[2newyorkers]

See the Arizona and the short movie they show at the memorial. If physically able climb Diamond Head but bring water.

[The Great Fumar]

A lot of good suggestions here , I have been there on 16 trips and some as long as 6 weeks....In my opinion the best beach on the Island is at Bellows air force station ....It is open to the public at Friday noon thru Sunday afternoon , If you have a car this is a must.......
If you visit the Hilton Hawaiian village looks toward the mountains across the hwy and you'll see the WIALANA COFFEE SHOP....you can park underneath in the parking garage and walk up one flight of stairs to the restaurant , Great food , great prices, best kept secret in the islands....
Also a great place to go is WARDS WHSE across from the Kewalo Basin where all the booze cruises leave from....Inside you'll find many shops and resraurants but one is the SPAGHETTI FACTORY. A fun place to go and have an good economical meal ..........If you happen to belong to the ELKS LODGE , the Honolulu Lodge is located where diamondhead meats the sea and ifs a beautiful place to spend some time......If you really want to do something memorable ,go to Dillingham Field near Haleiwa and take a glider ride.. you'll never forget it , there's all kinds of thing to see and do from HAIKU GARDENS to a mountain top drive...........
Have fun ....ALOHA

[OBXNana]

I have to agree with all the posts. We stay in the Hilton Hawaiian Village for many reasons and one is to walk to market. We do it once each visit and find it interesting.

Rent a car. We always get a convertible and probably look foolish, but have a blast going all around the island. So many beaches, wonderful sites, and cute places to get shaved ice.

A helicopter ride over a volcano is magnificent. The trip to Pearl Harbor is a must see and the hike up Diamond Head is quite a trek, but well worth it, if able.

Have a wonderful trip.

[Bonny]

A must go to place is the International Market Place. It is right in the center of Waikiki on Kalakaua Avenue. Some of the best prices for gold in the US !!! You can really bargain for a deal !
Also go to the Top Of Waikiki. Beautiful revolving restaurant with a 360 degree view of Waikiki

[TrudyM]

All posts great but a lot of the suggestions are for Waikiki and they are way out past Ewa at the new Disney resort so a trek into Waikiki will be a traffic fight.
A hint for driving into Waikiki is to parking is between 5 and 8 dollars an hour unless you find a cheap spot or one that has validation, also a lot of places do not take credit cards or are a little risky to use a credit card in so carry cash. One suggestion is a propark garage that is adjacent to Ross 333 Seaside Avenue, Honolulu, HI then buy something cheap at Ross and they will validate your parking for an hour or so. Also you can get three hours of free parking between the hours of 10am and 3pm at the Waikiki Beach Embassy Suites port cochere. You will need to provide a same-day receipt from any Waikiki-Beachwalk restaurant or shop.

[JourneyOfLife]

The Waikiki International Market is being torn down.

The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Waikiki's International Marketplace - Honolulu Magazine - December 2013 - Hawaii

After 56 years, visits by millions upon millions of tourists, and a long slide into ruin, the landmark shopping bazaar will close at the end of the month. In its place will go a high-end retail, dining and entertainment complex, three stories tall on Kalakaua Avenue, and seven along Kuhio Avenue. In other words, a big, glitzy new mall, anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue.

By 8 p.m. on Dec. 31, every cart, shop, kiosk, dive bar, hole-in-the-wall eatery and fortune-teller’s booth at the Market Place must clear out. The same goes for the tenants of the adjoining Waikiki Town Center and the neighboring Miramar hotel. Altogether about 180 tenants will be displaced. Then everything on the six-acre site will be razed, and construction will begin. The new mall is set to open in 2016.

No message on their website about where the existing tenants will relocate. I suppose they might end up scattered to different locations.

The International Market Place

[Bonny]

Well, with that new mall, the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center & Beachwalk all right there, there will definitely be plenty of places to eat & shop.

