22 Fun Things to do in Waikiki, Best of Oahu

Waikiki is the busiest town located in Honolulu on the island of Oahu. We just got back from a 2 week vacation there, and we have also been there several times. Our kids absolutely loved it, and we always make sure they squeeze out everything they can out of their trips. Prior to going we did a boatload if research, and while we were there we spoke to the locals to find the best things to do on Oahu and in Honolulu.

I have travelled to Waikiki as a couple with just me and my wife, with my family (mother and sister), and as my entire family with kids. I can tell you that there are pluses and negatives to the area. The major pluses are that there are a lot of fun things to do here and the negatives all have to do with mental health and the shady Characters that come out in Waikiki at night. Waikiki can be dangerous.

If you are thinking about going to Waikiki on vacation, make sure you do your research. I have written several articles telling you about the good and the bad of the area. Fortunately for Hawaii there is more good than bad, but it is still not a place I like to go too often with my family.

Oahu is the island that has the most to do for kids, it is fast paced for an island, and can at times resemble a large city in the US mainland. Honolulu is the main city on Oahu and has a large population and lots of things to do for all age groups.

22 Fun Things to do in Waikiki, Oahu. Hawaii Guides

What is Oahu, Hawaii?

Oahu is the island that Honolulu is located on. There are 5 main islands in Hawaii including Maui, Kaui, the Big Island and Molokai. Oahu is the most populated island with  over 1 million people here.

When you are there you will find that it is beautiful, but really packed. The stores are very high end, and can be too expensive for some people.

22 Fun Things to do in Waikiki, Honolulu

1. Kapiolani beach Park

We just took the kids to the park today, located on the east end of Waikiki beach in Honolulu. There are loads of fun activities you can do here including exercising in the park, jogging and Yoga in the park. There are huge Banyan trees here and it is a really awesome place to take pictures and climb trees.

Where is Kapiolani Beach park?

Kapiolani beach park is located east of the famous Waikiki beach, Honolulu. If you go on Kalakaua (Waikiki beach main road or Kuhio where the Canal is and head east, you will get to Kapiolani Beach park)

It is the park closet to the diamond head crater (the old Volcano).

2. Beach front restaurants

In Waikiki there are tons of beach front restaurants that are located right on the sand looking out at the beautiful Waikiki beach. These restaurant will range in price depending on where you choose to go. I love having the memories and pictures with my kids eating beach front. They are memories we will have forever.

Some of our favourite beach front restaurant in Waikiki Oahu are Dukes bar and grill, Rum fire in the Sheraton, the Marriott Waikiki pool Bar (Moana Terrace), Kapiolani ocean front Grill, Hula grill Waikiki, and Tiki’s bar and grill

Fun Things to do in Waikiki, Oahu

3. Beach hunting

There is much more to Waikiki Honolulu than meets the eye. We like to hop in our rental car and drive around exploring other beaches. Every singly time I come to Oahu, I find secret hidden gems. This time our new favourite secret beach was in Ko Olina beach park, Kahala beach, and sans Souci beach. These were 3 of the best beaches I have ever found for kids on Oahu.

This is a really fun way to get to know the area, one day I was jogging around and found 2 really cool beaches located in Ala Moana beach park. To get there, follow the canal on Kuhio west and go into the park. There is one baby beach that is coved off, and another huge open beach with hardly anyone on it.

4. Snorkelling

Snorkelling as you may know is one of our favourite family activities to do any where we go. The snorkelling on Oahu is awesome if you know where to go and what to look for. You can read about all of the best places to snorkel in Waikiki here, where it will give you exact directions to the best snorkelling in the area. There are some places on Oahu like Ko Olina, Kahala and the baby pools that are ideal places to teach kids how to snorkel.

What can I see when I snorkel on Oahu?

You will see many convict tangs, parrotfish, angelfish, butterfly fish, eels, huge sea turtles, and much more.

Is the snorkelling on Waikiki beach good?

