Some of my favorite things to do and favorite places to go on Oahu.
I’ve heard more than a few times that when people first land on Oahu they are disappointed because what they see is not what they expected. They wanted to only see beach and jungle and that’s not the only thing they got. What sets Oahu apart from the other Hawaiian islands is that Honolulu is a fully functioning city comprised of distinct neighborhoods and is where most locals live and work. These things coexist against a backdrop of jagged mountain ranges and alongside beautiful beaches and right next to lush rainforests. I think that’s the beauty of Oahu, you can enjoy the dynamic energy and culture that cities create while living your best island life.
Kaimuki
Kaimuki is a little neighborhood just inland from Diamond Head and part of Honolulu. It reminds me a little bit of New York’s lower east side. It was very close to us when we lived in Honolulu and I loved going there to do the friday or saturday morning rotation of shops. It went something like this: 1st stop Curb for coffee. 2nd stop Breadshop or Local General for pastries and to pick up bread from the former and meat from the latter for the weekend. Next stop, Island Boy for some perusing. Then pop next door to Pua Hana to pick up fresh flowers. Each stop takes a while because you often start chatting with shop owners and you inevitably bump into someone you know. Stop by Bead it! to work on an ongoing craft project. By this time it’s early afternoon and you go to Sprout for a sandwich or Banán for a sweet treat. Final stop is Tamura's, one of those funny places that is one thing but has a lot of random other things as well; in this case a liquor store that also has a Poke counter in the back as well as a very random selection of imported artisanal crackers that look like they may have been there for years.
Coffee, Food & Drinks
The Curb: Great coffee. I also love their Pandan matcha, 1/2 syrup.
The Local General: Butcher shop, bakery & market using local ingredients from local farms. My husband says the croissants are parisian-level.
Breadshop: Bakery. Sourdough and pastries. Furikake focaccia. We got all our bread here, look up hours and pick up rules bc they are specific. Delicious croissants but you can’t get them until mid morning as they have a strict bake schedule.
Sprout: Excellent sandwich shop, locally sourced ingredients.
Mud Hen Water: Ed Kenny restaurant. Good cocktails & hawaiian inspired small plates. Nice bar.
Yakitori Ando: Hole in the wall chicken yakitori omakase. Reservations in advance.
Kaimuki Shokudo: Easy and casual izakaya. Lychee martinis, hamachi collar, watercress soba salad.
Miro: Delicious tasting menu. You can also sit at the bar and order a la carte, I recommend the uni brioche & a glass of champagne.
Koko Head Cafe: Breakfast. Haupia pancakes.
Banán: Banana based ice cream, not my favorite bc I don’t love banana but other people really like it. I got their Lilikoi (passionfruit) smoothie.
Pipeline Bakeshop: Most people go to Leonard’s but we think these malasadas are amazing.
Shopping
Island Boy: Beautifully curated boutique with a little bit of everything. You can get stunningly handcrafted leis here as well.
Pua Hana: Cute little flower/gift shop.
Local I'A: Boat to table seafood shop from fishermen using pono fishing practices.
Bead it!: Local bead shop if you’re inspired to take a one off jewelry class they have them.
North Shore
The North Shore of Oahu is beautiful and known for its passionate surf community and big waves. Galleries, little shops and food trucks line Kamehameha Highway. Over the years I’ve tried most of the food trucks and honestly, no one truck ever really stood out to me, but they’ve all been consistently good. Shrimp plates are the popular item, just sample whichever one you come across. In my opinion, you do not go to the North Shore for food but you do have to eat while there so aside from the food trucks, a few places below plus beaches & a gem of a boutique.
The Smoking Boar & the Coconut: Rustic, hippy-ish spot for breakfast/lunch. Good poke.
The Sunrise Shack: North shore breakfast lunch place for smoothies acai bowls and avocado toast.
Farm to Barn: Breakfast/lunch.
Number 808: Most notable boutique on the North Shore, vintage & new and full of little treasures.
Log Cabins & Pipeline: Big, beautiful beaches with big waves (in winter), perfect for watching the show happening in the water. These beaches are really part of one long continuous beach
Pua'ena Point Beach: Little rocky & sandy beach with tide pools and Honu
The rest of the Island
Coffee, Food & Drinks
Mitch's: Our first stop when we land in Honolulu because it’s right next to the airport. Get the salmon belly.
