30 Things to Do in Honolulu (2026)
Waikiki, downtown and Chinatown, the valleys, the east side, and the rainy days.
Updated October 2026. Thirty things to do in Honolulu, grouped by where they are so you can do three or four in one afternoon: six on Waikiki and Diamond Head, six downtown and in Chinatown, six across Kakaako, Ala Moana and the valleys, six on the east side and windward coast, and six for rainy days and evenings. Most are free or under $30.
The short answer: sunrise on Diamond Head, lunch in Chinatown's markets, sunset at Magic Island, Hanauma Bay with a reservation, and a wooden lei you made yourself to wear home.
30 things to do in Honolulu, by area
Updated October 2026. Prices are what each place publishes this autumn; check before you go.
Grouped by where they are, so you can do three or four in one afternoon rather than crossing the island for each. Four are our own workshops at our Chinatown studio. Every entry has the same facts: where, what it costs, how long it takes and who it suits.
Waikiki and Diamond Head
The strip everyone starts on, and the six things on it worth the crowds.
Hike Diamond Head at sunrise
A 1.6-mile round trip up the crater rim through tunnels and a spiral staircase to the 360-degree view over Waikiki and the south shore. Non-residents need a timed reservation now, so book a few days ahead and take the first slot before the heat.
- Where
- Diamond Head State Monument · Diamond Head Rd
- Price
- About $5 per person plus $10 parking for non-residents; free for Hawaii residents
- Time
- 1.5–2 hours
- Best for
- First mornings; bring water, the trail has no shade.
A surf lesson on Waikiki's soft waves
Waikiki's long, slow rollers are where surfing was taught to the world, and most people stand up in the first hour. Group lessons run every morning from the beach stands and the surf schools behind Kalakaua Ave.
- Where
- Waikiki Beach · Kuhio Beach and Canoes surf break
- Price
- About $80–120 per person for a group lesson
- Time
- 1.5–2 hours
- Best for
- Everyone who has never surfed; mornings are glassier.
Sunset at Kaimana Beach
The locals' end of Waikiki, past the aquarium, with Diamond Head glowing behind you and the sun dropping behind the Waianae range. Bring a towel and a poke bowl from Kapahulu Ave.
- Where
- Kaimana (Sans Souci) Beach · 2863 Kalakaua Ave
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Every evening; the calmest water in Waikiki for a swim.
Friday night fireworks over Waikiki
A short fireworks show over the lagoon at the western end of Waikiki most Friday nights at 7:45pm, visible from the beach for free. Get there at seven and sit on the sand by the Hilton pier.
- Where
- Waikiki · Duke Kahanamoku Beach and lagoon
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Fridays; pair with dinner on the strip.
Malasadas at Leonard's
Portuguese doughnuts fried to order since 1952, dusted in sugar or filled with haupia or custard, from the pink bakery on Kapahulu Ave. The line moves fast and the box does not survive the walk back.
- Where
- Kapahulu · 933 Kapahulu Ave, ten minutes from Waikiki
- Price
- About $2–3 each
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Best for
- Every visit; go in the morning for the full menu.
Kapiolani Park and the Waikiki Aquarium
The big green park at the foot of Diamond Head, with banyan trees, a free Sunday art fence along Monsarrat Ave, and the small 1904 aquarium on the shore with the Hawaiian monk seal and the reef tanks. A slow afternoon away from the hotels.
- Where
- Waikiki · Kapiolani Park, 2777 Kalakaua Ave
- Price
- Park free; aquarium about $12 per adult
- Time
- 2 hours
- Best for
- Families and the day after the hike.
Downtown and Chinatown
The old city: a royal palace, the markets, the art walk, and our own studio on North Pauahi Street.
Make a wooden lei
KraftStoriesThe lei you can take home on the plane: hand-cut and sanded wooden beads strung into a lei over ninety minutes at our Chinatown studio, with the story of the lei tradition from a local host. It is the thing people wear out of the studio and keep for years instead of a week.
- Where
- Chinatown · 15 N Pauahi St
- Price
- $69 per person, all materials
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Visitors who want a souvenir they made; families with kids from about 8.
Tour Iolani Palace
The only royal palace on US soil, where Queen Liliuokalani was imprisoned after the 1893 overthrow. The guided tour covers the throne room, the private quarters and the story; the grounds and the Royal Hawaiian Band's Friday noon concert are free.
- Where
- Downtown · 364 S King St
- Price
- About $27 per adult for the guided tour; grounds free
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- The one history stop to make; book the morning tours.
Eat your way through Chinatown's markets
Maunakea Marketplace and Kekaulike Market for lei stands, pork hash, char siu, pho and the cheapest fruit on the island, then Little Village or a hole-in-the-wall for lunch. Loud, hot and the best $12 lunch in Honolulu.
