Oahu Travel Guide: Your Local Guide to Oahu
Plan your trip
Everything You Need to Plan Oahu
Six pages that do the planning work for you: the route, the regions, what to do, and where to sleep, eat, and swim.
Interactive map
The Oahu Scenic Drive Map
The circle-island loop with every stop pinned, real drive times between them, and directions that open in Google Maps.
- 100 miles
- 12 stops
- Free, works on your phone
What to do
Things to Do in Oahu
Hikes, snorkel spots, history and food, sorted by side of the island and tagged by who each one suits.
By region and trip type
Map
The Oahu Map
Six regions on one terrain map: what each side is like, its weather and surf, and how far it is from Waikiki.
6 regions, 2 mountain ranges
Where to stay
The Best Hotels on Oahu
Waikiki towers, North Shore rentals, family resorts, and the boutique stays in between.
By region and budget
Where to eat
The Best Food on Oahu
Plate lunch, poke, food trucks, mai tais, and the burgers worth the drive.
Waikiki to Haleiwa
Where to swim
The Best Beaches on Oahu
Where to swim, where to watch the surf, and how to read the conditions before you go in.
Includes today’s safety checkNeed a car for the loop?
Compare 500+ providers in one search. Pick up at HNL and drive the island on your own schedule.
Free cancellation on most bookings. Affiliate: if you book through DiscoverCars we earn a small commission at no cost to you. Open DiscoverCars
Bars show the chance of rain. Forecast and conditions from the National Weather Service.
The island loop runs about 100 miles. The best of it sits outside Waikiki.
Itineraries
One Day to a Full Week
Pick the plan that matches your trip length, or let the builder put one together around your interests.
Custom itinerary
Oahu Itinerary Builder
Answer three questions about your trip length, group, and interests. Get a day-by-day plan with restaurant picks and booking links.
- Up to 7 days
- Takes about 2 minutes
1 Day in Oahu
The hour-by-hour plan when you only have one day: sunrise on Diamond Head, breakfast on Kalakaua, and the stops worth the time.
Hour by hour
3 Days in Oahu
Three days, three zones: Honolulu first, Pearl Harbor and the North Shore second, the Windward side third.
Day by day
4 Days in Oahu
Four days is enough to see all four sides of Oahu without rushing, planned one day at a time.
Day by day
5 Days in Oahu
The trip length Oahu rewards most: all four sides of the island and a real North Shore day.
Day by day
7 Days in Oahu
The full week, day by day: every side of Oahu and still a day to do nothing.
Day by day-
Matsumoto Shave Ice Review: What to Order and Know
-
Malaekahana State Recreation Area: Camping and Goat Island
-
Kualoa Regional Park: Camping, Swimming and Parking
-
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck Review: What to Order in Kahuku
-
Waimea Bay Beach Park, Oahu: Summer Swim, Winter Surf
-
Oahu in November: Weather, Big Waves, Crowds and Events
Island guides
Go Deeper, Place by Place
Each guide opens with an interactive map, then covers what to do, where to stay and where to eat.
Area guide
Waikiki
Beachfront hotels, Kalakaua food and the beaches, with walking times from your hotel.
Map, hotels, food, beaches
Area guide
North Shore
Beaches by season, Haleiwa town, the food trucks and Waimea Valley.
Best in winter for big surf
Area guide
Ko Olina
The four lagoons, how the free public parking works, and where to stay and eat.
West side resort area
Area guide
Pearl Harbor
The Arizona Memorial, the Missouri, tickets, and how to get there from Waikiki.
Plan a half day or more
Topic guide
Oahu Hikes
Trails mapped with length, elevation gain and current status.
Current trail status
Topic guide
Surfing Waikiki
Every Waikiki break mapped by skill level, with today's surf report and where to take a lesson.
Today's surf report
Coming soonArea guide
Windward Oahu
Kailua, Kaneohe and the beaches in between.
Coming soon
Coming soonArea guide
Honolulu
Downtown, Chinatown, Kakaako and the neighborhoods past Waikiki.
Coming soon
Coming soonTopic guide
History and Culture
Hawaiian history, from before contact to statehood.
Coming soon
Coming soonTopic guide
Oahu Golf
The island's courses, reviewed one by one.
Coming soonPhotos: Waikiki, Simon_sees (CC BY 2.0); North Shore, Floyd Manzano (CC BY 2.0); Ko Olina, Forest and Kim Starr (CC BY 3.0 US); Pearl Harbor, National Park Service; Oahu Hikes, Cristo Vlahos (CC BY-SA 3.0); Surfing Waikiki, Prayitno (CC BY 2.0); Windward Oahu, Aaron Zhu (CC BY-SA 3.0); Honolulu and History and Culture, Bernard Spragg (CC0); Oahu Golf, Tony Webster (CC BY-SA 2.0). Cropped and resized.