Drives · East Oahu
East Side Oahu Drive: Waikiki to Makapuʻu and Waimānalo
The east side of Oahu is the best short drive on the island. In about 15 miles you pass Diamond Head’s sea cliffs, Hanauma Bay, the Hālona Blowhole, Sandy Beach and the Makapuʻu Lighthouse, then drop onto the long white sand of Waimānalo. Here are the stops in driving order, how long to give each one, which beaches have lifeguards, and where to eat at the end.
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Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse, built in 1909, seen from the trail’s upper lookouts. Photo: Aaron Zhu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Drive it as a there-and-back from Waikiki and it is a half day: 30 to 40 minutes each way on Kalanianaʻole Highway (Route 72), plus the stops. Add the Makapuʻu trail and a morning at Hanauma Bay and it becomes a full day. Keep going past Waimānalo and it turns into the first leg of the loop on our Oahu scenic drive map.
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Need a Car for the Drive?
Buses reach parts of this coast, but not the lookouts in one easy day. DiscoverCars searches Oahu’s rental agencies at once, so you can see a one-day rate before you commit. Compare Oahu rental cars on DiscoverCars.
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Not sure you want a car for the whole trip? Our guide to renting a car on Oahu helps you decide.
The East Side Oahu Drive at a Glance
The thirteen stops in the order you reach them heading east from Waikiki. Times are how long we would give each one, not counting the drive.
| Stop | What it is | Time | Lifeguard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01Diamond Head Road lookouts | Free roadside pull-offs | 15 min | Not a swim stop |
| 02Koko Marina Center | Food, coffee, last shops | 20 min | Not a swim stop |
| 03Hanauma Bay | Snorkeling, reservation only | 2 to 3 hr | Yes |
| 04Lānaʻi Lookout | Sea-cliff viewpoint | 10 min | Not a swim stop |
| 05Hālona Blowhole and Cove | Blowhole, small cove | 15 min | No |
| 06Sandy Beach Park | Expert shorebreak, big lawn | 30 min | Yes, daily |
| 07Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail | Paved 2-mile hike | About 2 hr | Not a swim stop |
| 08Makapuʻu Lookout and Beach | Island views, bodyboarding | 15 to 60 min | Yes, daily |
| 09Sea Life Park | Marine park, paid entry | 2 to 3 hr | Not a swim stop |
| 10Waimānalo Beach Park | Long calm-water beach | 1 hr or more | Yes, daily |
| 11Bellows Field Beach Park | Weekends and holidays only | 1 hr or more | Weekends |
| 12Keneke’s | Plate lunch | 30 min | Not a swim stop |
| 13Kalapawai Market | Deli, coffee, dinner | 30 min | Not a swim stop |
Lifeguard coverage from the state’s list of lifeguarded beaches, as of September 2026. Where it says daily, towers are staffed 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Before You Go
Four Things This Coast Punishes
- Leave nothing in the car. Honolulu police told Hawaii News Now in 2025 that they used to get calls for about 50 to 80 break-ins a month across the Hālona, Makapuʻu and Lānaʻi lookouts. Camera trailers cut that sharply, but a bag on the seat is still an invitation.
- Sandy Beach’s shorebreak. Waves break straight onto shallow sand. The state’s ocean safety office says the average wave height when a spinal cord injury happens in Hawaii is just 3 feet.
- Hālona Cove has no lifeguard. The cove opens straight onto the channel, and the rocks around the blowhole above it are signed off-limits. The state warns people to use caution at blowholes and stay out of restricted areas.
- No shade on the Makapuʻu trail. DLNR calls it “exposed and usually sunny and hot,” and windy at the top. Bring a hat, sunscreen and plenty of water.
Diamond Head to Hawaiʻi Kai
Leave Waikiki on Diamond Head Road instead of the freeway. It hugs the ocean side of the crater, then Kahala Avenue carries you past the island’s priciest oceanfront homes and Waiʻalae Country Club, home of the PGA Tour’s Sony Open, before you join Kalanianaʻole Highway heading east.
Diamond Head Road Lookouts
A string of free pull-offs on the ocean side of Diamond Head Road, ten minutes from Waikiki. The main one, Kuilei Cliffs Lookout, looks down on the surfers below the cliffs and across to the Diamond Head Lighthouse. This is not the crater hike: that one needs a reservation (see our Diamond Head reservations guide), and these lookouts do not.
