Oahu has a lot to offer. There is the famous Waikiki Beach, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head and the northern and eastern beaches to name just a few.
But first we talk about camping. Because accommodation is so expensive on all of the Hawaiian Islands we decided to go camping. Everything you need you can buy at Walmart for about 120 USD. Including a tent, an airbed, a stove and some other camping gear. But as we learned later, camping on Oahu is not like camping in Europe or Africa. There are only cold outdoor showers, no camping store or restaurant and mostly there is not even a mirror. We were a bit disappointed but in case you don’t mind having low comfort, it’s a good option to stay at a beautiful beach at a reasonable price.
Inhaling the atmosphere in Waikiki
It’s the place of the rich and the surfers. It has a beautiful beach which is divided by all the top hotel brands but it still has the cool surfer vibe of all the surfers hanging out in the waves. We stayed for two nights in a hostel and besides the immense traffic absolutely loved this buzzing city.
Learning about History in Pearl Harbour
A must do while on Hawaii because it is a place where history has been wrapped up. Interestingly the story of the attack is not only shown from the US perspective, but also from the Japanese perspective and of the Japanese descendants living on Hawaii. It also gives you the opportunity to inspect a gigantic battle ship from up close and to see the place where the 2nd world war has ended. When we were there it was mostly gray and rainy but that gave this dark place of history even more atmosphere.
Enjoying the view on Diamond Head
This is the name of the crater rim right next to Honolulu. The view on the way up and from up there is unique and definitely worth the hike. But be prepared to share it with some others. As even on a Monday it was quite crowded up there.
Watching the surfers at the Northern beaches
The place to be for all surfers and those who like to watch them. As we both tried and failed at surfing on previous trips, we belonged to the second group. We grabbed ourselves a shaved ice and watched them doing their tricks. And afterwards we went wave jumping which was a lot of fun.
Relax and snorkel at the Eastern beaches
Probably the most beautiful beaches on the island are on its east side. They are perfect for relaxing and snorkeling and the best place to do that is Hanauma Bay. The reef there is very healthy with lots of fishes and the rangers there are doing an excellent job in protecting it. Besides many colorful fishes we saw a species of trigger fish we have never seen before.
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