Kaimana Hotel: Cute hotel with a good breakfast and dinner views on the water at their restaurant Hau Tree. There is also a coffee shop (I get the ube matcha 1/2 syrup) It’s nice to grab a coffee or matcha and walk along Kalākaua avenue into Waikiki. It’s also great for cocktails. Get the The 1944 or The Waikiki mai tai depending on your mood.
Morning Glass Coffee: Great coffee, an assortment of different savory breakfast items, and scones with interesting local flavor combos like lilikoi honey butter. There is always a line. In Manoa. We went here a lot.
Off the Hook Poke: Go for lunch. In Manoa.
Pioneer Saloon: Neighborhood takeout spot. They don’t use seed oils! Miso butterfish & chicken Karaage. In Diamond Head.
Monsarrat Ice Shave Ice: Hawaiian shaved ice but without all the artificial flavors. Only open Friday-Sunday. In Diamond Head.
Diamond Head Market & Grill: They carry our favorite local ice cream, Sage Creamery, maybe my favorite ice cream ever, and other desserts.
Chad Lou’s: Great coffee and another location to pick up Sage Creamery ice cream. Kailua.
Over Easy: Breakfast spot in Kailua.
Sushi II: Sushi bar located in a strip mall, an old favorite.
Merriman's: Go for pau hana. Their mai tai is topped with Lilikoi foam and is delicious. Ward Village.
Halekulani Hotel: Elegant hotel on the water. Touristy and classic. Waikiki.
Orchids: Dinner on quintessential greenlawns with ocean view.
House without a Key: Go for Earl’s Daiquiri and furikake french fries while watching hula and listening to ukulele.
La Mer: Fine dining with beautiful sunset views and the sounds of ukulele drifting up.
Izakaya Gaku: Traditional Japanese.
Tempura Ichika: Tempura omakase. The chef here worked at a restaurant we loved in NYC and moved here to open his own place.
Waiola Shave Ice: Old-school, iconic place for shave ice.
The Pig & the Lady: Vietnamese spot for a fun dinner. Good cocktails. Chinatown.
O'Kim's: Authentic Korean restaurant, a chinatown institution. If you can, sit on the back patio.
Lee's Bakery & Kitchen: Local bakery specializing in Custard pie. Chinatown.
Fete: One of my favorite restaurants. James Beard award. Chinatown.
Sushi Sho: Upscale omakase.
Maguro Brothers: Chinatown location for trays of sashimi & uni.
Nami Kaze: Japanese/american.
Kalapawai Market: Local deli in Kailua.
Fujiya: Wagashi japanese treats including fresh mochi.
Things to do & Shopping:
Liljestrand House: A tour of a house designed by mid century architect Vladimir Ossipoff up on tantalus mountain. The house was just opened to the public in the last few years and it’s amazing. Go take an architectural tour or do a workshop.
Shangri La: Doris Duke’s home-turned museum. Book in advance.
Lolani Palace: Historical tour of the Hawaiian monarchy palace.
Baby Hula: If you have a baby or toddler this is a cute class to drop into. Fridays at 10:30am on Magic island in Ala Moana.
Ossipoff Cabin: Ossipoff’s personal cabin on Oahu’s west side was recently restored and is worth going to see via a workshop or architectural tour.
Honolulu Museum of Art: The prettiest little museum divided into outdoor courtyards. They also offer art classes, I took an enameling class and loved it.
Yuda Abitbol: Hawaiian chef & forager. He does pop up dinners from time to time and can be booked for private dinners. He forages using traditional practices for most of his ingredients and also offers foraging classes in the rainforest. We went to a dinner of his and it was a great experience.
Outrigger Canoe Club: If you can get a temporary membership they have a little beach with chairs and umbrellas, a beach cafe, and a restaurant. I used to go there to work sometimes and an older gentleman would arrive everyday at 11am and without a word a glass of red wine would arrive at his table followed by the portuguese soup. He had been a member there his whole life and would regale me with tales. A special place to hang out. Very OLD SCHOOL.
Diamond Head Tennis Center: Play tennis under the plumeria trees.
Mākālei Beach Park: My favorite little, easy beach; perfect for quick dips. There’s also a park with lots of plumeria trees for shade. Diamond Head.
Morning yoga at Leahi park with an ocean view.
One weekend a month there is a handcrafters fair at Kapiolani Park. There is one stall there called Modes de Tahiti by a woman named Celestine who makes very chic shell jewelry. Find her!
Le Flowers: Leis & flowers.
Olive & Oliver: Husband & wife men’s and women’s boutiques selling clothing & gifts. In Kailua.
