Why this guide: about 27,100 people a month search Google for “things to do in honolulu” (US, DataForSEO Labs, September 2026). This is the answer we would give a client, written to be booked from.
The short answer
- Do firstDiamond Head at sunrise (reservation), the USS Arizona Memorial, and Hanauma Bay's reef
- FreeWaikiki Beach, the Pali Lookout, Lanikai and Kailua beaches, the Makapu'u lighthouse trail, the North Shore's beaches, the Friday fireworks at the Hilton Hawaiian Village
- SkipThe Waikiki luau shows unless you are choosing Paradise Cove or the Polynesian Cultural Center
Waikiki and Diamond Head
Waikiki Beach for a surf lesson (the waves are gentle), an outrigger canoe ride, and the sunset from Duke's; the Royal Hawaiian's pink walls and the Moana Surfrider's banyan veranda are the historic hotels. Diamond Head's crater trail (45 minutes up; timed reservations required for non-residents) at sunrise for the Waikiki view; Kapiolani Park and the Honolulu Zoo at its base. Leonard's malasadas on the way.
Pearl Harbor and downtown
Pearl Harbor National Memorial: the USS Arizona boat program is free but the timed tickets go fast on recreation.gov; the Battleship Missouri, the Bowfin submarine and the Aviation Museum are the paid add-ons. Downtown: Iolani Palace (the only royal palace in the US), the Kamehameha statue, Chinatown's lei stands and Maunakea Market, and the Bishop Museum for Hawaiian history. Shangri La, Doris Duke's Islamic-art house in Black Point, needs a booked tour.
East and windward
Hanauma Bay's reef (reservations, closed Mondays and Tuesdays, go early), the Halona blowhole, Sandy Beach's bodysurfing, the Makapu'u lighthouse trail for whales in winter. Over the Pali Highway (stop at the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout) to Kailua and Lanikai — the island's best swimming beaches, with kayaks to the Mokulua islets. Kualoa Ranch's Jurassic valley tours; Byodo-In temple in the Valley of the Temples.
The North Shore
An hour's drive: Haleiwa town's shrimp trucks (Giovanni's) and shave ice (Matsumoto's), Waimea Bay (calm in summer, 30-foot surf in winter), Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline for the Vans Triple Crown in November–December, Laniakea's turtles, and the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie for the luau that is actually worth it. Waimea Valley's waterfall walk is the inland stop.
Eat, and get there
Poke from Ono Seafood or Foodland, plate lunch from Rainbow Drive-In, Helena's Hawaiian Food, a shrimp plate on the North Shore, malasadas, and one resort dinner with the sunset. Daniel K. Inouye International (HNL) is 20–30 minutes from Waikiki; the engine's Honolulu page carries the Waikiki hotels, and a chauffeur from HNL beats the shuttle's six-hotel loop. See our Diamond Head guide and the best time to visit Hawaii.
Three things to get right
- Reserve Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay and the Arizona Memorial before you fly.
- North Shore surf is a winter show; summer is for swimming there.
- Lanikai at sunrise is the island's best hour.
Book it
Featured destination: Honolulu — hotels, airport and activities on one engine page.
