13 Things to Do in Hawaii (2024) | From a Local Resident | OAHU

Mahalo to Hawai activities.com for sponsoring this [Music] video 13 things to do in Hawaii let's get into it this video is part of an itinery ideas series for aahu so if you're flying to Honolulu you'll be flying to the island of aahu you can also head to yes hawaii.com for even more Hawaii content places to eat where to stay and things to do and if you'd like some done for you itineraries check out the links in the description box below for some itineraries I've made just for you guys now let's get into it number one and this is of course the most obvious one relax and enjoy the beach there are a lot of nice beaches on aahu and I know it's an unpopular opinion but Wy Beach is actually pretty nice now before you go off in the comments telling me this beach or that beach let me tell you why if you're staying in Wii weiki Beach makes sense it's it's easy convenient and the water is pretty calm year round you're close to your hotel close to public restrooms close to places to eat so if you're traveling with kids that makes it a really convenient option plus you don't need a rental car because it's in the same area where your hotel is located this is of course assuming that you're staying in weiki so again if it's your first time to the islands aahu is the island Honolulu would be the city and you'll be flying into airport code hnl for Honolulu and wyi is the neighborhood or District that you'd be essentially staying in if you're looking to get out of white Kiki you've probably heard of kyowa beach now this can be hit or miss yes the photos look beautiful yes the sand is gorgeous yes the water is pristine but a lot of this depends on what time of year you're going so if you know me in real life and you ask me to choose between kyua Beach and wuki Beach in the winter season which is December January and February I will most likely choose weiki Beach it's January right now at the time of this filming and this time of year that side kyua Beach is typically going to be a lot more windy than it is in weiki now if it's summer and by summer I mean June July and August I would 100% pick kyua Beach over weiki Beach another option is heading to the west side to the coolina lagoons so the Cina lagoons are a set of man-made lagoons at the Cina resort area and it's a really great place for families or those traveling with little ones and the reason why is these man-made lagoons block off the waves so if you're traveling with little ones and you want them to be in calm water as in calm like a lake this is a great option it's also well-maintained and of course it is Public Access Northshore also has some beautiful beaches as well but keep in mind it is seasonal so in general in the summertime June July and August Northshore is flat like a lake in the winter season which is December January February the NorthShore is where you'd see the big wave surf competitions 10 to 30ft waves number two is to explore aahu now you can do do this in so many different ways you can do this by land either renting a car to drive around yourself or through a narrated Island Tour to have a local show you all the highlights and learn a little bit about the island you can do this by air there's doors on and doors off helicopter flights and some of them even have really unique Landings I also went on a helicopter ride that landed at koolo Ranch which is Jurassic Valley would definitely recommend you can also do this by C there are Day sales snorkel sales dinner cruises all along the Southshore of the island there's also some snorkel sales Day sales and sunset sales on the west side of the island typically these sales will be anywhere from 2 to 4 hours depending on the boat I'll leave links in the description box below for everything that I mentioned number three is to hike aahu has so many different approachable hikes for beginners all the way up to Advanced some beginner friendly hikes include Diamond Head crater makapuu Lighthouse Trail monoa Falls and WEA Valley these hikes are typically very well trafficked monoa Falls is a mostly gravel trail that is well trafficked and it ends at 100ft waterfall it's also shaded so you can do it in the middle of the day WEA Valley is a Botanical Garden located on the NorthShore ad Mission runs about 25 for adults and 15 for kids although the path is fully paved like a sidewalk and it's only 3/4 of a mile to the waterfall you can easily spend half a day there I would definitely recommend to spend a half day up there there's also some cultural demonstrations that you can check out as well it's very approachable because again it is fully paid I've even seen people take baby strollers on the trail you can also walk relax there's plenty of benches there's plenty of space on the trail as well diam Head crater is another popular hike that's very close to weiki it's $5 to get in for non-residents and reservations are required there is incline and you will sweat so definitely bring plenty of water because it's so well traffic it is one of the few hikes that I'm super comfortable to do 100% On My Own in general you should always have a hiking buddy of course but once you see the trail you'll see exactly what I mean makapu Lighthouse Trail is another paved hike that one is located on the east side of the island it does have quite a bit of incline I have seen people push baby strollers on it but it is a bit of a workout now all the hikes that I mentioned I've done the hikes myself and I've also made videos for them as well so if you're looking to see a little bit of what the terrain of those hikes look like I'll leave links in the description box below now again these are just beginner hikes there are hikes for all levels and all skill sets but this is just a few to get you started number four is to Island hop so technically the next few things to do aren't things to do on aahu but rather originating from aahu if you're wanting to see multiple Islands but you don't want to worry about booking your different flights booking different hotels getting a rental car checking in checking out of a hotel and so forth a simple