- Where
- Chinatown · Maunakea St and Kekaulike St
- Price
- About $10–15 per person
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Eaters; mornings, when the markets are full.
Turkish mosaic lamp workshop
KraftStoriesGlass tiles and beads set onto a lamp globe over two hours, with Turkish tea, in our Chinatown studio. The room goes quiet around the halfway mark. The lamp packs in a carry-on and gets switched on every night for years; it is the craft KraftStories was founded on.
- Where
- Chinatown · 15 N Pauahi St
- Price
- $99 per person, all materials
- Time
- 2 hours
- Best for
- Rainy afternoons, date nights and anyone who wants to leave with the island's most unexpected souvenir.
Hawaii State Art Museum
Free, in the 1928 Spanish-Mission building across from the palace, with the state's collection of Hawaiian and contemporary island art and a sculpture lawn. An hour, air-conditioned, and nobody rushes you.
- Where
- Downtown · 250 S Hotel St
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Hot afternoons; closed Sunday and Monday.
First Friday in Chinatown
On the first Friday of every month the galleries and bars on Nuuanu, Bethel and Hotel Street open late, with music on the corners and food trucks on the sidewalk. The night Chinatown feels like the neighbourhood it is the rest of the month.
- Where
- Chinatown · Nuuanu Ave and Hotel St
- Price
- Free; drinks and food extra
- Time
- 2–3 hours
- Best for
- Anyone in town on the first Friday; it starts around 6pm.
Kakaako, Ala Moana and the valleys
Murals, the museum, the big beach park, and the rainforest twenty minutes from Waikiki.
Walk the Kakaako murals
Dozens of building-sized murals from the annual street-art festival, repainted every year across the warehouse blocks between Ala Moana and downtown. Walk Cooke, Auahi and Queen Streets with a coffee; the best ones change, which is the point.
- Where
- Kakaako · around Cooke St and Auahi St
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 1–1.5 hours
- Best for
- Mornings before the heat; the photos are the souvenir.
Honolulu Museum of Art
Courtyards, a Hawaiian collection, a strong Asian wing and a café in the garden, in a 1927 building that is the most pleasant place in the city to lose an afternoon. Friday and Saturday evenings stay open late with music.
- Where
- Makiki · 900 S Beretania St
- Price
- About $25 per adult; free for under-18s
- Time
- 2 hours
- Best for
- Rainy days and art people; check the late-night Fridays.
Sunset at Magic Island
The man-made peninsula at the end of Ala Moana Beach Park, with a calm lagoon, a flat path and Diamond Head in the frame as the sun goes down. Where Honolulu goes after work; bring food from the Ala Moana food court across the road.
- Where
- Ala Moana · Ala Moana Beach Park, 1201 Ala Moana Blvd
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Every evening; the local alternative to Waikiki.
Manoa Falls hike
A 1.6-mile round trip through bamboo and banyan rainforest to a 150-foot waterfall, often in a light rain even when Waikiki is sunny. Muddy, easy, and the closest real jungle to the city.
- Where
- Manoa Valley · end of Manoa Rd
- Price
- Free; parking about $7
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Mornings; wear shoes you do not love.
Lyon Arboretum
Two hundred acres of botanical garden at the back of Manoa Valley, run by the university, with ginger, heliconia and a smaller waterfall at the end of the trail. Far quieter than Manoa Falls next door and the plants are labelled.
- Where
- Manoa Valley · 3860 Manoa Rd
- Price
- Suggested donation about $20 per adult; reservation required
- Time
- 2 hours
- Best for
- Plant people and anyone who wants the valley without the crowd.
Tantalus and the Puu Ualakaa lookout
A winding drive or a long walk up Round Top Drive to a lookout over the whole of Honolulu from Diamond Head to Pearl Harbor. Go at dusk for the city lights, and stay past the park's closing time at your peril.
- Where
- Tantalus · Round Top Dr, Puu Ualakaa State Park
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 1–2 hours
- Best for
- Sunset with a car; the best free view on the island.
East side and windward
The drive around the point: snorkel bay, lighthouse, pillboxes and the windward beaches.
Snorkel Hanauma Bay
A flooded volcanic crater turned marine reserve with the calmest, fishiest snorkelling on Oahu. Reservations open two days ahead at 7am and sell out in minutes; it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays and the first entry is the clearest water.
- Where
- Hawaii Kai · Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
- Price
- About $25 per person plus parking; free for Hawaii residents
- Time
- 3 hours
- Best for
- First-time snorkellers; set an alarm for the reservation.
