Driving Around O’ahu: 7 Best Stops In 1 Day
During our last vacation to Hawai’i, our family stayed in Waikiki and decided to rent a car—for just one day—to drive around the island of O’ahu and see the sights.
What can you see in a day?
If we had wanted to visit every place along our loop around the island, or even spend much time at any one location, it would have required 2 days or more. But we just wanted a taste of what the island had to offer. We figured we could go back to the more prominent locations like The Polynesian Cultural Center, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, Kualoa Ranch, Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head, and Pearl Harbor on a different day when we had more time, as each of those places require a half day or more to fully explore.
Below is a collection of the stops we chose, along with the highlights of each one. Enjoy! And if you have been there and have a comment to add, we’d love to hear from you!
- Dole Plantation Gift Shop
From Waikiki we took H1 west to H2 which led us through the lush center part of the island to our first stop—The Dole Plantation. As with most stops around O’ahu, parking can be tricky if you do not get there early. We knew we wanted to make the most of our day, so we started off on our adventure first thing in the morning.
The Dole Plantation has an enormous gift shop featuring the largest amount of pineapple treats and products we have ever seen, including a concession stand serving pineapple ice cream. The portions are large and very sweet. The gift shop also has a wide variety of the usual shirts, jewelry, and souvenirs. We bought a bag of pineapple chocolates! So good!
Outside, Maui Divers has a stand that allows you to pick an oyster, guaranteed to have a pearl inside, and have it set in silver and gold jewelry.
If you are interested in taking the Train ride through the plantation, or tour the pineapple maze or gardens, it would be best to come back a different day.
You might want to bring:
2. Waimea Bay Beach Park & Shark’s Cove on the North Shore
While many people say they love to stop in the town of Hae’iwa and go in the shops and taste Matsumotos shaved ice, the day we went we found the place too crowded with mile long lines and opted to take drive right on past on Rt. 83 to the North Shore. After all, it was already getting hot and we wanted to swim.
During the winter months this beach is famous for its tall waves for surfing, but in June, it was quite calm. The Waimea Bay Beach Park has nice parking and bathrooms. There is a “Big Rock” at one end that beachgoers can climb and then jump 30 ft. into the tropical waters below. What struck us the most about this place was how clear the water was. Much different than some of the other, more aqua beaches, this water is as clear as a pool. However, the depth drops off quickly from the edge, so parents with small children should be careful. It gets deep.
If you rather do some snorkeling, you might want to check out Shark’s Cove just up the road. This is a shallow place of tidepools and rock where there is an abundance of colorful fish. From the air, the rock formation of the cove looks like a shark, giving the place its name. We found this to be a very popular spot with lots of people.
You might want to bring:
3. Fumi’s Shrimp Truck
By now we were getting hungry! While many people claim Giovanni’s Shrimp truck is the best on the island, we had heard from one of the locals that Fumi’s Shrimp Truck tasted even better. We have never eaten at Giovanni’s, but we do know that they have long lines. And other shrimp trucks we’ve stopped at before were not so pleasant. But just past Turtle Bay Resort and golf course on Rt. 83 on the right-hand side is Fumi’s Shrimp Truck and it was fantastic!!! We each had different flavored butter and herbs on our shrimp and rice, and each tasted equally delicious. We also loved the fact that they have plenty of seating with 25 to 30 shaded, tent covered picnic tables. And there is a fabulous shaved ice/ice cream stand and a few gifts shops and bathrooms in that same parking lot. A very worthwhile place to stop.
4. Kualoa Ranch and view of Chinaman’s Hat
Continue past Lā’ie and the Polynesian Cultural Center until you get to Kualoa Ranch. The ranch offers 1-2 hour movie set tours where you can view the footprint of Godzilla or take your photo by the sign from Jurassic Park. They also have ATV and horseback riding tours and zip lines. However, with so much that Kualoa has to offer you might want to come back a different day to fit it all in. However, if you want to eat at their restaurant or just see the gift shop or movie museum they have for free at the base, then you might want to stop in. With the fantastic view of the tall, ridged mountains looming above this valley, we just love this place!
Across the street from the Kualoa Ranch is Laenani Neighborhood Park. You can’t miss it—it’s literally just across the street and easy to spot. There is a large parking lot and long stretch of lawn along a sandy beach with a magnificent view of Chinaman’s Hat, a small peaked island off the coast. The park is free and a great spot with palm trees for picnics.
5. Kailua Beach Park and Lanikai Beach
Next follow the shoreline and head over to Kailua Beach Park and Lanikai beach, which are right next to each other, to see one of the most beautiful beaches on the entire island with palm trees, very fine white sand, and the most glorious aquamarine water. The twin Mokulua islands, located just off shore, are seabird sanctuaries protected by the state of Hawaii. But the beach on North Mokulua is open to the public during the day. Kailua Beach Adventures offers whole day adventures which include kayaks, paddleboards, surfboards, and snorkeling. Lanikai has a long stretch of beach ideal for swimming. Kids can play in the shallow surf and the drop off into deeper water is very gradual. Often, there are canoe races here—a spectacular sight! There is a parking lot and bathrooms. The vast lawn in front of Lanikai has lots of trees for shade and has picnic tables. While this beach is worthy of an entire day, we wouldn’t dream of driving past here without stopping in. Lanikai is an absolute favorite! Go for another swim here, even if it is late in the day.
You might want to bring:
6. Sandy Beach, Hālona Blow Hole, and Hālona Cove
From Lanikai hop onto Rt.72, travel past Sea Life Park, down to the South Shore of O’ahu to Sandy Beach. This is definitely not a beach for kids or inexperienced swimmers because of its rough surf, rip tides, and powerful waves that break close to shore. In fact, it is nicknamed “break-neck” beach because more injuries occur at this beach than any other in Hawai’i. Still, this is worthy of a stop to see all the surfers and bodyboarders in action.
You might want to bring:
Polarized UV Protection Outdoor Sunglasses
Just another minute or two south of Sandy Beach, pull off to see the Hālona Blow Hole. The waves here crash into a lava tube cave beneath the rock formation and then the water shoots up through an opening like a geyser up to 30 ft. in the air! The view is best when the tide is high and the winds are strong. In winter this is a great spot to see the humpback whales and the Honu (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles). Because of extremely dangerous currents and conditions there are signs warning the public to keep off the rocks. Stay behind the lines where it is safe!
Hālona Cove is a small beach to the right of the blowhole that is great for swimming on a calm day, although access is difficult and requires scaling the cliff from the parking lot. Definitely not recommended when the surf is rough. However, it is interesting to note that several popular movies have filmed scenes here.
You might want to bring:
7. View Hanauma Bay from above
Not far from the cove is Hanauma Bay. Now if you have been following this route along the island it should be getting late and the sun may be dipping. Sorry to say there is certainly not enough time to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay (which we highly recommend you do on another day!) But if you pull into the parking lot, there are viewpoints here that enable you to look down on the horseshoe shaped bay from above. Truly picture-worthy and glorious!
From there take Halaniana’ole Hwy then H1 back to Waikiki, where you will most likely return tired but full of happy memories!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darlene Panzera is a multi-published author of sweet, fun-loving contemporary and historical romance. She has also written a children’s book series with her daughter, Samantha, based on their horses, and enjoys camping, hiking, and all kinds of adventure and travel in the great outdoors. www.darlenepanzera.com
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That was fun for me. I haven’t been to most of those places in years. Glad you enjoyed your vacation.