Waikiki beach can be a great place to learn how to snorkel. It is not the best snorkelling on Oahu, but you can see some cool stuff. It is really good if you have never snorkelled before, and can still be good for an avid snorkelled if you go to the right spots.

Some of our favourite snorkel spots in Waikiki are in front of the Queens Park, in front of the Waikiki Aquarium, Sans Souci beach, and in the baby coves where the water is really shallow.

5. Coved off beach areas

The coved off beach areas are really awesome, here there are no waves and the water is very shallow and warm. You can literally spend all day in luke warm water. Our kids loved relaxing and playing in the coved off areas on Oahu, because they did not have to worry about large waves. The coved off areas are some of the most fun things to do on Oahu with kids.

You can snorkel around in the area, and you will se lots of fish. The coved off areas are also in close vicinity to hotels and restaurants. There are shaded areas and there are very few rocks in the water, so your feet won’t get cut.

We spent most of our days in Waikiki in these areas, it is way more relaxing than hanging out further down the beach near the surfers. It is also a lot safer.

I have been in these coved off areas where turtles have come in and spent the days showing off to the Oahu visitors! It is a sight to see when you can see the turtles so clearly in their own element. The visibility in these areas are the best because of the protective rock wall blocking the waves.

6. Build a sandcastle

The sand in Hawaii is some of the best in the world for building sand castles. Somehow it stays a bit moist, even on the high spots on the beach allowing for people to be able to form it well.

My kids spend hours building sand castles on Waikiki beach and other Oahu Beaches. This trip they were also building paths from the outdoor shower area in the sand, creating a cool stream into the ocean. It was a neat thing to see, as my son and daughter would not stop until the water rand all the way down the beach into the ocean. There own canal…

Being in Hawaii with you kids or loved ones means that you should be spending quality time and forgetting about your problems back home. I like to get right into the sand with them and get messy. It makes them realize that we are doing something together with no distractions.

Some of my most interesting conversations with my kids were building the sandcastles in Waikiki, Honolulu. We had a common goal and will not stop until we achieve.

7. Learn to swim

Waikiki beach is very shallow for around a kilometre out. It is also shallow width wise and makes a great place to learn how to swim. There are rock walls and reef much further out, controlling the heights of the waves. This makes the water calmer and safer to learn how to swim. You can read one of my articles about teaching kids how to swim like a pro here.

I you are teaching someone how to swim, you should start them at baby beach 1. It is the middle coved off area and the most shallow part of Waikiki beach. As you get better go to kids beach cove and then finally to the open water of Waikiki beach.

8. Surf Lessons

You can take surf lessons right off the beach in Waikiki and other places on Oahu, the only bad part about these lessons are they are much more expensive than hiring a local or a shop across the street. The total cost of this is $120 USD for around a 2 hr class including rental of the board.

I have taken these classes in the past, and they guarantee that you will catch a wave. There are 3 main companies that do this on Waikiki beach. They take up a lot of space, but it is awesome to learn how to surf.

Now when I go, I just rent a board for a day and figure it out. This last trip I started to teach my son how to surf. Him and I caught a few waves together on the same board!

9. Learn ocean safety

Oahu, Honolulu is an awesome place to learn about ocean safety. I have personally been caught in many instances in the water that people need to understand about the ocean before they go in. The ocean can be dangerous in some places.

Some of the things people should know are, do not feed the animals they can bite, don’t touch coral it stings, avoid jelly fish they could kill you, and watch out for rip tides and huge waves.

I try to move with the waves, and that is how I teach my kids to swim in the ocean. If you are wearing goggles, you can see the sediment moving forward and back with the current. Learn to follow this. Honolulu is one of the easier places to learn this because there are no poisonous creatures in the water and very little fire coral to sting you.

If you are surfing you will have to learn how to fall properly so that you do not land face first into a coral reef. Make sure you take lessons before you try to surf.