Makapuu Point lighthouse trail
A paved two-mile round trip up to the lighthouse lookout at the island's southeastern tip, with whales offshore from December to April and the windward islands laid out below. No shade, big views, easy walking.
- Where
- Makapuu · Kalanianaole Hwy, east of Hawaii Kai
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Winter whale season; go early or late.
The Lanikai Pillbox hike
A steep, short scramble to two concrete WWII bunkers above Lanikai with the Mokulua islands and the turquoise bay below. Twenty minutes up, then sit on the pillbox for as long as you like. Sunrise is the tradition.
- Where
- Lanikai · Kaelepulu Dr, Kailua
- Price
- Free; street parking is restricted on weekends
- Time
- 1–1.5 hours
- Best for
- Sunrise; shoes with grip.
Kayak to the Mokulua islands
Rent a kayak in Kailua and paddle about a mile across the bay to the twin islands off Lanikai, land on the north one's beach and swim. The classic windward morning; the water is calmer before noon.
- Where
- Kailua · rentals on Kailua Rd and at Kailua Beach Park
- Price
- About $60–80 per person for a half-day rental; guided tours more
- Time
- 3–4 hours
- Best for
- Confident swimmers; weekdays, when the island beach is quieter.
Byodo-In Temple
A replica of a 950-year-old Kyoto temple at the foot of the Koolau cliffs, with koi ponds, black swans and a three-ton bell you ring on the way in. Ten quiet minutes that feel like a different country.
- Where
- Kaneohe · Valley of the Temples, 47-200 Kahekili Hwy
- Price
- About $5 per adult
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- The drive north; mornings before the tour buses.
Kualoa Ranch
The valley where the films were shot, with UTV, horseback, zipline and movie-site tours across a working cattle ranch under the cliffs. Expensive and touristy and still worth one morning; book the earliest tour.
- Where
- Kaaawa · 49-560 Kamehameha Hwy, about an hour from Waikiki
- Price
- About $50–150 per person depending on the tour
- Time
- Half a day
- Best for
- Families and anyone who grew up on those films.
Rainy days and evenings
Oahu's showers pass in twenty minutes; these are for when they do not.
Turkish coffee brewed on hot sand
KraftStoriesAn hour at our Chinatown studio learning to brew Turkish coffee the old way, in a copper cezve buried in hot sand, then reading the grounds and tasting it with lokum. Small groups, a lot of conversation, and a skill you take home with the coffee.
- Where
- Chinatown · 15 N Pauahi St
- Price
- $49 per person, all materials
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Coffee people and rainy mornings; the cheapest hour on this list that teaches you something.
Build a terrarium
KraftStoriesA closed glass ecosystem each, built from moss, plants and stones over ninety minutes with a host walking the room. Calm, hands-on and the one souvenir that keeps growing; it flies home in a carry-on.
- Where
- Chinatown · 15 N Pauahi St
- Price
- $49 per person, all materials
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Families, couples and anyone rained off the beach.
Bishop Museum
The state's natural and cultural history museum in a Victorian stone hall: the Hawaiian Hall over three floors, the planetarium and a science centre with a volcano you can erupt. Half a day indoors that explains the islands.
- Where
- Kalihi · 1525 Bernice St
- Price
- About $30 per adult
- Time
- 3 hours
- Best for
- Rainy days and curious kids; the Hawaiian Hall is the reason to go.
Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial
The free boat to the memorial over the sunken Arizona, with a 25-minute film first, and the museums on the shore. Reserve the boat online well ahead; walk-up tickets go at opening. Bags are not allowed inside, so travel light.
- Where
- Pearl Harbor National Memorial · 1 Arizona Memorial Pl
- Price
- Free; about $1 reservation fee online
- Time
- 2–3 hours
- Best for
- Every visitor once; mornings are cooler and quieter.
A show at the Hawaii Theatre
A restored 1922 theatre in Chinatown with a programme of touring musicians, Hawaiian music and the occasional film. The building is the show; the Saturday backstage tour costs a few dollars when it runs.
- Where
- Chinatown · 1130 Bethel St
- Price
- Tickets about $30–80
- Time
- 2–3 hours
- Best for
- Evenings; dinner in Chinatown before.
Kakaako Farmers Market on a Saturday
The big Saturday morning market at Ward Village: fruit you have never seen, poke, Portuguese sausage, fresh juice and a lawn to eat on. Breakfast and souvenirs in one stop, under cover if it rains.
- Where
- Kakaako · Ward Village, Saturdays 8am–noon
- Price
- Free entry; breakfast about $10–15
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Saturday mornings; it is where locals shop.
Hours, prices and reservation rules change, and Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor all require advance reservations now; check before you go. Our workshop prices are exact.
Quick answers for Honolulu
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