one-day flyover or day trip to a neighbor Island might be the choice for you over the past 10 years that I worked as a concierge I've seen guests say that they chose not to go to the other Islands simply because they didn't realize how easy it was to do so there are two main ways to go between the islands the first is a of course the Norwegian Cruise Line pride of America cruise ship it's a weeklong cruise ship and it hits three major islands so aahu of course it also goes to Maui Kuai and big island so about 2 days per Island now this is a proper cruise ship it's not one of those fairies where you hop on or hop off you have to make reservations in advance weeks or months in advance and they also have shore excursions that you can sign up for through the cruise ship or through companies direct the second way and that's the one that I'll be talking about is a flight flights between the islands are pretty short about 30 to 45 minutes one way you can fly over to another Island and have a self-guided tour or if you want everything done for you there's also one-day flyovers that include your roundtrip airfare your narrated tour while you're there and they also include your Airport pickup at whichever Island that you land at these are great options if say you booked a week in Wii on Oahu but you wanted to see maybe Maui Kawai or big island but you didn't want to have to hassle with again checking in checking out of your hotel getting airfare getting a rental car researching where to go you just wanted to get a little sneak peak of the island but maybe not spend multiple days there maybe you're pressed for time this is just a great way to have a sampler of one of the other islands all in one day I've been to the neighbor Islands a dozen or so times and I've also done the one day flyovers for Maui Big Island in kaai to show you guys what it looks like and see if it's right for you also as a side note you may see some websites that say that there's a super fairy that connects some of the islands however that was completely shut down in 2009 next is a day trip from aahu to Maui Maui is one of my favorite islands and often times when people go to Maui they want to do the road to Hana it's about 60-ish miles of hair pin twist turns on Lane Bridges and plenty of waterfalls now it's only about 60 Mi so because of the speed that you have to go through plus being able to pull over as cars come and go it can take upwards of 8 to 10 hours altogether and of course you'll want to stop for lunch Plus photos plus stop at the waterfalls now there are day trips that will fly you from aahu to Maui you'll do the entire road to Hana trip including lunch and fly you back the same day however that's about 10 to 12 hours and for me I get motion sickness in cars especially ones with windy windy roads but that isn't the only way you can do road to Hana you can actually cut that time in half we did road to Hana in 36 minutes and how you might ask well we flew over to Maui and landed at the kahulu airport and then from there we headed to a heliport we took a helicopter r from the airport to Hana in 36 minutes and it was absolutely gorgeous once we got to Hana we drove half of Hana back to the airport and then headed back to aahu the helicopter only seats six guests plus the pilot so you're in a small group for the entire day lunch was included and they have two different Tour times early morning at about 7:00 and then mid morning at around 11:00 since we were flying from aaho we chose to do the midm morning flight I have a link in the description box below for a full video that I've done on that specific tour and what you can expect if you decide to do it if you're planning on doing a helicopter ride and a road to Hana and you want to combine the two this tour might be a great option for you next is a day trip to Kawai when people go over to Kawai they'll often go to check out WEA Canyon WEA Canyon is the grand can the Pacific I did a full one-day flyover tour from aahu to Kawai hitting all the major highlights on Kawai and then flying back I'll leave a link in the description box below for a full video on that specific tour next is a day trip to the Big Island the big island is known for volcanoes and often times when people go to the big island they want to visit volcano's National Park I also did a one-day flyover for aahu to the Big Island you can also add on a helicopter ride if you wanted to fly over the volcano itself for the trip that I did we didn't do the helicopter but we did a full day ground tour Volcano National Park Rainbow Falls akaka Falls Hilo and a few other highlights I will leave a link in the description box below if you'd like to see a full video on what that looks like and to give you a little bit of a glimpse of the Big Island number eight is to see dolphins now you can do this a few different ways of course there are boat trips that will take you over to the west side of the island where you can see dolphins in their natural habitat out in the ocean and you can snorkel nearby another option for those who maybe don't want to do that sort of program you can also see dolphins at Dolphin Quest at the Kahala Resort you can head over to the resort stroll the grounds and see the dolphins if you're heading over to the Big Island there's also a dolphin Quest at the Hilton waaloa Resort as well now if you're looking to get in the water and swim alongside the Dolphins there are a few interactive programs that you can do as well these are small group programs for all ages depending on what type of program that you do there's even dock side programs for little ones under the age of four where the little kiddos will be on the dock having a interactive program with the dolphin without actually getting in the water there's also different swim programs for ages five and up dolphin Quest puts a lot of emphasis on research and education I also learned that that the Lagoon is connected to the ocean through a very extensive filtration system I recently did their private 30-minute Premiere experience and I'll include some clips here so you can see what that looks like if you're curious