Oahu Adventures
Oahu offers an incredible mix of outdoor and indoor adventures to make the most of your time in Hawai’i. There’s so much to do in and around Waikiki for families, solo travelers or for a romantic getaway - but it’s essential to explore beyond the island’s most famous strip of sand. Some of the best beaches, hikes and adventures are just a short car ride away. Also, while rainy days are infrequent, they do pop up, especially in the wintertime…so it’s great to have some indoor activities lined up just in case!
Here are some highlights of where to stay, what to do - both rain and shine - on Oahu!
Outdoor Activities
Kualoa Ranch
By far one of the best things to do on the island is the Kualoa Ranch tours - they have everything from horseback riding tours, ride along group tours but the most fun is the 3 hour ATV tour of the 4,000 acre nature reserve. On the ATV tour, you drive a super cool off road vehicle through about a dozen film sets - from the TV show Lost, to movies such as Jurassic Park, Kong, Jumanji and many more. We had an excellent guide who gave us some local history, Hawaiian lore and was always ready to snap a photo or two at each stop. Check out the dramatic Ko’olau mountains that jut out of the earth and frame the backdrop to many famous films! Shout out to brother Brian and his husband Kevin for making this day extra special!
Scuba Diving
Hawaii is a perfect place to learn to scuba or challenge yourself to progress your skills - I was fortunate enough to spend a few days with Aloha Scuba Diving to get my Advanced Open Water PADI Certification. Leaving from the main commercial port that’s walkable from Waikiki, the Aloha Scuba Diving tours were excellent - shoutout to Captain Derrick and his team. The cool part about doing advanced diving is being able to access wrecks, like the Sea Tiger - an intentionally sunk artificial reef and dive site that’s just 10 minutes from shore. In depths maxing out at 120 feet, the wreck has swimmable cargo holds and abundant marine life including sharks, turtles, eels and schools of fish. Highly worth it to book with these guys for shallow reef dives or more advanced dives like this…check it out!
Dukes & Catamaran Sail
One of my favorite daytime combination activities is lunch at Duke’s Waikiki and then walk over to the Mai Tai Catamaran for an afternoon sail. Duke’s is a Waikiki institution - and there’s something terrific about sitting out in the sun on the porch, overlooking Waikiki Beach, and having their fish tacos (a personal favorite). Then…it’s only a short walk on the sand to catch an afternoon sail on the Mai Tai to get a look at the city on the sea from the water. Plus, the super friendly staff is always ready with a cold beverage. This is definitely a more low impact outing - but it’s just such a great experience I return to it every trip. Ahoy!
Indoor Activities
While rainy days are few and far between, there are times - especially in winter - where some ‘non beach day’ adventures are essential. Thankfully, Honolulu has some incredible museums, shows and fantastic dining options to keep you busy. On this trip, I had a few opportunities to try some new things and I wanted to share them with you.
‘Auana - Cirque Du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil is world famous for their edgy, acrobatic performances that blend circus themed acts reimaged for a contemporary audience that values storytelling, visual interest and a certain daredevil sensibility. ‘Auana is a Hawaii themed show expressly developed for theater at the Outrigger Hotel. This 90 minute show was full of live music, in the moment sand painting and, of course, highwire acts and acrobatics - including swimming in a giant sized martini glass, “surfing” on multiple stacked layers of cylinders, and trapeze work high above the audience. I tried to capture some of the acts but it’s just something you must see in person.
Honolulu Museum of Art
I love a good museum. I travel to go to specifically see certain museums. I had never been to the Honolulu Museum of Art (although I have been to the outstanding Shangri-la museum of Islamic Art, once Doris Duke’s home on the windward side of Diamond Head several times). I was so impressed by the HMOA’s buildings, wide ranging collection of European, Polynesian, Asian and contemporary art. This was such a worthwhile visit - so rain or shine - it’s a great day spent touring this terrific spot. Here are some highlights from their collection. Shoutout to my friend Tracy for being my art buddy!
Eat & Drink!
One of the best indoor activities is to eat your way thru Waikiki. There’s always a new restaurant, coffee shop or lounge opening and here are some favorites from my trip…Earl’s (steakhouse); Paia Fish Market (fish); Hua Tree (brunch & romantic dinner), Tim Ho Wan (dim sum); Fete (French bistro)…all amazing!
