OAHU · HAWAII
The reef, the ridgeline, the road around.
Pearl Harbor and the circle-island drive, reef snorkels with the green honu, North Shore surf and Diamond Head at dawn. Catamaran sunsets, the luau after dark, and the best way to do each.
Only here
Some days you can only have here.
Catamaran cruises and helicopter rides you can find on any island. A battleship memorial you reach by boat, the winter home of big-wave surfing, and the valley Hollywood films as the rest of the planet belong to Oahu alone.
History on the water
Pearl Harbor
The USS Arizona still lies where she sank on December 7, 1941, and the white memorial rests directly above her, a drop of oil still rising to the surface every few seconds. You reach it by Navy launch across the harbor, with the Battleship Missouri moored a short walk away, the deck where the war ended facing the spot where it began.
- 1 Salute to Pearl Harbor Including USS Arizona
- 2 Oahu: Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial
- 3 Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour
The proving ground
The North Shore
Seven miles of sand on the island’s north edge turn into the most-watched waves in surfing each winter, when Pipeline and Waimea pull the world’s best to a single stretch of coast. By summer the same beaches go glassy, green turtles haul out at Laniakea, and Haleiwa town slows the whole day down.
- 1 Oahu Grand Circle Island and Haleiwa Tour: 9-Hr Deluxe Experience
- 2 Oahu Circle Island Tour with Waimea Waterfall
- 3 Tour of North Shore & Waimea Waterfall
The back lot
Kualoa Valley
The deep green valley at Kualoa has stood in for the rest of the planet on screen for decades, from Jurassic Park to Kong to Lost. It is still a working cattle ranch under the Koolau cliffs, and the tours run the film sites, the old WWII bunkers and the valley floor by jeep, e-bike and horseback.
- 1 Oahu: Kualoa Ranch Movie Sites and Ranch Tour
- 2 Oahu: Kualoa Ranch UTV Raptor Tour
- 3 Oahu: Kualoa Open Air Jungle Expedition Tour
Start with the standout
The one almost everyone books first.
More Oahu trips are built around this single day than anything else on the island.
The classics
Oahu's Most Popular Tours
Pearl Harbor, the circle-island drive, a reef snorkel and a sunset sail. The days most people fly to Oahu for.
Where to begin
The days an Oahu trip is built around.
Pearl Harbor, the circle-island loop, the reef snorkels, the North Shore, the catamaran sunsets and the luau. The handful of days most trips are planned around, and the best way to do each.
The big one
How to do Pearl Harbor.
It is the visit almost everyone books, and the tickets and combinations trip people up the first time. Three ways to see it, depending on how much of a day you want to give it.
Mask on
Swim with the honu.
Oahu’s reefs sit in bath-warm water a short boat ride off the south and west shores, and the green sea turtle, the honu, grazes them in the open. Snorkel cruises run out to Turtle Canyon and the reefs past Waikiki, most with the gear, the lunch and a glass-bottom look thrown in for anyone happy to stay dry.
Read the guide: the best snorkel tours on Oahu →Up north
The Seven Mile Miracle.
In winter the North Shore turns over into the most famous waves on earth: Pipeline, Sunset, Waimea, all on one stretch of coast. By summer the same beaches lie glassy and calm, the green turtles haul out at Laniakea, and the day slows to shave ice in Haleiwa and a drive past the shrimp trucks.
See the North Shore tours →The water
Where the island meets the open ocean.
Past the reef the Pacific runs warm and deep, and the whole island leans toward it. Catamarans sail straight off the sand at Waikiki, humpback whales cross the channel from December to April, and the dinner cruises push out just in time for the sun to drop behind the water.
Cruises & boat trips →Kualoa Ranch
Hollywood’s favorite valley.
The deep green valley at Kualoa has played the rest of the planet on screen for thirty years, from Jurassic Park and Kong to Godzilla and Lost. It is still a working cattle ranch under the Koolau cliffs, and the tours run the film sites, the old WWII bunkers and the valley floor by jeep, e-bike and horseback.
- 1 Oahu: Kualoa Ranch Movie Sites and Ranch Tour
- 2 Oahu: Kualoa Ranch UTV Raptor Tour
- 3 Oahu: Kualoa Open Air Jungle Expedition Tour
By pace
Pick your pace.
Oahu runs the whole range in a single day. Glassy and slow when you want the water, the classic loop when you want the island, and the deep end when you want your heart going.
Easy does it
Sunset sails and the luau.A catamaran off Waikiki, dinner on the water as the light goes, and the torches lit for the luau after dark.
The classic day
All the way around the island.The circle-island loop to the North Shore, Pearl Harbor and the memorials, Diamond Head at first light.
Full send
Off the deep end.Cage diving with the sharks off Haleiwa, parasails over the reef, and a first surf lesson on a Waikiki break.
After dark
When the island lights the torches.
The luau is Oahu after sundown: kalua pig pulled from an underground imu, poi and lomi salmon down the long tables, and a revue that runs from Hawaiian hula to the Samoan fire-knife dance. The big shows sit right on the water west of Waikiki, the torches lit as the sky turns orange.
See all 17 luaus & shows →By place
One island, six corners.
Honolulu and Waikiki for the beach and the base. Pearl Harbor for the history. The North Shore for the surf. Diamond Head for the climb. Kualoa for the film sites. And the full loop for everything in between.
By activity
Pick how to spend the day.
Snorkel if you want the reef. Catamaran if you want the sail. Helicopter if you want the ridgelines from above. Pearl Harbor for the history, the circle-island loop for the lot.
Plan it
Three perfect days on Oahu.
First time on the island? Here is a three-day run that hits the essentials without a wasted hour.
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