Oahu 1-Day Plan - Please help with Itinerary
 

Hi,

I am planning a HI trip in September. We will be in Honolulu for 2 days and 2 nights (coming from NYC). I had planned the first day to relax on Waikiki Beach and explore the area. (My sister and her husband will arrive that day, so I don't want to plan any tours that day.)

The following day we leave for Maui at 7:15 p.m. in the evening. We are going to Pearl Harbor and the AZ Memorial EARLY in the morning. Afterwards, I thought about driving the North Shore, etc., before going
on to the airport for about 5:30 p.m. (We will check out of the hotel early, and store luggage in our trunk.)

Can anyone suggest a good itinerary? Please suggest sights to see, etc. that would fit into our time frame.

Additionally, how is the driving - are we better off just booking a day tour through a company?

Thanks in advance,
Chels

Chels: If you do much reading on this subject you will see that the people with the most experience strongly advise AGAINST leaving luggage in your trunk while at Pearl Harbor, or anywhere else for that matter!

Our hotel had a hospitality room they allowed us to freshen up in after our excursion and before our flight, even though we had checked out. They held our bags also.

The driving is hectic! Crowded & alot of one way streets.

For that amount of time, if I wasn't going far, I'd use the Bus or a taxi, or do a tour. Robert's is supposed to be a good tour group.

Belle

You can do a circle island tour which includes the north shore. This will take around 4-5 hours.

From Arizona Memorial Parking lot, make a right on Kamehameha Hwy. Go a couple of miles and take the H-1 east entrance. I think it will be from the left lane.

Take H-1 toward Honolulu. Take Pali Hwy exit. Take Pali Hwy to Kaneohe. Stop at Pali Lookout. Continue toward Kaneohe (sign may say Kailua).

After the tunnels, stay in the left lane. Turn left on Hwy 83 to Kaneohe. In Kaneohe, make a left on Likelike Hwy 63. Go a few blocks, make a right on Kahekili Hwy.

After a couple of miles, Valley of the Temples (Byodo-In Temple) will be on the left. Stop there.

Get back on Kahekili Hwy. It will end when it intersects with Kamehameha Hwy. Continue around the island on the Highway.

When you get to Haleiwa, follow signs that direct you back to Honolulu.

After Wahiawa the highway should turn into H-2. Continue on H-2 to H-1. Take H-1 East toward Honolulu. It will take you right to the airport. Once you get closer to Honolulu, the traffic will begin to pick up around 3pm. It won't be bad going in this direction toward town, but, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time.

Here is a site with an excellent map of the circle island drive that you can download for free.

www.discoveringhawaii.com

Click on 'Oahu Circle Isl Drive5.pdf'. You can also download the 'P88OahuMovieDrive2003.pdf'.

Besides the stops listed on their map, you can stop at Macadamia Nut Farm. This is just past Kualoa Park.

Also Laie Point. Turn right at stop light after passing Polynesian Cultural Center. Laie Point is only a few blocks from the highway.

When you get to north shore beaches, Banzai Pipeline is at Ehukai Beach Park.

Shark's Cove is one of the next beaches. It is scenic.

Waimea Bay Beach Park is scenic.

About 1/2 way between Waimea Bay and Haleiwa, Chun's Reef has sea turtles. Look for cars parked on the opposite (left) side of the road.

Here is another suggestion:

After Arizona Memorial, go to National Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl). While there, go to the lookout that overlooks Honolulu.

From there you can do what is called a mini-circle island drive (or windward tour). This is one of the most scenic areas on Oahu.

From Punchbowl, get on H-I East and continue on the same road when the freeway ends (Kalaniana'ole Hwy).

This would be along the coast and include Hanauma Bay, Halona Blowhole, Makapuu lookout and coming back across Pali Highway, stopping at Pali Lookout. Then back toward Honolulu.

You can go into the Haunama Bay parking lot and go to the visitors center. Without going into the center, go to the left and follow the steps upward to some nice lookouts of the Bay. $1 for parking. Will be closed on Tuesdays and if the parking lot is full. But you may talk the guard into letting you in to take pictures.

Halona Cove (to the right from Halona Blowhole parking) is also called 'From Here To Eternity Beach' because of a scene from the movie shot there.

Have never rented a car in Oahu (from Waikiki). Oahu has the best bus system in the USA. You can use it to make your own circle island tour, or just take it to the Dole Plantation and the North Shore and back.

I did find booking a shuttle from the Hotel to the Memorial easiest and you can do this through the hotel you are at.

Booking a circle island tour may take too long. Our first trip we did this and enjoyed very much but it really seemed to be all day. Maybe I don't remember a smaller, partial tour?

If you do this, check passenger capacity. We were on a small bus tour, maximum 24 people, much more personalized.

Good luck!

That is going to be one busy day!

I don't think you could do the circle tour on The Bus only because of the limited amount of time. Even getting to the North Shore from Honolulu, which I understand you can drive in 45 mins. or so, I was told would take a couple hours on The Bus because of all the stops along the way.

Another caution about luggage in the trunk while touring. Read any guidebook and this is strongly urged against, especially when parked at tourist places, because of possible thefts.

I think renting a car is a good idea. Yes, OldSouthernBelle is right in that there's lots of traffic and congested streets IF you're going to be driving around Waikiki and maybe parts of Honolulu, but if you're going to be venturing outside of there and checking out the rest of the island, then I don't think using a car is a problem. Yes, there are people who don't like leaving stuff in their trunk, but I don't think it will be a problem. We've never had a problem, so I guess it's just a chance you would take. Dusty has some good recommendations for things to see on the other side of the island. We always enjoy the Pali Lookout and Kailua Beach.

Thanks for the responses. We have taken care of the luggage issue, and we will follow some of your suggestions for touring outside of Honolulu. We should have a nice amount of time if we follow our plan of going to Pearl Harbor early in the morning.

Thanks again,
Chels