more about the program to see what it looks like I'll leave a link in the description box below next is to get a spa treatment price point can vary wildly depending on where you get the spa treatment if it's at an ocean front hotel or a spa or a massage center I recently did a 90-minute full spa experience and absolutely love said it included a massage a facial as well as a foot scrub and it was so relaxing that I actually fell asleep during it it's also just on the edge of w so price point is significantly lower than if you were to do the same treatment or a similar treatment in the center of w at an Oceanfront Hotel I'll leave a link in the description box below next is to schedule a photo shoot now the photo shoot can be done either on your own with your iPhone and a simple tripod or a professional photo shoot whatever you decide definitely try to schedule at least a little bit of time time to take some gorgeous beach photos with your family friends or group that you're traveling with one thing to note is that if you are doing professional photos make sure to fully check out the portfolio of the photographer just to make sure the aesthetic is what you're looking for I recently did a photo shoot at goala and I should have researched a little bit more in terms of the aesthetic the finished photos weren't quite what I was looking for they were a little bit in my opinion oversaturated and it had different shades of my skin tone I was so confused when I saw the photos I actually took a photo with my iPhone to see if there were different shades in my complexion and it wasn't it was just how the photo was taken when I asked about other edits I was told that I could pay to get it edited differently or I could edit them on my phone this was a little strange because I thought I was getting professional photos so again I would definitely recommend if you decide to get a professional photographer to take your photos although their photos may be great it may not be the same Aesthetics that you're looking for so make sure to fully look through their portfolio before you actually take the photos similarly if you're taking photos on your own a simple tripod and iPhone also works but if you are doing that make sure to take your photos earlier in the day especially if you're doing beach photos it's a lot less crowded in the morning a popular spot for a lot of photos will be the Hilton Lagoon as well as magic Island the Hilton Lagoon is a gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous area because you have the backdrop of of course the Y Kiki Skyline but you also have the backdrop of Diamond Head in the morning it is golden hour so photos and the lighting will be a lot less harsh as well as a lot less crowded than it would be if you were to take the same photos in the middle of the day next is to go on a day sale I absolutely love the ocean and going sailing is one of my favorite things to do there are so many day sale options in yiki from small group to large group Day Sale snorkel sale Sunset sale different price points whether you want to go No Frill spending about $3 or $40 all the way up to all the bells and whistles with a private White Glove service with a catered meal if you're traveling with a larger group a private option might make more sense once you take the total price and divide it by the number of people of course this can vary of course depending on what you're looking for and price point you're looking to stay within we recently did a private day sale at the end of December and it was absolutely gorgeous we did a midday sale and we were able to swim snorkel and just take in the W Kiki Skyline it was the perfect way to end the year the one that we chose I absolutely loved I'll leave a link in the description box below as well as a link to a full video if you'd like to see more for that specific boat next is to explore weiki weiki has the highest concentrations of hotels in H but beyond hotels there's lots of dining options it's very walkable and there's also open air troles that you can go on if you want to explore the Wii area instead these open air Charlies are $5 for the pink line and the route takes about an hour if you're heading to Wii and you like a sneak peek of what it looks like I have done a full narrated walkthrough from one end to the other pointing out all the major highlights the hotels points of interest restaurants things to do all on a completely narrated walk in real time it is is a bit of a long walk about 45 minutes or so and it goes down just one section of yiki so grab a pen piece of paper take some notes grab a cocktail a mocktail a cup of tea it is a long one and lastly is to explore kakaako kakaako is just outside of yiki a short Uber or taxi ride for GPS you can put in Salt by kakaako it's a 5,000 squ ft space of restaurants retail and even cafes kakaako is known for wall art so if you're interested in that that's a place to start it's also close to koala Basin Harbor so if you're going on a day sale or a sunsa sale at the harbor you can easily head over to kakaako afterwards and grab lunch or dinner depending on what time of day your sale is one of my favorite restaurants is one called Moco you'll probably see me there a few times a month again there's also a lot of cute little cafes and ice cream shops and it's nice because it's busy but it's not as busy as the hustle and bustle of weiki if you like this video video and want to see more itiner ideas check out the full playlist on itiner ideas or on yesah hawaii.com on to the next one guys on this one page planner you have everything that you need where you can jot down your details for your hotel rental car tours and activities things that you want to do and a general [Music] itinerary [Music]

Channel: Yes to Hawaii | with Mariam 🌺

Views: 12,585

Keywords: yes to hawaii, waikiki, hawaii travel guide, oahu travel guide, maui travel guide, kauai travel guide, things to do honolulu, things to do hawaii, oahu hawaii, honolulu hawaii, waikiki beach hawaii, oahu things to do

Id: MpLDMf_aywM

Length: 16min 40sec (1000 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 21 2024