Koko Marina Center, Hawaiʻi Kai
About 20 minutes from Waikiki, on the marina right on your route. Kona Brewing’s pub sits on the water, and Moena Cafe, Zippy’s, Teddy’s Bigger Burgers and a Starbucks cover something faster. Buy water and snacks here. From here to Sea Life Park the stops are lookouts and beach parks, not shops.
Hanauma Bay, Lānaʻi Lookout and Hālona
Past Hawaiʻi Kai the highway climbs around Koko Head and the coast turns to lava rock and open ocean. Three stops come quickly here, and two of them are the lookouts where police saw the break-ins, so lock up and take your bag.
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
The island’s best-known snorkeling bay, and the one stop on this drive you can’t just pull into. Reservations open two days ahead at 7 a.m. Hawaii time, and the preserve is closed Monday and Tuesday. Entry is $25 for visitors 13 and up (kids 12 and under free), and parking is $3, cash only. About a quarter of each day’s entries are held for walk-ins when the gate opens at 6:45 a.m. Our Hanauma Bay reservations guide covers how to get a slot.
Lānaʻi Lookout
A small lot cut into the sea cliff just past Hanauma Bay. On a clear day you can see Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi across the channel, and from November to May it is one of the easiest places on the island to spot humpback whales (our whale watching guide lists the others). The lot is small, so it is easier early or late in the day. Stay behind the edge; the lower ledges get washed by waves.
Hālona Blowhole and Hālona Cove
A paved lookout over a lava tube that shoots seawater into the air when the surf and tide line up. On a flat day it barely performs. Signs mark the rocks around it off-limits, and people who climbed down have been swept in. Beside the lookout, Hālona Cove is the little beach from the kiss scene in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity. It has no lifeguard and opens straight onto the channel, so swim only on a calm day and stay close in.
Sandy Beach to Makapuʻu
Sandy Beach comes up right after Hālona, then the road runs along the Kaiwi shoreline to Makapuʻu Point, the island’s eastern tip. This is the heart of the drive, and the stretch to save time for.
Sandy Beach Park
A big lawn and a long beach where Oahu’s best bodyboarders ride a shorebreak that slams onto shallow sand. Locals call it Broke Neck Beach for a reason. Lifeguards are on duty every day from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and fly red flags on most days; talk to one before you get wet. For everyone else it is a place to sit on the sand and watch, and one of the east side’s best sunrise spots.
Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail
A paved trail up to the red-roofed Makapuʻu Lighthouse, built in 1909, which you view from a pair of railed lookouts (the lighthouse itself is off-limits). DLNR’s trail page lists it at 2.0 miles round trip and 500 feet of climbing, and says to give yourself about 2 hours. There is no shade, and it can be very windy at the top. From November to May it is one of the best places on Oahu to watch humpbacks. The trailhead lot is gated, with its hours posted at the entrance; DLNR does not list them online, so check the sign or the trail page before a sunrise hike. Everything else, from parking to the best time of day, is in our full Makapuʻu Lighthouse trail guide.
Makapuʻu Lookout and Makapuʻu Beach Park
Round the point and the road opens onto the view on every Oahu calendar: Makapuʻu Beach below, with Mānana (Rabbit) Island and little Kāohikaipu offshore, both seabird sanctuaries with no landing allowed. Pull into the lookout for the photo, then drive down to the beach. Makapuʻu is Oahu’s original bodyboarding beach. Summer can be calm, but winter surf makes it dangerous even at the water’s edge. Lifeguards are on duty daily, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The same view from 500 feet up is the payoff of the Makapuʻu Lighthouse hike.
Sea Life Park and Waimānalo
North of Makapuʻu the cliffs of the Koʻolau range rise behind the road and the coast turns to farms, ironwood trees and some of the longest, calmest sand on the island. This is where to swim, and where to eat.
Sea Life Park Hawaiʻi
A marine park across the highway from Makapuʻu Beach. Its ticket page lists it open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Tuesdays through December 22. Adult admission is $59.99 at the gate or $49.99 online, as of September 2026. In August 2026 the park was bought by Hawaiian Council, a Native Hawaiian organization, which said operations would continue uninterrupted.
