I got married on Oahu and honeymooned on Kauai.

On Oahu, I liked hitting up the food trucks on the north shore and I enjoyed the Dole plantation, hiking Diamond Head and Koko Crater, and deep sea fishing and catching some fresh tuna.

However, I was very ready to get out of the Honolulu area after a few days. It's just another big city with traffic problems.

Kauai was wonderful. It was rural, calm, and relaxed. The NaPali coast was amazing. It was everything I wanted out of a vacation.

Watch the sunset while having a Mai Tai on the beach at Waikiki. The best vaca ever.
Also, go to a luau. They are a bit "touristy" but fun. Swim on the North Shore to be able to say you did it or you will forever regret not doing it.
The tide there can be no joke so swim responsibly.

When my family and I went, we spent all of our time on Oahu. So everything below is for Oahu.

For Pearl Harbor, it depends what all you want to do , how much time you have to stay there, and possibly when you go. We went at about 11:00 on a Tuesday, and it took a little bit (~15 mins) to find a parking spot. We didn't really have any issues/delays getting in, getting tickets and visiting the sites/memorials though. We waited and got tickets when we got there, and just did the USS Missouri & USS Bowfin, which was around $40 a person, and took 2-3 hours to visit both. If you want to do more, they offer a package called a Passport, which I believe was around $70-80, and includes most of the activities. They said this typically takes around 8 hrs though. If you want to visit the USS Arizona, you have to purchase a separate ticket, for something like a dollar. However, the USS Arizona memorial has been closed for a while for repairs, so you may want to check on that if you're interested in going to it. They were saying it would be open near the end of March, so it may be open now. If it is still closed, they will just take you on a boat tour near the Arizona.

If you want to spend a day to do a tour of Oahu, there's an app called 'Oahu Hawaii GPS Driving Tour' by Shaka Guide (at least for Android; believe they also have for iOS). The app itself is free, then you purchase the tour you want to do (~$6). For Oahu, it has one that circles a good part of Oahu, going all the way from the south (Waikiki/Honolulu) and up and around to the North Shore. We did this tour, and I'd highly recommend it. It basically talks about Hawaiian history along the tour, and calls out landmarks/sites/activities along the way. We did it on the first day, and were glad we did. Just some of the things it covers/goes by:

- A Japanese Temple
- Chinaman's Hat
- Takes you by Kualoa Ranch (more below)
- Beaches along the way
- Restaurants & food trucks
- Botanical gardens
- Polynesian Cultural Center
- A Morman Temple
- Lava rock formation that goes out in ocean a little ways; can walk on it
- The Dole plantation
- Other stuff I've forgotten :)

There is also a tour of south Oahu (Hanauma Bay, etc.), which we didn't do. I believe Shaka Guide also has similar apps for some of the other islands if you're going to any of them.

There are a bunch of food trucks on the way to and up along the North Shore that you can stop at. We stopped at the Shrimp Shack, which was really good, and had good views of the ocean.

We went to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant not too far from Pearl Harbor called Forty Niner Restaurant that had some really good burgers and authentic Hawaiian food. It was so good, we went twice.

Kualoa Ranch is a 4000 acre ranch on the NE side of Oahu. A BUNCH of movie scenes have been filmed there (Jurassic Park/World, 40 first dates). They offer ATV/UTV tours, which take you around part of the ranch and show you where different parts of movies were filmed. I believe they also offer kayak, zip lining, and a short ocean tour in a boat. If you do one of the ATV/UTV tours, WEAR A MASK.

We also went to a luau at Chiefs Luau. We had a great time and would highly recommend if you want to do a luau. I've heard the Polynesian Cultural Center also has a really good luau.

We wanted to do some snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, but didn't get a chance to. It's supposed to be one the best and prettiest places on Oahu for snorkeling. I think you can also scuba there as well. Sorry, can't be much more help there.

Oh, and the traffic around Honolulu and Waikiki can suck at times.

The Dole pineapple farm is fun as an adult. Run and plow over the kids Christian Okoye style trying to complete the maze in record time in order to win a free T-shirt.

