Hi, going to Oahu for 2 1/2 days, after that heading to Cook Islands.

We will be staying at the Pacific Beach hotel, love the oceanarium, and relatively inexpensive for oceanview accomodations.

So far from what I have read there is a bunch of things that we would like to see...

Day 1--
Diamond Head--sunrise
Hanauma Bay, Sandy Beach, Makapuu lighthouse
Ulupo Heiau
Byodo-In Temple


Day 2
Pali Lookout--sunrise
Kualoa Ranch---Jusrassic Park
Sunset beach, banzai pipeline, waimea falls,
on to Makaha caves--snorkeling???
Barber's Point Lighthouse

Day 3
USS Arizona
Chinatown--time permitting

Is this feasible, or am I kidding myself---fyi--we will not be swimming--except maybe snorkel in Hanauma bay day 1, and Makaha caves on day 2. Mostly want to see nature, photograph some things, and enjoy the little time we have there.

As far as the Polynesian culture center, have been to the french polynesian islands, going to cooks--I don't see the need.

Would appreciate recommendations for lu'au and any upscale--not snobbish lounges/bar for one of the evenings?
W hotels seems to be nice???

Maggy, I personally would not be able to get all these things done in 2 1/2 days. I would prioritize and do the most important things first each day. This may be obvious, but even on the freeway you will be driving slower than people drive on the mainland.

With your travel experience I wouldn't think you will miss the Poly. Cult. Ctr at all.

The Banyan Verandah at the Moana Hotel is my favorite place for a drink. Beautiful outdoor setting right on the beach. Have a great trip--

If you make Haunuma by 8am you should be okay.

Day two you may not make the lighthouse.

Paradise Cove Luau. I guess the bar depends on what you are looking for because Duke's is fun and casual. Zanibar is more dancing. Espirt would be a mix.

Thanks Aloha for the reply--

Wondering if anyone has information on Makaha caves, is it open in the summer(will be going in a couple of weeks), and is it worth going to?

What about the Kualoa Ranch--worth seeing or better views already mentioned?

Thanks islandmom for your reply also.

Day two is way too busy a schedule. Just to get up to Waimea is a 40-50 mile journey in itself from Waikiki.
You CANNOT drive to the Waianae coast from the north shore via Mokuleia, the road is 4x4 high clearance vehicle only and no longer connects all the way through anyways, as it's a nature preserve (good place for a day hike, or mountain biking though). That means you have to swing around down the island, and back up to Waianae -- 40 miles away from Haleiwa. Then, from Waianae on back to Waikiki is another 40 miles back.

This sounds like far too much to do in the time that you have. I think this pace may leave you rushing from place to place and spending more time in the car than actually doing any of the activities.

You will want to reach Hanauma Bay early as parking fills up very quickly. It is possible to spend an entire day here - the snorkeling is wonderful. Anyhow, I'd suggest cutting 2-3 activites per day out of your itinerary to make things more manageable. Personally, I'd cut the following (everything is good - but at some point you have to prioritize): Byodo-In Temple, Kualoa Ranch, Waimea Falls (just go to the beach at Waimea Bay - no sense in paying to visit these falls), Barber's Point, Chinatown. Additionally, the ordering and driving routes for your plans as they stand now are likely to add considerable driving distance and time.

If you want to see a great waterfall and make a short hike then a trip to Manoa Falls (close to downtown) is great - takes maybe 30 minutes hiking to reach the falls, very pretty, and almost always with good water volume due to its location.

I don't think I've done the Makaha caves, where is that?

The ranch is okay, but with limited time I would cross it off.

More info on Makaha caves can be found at the following:

http://travel.yahoo.com/p/travelguide/591074

I will have to scratch that off the list---I would hate to just spend an hour and have to go so quickly with so much to see there underwater.

Oh yes, been swimming there. Doesn't go well with my fear of big creatures.

You could snorkel at shark's cove while on the north shore.

Thanks for the replies so far, I believe that we will probably have to cut out several things in order to enjoy our little time there, and not get stressed out.

So I will not be going to Kualoa Ranch, Makaha caves, Barber's lighthouse, Ulupo Heiau or to Chinatown. I do however want to see the Byodo-In Temple, not so much to explore it, but rather to have as a nice picture setting.

Is there any other must-sees that I have not listed that are worth getting stressed out about?

As someone who spent two hours in May with my parents looking for that doggone lighthouse I think you made the right choice. By the way it's right next to Germaine's Luau.

Is that the Temple Valley temple?

A bar I have been wanting to check out is Indigo Lounge. Or maybe Aquas.

Maggyfe, since most people have answered the bulk of your question I'll skip to the bottom. I have often considered the W to be "where the beautiful people are." Although I guess you could go before 9 PM to avoid cover charge and any intimidating beautiful people. Then again, my friend visiting from Paris 2 months ago reported, "eeeh, the people were not so beautiful."

Indigo is pretty good, but super crowded on Wednesday/Friday evenings. It is a little hard to find if you are a tourist, so I rarely see tourists there.

Another popular place in Waikiki is Duke's. For a nice view, you could go to Aaron's, which is at the top of the Ala Moana Hotel. They have yummy upscale food and I thought the bartenders were earthy and old fashioned (I mean that in a good way!).

I would cut something out to put in Iolani Palace, personally I would skip Arizona Memorial for this. When are you going to get chance to learn about the overthrough of the Hawaiian Monarchy right inside the Queens quarters? Just a thought. I can't think of a place to be closer to Hawaiian history on the island.

Also Makaha is nice but you do have to be very mindful of crime. My favorite beach Makua (sp) is over there. We had our locks picked on just about every trip, sometimes on the beach, sometimes in the grocery store when we were popping in for cookies.

Thanks to all for the responses, we will be leaving next weekend, and this should help very much.

Just returned from Oahu last night. The Hanauma Bay parking lot was filled by 9am both mornings we drove by. Also, the trip to the North Shore took us exactly 1 hour from our hotel in Waikiki. I did hear Shark Cove is good snorkling. Sunset Beach was very nice because it wasn't crowded at all. I guess when there are big waves in the winter it draws a crowd. We bought the Twilight Package for PCC and that was good for us. We had time to walk around before the luau. Hope this helped.

Thanks Kim for your report. What is PCC--twilight package?