Honolulu travel guides

April to June and September to early December are the sweet spots, with warm dry weather, lower rates and fewer crowds. Summer is dry and sunny but busy with families and priced accordingly. Winter brings the most rain, though showers are brief, plus humpback whales from December to April and the enormous North Shore surf that draws professional competitions. Christmas and New Year are the single busiest and most expensive weeks.

A taxi or rideshare takes about 20 minutes to Waikiki and is the simplest option. Airport shuttle services cost less per person and are worth it for solo travellers, though they stop at multiple hotels. TheBus routes 19 and 20 serve Waikiki cheaply but restrict large luggage, and Skyline rail now reaches the airport with onward bus connections. Rental car counters are off-site, so budget extra time if collecting one.

Not if you are staying in Waikiki and visiting Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor and downtown, all of which TheBus serves well and cheaply with a HOLO card. Waikiki hotel parking commonly runs USD 40 to 60 a night, so a car is a real expense. Rent one for the days you want to circle the island, reach the North Shore or the windward coast, and return it rather than keeping it for the whole stay.

The Pearl Harbor National Memorial visitor centre is free to enter, and the boat programme out to the USS Arizona Memorial requires a timed ticket. A small number are released online eight weeks ahead and a further batch at 3pm the day before, and they go quickly, so book rather than turning up. Bags are not permitted inside and must be left at the storage facility. Allow at least half a day, more if you add the Battleship Missouri or the aviation museum.

Four to five days covers Oʻahu properly. One day for Waikiki and Diamond Head, one for Pearl Harbor and downtown including ʻIolani Palace and Chinatown, one to circle the windward coast to Kailua and the North Shore, and one or two spare for hiking, snorkelling at Hanauma Bay or simply the beach. Many visitors use Honolulu as the first stop before flying on to Maui, Kauaʻi or the Big Island.

Honolulu is a safe city and Waikiki is busy and well patrolled at all hours. Theft from parked rental cars is the single most common problem, particularly at trailheads and beach car parks, so leave nothing visible ever. The ocean is the real hazard: rip currents, shore breaks that cause neck injuries at Sandy Beach and Makapuʻu, and enormous winter surf on the North Shore that should be watched rather than entered. Swim where lifeguards are stationed.

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