Honolulu, HI

There’s no reason to limit your visit on Oahu to Honolulu and Waikiki. The diverse island of Oahu is small enough to drive around in one day, and it is well worth the effort. In fact, driving tours of the island are so common that one of the more popular general routes has a name: the “circle island tour.”

This involves driving around the whole island in a roughly circular pattern, making stops at points of interest along the way. Most people start in either Waikiki or Honolulu. There are many variations on the exact route and all the myriad sightseeing stops you can make, but I will tell you about the exact tour my wife and I did. Also, it should be noted that we were using our own private vehicle, but that commercial circle tours are available with pre-scheduled stops (check first to make sure that you will see any specific attractions you are interested in).

Our plan was to leave Waikiki at about 8:00 AM, and drive around Oahu counterclockwise in a rough circle, ending up back in Waikiki at around 4:00 PM. We headed across the island toward the Kailua coast. Our first stop was the famous Nuuanu Pali Lookout. This is a nearly 1,000-foot-high cliff which affords one of the best views of Hawaii. From this vantage point we got a sneak preview of some of the locations we would soon be driving along, such as Kaneohe Bay and Chinaman’s Hat. (For more details on the Pali Lookout see this 1KTODO article: http://honolulu.onethousandthingstodo.com/2008/05/05/feeling-little-at-the-majestic-pali-lookout-oahu/).

From there it was on to the windward coast, where we turned left and headed up through Kaneohe Bay. Our next stop was the well-known natural landmark, Chinaman’s Hat—a rock out in the water shaped like…well you, you know. We went to the beautiful beach here, and waded through some shallow water tidepools. Then it was onward around the island!

Our next stop was my personal favorite of the whole trip: Goat Island. This is a small island just offshore the Malaekahana Bay State Recreation Area. It is not far from the Polynesian Cultural Center (http://honolulu.onethousandthingstodo.com/2008/05/08/a-day-at-the-polynesian-cultural-center-oahu/). There is a campground here, and a parking lot. (Warning: take any valuables with you—do not leave anything you care about in your car , even locked in the trunk). So after walking through a tree-shaded campground, we came out on a narrow, but un-crowded sandy beach. To the left as you’re facing the water is the island. We walked up the beach until we faced it, then we paddled out to it on boogie boards. We also wore snorkeling gear in case we might see anything interesting along the way. We did see some corals and many fishes, including some ulua (blue trevally). It took about twenty minutes to paddle to the island. There were a couple of surfers catching waves nearby. We landed on the beach. The interior of Goat Island is a bird sanctuary and walking there is strictly prohibited, as the signs will tell you. After resting there for a while, we paddled back to the main beach and walked back to the car.

Then it was on to the North Shore! After brief stops at Pipeline and Sunset surfing beaches (no waves in the summertime), we made our way into Haleiwa town where we had a delicious lunch at Haleiwa Joe’s (good cheeseburgers).

Then we headed south again, past the Dole Pineapple plantation (http://honolulu.onethousandthingstodo.com/2008/06/23/the-dole-plantation-wahiawa-oahu/), and all the way back to Waikiki.

What a day, and we really feel like we’ve seen Oahu!