As promised, here is my second post about our trip to Oahu. Incase you missed my last post, you can check it out here! Since we only had a total of six days on the island, we really had to pick and choose how we wanted to spend our time. Some people have asked me how many days I would suggest booking a trip to Oahu for. If you're only visiting one island, I would suggest at least a week long stay. There really is a lot to see and do. I've listed some of the activities that kept us busy during our stay. (I apologize in advance. This post is photo heavy!)
My husband and I hiked almost every other day while we were in Hawaii. We like to stay active even while on vacation, and the spectacular views made our "workout" much sweeter. We hiked three different trails in Oahu and I have listed them here in order of difficulty (easiest to most difficult).
Diamond Head Crater Trail
This was the closest trail to our Airbnb in East Oahu and also the first hike that we did. It was difficult to find parking close to the trail head (unless you arrive earlier in the day and are willing to pay a fee). Most hikers park at the foot of the crater, about a 10-15min walk to the trail head. We excitedly started up the trail and as I looked around I realized two things 1) there were a lot of tourists, and 2) most of them weren't dressed in clothing or footwear appropriate for hiking (I mean, some women were wearing dresses and flip flops...) Other than a steep flight of stairs, a cave-like tunnel and a spiral staircase, I would have to say that this hike was rather easy (as if the women wearing flip flops wasn't already a big enough indication of that). The views were spectacular and I think we got some of the best pictures while on this hike.
- Difficulty Level: Low - Moderate
- Overall Rating: Would do it again for the spectacular views. Lots of tourists though, would recommend going earlier in the morning while there's less people.
- Trail Head Logistics: They had bathrooms and water fountains at the trail head. They even had food stands selling hot dogs and shaved ice!
We drove to the east side of the island to hike the Lanikai Pillbox Trail. The trail was fairly short with some steep areas. The views were breathtaking and so worth the hike. Apparently "pillboxes" describe the two military bunkers along the trail. For most hikers, they serve as look out points. This was a much quieter trail, with full panoramic views of Lanikai Beach - just beautiful! We met some nice folks while hiking and they were more than willing to take pictures for us... so glad we captured these moments!
- Difficulty Level: Moderate
- Overall Rating: A more difficult trail than Diamond Head with less people but still a great ocean view.
- Trail Head Logistics: We parked at the side of the road in a residential area. Seemed like the other hikers were doing the same. It was a bit of a walk to the trail head as there was no parking nearby. There were no bathrooms or water fountains. Be sure to bring your own bottles of water and snacks if needed.
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Koko was the last trail that we did. I knew that this would probably be our most difficult hike because I had read somewhere that athletes frequently use this trail to train (truth be told, I wasn't ready for leg day...) Some sites called it a "Stair Master" workout with 1000+ steps until you reach the top. This was definitely our most difficult but memorable hike. I remember standing at the bottom of the trail head. We looked up and the steps just kept going... almost as if it was never ending. The trail was essentially an old railway track that was no longer in use. Military bunkers were created in WW2 and this railway was used to get to them. Each step was made from large wooden planks that were laid a fair distance from the next. I'm not gonna lie, it was a bit of a struggle for me (at 5'2") to leap from one plank to another. As we made our way up, we started to notice a drop between the wooden planks and the ground below us. The further up we went, the bigger the drop became - 5ft, 7ft, 10ft... it was a far drop. We trekked carefully and at one point, started crawling up on our hands and knees to stay as close to the track as possible. We kept going, but as we looked ahead, we started to notice big dark clouds forming in the sky and within minutes, it started to rain. After some deliberation, we sat down on one of the planks to take one final picture before heading back down the trail. The rain just kept coming down. Then it began to pour. Then came the hail. We were stuck halfway up a mountain amidst a tropical storm. We made our way down as quickly as we could, but the hail was literally pelting down on us and the rain was so heavy that we had trouble seeing 5ft out in front of us. Once we got to the bottom of the trail, we still had a 5-10min walk back to the car, so we ran as quickly as we could (for the sake of our phones in our pockets!) We were completely soaked by the time we got to the car but our phones surprisingly made it out alive. We still laugh when we think back, but it was a long (and very wet) hike. No doubt the most eventful hike we've been on so far!
- Difficulty Level: Moderate - High Overall Rating: Great, challenging hike. Need to do it again when the weather is nice ;)
- Overall Rating: If you're looking for a good leg workout, this one's for you. Wish we could have seen the views at the top.
- Trail Head Logistics: There's a large parking lot for hikers at the bottom of the trail. About a 5-10 minute walk to the trail head from there. Also no bathrooms or water fountains here.
We heard that one of the best and most popular snorkeling spots on the island was at Hanuma Bay. We drove in, paid for parking and purchased our tickets once we arrived. Prior to entering the beach area, each guest is obligated to watch a short video presentation in their small theatre. They showed a cheesy video to inform visitors about proper beach and snorkeling protocol (thankfully, it was less than 10mins long). After the video, everyone filed out of the theatre and we had the option to walk down to the beach or pay to take the tram. We walked down the paved hill and once we got to the beach, rented a small locker to store our valuables. They also had snorkeling equipment for rent. The beach itself was nice, however it wasn't very big and there was quite a bit of coral in the water - great for stubbing our toes and bruising our shins on :/ The water was fairly shallow and quite clear, however there wasn't as much fish as we would have hoped for. We brought bananas for feeding the fish but were afraid to get caught after watching that information video... (Price: $1 per vehicle, $8 admission per person)
I hear Shark's Cove is a better area for snorkelling. Check it out if you're interested. I don't believe there is an admission fee, and there's less people and apparently more fish to see.
We really enjoyed the KCC Farmer's Market located at the Kapiʻolani Community College. They are only open on Tusedays (4-7pm) and Saturdays (7:30-11am) so we made plans to visit on a Saturday morning. We arrived around 9:30am and the place was bustling. They had vendors selling lots of goodies such as: poke bowls, pho, natural pressed juices, acai bowls, fresh honey, pizza, fresh flowers and even handmade succulent arrangements (my personal favourite).
P.S. If you're walking to the Farmers Market and come across large hanging trees on the college campus, don't get near them to take a picture - we got eaten alive... must've been ants :/
I'm mentioning the Dole Plantation because we felt that this was something we could have passed on. They had a corn maze as well as a train that took you through the plantation (both at an fee), but nothing really interested us other than the food... haha. We spent most of our time there roaming around the (rather large) gift shop and enjoyed some Dole whip (pineapple soft serve) before leaving. We wouldn't recommend visiting unless you have young children or may be interested in learning about how they grow pineapples.
More about Dole whip and other Hawaiian good eats in my upcoming food post! Exciting things are brewing... stay tuned!
Until next time,
E.
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