A first-timers guide on what to do in the ever so lovely Oahu, Hawaii.

Aloha b*tches! Oahu edition. 

I’m back with a post about what to do in the ever so lovely Oahu, Hawaii. If this is your first time visiting this phenomenal heaven on earth place, well you’re in luck cause this post is just for you!

I visited Oahu in June, 2017 for 4 days and it was S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y not nearly enough days. I could have stayed there for a month. Actually, I’d move there if I could. #LifeGoals. And because of the short stay, I tried to fit in as many things as I could to experience errthang. So, to make your lives a lil bit easier (and I mean you, first time Oahu visitors/readers) imma drop some OMG-MUST-DO-THINGS ON YOUR FIRST TIME IN OAHU.

Here it goes:

1. The North Shore 

OKAY! The North shore in Oahu is literally the prettiest place I’ve ever been to, and so it is my number 1. You should definitely devote a day to road trip there, and make sure you take the coastal highway, a.k.a Kamehameha Highway.

There are many things to do in the North shore such as try their famous dish ‘garlic shrimp’ from Giovanni’s – we did, it was awesome but keep an eye out for them meddling flies.

A. LOST beach

A lot of people will tell you to visit turtle beach, which you could. However, I’d suggest you drive a little bit further (having turtle beach on your right) and “get lost” like we did. We followed the trail on our maps (iPhones cause we’re millennials, lets just be real) and saw that there was another beach next (ish) to it. As we’re one of those pretentious people who are just so bothered by tourists (despite being tourists), we needed more privacy and so we wanted to risk it. And boy did we end up getting the biscuit! We “accidentally trespassed” on a secluded? beach WHERE LOST WAS FILMED.  And for me, that’s got to be the greatest thing that has ever happened (hyperbole). So get your a** there!

Ok, so I am not 100% sure that this is it, but its either Papailoa beach or Mokule’ia Beach. 

B. Waimea Beach

Last but not least on the North Shore, you should definitely visit Waimea beach.

I come from an island, therefore surrounded by water. I’m also Greek Cypriot so you can understand that I’ve visited my fair share of beaches and I can safely say that Waimea is one of the prettiest, beachy-est, beaches I’ve ever been to. Make sure you go there before sunset and you get a front row seat to it. A lot of people jump from the rocks on the side, so if you’re a daredevil go for it!

Hike

You literally SHOULD NOT go to Hawaii and not hike at least one trail. It’s like, frowned upon not to do so. We decided to hike the Lulumahu falls cause my friends and I are suckers for falling waters from rocks. #AhhNature.

Theres a whole bunch of online platforms that’ll give you a step-by-step guide on how to hike the falls so I’ll just redirect you there cause I have 0% sense of direction. The only thing I can say is that you supposedly trespass onto government property. However, it seems that nobody really gives a damn about that. Oh and also, some website will tell you to “look out for pink ribbons” and whatnot – yeah, I saw jack sh*t but if I found the way then trust me, so will you.

Finally, make sure to take mosquito repellent and a bathing suit cause you have to get under the wonderful icy cold water otherwise, what’s the point?

Lanikai

Probably the most popular relaxing beach for tourists. If you like to kick back, and enjoy Hawaii like you’re meant to then thats the place for you. If you’re more adventurous and like to keep active (not really like me but Hawaii made me a better person) then rent a kayak and paddle to Moku nui island.

Tip number 1: make sure to rent the kayak FROM Lanikai beach. We rented it from a bit further up the road and was a little bit difficult to take it all the way down and then back up.

Tip Number 2: SUNSCREEN – don’t be fooled by the tropical weather, sunscreen will be your saviour.

Tip number 3: If you do kayak to the islands, make sure to not take anything you cannot live without. They’ll give you a waterproof bag to put your essentials in them but getting back from the Moku nui island to Lanikai beach was a little bit of an adventure as the waves come crashing in *dance* from different directions, and your bag, like ours, could fall in the water.

4. Waikiki

Waikiki beach is the basic of all beaches. So many hotels, restaurants, shops all scrummed up in one place. I’m not saying that it was the best place I’ve been to, but I kind of feel like you need to see Waikiki. That is if you’re not staying there already. I’d suggest you head down to Waikiki on a Friday, as the Hilton has a fireworks show and I wish I could say its dreamy, but I wouldn’t know because unfortunately it was a “high tide” day and so the firework show got cancelled. I don’t really know the correlation between the two but apparently that happens. So if you’re going to make the trip down to Waikiki for the fireworks, make sure that it will be on. In addition, it’ll also give you the opportunity to have a nice dinner, buy souvenirs and feel like a tourist in Hawaii.

5. Luau

Be sure to attend a Luau, it’s quite the experience! Although it could not be more of a tourist attraction, its super fun, entertaining and hey, they make a hell of a dinner meal! I personally attended a Luau in Maui, but if you’re not planning on visiting any other Hawaiian islands, devote a night to this hilarious yet educating performance! I read that the Paradise Cove is the best, so do make a reservation way in advance! The following video is from my Luau experience in Maui, just to give you a little (yummy) taste of what a Luau looks like. 

More tips:

If you’re more adventurous and would like to avoid the typical staying at a resort in Waikiki, I’d suggest you stay in Kailua. That’s where we stayed and it was phenomenal. It was so dreamy, I couldn’t believe that some people actually live there permanently. Here’s a picture

– and here is the link to our air bnb.

If you have more days in Oahu, Id suggest you do the following; These are definitely on my bucket list for the next time I visit!:

• Kualoa Ranch – This is where some famous movies were filmed such as Lost and Jurassic Park.
• Stairway to heaven hike (if you’re experienced) – Read this bloggers experience!
• Hawaiian Crown Plantation for some yummy treats!
• Find the mermaid caves – the caves are supposedly kept a secret but thank this good samaritan for spilling the secret! 
• Cockroach caves – this place is siiiick. I wish I went, and it’s filled with plenty potential Insta shots! 

Aloha! 🙂 Thank you for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it! For more on Hawaii, click here!

-VB x