Long layover in Honolulu
 

We are flying from Auckland to JFK and have a 6-1/2 hour layover in Honolulu. Any suggestions for something to do while we're there? I don't know if there is enough time to leave the airport or not.

Yes that's enough time (assuming your luggage is checked thru and you won't have to deal with that?)

I would just take a taxi into Waikiki. Depending time of day have a meal (lunch, dinner, happy hour?) and take a walk on the beach and around the central area.

Take that 6-1/2 hours, subtract 30 mins for getting off the plane and out of the airport and assume you need to be back 90 mins to 2 hrs for your next flight, that leaves 4 hrs. It's less than 30 mins to and from Waikiki by taxi. So now you've got 3 hrs. Definitely enough for a nice meal with an ocean view and a little bit of sightseeing.

I think that is plenty of time - but you'd probably want to factor in time for customs and immigration too, so you probably only have a good 2-3 hours to spend excluding transportation time. What time of the day will you be there? Will you have some carry on luggage with you? (I dont' know if there are locker services at the airport). Maybe you can take a cab to the Ala Moana Mall and walk around there? Although it can be about a 35 minute ride there, give or take with traffic, maybe more. Or maybe schedule a car service ahead of time to ensure you have a ride to and from the airport at designated times.

Another option is maybe to have a meal - Nico's Fish Market is not too far from the airport and has great reviews. It's counter service during the day so you'll probably be able to eat quickly and check out some of the stuff in their market and maybe grab a meal to-go for the flight to NYC. Is NYC your final destination? It's my hometown!

I disagree about pre-arranging transportation. In my experience there is no way quicker than simply exiting the airport and going to the waiting taxi line up outside.

I would just take a taxi into Waikiki. Depending time of day have a meal (lunch, dinner, happy hour?) and take a walk on the beach and around the central area.

Ala Moana Beach Park has a great beach and a nice park but no place to buy food for lunch - bummer It is not Waikiki beach but IMHO much better beach but if you are looking for activity then def. go into Waikiki area for that short amount of time. Good to walk around when you have either just come from a long flight or are going on one.

Thanks, everyone. We arrive in HNL at 9:45am, leave at 4:20pm so think there is enough time to wander around a bit!

Absolutely! Often when people post a similar question they only have 3 hours or so, which is not enough to leave the airport imo. 6-1/2 is plenty!!