & her family lived in Kaneohe for a few years. I liked it there because it is centrally located. But we did have to drive to get anywhere.

sorry to hijack this thread but a ? to dusty

if i only had time to kayak either Kanoehe Bay or Kailua, which would be better?

that opening photo in Oahu Revealed with the kayaker out in the sandbars of Kanoehe Bay with the Koolau mountains serving as a majestic backdrop was so captivating that i wanted to recreate that image

but kayaking to the islands off Kailua Beach seems breathtaking as well

The islands off of Kailua Beach are not as easy to get to or as close as it seems for the average person who does not regularly kayak or paddle.

Often there's a good breeze and current actually pushing you in the reverse direction.

If you do make it to one of the islands, be very careful. The waves and surge against the rocks can be very powerful - several people have drowned there.

Either place would be good to kayak.

Chepar is right. You do have to be careful trying to kayak to the islands.

Kaneohe Bay would be safer.

Thank you to all who replied. Found a place in Kailua that has a path to the the beach. Hopefully we'll be able kayak the Kaneohe Bay one day too. As our trip approaches I'm sure I'll have lots more questions about Oahu. I really appreciate all the advice.

I think there are quite a few B&B's in Kaneohe and Kailua. Most guidebooks of HI seem to fucus on resorts, hotels and condo's.

I absolutely agree about caution in going out to the islands off Kailua/Lanikai. I went on a catamaran with a friend and although a strong swimmer almost got pulled away in the tides myself from Rabbit Island.

That said -- closer to shore, and in the bay, are some lovely spots.

Also be advised that especially in certain times of year the windward side gets more portugese -man-of-wars (men of war?!) if you will be swimming or boogie-boarding.

But it's beautiful there, the water is warm, and you can have a blast! Just use some care & you will have a fantastic trip. Please file a report!