Things to do @ Oahu, Hawaii in July?
Hey 
asked:
we are a family of 4 [children 14 and 11], and i was wondering what would be good places to visit and do. staying at the wyndham resort which is right by Waikiki beach, but what else can we do?
list them please! staying for 7 days, 6 nights.
asked: we are a family of 4 [children 14 and 11], and i was wondering what would be good places to visit and do. staying at the wyndham resort which is right by Waikiki beach, but what else can we do?
list them please! staying for 7 days, 6 nights.
also, how is the weather? does it ever rain in july? do we need jackets at all? thanks!
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November 23rd, 2009 at 11:24 am
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The honolulu zoo and the aquarium are on the Waikiki Strip. Hanauma Bay is pretty close by as well, but you have to drive.
You can also climb diamondhead. It is at the end of the beach. It is a bit of a workout though.
November 26th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
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The weather is at it’s best right now. There might be 15 minutes of rain, but it won’t be cold. Don’t bother with jacket or umbrella.
There are so many things to do:
Take an island tour - thyey have one that ends up at the Polynesian Cultural Center - includes the buffet dinner and show. Lots of fun and they do all the driving! This would be an all day adventure.
Go to Sea Life Park (allow 5-6 hours) - there’s a shuttle from Waikiki- not sure if it’s free.
Go to the Waikiki Aquarium - 2 hours minimum
Go shopping along Kalakaua Ave- including the International Market - it’s an open air shopping place. They also have the Royal Hawaiian Shopping center which has more shopping, restaurants, etc.
Get a Dole Whip at the food court in the International Market. Dole Whip is kinda like soft serve ice cream, but it’s non-dairy, low cal and delicious- comes in orange, pineapple, strawberry, banana, vanilla and chocolate. My favorite is the pineapple. Yum yum!
Take the free shuttle to Hilo Hattie- the Store of Hawaii- you can get all kinds of Hawaiian shirts, clothes, souvenirs, etc. Very reasonable prices, too.
Take the free shuttle to Ala Moana Shopping Center. This is a shopping mall- they have a fabulous inetrnational food court, plus free shows in the atrium area.
Go to Waikiki Beach- of course! You can get a tan, take a surfing lesson, swim, etc. Love this!
Hike Diamondhead volcano.
Go to Pearl Harbor and see the Arizona and the Missouri. Lots of history here. Pearl is at least an hour from Waikiki by car.
Go to Zippy’s for a plate lunch. Zippy’s is a chain of local island food. Good chili, and the best plate lunch you ever had! A plate lunch is one or two scoops of rice, and then add pork, beef, chicken or fish, plus mac salad. Some locations also have bakeries- they make really good deserts!
Swim with the dolphins at the Omni Hotel.
Shop at the ABC store- they carry a whole line of sunscreen products, pool toys, t-shirts, souvenirs, and some locations also have food.
Take a tour of the Dole Plantation- they’ll show you how they grow pineapple.
Go to the free hula show at the Waikiki Shell - your hotel can tell you when and where.
Drive to Hanauma Bay- very popular place for snorkeling. It’s about an hour form Waikiki.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:36 am
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I used to live there and here were my favorite things to do:
- Go to the Dole Plantation: Do the maze and get a dole whip
- Beach, Beach and Beach. Thats why you go to Hawaii right?
Waikiki beach is a good tourist beach and feet from your hotel
Kailua Beach is beautiful and where most of the locals go
Hanauma Bay is amazing scuba diving and is breath taking (but you
have to pay I believe to get in)
- If you want a taste of real local food, just go into any 7/11 and a spam musabi, and dont be surprised if you don’t like it haha.
-Other places to eat is “The Shack” on kailua and Zippys.
- At a luau, good eats are: Kailua Pig (shredded pork) and long rice (clear noodles).
- Polynesian Cultural Center
- Take advantage of great hiking:
My personal favorite hike growing up is Maunawili Falls,
Absolutely beautiful views and ending at a beautiful waterfall with a
pool below. Fairly easy to moderate hike but can get extremely muddy after a rainfall. Bring your bathing suit and go for a swim in the refreshing water once you get to the waterfall. Jumping off the waterfall is an favorite of locals and safe if you are jumping off the lowest level of jumping and can swim (I’ve been jumping off it sinse I was five - so its not dangerous as long as its deep). If your lucky you may arrive when a daredevil decides to jump off one of the higher levels which is fun to watch.
-Dont worry about rain, when it rains (which is usually only on the windward side) in the summer it only last for a few minutes.
-Buggie boarding is fun for your kids.
-ABC stores litter every block on waikiki. They have cheap hawaiian momentos, and are great for buying little things to bring back to friends.
Accept these things before you go:
-you wont like poi, unless you grew up on it, it will taste about as
delightful as it looks.
