need oahu hotel/itinerary for 2 days
 

We will be getting into Honolulu at 10pm and will have 2 full days before departing for Kauai. Need a good mid range hotel that has room for 2 adults and 2 kids (14/11) Will be more sightseeing in oahu and than the beach. Will be there Sat/Sun in August. What is the best itinerary to cover Pearl Harbor, Haunama bay, diamond head? Rent a car or use tours? Thanks

Rent a car on Oahu.

Lots of info including a couple of driving tours:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34812564

Suggest reading other trip reports - dusty and others have great info we used a lot. Make sure to get to Pearl Harbor EARLY - we got a little lost (ended up on base!) and when arrived 30 minutes later than opening, waited at least 2 hrs for timed tour. (By 11:30 all tours booked for day when we were there so some I'm sure waiting more than 2 hrs.) Bought audio tour ($5 each) which I highly recommend for the museum and used those to stay busy. I suspect others went to the Bowfin ?? next door prior to their tour, but we were pooped and too jet lagged to go afterwards. NP ranger gave us direction to local plate lunch place and enjoyed that. Diamond Head is going to be hot in Aug. so again recommend hiking early and need to also arrive early for Haunama Bay since parking lot fills and park closes and more people = more sand in water and less visiblity w/ snorkeling. Maybe drive to Diamond Head afternoon after Pearl Harbor if you don't plan to hike. Pack a picnic for Haunama Bay. We stayed at the Outrigger on Waikiki Beach more for my boys than me - Internat'l Market directly across st., construction going on summer '07 but didn't bother us, Duke's restaurant in hotel, surfing lessons on beach, rm plenty big for 3 big boys and mom. Also w/ a car, you can plan your family time. Ck our Leonard's Bakery for massados (sp??), rented snorkeling equipment for Haunama Bay near there prior day. Never made it to Punchbowl Cemetery, but another drive maybe home from Pearl Harbor. Enjoy!

Depends your interests. Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace to learn more about Hawaii. Surf lessons on Waikiki beach. With 2 days and 4 people I'd get a rental car.

Definitely rent a car, in advance, especially for a weekend. They run out. I'm partial to the Waikiki Joy on Lewers st. It's a few blocks from the beach, but the place is clean and bright, and there are some mini-suites that can sleep 4. They run around $150,maybe a bit more now. But it's still a deal. The Waikiki beach is very disappointing--narrow, with rocks in the water, and masses of tourists. You can rent snorkel gear at Snorkel Bob on one island and return it on another, and we had a good experience with their stuff a few years ago. I'd spend time seeing the stuff on Oahu you can't see on Kauai--Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head especially. You can hike inside the DH crater. Great views from the top.Maybe not good for kids, though. Pearl Harbor is a must. A great experience. If I had to skip something, I'd skip Hanauma Bay because the snorkeling is wonderful on Kauai, esp. north shore beaches, and you won't have the aggravation of crowds on Kauai.