Waimānalo Beach Park
A 37-acre City beach park fronting a long, straight run of white sand and turquoise water, usually far less crowded than anything west of Makapuʻu. Lifeguards are on duty daily, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The park also has a campground with City permits.
Bellows Field Beach Park
Ironwood shade and more soft sand at the north end of Waimānalo Bay, on Bellows Air Force Station land. The City says the park is open for public access on weekends and holidays under an agreement with the military, and normally closed to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Lifeguards work weekends only. It can also close for military training, so read the sign at the guard gate before you plan around it.
Keneke’s
A longtime Waimānalo plate lunch counter on the highway through town, the easy lunch after a morning in the water. Its own site lists the Waimānalo shop open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, so it covers breakfast too.
Kalapawai Market, Waimānalo
A few doors down, the Waimānalo branch of the Kailua favorite. Breakfast runs until 4:30 p.m., then a dinner menu until close, with deli sandwiches, bowls, salads, pizza and fresh fish. Its Waimānalo page lists it open 7 days, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., the latest food on this stretch.
Keep Going to Kailua, or Turn Back?
From Waimānalo you have three ways home. These times are estimates, and afternoon traffic into Honolulu adds to all of them.
- Back the way you came. Kalanianaʻole Highway to Waikiki, the same coast in the afternoon light, 30 to 40 minutes from Makapuʻu without stops.
- Over the Pali. Keep north into Kailua, then take the Pali Highway (Route 61) back over the Koʻolau, about 25 to 35 minutes to Waikiki. The signed turnoff for the Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout is on the way.
- Through the H-3. The freeway tunnels through the mountains with rainforest views and no pull-offs. It is the quicker choice when you just want to get back.
Or don’t go back yet. Kailua and Lanikai are minutes past Waimānalo, and from there the loop carries on up the windward coast. Our comparison of a circle island tour vs driving it yourself covers the whole-island version of this day.
No car, or no one who wants to drive? The shuttle below runs from Waikiki to two of this drive’s best stops, the Hālona Blowhole and the Makapuʻu trail, with the hike self-guided.
Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail and Shuttle Service
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East Side Oahu Drive Questions
How long does the east side Oahu drive take?
Waikiki to Makapuʻu is about 15 miles, roughly 30 to 40 minutes without stops. With the lookouts and a beach stop, a there-and-back to Waimānalo is a half day. Add the Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail (DLNR says to allow about 2 hours) and a Hanauma Bay reservation and it fills a full day.
What are the best beaches on the east side of Oahu?
For swimming, Waimānalo Beach Park: a long stretch of sand with lifeguards every day. Bellows, just north of it, is open to the public on weekends and holidays. Makapuʻu Beach is for bodyboarders and for calm summer days. Sandy Beach is for watching the shorebreak, not for a casual swim.
Do you need a reservation for anything on the drive?
Only Hanauma Bay, which books two days ahead at 7 a.m. Hawaii time and is closed Monday and Tuesday. The Diamond Head crater hike needs one too, but the Diamond Head Road lookouts on this route do not. The lookouts, beaches and the Makapuʻu trail are free.
Is it safe to swim at Sandy Beach?
Not for most visitors. Its shorebreak drives swimmers into shallow sand, and it is known locally as Broke Neck Beach. Lifeguards are on duty every day from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., so talk to one before you go in, and stay out when red flags are up.
Can you swim at Hālona Cove?
Hālona Cove has no lifeguard, and its mouth opens straight onto the channel. Swim only on a calm day, stay close to shore, and skip it when waves are washing into the cove. Stay off the rocks around the blowhole above it entirely.
Is Bellows Beach open to the public?
On weekends and holidays. The City says Bellows Field Beach Park is under the military’s purview and is normally closed to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. It can also close for training exercises, so check the sign at the gate.
What is the best day to drive Oahu’s east side?
A Saturday or Sunday is the only time every stop here is open: Hanauma Bay closes Monday and Tuesday, Sea Life Park closes Tuesdays through December 22, and Bellows is closed to the public Tuesday through Thursday. On any day, start early, because the trail is exposed and hot by midday.
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