-There are going to be some locals, that just plain wont like you, because you are a tourist (hopefully you wont encounter any of these people)
- If you are fair skinned, you will get sunburnt without sunscreen.
- Unless its a fancy restraunt or store the rule is: no shirt, no shoes, no problem
- The best shoes to wear are flip flops (not crocs, not strappy sandles, flip flops.)
And lastly, don’t fret over getting every little bit of Oahu done. Hawaii is all about being laid back and going-with-the-flow. So when in Rome…
GOOD LUCK!
December 1st, 2009 at 9:03 pm
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It rains, but this is the tropics so it is warm rain… Expect in the mid-80’s with high humidity, 70’s at night. The only reason you may need a jacket is the a/c in some places PARTICULARLY if you ride The Bus (the name of the city bus system), where for some reason the drivers keep the a/c on “max” all the time.
At 11 and 14, here is what I would recommend above sitting on the great beach at Waikiki:
* Visit the Polynesian Cultural Center, where they have buildings representing all the major Polynesian cultures in the South Pacific (Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand Maori, Fiji, Tonga, etc.). The people in each building are students FROM those islands. Each building is a representation of houses from their home island. Run by the Morman church, so closed on Sundays. They have one of the best luau shows, but no alcohol if that is important to you…
* Visit and explore the WWII submarine near Pearl Harbor. It is amazing and fascinating to explain to kids.
* Kapiolani Park on the east side of Waikiki (near Diamond Head) has a small zoo and aquarium.
* Take them snorkeling at Hanauma Bay National Preserve, a safe coral lagoon within a submerged volcanic caldera open on one side to the sea. Rent equipment from SnorkelBob’s (the chain in the islands) to make sure to try on various masks to get one that is AIR TIGHT…if you buy a goggle and it does not fit, you’ve wasted a day…
* There is an amazing Japanese Buddhist Temple in a tropical paradise setting. The temple is bright red and beautiful, but they won’t appreciate it (you will!) but what they will like is feeding the thousands of koi fish in the huge pond and ringing the giant temple bell. The temple is near Kaneohe on the windward side of the island, in back of a cemetary..don’t let that put you off! Very educational and worth it…
* There are fireworks off the beach in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village every Friday night about 8:30PM I believe (check). No charge from watching on the beach…
* A little bit of $$$ will allow you to ride one of the Atlantis submarines. the one in oahu goes to a sunken boat off the coast, which has created an artificial reef. I don’t like being under water very deep (get claustrophobic) but the scenery is so amazing I forget…
* All kids love to eat the Hawaiian Shave Ice, with or without ice cream. This is NOT a snow cone, very fine ice with amazing flavor. Get some when you go to the North Shore (the famous surfing areas and community) and stop at the small town of Haleiwa. Most people go to Matsumoto’s, I prefer Aoki’s, so try either one or both!
* All kids like the amazing wind that (usually) blows up at the Nuuani Pali Point Lookout. This is where King Kamehameha finally conquered the islands in a final battle. But what YOU will enjoy is the spectacular view of the other side of the island, considered one of the best views in Hawaii. Again what the KIDS will laugh at is the amazing wind which funnels into the valley from this cleft in the mountains.
* Kids may or may not appreciate driving through the rain forest. you can do a short one on the side road on your way to the Pali Point (exit Old Pali Road to the right of the highway..,.it joins the highway further up again anyway), or for a longer (1 hour) drive, take the Tantalus Road drive in the mountains in back of Honolulu. You access this road in back of downtown Honolulu, in the Makiki residential district (this is where Obama’s grandmother lived).
* There are interesting (and not too long) hikes through the rain forest/jungle, such as Manoa Falls in back of Honolulu, in Manoa Valley (where University of Hawaii is). The problem is hiking in the tropics is a lot more treacherous (wet and slippery) than other places so unless your kids are used to hiking, they could fall. If you go, do not wear shoes (they will be unusable by the end) and wear VERY strong flip-flops or Tevas, as the mud can be sticky as well. If you risk it, the bamboo forest and tropical fall-and-pool is beautiful. Wear repellent!
* You can give them surfing or even hula lessons (range from $70-$100). there are many qualified schools in Waikiki.
Things to watch for:
* Watch for jellyfish warnings. Box jellyfish swarm to breed on the island shore nowadays from 8 to 12 days after a full moon. No one knows why they are so prevalent nowadays, but theories abound from global warming to chemical runoff from the island farming…who knows? These are not the lethal box jellyfish (related) found off Australia, but stings are very painful.
* There will be a lot of kids swimming at popular Sandy Beach (near the Blowhole) but be warned that they don’t call this area the “Molokai Express” for nothing…it has horrible rip tides here. 1/2 of all lifeguard emergencies in the island are performed on this beach…
* The tropical sun is a LOT brighter, make sure to wear UV protection and a hat if you are walking in the sun a long time.