Everybody books Pearl Harbor first. The island is the other nine tenths.
Which Arizona Memorial ticket actually puts you on the boat. What a nine hour circle island day costs. Whether the turtles off Waikiki are worth a seven o’clock catamaran. Reviews of every tour you can book on Oahu.
Pearl Harbor, the coast road, the turtle water, the crater at dawn.
The four days a first week on Oahu is usually built around. What each one costs, and what the people who took it came back saying.
01The harbour morningSalute to Pearl Harbor Including USS ArizonaThe Arizona Memorial programme with the harbour narration on the way over. Take an early departure, before the heat and the queue for the launch.
02The whole coastOahu Grand Circle Island and Haleiwa Tour: 9-Hr Deluxe ExperienceNine hours right around Oahu, through the Pali and up the windward side to Haleiwa. The day that shows you an island instead of a strip.
03Turtles before lunchTurtle Snorkeling and Sailing on HāweaA sail off Waikiki to the turtle ground under Diamond Head, masks handed out on deck. Back on the beach by early afternoon.
04The crater at dawnDiamond Head CraterDiamond Head on the first slot of the morning, down again before the rim gets hot. Out of state visitors reserve entry in advance.
Pearl Harbor is four separate visits sharing one gate.
A memorial over a sunken hull, the battleship where the surrender was signed, a wartime submarine you climb down inside, and the harbour itself from the water. What each one costs, and how much of a day it takes.
Oahu is a small island with six very different days on it.
A war grave in a working harbour, a beach with catamarans pulled up on it, a coast road that takes nine hours, a surf coast that closes in winter, a crater above the towers and a valley that ends in a waterfall.
The circle island run is the day that turns Waikiki back into an island.
Every circle island day →
Out through the Pali gap, up the windward coast under the Koolau cliffs, past Kualoa to the North Shore for shave ice, then back down the pineapple middle. It is a long time in a seat, and it is the only way to see Oahu without hiring a car.
Nine hours, the full loop
The whole coast with the swimming stops kept in. Pick-ups start before seven in Waikiki, which is what it costs to reach the North Shore ahead of the coaches.
Six seats and an open jeep
Same coast, no coach. A jeep gets down the side tracks a forty seater cannot use, and you stop when the water looks right rather than when the schedule says so.
North Shore only, home for dinner
Straight over the middle to Haleiwa and Waimea Bay, then back. Half the driving, and it still lands you on the coast people talk about when they get home.
The Oahu days out that fill up first.
Every Oahu tour we have reviewed →The tours more people take than anything else on the island, and what earns each one its place.
1
Oahu Grand Circle Island and Haleiwa Tour: 9-Hr Deluxe Experience
See Oahu’s major sights in one day with a guide such as Marlon, Lola, or Tony. The route includes Diamond Head views, Halona Blowhole, Nuʻuanu Pali, Byodo-In Temple, Haleiwa, and Dole Plantation. Expect an early pickup, a large coach, short scenic stops, and free time for lunch in Haleiwa.
From · $140
Read our review →
2
Grand Tour Around Island 16 Locations plus Snorkeling
from $109
3
Salute to Pearl Harbor Including USS Arizona
from $59
4
Majestic Circle Island Tour with Lunch
from $181
5
Oahu’s Ultimate Tour: Dole, Turtle Snorkel, Pali Lookout & More
from $108
6
Oahu Circle Island Tour with Turtle Snorkeling— Small-Groups
from $149
7
Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial
from $55
8
Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour
from $143
Honolulu does not stop when the sun goes into the sea.
A luau on the water at Aloha Tower, fireworks off Waikiki every Friday night, a catamaran that casts off at golden hour and comes back in the dark. The evening is the cheapest good decision on this island.
The turtles are twenty minutes from your towel.
Turtle Canyon sits just off Diamond Head, and half of these boats leave from the beach itself. Take the morning sail before the trade wind gets up, and keep the afternoon for lying on the sand.
The North Shore is an hour from Waikiki and a different island.
Waimea Valley ends at a waterfall you are allowed to swim under. Haleiwa is one street of shave ice and surfboards. From November the swell arrives at heights that close the beaches to swimmers and fill the car parks with people watching other people surf.
- 1Oahu Grand Circle Island and Haleiwa Tour: 9-Hr Deluxe Experiencefrom $140
- 2Tour of North Shore & Waimea Waterfallfrom $154
- 3All Inclusive Ultimate Circle Island Tour, Waimea Falls & Lunchfrom $156
The price of an Oahu day, band by band.