Antique Alley - If you like thrifting and digging.
KailuaTown Farmers Market: Look for Big Time Bagels when you enter they incorporate local flavors like guava jelly, luau everything bagel, lomi lomi fish, tobiko and wasabi cream cheese. There’s a flower stand in the back full of exotic blooms. Saturdays mornings. The Kaka’ako farmers market seems to get more press but I think this one is much better.
Single Double: Uniquely curated vintage shop with a strong point of view. I find something I want every time in walk in there. Chinatown.
The Royal Hawaiian: For nostalgic reasons my husband loves getting a mai tai here and their mai tai bar is an iconic spot on waikiki beach. Two notable stores on the property are the quilt shop and the Panama hat shop. Authentic Hawaiian quilts are done by hand in traditional patterns, colors and techniques. They can take years to make and are meant to be passed down through generations. The ones still being made authenticity are difficult to find and many are now machine made or outsourced. The quilt shop at the Royal Hawaiian are designed by the owner and handmade in the Philippines and quite beautiful.
The Flying Pig: By appointment only, a large collection of antique south pacific furniture and other collectibles housed in a large bunker that you are personally escorted to by the owner.
Bailey's Aloha Shirts: Allegedly the world’s largest collection of vintage aloha shirts. If you want a very special, hard to find, vintage Aloha shirt, this is the place to go. They get very $$$
Pill Box Hike: In Lanikai.
Lanikai Beach: Beautiful fine white sand beach.
Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail: Hike best to do at sunrise.
Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden: Calling it a garden is a bit of an understatement, the mountain views here are breathtaking.
*Ideas*
There is a little “secret” beach next to the Outrigger Canoe club and behind Michel’s at the Colony Surf. It’s never too crowded and is just an easy, pretty, beach and great for kids. Natural shade if you go in the morning. There’s also a flagpole out in the water and everyone swims out to it and back. We had a guest membership to the Outrigger and I loved to do this swim and go for a sauna there after.
A date idea: (mostly for if you have kids and are trying to get one in before bedtime) Go play tennis at Diamond head center, then walk to the Kaimana hotel and go for a dip at their beach and then pop inside to their beach bar for a mai tai or restaurant for dinner. You have to be a little bohemian about it and be ok with rinsing off after the dip in their outdoor shower and maybe changing in the bathroom or in my case I would just wear my bathing suit as a bodysuit.
Get shaved Ice at Monsarrat Shave Ice and walk down Paki Avenue after alongside Kapiolani Park. You could end up at Makalei beach if you want to.
If you have some work to do go to the Kaimana and do it in their lobby, grab a matcha from their coffee shop on the way in.
For a lazy night, pick up Pioneer Saloon & a pint or two of Sage creamery ice cream from Diamond Head Grill and have a picnic at Makalei Beach or back at your hotel.
Our Friday morning routine: Breakfast at Koko Head Cafe, then baby Hula at Magic Island, stroll Magic Island and Ala Moana Beach Park. Then you could stop by Hana Koa brewing company or one of the other breweries in that area. Or go to Broome Street cafe for a quick coffee or light bite.
Have a Chinatown afternoon. Start with coffee at Local Joe. Walk through Chinatown and the Maunakea market. Stop at Maguro’s for poke. Then head to Single Double. (Roberta Oaks is also a worthwhile stop right nearby) Then have an early dinner at Fete and maybe follow it with an after dinner cocktail at Bar Leather Apron.
Head to KailuaTown farmers market on Sunday morning, you can get breakfast and coffee there and stock up on some snacks for a beach day after at Lanikai or Castles. In the afternoon head into Kailua town. Stop at Olive and Oliver boutiques for some shopping. If you need a second coffee go to Chad Lou’s right next door. A nice Sunday drive back to town is through Waimanalo and onto Makapu’u and Sandy’s beach and then into Hawaii Kai. You’ll want to pull over a million times to jump in the water.
Places I didn’t make it to but wanted to & have been recommended by the best:
Helena's Hawaiian Food: Local, authentic hawaiian food.
Asahi Grill: People love the oxtail soup.
Cowcow's Tea: for the best boba.
Crack Seed Store: Best li hing treats.
Shark Diving: A conservation based educational swimming with sharks experience.
Sushi Ginza: Omakase.
Hanauma Bay: snorkeling.
Sandbar: Boat day.
Hula at the Halekulani Hotel.
All of this should be in a little travel book on Amazon for people to take and check off ✅! Great compilation!!