Sharks Cove is great for snorkeling. Close to Waimea and Sunset Beach as well, but I wouldn't Surf there:D Jumping of the rock at Waimea Beach is fun. There is also a burial ground overlooking Waimea Bay that is really fun to hike to and cost nothing. Waimea falls is also a good hike back to a waterfall that is cool and you can swim in the natural pool, at least you could last time I went. We rent a house on the beach between Haleiwa and Dillingham air base. Low key, beautiful. Lots of farmer's markets for fresh food and their used to be fresh shrimp stands that were awesome. Haleiwa is a cool town with good food, including chicken cooked in a supermarket parking lot. Blue plate specials for lunch at a lot of places each day as well. Turtle Bay is a resort on the North Shore, and it's beaches have to be open to the public. You can pull into the gate and get a parking pass and enjoy their beaches and also get a drink at the pool/beach bars.

I would stay away fro the Western Shore part of the Island, a little scary that way, and I don't scare easily.

If you want souvenirs, I would find out what day the flea market is a the Hula Bowl and go. You can spend 4-5 hours there and get anything and everything you want, and they have some local food vendors there as well. May sound like a long time, but it gets all of your shopping out of the way.

Just some thoughts on my past trips. Hawaii is a great place to visit.

Mokuleia Army Beach. My favorite beach on Oahu.

Check into Pearl Harbor. Major construction/rebuild. Parts may be closed.

There's a government website where you can reserve your tickets to Pearl Harbor in advance. If you can't get tickets in advance, they have tickets available on a daily basis for walk-up, but you may need to get there early

We did a Big Island & Oahu vacation 5 years ago. I'll take the Big Island over Oahu any day but that is because I like the remote feel of the Big Island vs. the Big City feel on Oahu.
1. We Uber'd everywhere on Oahu. Traffic is a nightmare
2. Pearl Harbor is greatness
3. Everything is expensive.
4. Volcano National Park is nice, but check to see what is open before going. With the recent activity there, I'm not sure how much of the Park you can get into these days.
5. I love Kauai. Wamea Canyon and the Na Pali coast are beautiful.
6. Hilo side on the Big Island is the place to go if you enjoy zip lining and tropical rain forests. Kona side of the Big Island is the rocky, dry side. Beautiful in its own way.

Mount Haleakala is a must (Maui), we car tripped around the Big Island and Maui, we rented a condo in Maui (cheaper than hotel) because we had laundry facilities and we could eat there as opposed to restaurants. Polynesian Cultural center on Oahu is a good one to see too. My brother lived there and said the best time is in the fall because the kids are in school and not so many tourists.

Food:
The Pig and The Lady (Vietnamese)
Liho Liho Diner (Diner w Hawai'i Favorites)
Leonard's (as mentioned before)
Gyu-Kaku (Cook your own Korean)
Giovanni's Food Truck (North Shore)
Sansei (Sushi)

Stuff to do:
Zoo
Aquarium
Sea Life Park
Diamond Head. Go super early or you're gonna get stuck behind old people and the hike is going to take forever.
Make sure you drive the H3 freeway. It's one of the most incredible views you'll ever take in. Sheer cliffs on one side and the ocean on the other.
Surfing, you can do Waikiki. Lessons are cheap and there's rentals everywhere.

Bars:
Stay out of anything "local"
Mai Tai's (Check when theres live music)
Duke's Waikiki

I'm going to Hawaii in July. I'm planning on hunting Axis deer on Lanai, then heading to the Big Island.

Lanai is incredible, but there are only two hotels on the island, so it can get pricey. (Larry Ellison owns 95 percent of the entire island)...

Personally, I love the Big Island too. It seems a bit more chill because it lacks the white beaches that tourists tend to love. There are a lot of fun and adventurous things to do there. We are planning on zip lining and some scuba...

Was on Big Island last month:

####Would like to visit a live volcano (is it essential to hire a guide? which part of the volcano park is the most exciting? which part of the volcano park is the most picturesque? We would like to see some cool stuff and get some good pictures but come back with all of our feet) #####



After the eruption last year, lots of changes. ***Can not see active lava at any point like you could in past. Entire volcano basin has fallen***

Museum is still open. The up close Observation Center is closed as road has been destroyed. And they were saying that it may never reopen again due to structural damage to building and surrounding area.

The Drive though the miles long lava fields down to the water is well worth it. Download Island App to hear commentary.
Once at water, you can hike .5 to 1.5(?) miles to see where communities were covered in lava.

All these things.

The best day I spent there was just renting a car and "getting lost" Ended up on the North Shore and there were very few people there and it was gorgeous. Waimea Valley was pretty cool too. Hard to find a place that isn't awesome, its Hawaii. :)

Eat a lot of pineapple and Spam. I think Don Ho is dead, so a live performance of Tiny Bubbles probably won't happen. That's all I got.