Every tour on the site, grouped by the price on the door. The cheap end of this island is a good deal better than it has any right to be.
Memorial entry, the shuttle up to the North Shore, snorkel sails off the beach and the shorter runs around town.
The standards: Pearl Harbor with a guide, the circle island coach, turtle mornings and a seat at a luau.
Doors-off helicopters, private jeeps and drivers, and the front tables on a luau lawn.
Diamond Head is twenty minutes of climbing and the entire south shore.
The rim looks straight down onto Waikiki, and the trail is short, steep and completely uncovered. Out of state visitors book an entry slot and a parking space before they arrive. Take the first slot of the day or take the heat.
Every climb and lookout →
Three things on Oahu that happen nowhere else.
Beaches and buffets exist everywhere. A memorial standing over a sunken battleship, a valley that ends in a waterfall you can stand under, and a night of Polynesian dance on the harbour do not.
The USS Arizona Memorial
The white span crosses the hull of a battleship that has been on the harbour floor since December 1941, with most of her crew still aboard. A navy launch carries visitors out; the memorial itself is quiet, and oil still rises from the wreck in slow drops. Entry is by timed programme, and the wall of names is the point of the visit.
- 1Salute to Pearl Harbor Including USS Arizona★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 7,433 reviews
- 2Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 5,209 reviews
- 3Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial & Honolulu City Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 4,866 reviews
Waimea Valley
A mile of botanical garden runs up a valley behind Waimea Bay to a fall you can swim beneath, life jacket handed to you at the pool. The valley was a place of Hawaiian priests long before it was a garden, and the walk up passes house platforms and stone terraces that are still there. The water above the pool decides whether swimming happens that day.
- 1Tour of North Shore & Waimea Waterfall★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,682 reviews
- 2All Inclusive Ultimate Circle Island Tour, Waimea Falls & Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,067 reviews
- 3Byodo In Temple, Waimea Botanical Garden-Waterfall: Includes Fees★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 291 reviews
A night at a luau
Kalua pig out of the ground, poi that divides every table, and dancers from across Polynesia working through Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti and Aotearoa before the fire knife comes out. The oceanfront settings are the ones that sell out first, and the seats nearest the stage go months ahead in summer.
- 1Mauka Warriors Luau Honoring Polynesia’s Forgotten History★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,013 reviews
- 2Germaine’s Luau★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 652 reviews
- 3Chief’s Luau Admission Including Transfers★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 457 reviews
Four Oahu bookings that will not wait for you to land.
Most of this island can be sorted from a table in Waikiki the night before. These four run on timed entry, reservation windows and closing days that take no interest in when your flight gets in.
- 01Salute to Pearl Harbor Including USS ArizonaThe Arizona Memorial programme runs on timed launches with a fixed number of seats, and the free walk-up tickets go within minutes of release.
- 02Diamond Head CraterOut of state visitors have to reserve an entry slot, and a parking space if they are driving, before they turn up at the tunnel.
- 03Pearl Harbor, Dole Plantation, and Polynesian Center from WaikikiThe Polynesian Cultural Center closes on Sundays, and the evening show is booked separately from daytime entry.
- 04Mauka Warriors Luau Honoring Polynesia’s Forgotten HistoryThe big luaus run a set number of nights a week, and the tables nearest the water are the first thing gone in summer.
The windward side takes the rain, and the winter swell closes the water.
Showers come over the Koolau range most afternoons and pass in twenty minutes. Winter is the real constraint: from November the north swell shuts the surf coast to swimmers and the snorkel boats stay on the leeward side. Both have the same answer, which is a day on the south side, mostly under a roof.
- 1Salute to Pearl Harbor Including USS Arizonafrom $59
- 2Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorialfrom $55
- 3Pearl Harbor Remembered Tourfrom $143
By place — harbour, beach, coast road
By kind of day — water, engine, plate or memorial
Pearl Harbor, the turtle water, the crater, then the whole coast.
A luauThe most recent Oahu write-ups.
Further down the new list →
BYOB Weekend Sightseeing Sail towards Diamond Head
Read our review →
Pearl Harbor and Oahu Circle Island Tour FROM KONA
Read our review →
DEPARTURE-Private Transfer waikiki to HNL airport by minivan
Read our review →
Private Transfer to/from Honolulu Airport – Waikiki
Read our review →
Board from Waikiki Beach for our Aloha Hour Sail
Read our review →
