A Complete Guide to Oahu, Hawaii

1/20/2023

After spending just over 48 hours on Oahu Island ourselves, we've gone ahead and put together our complete list of places to stay, places to eat, and things to do on Oahu! Read on for our best recommendations for Oahu and scroll all the way to the bottom to watch our 48 Hours in Oahu video! It's also worth noting that the Island of Oahu has a great public bus system, and once you get a "TheBus" pass, it'll only be $3 per ride or $7.50 for the whole day - it can also take you from downtown Honolulu to the North Shore!

While visiting Oahu we loved our stay Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Waikiki, which was just a short walk to the beach and way cheaper than the beachfront properties!

Our Essential Travel Resources :
There are a lot of travel companies out there, but some are better than others. These are our favorite websites and resources to help you plan an incredible trip.

For flights, we recommend using WayAway or Hopper to compare the cheapest dates to travel to your destination.

Car rentals comparisons are best through Discover Cars - just make sure to bring your international driver's permit with you if you're heading somewhere international!

We always use AGODA for hotels. They have an easy-to-use platform where you can compare the best rates.

To keep cell phone service if you're traveling internationally, we always use Airalo’s easy to purchase eSIM’s (no installation required).

For fun things to do, we always recommend Viator to find the best tours in the area, otherwise Klook also does the trick, especially for tours in Asia.

Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use for travel insurance.

Lastly, my packing list for your international or domestic travels.

Places to Stay

During our visit to Oahu, we stayed at the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Waikiki, which was perfect for walking to the beach and taking the bus to explore other parts of Oahu! Even though it wasn't beachfront it was close enough for us, and the price more than made up for it. We've listed other places we would highly recommend below.

Places to Stay Near Honolulu :

Places to Stay on the North Shore :

Ke Iki Beach Bungalows
Tiki Moon Villas
Turtle Bay Resort (very nice, but a little spendy)

Where to Eat

You guys already know one of our favorite things to do when visiting a new place is to try as many new foods as we can. With so many great options on Oahu, we've listed our favorite places to eat near Honolulu first, with places to eat along the North Shore right below!

Beachwalk Cafe - loved their Acai & Pitaya Smoothie Bowls!
Gilligan's Beach Shack - garlic & coconut shrimp platter was great after a day on the beach!
Waikiki Food Hall - with plenty of options for everyone at a reasonable price, we loved Milk, Potama and 5 Star Shrimp

Hale'iwa Bowls - highly recommend their Blue Majik Bowl!
The Sunrise Shack - a local shack right off the beach with two locations, we loved their fresh papaya bowl
North Shore Shrimp Truck - inside a cove of food trucks right off the beach, we simply got the cold brew float to cool down, but the rest of their options looked great - another options in this area is North Shore Tacos (great chips & guac), there's also another Sunrise Shack located here!

See our complete list of best places to eat on Oahu here!

Things to Do

With so much to do on Oahu, we've also gone ahead and put this list together with recommendations for things to do near Honolulu first, and things to do on the North Shore below. In order to stick to our budget as best as we could, a majority of the things we've listed below are also budget friendly!

Waikiki Beach - FREE beach with beautiful sand and great for swimming
Diamond Head - at $1 per Walk-In or $5 per Vehicle, this pretty cheap hike is worth the incredible views, just remember that you'll need a reservation and the park closes at 4 pm!
Pearl Harbor - FREE National Park Monument, although there are some things to pay for, we recommend checking out the USS Arizona Memorial (reservations required or wait for stand by tickets), the museums and theaters (it's also important to note they have a strict no bags policy, and they'll make you check in EACH bag for $7 - no matter how small, we even saw a family with 3 young daughters all of each had their own "purse" and they were going to be charged for each one)
State Capitol - FREE and quite unique with their giant medallion out front, we also recommend walking by the nearby King Kamehameha Statue and Iolani Palace
Friday Night Fireworks - FREE every Friday night on Waikiki Beach
Take a Day Trip to the North Shore - take the bus for only $3 each way to spend a day on the North Shore

Some of our favorite things to do on the North Shore include :

Watch the Surfers - FREE and known for having some of the best waves, the North Shore is typically buzzing with surfers and knee boarders looking to catch a wave
Visit Sea Turtles - FREE on Laniakea Beach, please be respectful of the turtles and do not approach or touch them!
Hit the Beach - Sunset Beach, Banzai Pipeline, Waimea Beach and Hale'iwa were all beautiful with great sand beaches!
Go Snorkeling - FREE at Shark Cove as long as you have your own gear