Another side to Oahu: 4 awesome Waikiki daytrips

Waikiki Beach is a buzz of fun, energy, glitzy beachfront resorts, people-watching, all-day happy hours, high-end shopping, and BIG American-sized meals.

As much as I love its atmosphere and fun-loving nature, it’s an absolute must when holidaying in the Aloha State to hire a rooftop jeep, hit the open road, and discover the ‘real’ Hawaii.

From my recent visit, below are my top 4 picks for Waikiki daytrips:

1. Meet the friendly locals

Hanauma Bay is only about a 20-minute drive from Waikiki, yet feels a world away. This underwater nature world was once a volcanic crater and its blue waters are home to amazing, colourful marine life.

The highlight of my day was meeting this little guy below 🙂 . I absolutely love turtles, so seeing one was very high on my Hawaii holiday list. Just as I was about to give up, he popped his head up and said hello.

2. Hit up the North Shore:

You can easily spend a whole day on this side of the island. I recommend getting up early and spending your morning swimming or watching the surf at any of the big-name beaches, such as Waimea Bay or Sunset Beach.

Grab lunch from one of the shrimp trucks on the highway (delicious!).

Then, for the golf enthusiasts, play a round at world-class Turtle Bay Resort.

Or do as we did, and let the boys get serious about golf while the girls have an afternoon of sipping cocktails at the beach bar (home to heaps of blockbuster movies, such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall). MUCH better option.

3. Hike Diamond Head

Although not too far out of Waikiki, this is an awesome way to escape for a few hours to check out the island from a different perspective.

Not only does the hike have breathtaking views, it also provides some pretty cool historic insights along the way as you pass through dark underground tunnels and old military bunkers to get to the top.

Best bit? Once you’ve reached the bottom and finished your hike, you can hit up the shaved ice van at the bottom of the mountain… which is exactly what you’ll feel like after climbing up and down a 230m tall crater!

4. Head west side

This was probably one of my favourite daytrips. Not many tourists visit the western coast of Oahu, however I highly recommend spending at least half a day at Kaena Point National Park.

We hiked to Kaena Point, which is the most westerly point of the island. The 2.5hr round trip is beautiful – I was so busy checking out the scenery I hardly noticed the time it took!

I recommend finishing the hike with a swim in the beautiful aqua waters of Makua Beach, which is one of the most secluded and isolated beaches on Oahu. You won’t see any tourists here!

Have you been to Hawaii? Comment and tell us about your favourite daytrip!