[batman911]

Waikiki is a better place to stay than the Disney Resort. Lots to do in Waikiki and the beach is good for kids. You can hike on the Nature Conservancy Center trails which start about 2 miles from Waikiki. Leave some time for just walking around Waikiki and people watching. Lived on Oahu for 47 years so you can PM me if you have specific questions. Polynesian Cultural Center is a good deal. Takes all day and into the night if you stay for the evening meal and performance. Bus transportation can be obtained with the tickets. Saves the long late night drive on narrow winding roads back to Waikiki.

[eweissenbach]

If you have not already booked, I would suggest you consider staying on Maui. IMHO Maui is the best island for a variety of reasons, great beaches, great golf courses, Haleakala volcano, Hana, Lahaina, small villages, great whale watching (winter) and different climates as you work your way around the island. On our first trip there we took an Aloha Airlines trip to Oahu that came with a rental car for the day, left early in the morning, coming back in the evening. We went to Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, Polynesian Interpretive Center and around Diamondhead. That way we got the Oahu experience while spending most of our time on the best island.

[donb9006]

Kauai for me... Lived on Oahu for 4 years, saw them all, and like it the best. Stay in Princeville, and play some golf. Hanalei Bay is next door...

No city life on Kauai, but it's a beautiful place.

[jackz]

Having lived, worked and gone to the University in Honolulu/ Chaminade University for a total of 11 years my biggest suggestion is to consider a vacation rental on or within walking distance of the ocean instead of a hotel.

My favorite is Kailua Beach or Lanikai beach. Both 30 to 40 minutes to Waikiki.

Check Vacation Rentals by Owner (****.com) for suggestions. You will find the cost cheaper than a hotel room and you will have the ability to cook etc; and walk out to a great beach.

If you stay in Kailua Beach or Lanikai, Eat at Buzz's Steakhouse for great steaks and Seafood.

For authentic hawaiian food, go to ONOS Restaurant on Kapahulu ave.

Enjoy.

[VillagesFlorida]

Originally Posted by jackz

Having lived, worked and gone to the University in Honolulu/ Chaminade University for a total of 11 years my biggest suggestion is to consider a vacation rental on or within walking distance of the ocean instead of a hotel.

My favorite is Kailua Beach or Lanikai beach. Both 30 to 40 minutes to Waikiki.

Check Vacation Rentals by Owner (****.com) for suggestions. You will find the cost cheaper than a hotel room and you will have the ability to cook etc; and walk out to a great beach.

If you stay in Kailua Beach or Lanikai, Eat at Buzz's Steakhouse for great steaks and Seafood.

For authentic hawaiian food, go to ONOS Restaurant on Kapahulu ave.

Enjoy.

Recently booked 5 nights in the only condo directly on Waikiki Beach, using ****...less expensive than a hotel on the beach and we like having a kitchen, laundry, etc. in the unit. Also used **** to find a beautiful condo on Kahana Beach on Maui. We will be there for 2 weeks. It is nice dealing directly with the property owners. Our first experience using **** was two years ago when we found a lovely guest suite in a private home in Sedona, AZ. Since we have been to the islands many times, we will spend most of our time shopping, relaxing and whale-watching on Maui. The main purpose of this trip is to replace a Hawaiian heirloom ring that was stolen in a home break-in while on vacation last summer. Thankfully, the jeweler is still making the jewelry collection.

[VillagesFlorida]

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

If you have not already booked, I would suggest you consider staying on Maui. IMHO Maui is the best island for a variety of reasons, great beaches, great golf courses, Haleakala volcano, Hana, Lahaina, small villages, great whale watching (winter) and different climates as you work your way around the island. On our first trip there we took an Aloha Airlines trip to Oahu that came with a rental car for the day, left early in the morning, coming back in the evening. We went to Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, Polynesian Interpretive Center and around Diamondhead. That way we got the Oahu experience while spending most of our time on the best island.

Maui for us, too! Our last few vacations to the islands took us only to Maui, for three weeks each time. Everyone should see the famous sights on Oahu but Waikiki is very busy and noisy. Maui offers everything anyone could want in a Hawaiian vacation. I haven't read all of the posts here so maybe this was already mentioned....if not, and if you get to Maui, go out on the Trilogy trip " Discover Lanai" . It has always been the highlight of our trips to Maui.