Things to do in Honolulu

Nature · East Honolulu

The tuff cone that ends every postcard, with a paved-and-stepped trail to a coastal artillery observation post at the rim and a 360-degree view of the south shore.

Local tip: Out-of-state visitors must reserve entry online in advance; Hawaiʻi residents with a state ID enter without a reservation and without the fee. Go at opening, then walk down into Kaimukī on Waiʻalae Avenue for breakfast — it is the best eating street in the city and almost no visitor finds it.

Culture · Downtown, west end

One of the oldest Chinatowns in the United States, still a working market district of lei stands, fishmongers and noodle houses, with galleries and bars layered over the top on Nuʻuanu and Hotel Streets.

Local tip: First Friday is the long-running gallery walk and the easiest way to meet people in your first month. Go to the markets in the morning for produce at a fraction of supermarket prices — this is the single biggest lever on a Honolulu grocery bill.

Neighborhood · Between downtown and Ala Moana

The city's fastest-changing district: former warehouses and light industry now interleaved with high-rise towers, the largest concentration of street murals in the state, and the SALT block of independent shops and restaurants.

Local tip: POW! WOW! Hawaiʻi repainted these walls annually for a decade, so the murals genuinely change — the walk is different year to year. Kakaʻako Waterfront Park at sunset is where locals go to avoid the Waikīkī crowd two kilometres away.

Nature · Windward side, 30–40 minutes from town

The windward coast's two best-known beaches, with turquoise water, offshore islets and a small-town main street behind them, reached through the tunnels under the Koʻolau range.

Local tip: There is no public parking at Lanikai and the residential streets are heavily enforced — park in Kailua town and cycle or walk in. Go on a weekday; the Pali and Likelike tunnels back into town at weekend rush are the island's worst traffic.

Landmark · ʻAiea / Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam

The site of the 7 December 1941 attack, with the memorial built over the sunken battleship, plus the Bowfin submarine, the Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island.

Local tip: Arizona Memorial programme tickets are released on a rolling schedule online and the walk-up allocation goes early; book rather than arriving hopeful. Skyline's Makalapa station now puts the visitor centre within reach without driving, which was not true before October 2025.

Nature · Windward and central Oʻahu

Beyond the four or five trails on every visitor list is a much larger network across the Koʻolau range — knife-edge ridges, waterfalls and windward views — administered by the state's Nā Ala Hele trail system.

Local tip: Check Nā Ala Hele for whether a trail is actually legal and open before you go; several of the most photographed routes on Oʻahu, including the Haʻikū Stairs, are closed and enforced. The stairs were physically removed in 2024, so any guide still recommending them is out of date.