Oahu

Best things to do in Oahu

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   1. Pearl Harbor: USS Arizona Memorial and USS Missouri

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Couples
   • Rainy day

   The USS Arizona Memorial marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the ship in the attack of 7 December 1941. Nearby, the battleship USS Missouri, where Japan's surrender was signed, is now a museum ship. The site is a US national memorial.

   Check the National Park Service site for memorial programme tickets and the museum ship's entry before you go.

   45,761 readers a month

   Sources

   • National Park Service, USS Arizona Memorial
   • National Park Service, Pearl Harbor National Memorial
   • Wikipedia, USS Missouri (BB-63)

2. 

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   2. Diamond Head

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Active
   • Couples

   A volcanic tuff cone above Honolulu, known to Hawaiians as Lēʻahi. British sailors named it in the 19th century after calcite crystals on the nearby beach.

   Check current access rules for the Diamond Head state monument before you go.

   7,062 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Diamond Head, Hawaii

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   3. Kailua and Lanikai Beach

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Families
   • Couples

   Kailua is on the windward coast at Kailua Bay, about 12 miles (19 km) north-east of Honolulu over the Nuʻuanu Pali. Lanikai Beach is in a small community within Kailua.

   5,970 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Kailua, Hawaii
   • Wikipedia, Lanikai Beach

4. 

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   4. Waikīkī Beach

   • Any morning or afternoon
   • No booking needed
   • Families
   • Couples
   • No car needed

   The Honolulu neighbourhood and the beach of the same name on its south shore, where most Oahu visitors stay.

   5,923 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Waikīkī

5. 

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   5. ʻIolani Palace

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Couples
   • Rainy day

   The royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1845 until the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, in downtown Honolulu. It is a National Historic Landmark.

   5,020 readers a month

   Sources

   • ʻIolani Palace
   • Wikipedia, ʻIolani Palace

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   6. Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • No booking needed
   • Active
   • Couples

   A famous surf break off Ehukai Beach Park on Oahu's North Shore, where huge waves break in shallow water over a sharp reef. A place to watch expert surfers from the beach, not to swim.

   4,925 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Banzai Pipeline

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   7. Kualoa Ranch

   • Half a day
   • Tickets needed
   • Families
   • Active

   A 4,000-acre private nature reserve and working cattle ranch on the windward coast, established in 1850 and used as a film location. It is about 24 miles (39 km) from Waikīkī.

   2,379 readers a month

   Sources

   • Kualoa Ranch
   • Wikipedia, Kualoa Ranch

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   8. Hanauma Bay

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families

   A sheltered bay formed inside an old volcanic tuff ring on the south-east coast, in Hawaii Kai.

   Check current entry and reservation rules with the city before you go.

   1,941 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Hanauma Bay
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   9. Polynesian Cultural Center

   • Most of a day
   • Tickets needed
   • Families

   A living museum and cultural attraction in Laie on the north shore, opened in 1963 on 42 acres next to Brigham Young University–Hawaii.

   1,664 readers a month

   Sources

   • Polynesian Cultural Center
   • Wikipedia, Polynesian Cultural Center

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    10. Koko Head

    • 2 to 3 hours
    • No booking needed
    • Active

    The headland on the eastern side of Maunalua Bay, an old volcanic tuff cone beside the taller Koko Crater, which rises to about 368 m.

    1,630 readers a month

    Sources

    • Wikipedia, Koko Head

Just missed the list: Byodo-In Temple (11th; a temple in the Valley of the Temples); Bishop Museum (12th by readers)