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Image by Michelle Pitzel from Pixabay

O’ahu is the third largest Hawaiian island and home to Hawaii’s capital and largest city, Honolulu. It is also the most populated island. Of course, O’ahu is a tropical beauty, with a long coastline of sandy beaches fringed by gently swaying palm trees. Off these beaches are clear waters perfect for divers and snorkelers, but also watersports-lovers of all kinds.  The Hawaiian islands were created by volcanic activity, and O’ahu is two collapsed shield volcanoes, creating hilly terrain that’s a playground for walkers and bikers too. For those seeking cultural pleasures, O’ahu is home to the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Waikīkī Aquarium, the ‘Iolani Palace, the Pearl Harbour Memorial, the Bishop Museum, the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, the Ala Moana Centre and Kualoa Ranch. And there’s great shopping…

Our Guide to the Neighbourhoods of O’ahu

Map via Wikitravel

Honolulu

Image by Werbeagentur ComMotion from Pixabay

You might be expecting the sand and palm trees, but you might not be expecting the impressive collection of skyscrapers! Honolulu is a surprisingly big city, by far the most populous centre in all of Hawaii, and the best place for shopping, nightlife and all the excitement of a city break — Hawaiian style!  As well as a fun tropical island atmosphere, there are loads of great sightseeing opportunities. The ‘Iolani Palace (the U.S.A.’s only real royal palace), a collection of great galleries and art museums, plus the Bishop Museum, a zoo, and the atmospheric USS Arizona Memorial. There are beaches aplenty, with surfing and diving for all abilities, hiking trails up Diamond Head, in the Queen Kapiolani Park or the ‘Ualala’a State Wayside Park. Honolulu is also where you’ll find Ala Moana, the world’s largest open-air shopping centre, as well as plenty of smaller shopping streets and markets, and a fantastic Chinatown. Honolulu has a myriad of places to stay over too, from luxury resorts and hotels, through to guesthouses and B&Bs, with apartment hotels aplenty.  

Waikīkī 

Image by Jed S from Pixabay

Waikīkī and its beach sit just below Diamond Head, on the south shore of Honolulu. It’s a spectacular beach, with fine, white sand and clear, aqua waters and arguably one of the world’s best known. Waikīkī is an ideal spot for swimming and sunbathing and is one of the most densely resort-covered parts of the Hawaiian islands; but with a stretch of beach this long, it doesn’t feel too congested. Lots of accommodation is right on the beach, but there are plenty of cheaper options up to three blocks back. Waikīkī Beach has always been a great place to learn to surf, swim or canoe, but there’s also plenty of sightseeing to do — you’re close to many of Honolulu’s attractions.

Leeward Coast 

By Nicolai Edgar Andersen - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Leeward Coast is O’ahu’s western coastline, including the resorts of Makaha and Kō Olina. Dry and sunny, this is the part of the island to head for if you’re looking for a relaxed pace and plenty of bright, white sand. There are a number of large resort complexes here, but there are also picturesque towns, smaller properties, and plenty of quiet pockets of beach you have to drive to get to, and will be all alone on. There’s also a bird sanctuary at idyllic Ka’ena Point, the island’s most western point. If you’re looking for fantastic resort facilities, the Kō Olina resort has pretty much everything, including several major hotels, a 43 acre marina, a golf course and a water park. It’s also close to famed surfing spots, Yokohama Bay and Mākaha Beach.  

Turtle Bay

Image by Alan Resende from Pixabay

You could say that Turtle Bay does what it says on the tin, in that this is a bay where green sea turtles come to feed. The Turtle Bay area is also a great spot for whale watching. Turtles obviously like it here, but it’s not the best beach for human swimmers: the beach is soft, golden sand, but the ocean floor is rocky, and there’s a large shelf of limestone, which grows a lot of algae. There are a couple of local surfing breaks, though, including Rainbow Breaks.  However, this is also a good spot for kayaking. The algae hasn’t stopped a number of hotels from being built along this eight kilometre stretch of beach, including the north shore’s largest hotel, the Ritz Carlton, O’ahu, a luxurious pick with a golf course. It’s not the only place to stay here, there are another couple of hotels, and some cottages.  

Haleʻiwa

Image by Nicolas T Lopez from Pixabay

Haleʻiwa is a North Shore surf town with an arty edge and plenty of history. The surfers swing by for the famous beaches of Waimea Bay, several of which are known for their breaks and pipeline potential, but stay for the friendly foodie culture — think street trucks with a view — and for the unique and independent galleries and boutiques, which have been painted in a rainbow of colours. Haleʻiwa also has a macadamia nut farm located at the foot of Mt. Kaala, the island’s highest mountain, some fantastic trails through spectacular natural scenery, great kayaking and paddle boarding opportunities and the chance to see sea turtles or even swim with sharks! Haleʻiwa is also a popular spot with divers and snorkelers, and of course learning to surf! O’ahu’s North Shore isn’t known for its big hotels — there are just a handful around Turtle Bay. This part of the island has many more smaller hotels, guesthouses, aparthotels and villas; this is the place to camp too! Haleʻiwa has a very different atmosphere from busy Waikīkī; this is a place to relax and reset to island time, with genuine Hawaiian culture.  

Kailua

Image by eliana bersh from Pixabay

Kailua and Kāneʻohe are on O’ahu’s Windward Side — or the eastern coastline to non-island dwellers. This side of the island used to be a bit of a secret enjoyed by the locals, but Kailua Beach was too lovely, and surf-friendly, to go unnoticed, and it’s now becoming more popular with visitors, and more visitor facilities are popping up to welcome them including more places to eat and stay, and really good watersports facilities especially for windsurfing and kitesurfing. As well as getting plenty of attention from surfers, Kailua is developing a reputation for its whale watching tours. And there’s a fantastic regular local market. There’s not a huge range of accommodation in Kailua (yet), but there’s a good variety, from smaller resorts to hotels to B&Bs. 

Kāneʻohe

By Anthony Quintano from Honolulu, HI, United States - Kaneohe Bay Oahu Hawaii, CC BY 2.0

Kāneʻohe is the largest town on Kāneʻohe Bay, a long scoop of white, sandy beach. It’s commonly arrived at by boat, but if you’re staying here, you may come by road, through a beautifully lush region of valleys and volcanic hills; Kāneʻohe gets quite a bit of rainfall, so it’s one of the greenest regions on O’ahu. If you arrive by boat, you’ll be greeted by Kāneʻohe’s fantastic watersports facilities: there are fishing and sailing charters, diving and snorkelling, kayaking and paddle-boarding, and of course surfing. Kāneʻohe also has three golf courses, a yacht club and marina, botanical gardens, a fantastic farmer’s market, and a decent little mall. It’s a good choice for Hawaiian lifestyle, but it’s a smaller centre, so while there’s a good range of accommodation, there’s not huge amounts of it.