10. Shop Until You drop

The shopping in Waikiki, Honolulu has gone crazy! There are multiple malls in the area offering mid range to super high end products. There are remnants of the old international market, now called the Dukes market on a side street, this area is one of my favourite to shop in because it is cheap and you can negotiate with the sellers. It reminds me of asian markets or Caribbean Markets.

Some of the most popular malls in Waikiki are the royal Hawaiian centre, Ala moana centre, Waikiki shopping Plaza, the international market place and the Waikiki beach walk.

This year we spent Halloween in the area and I have also spent Christmas here. I don’t like to support the upper end stores like Hermes, Fendi, Luis Vuitton etc because they do not participate in any of the kids activities. It gets on my nerves as if they are too good to give cheap candy away to kids. I just think its bad customer service.

11. Try Shaved Ice or Hawaiian Ice cream

This stuff is the best! My whole family had either Hawaiian ice cream or shaved ice every day for 2 weeks this last trip. It is the best and a refreshing tasty way to cool off on a hot day. Our kids went crazy over shaved Ice they loved it.

There are different level of shaved ice in Waikiki and it ranges in price quite a bit. Some places like Ice Monster, will put fresh ingredients in the shave ice. In other words it is not just syrup and ice. Others will put bubbles from bubble tea in them etc.

The ice cream here is so good and fresh, our favourite was either the coconut flavour or the pineapple!

Surfing Waikiki

12. Drink out of a coconut

At the side of the roads if you are taking a scenic tour, you will find coconut stands at the side of the roads with fresh cold coconuts for sale. They are cheap usually around $2 or $3. When you buy one the seller will cut it for you and pop a straw in the coconut. It is super refreshing and tasty. When you are done drinking the coconut water, get them to open it up for you so that you can eat the jelly part. It is super healthy and tasty!

13. Shore fishing

Every time we go to Hawaii we do a lot of shore fishing, my son loves it. From the shore or docs you will catch mostly reef fish and they are some of the tastiest fresh fish you can eat. Most of what you will catch will be catch and release, but you will catch fish almost every time you do this on Oahu.

I bought a collapsible fishing rod from Wal mart for $25 and it came with some hooks and weights. If you are fishing in the Waikiki Canal you can use bread to fish with. But if you are more seriousply fishing and looking for a good catch, use little pieces of shrimp. The fish cannot resist them and you will have more success this way.

We fish Kahala beach, Ko Olina, Waikiki beach, Kamana beach this trip and caught 5 or more fish every time, it is awesome.

14. Climb a Banyan tree

There are Banyan trees all over Waikiki, the best ones are in Kapiolani park. They are very easy to climb and don’t have sharp bark like most trees do. I was fine letting my son climb them, but not too high…

15. Visit the Waikiki Aquarium

The Waikiki Aquarium is located in Kapiolani park right oceanfront on Waikiki beach. The closest beach to the Aquarium is sans souci beach.

The Waikiki aquarium has many of the species of fish and wildlife that you will sea in the waters in Hawaii. Some of which, you would never sea unless you were scuba diving. They have them presented really well in an educational manners, and it is fun for kids to learn about the animals and be able to point them out in the water.

I recommend doing this at least once, just so you have a good understanding of what you are looking at in the ocean around you.

16. The Waikiki Zoo

The Waikiki Zoo is also located in Kapiolani Park. They have lots of animals there, but I find it really small for the price you pay. If you are bored (which I doubt you will be), then it could be a nice stroll to visit the Waikiki Zoo.

17. Visit all of the statues, Hawaiian history

Along the boardwalk in Waikiki, there are many statues set up and on display. These are famous Hawaiian historical figures like the kings of the past, warriors and Duke the famous surfer/swimmer.

We took pictures with all of these figures when we were there last and our kids enjoyed hearing about what and why these figures were up here for. I joked with my son that if he became an olympic swimmer that he too could have a statue of himself on display.

18. Take Epic Pictures

The sunsets in Waikiki, Honolulu are beautiful. On our last night we hung out at the Marriott rooftop patio and it looked like the sky was red! The family pictures we got there were stunning.

If you are on the beach you and have a good lense, you might even be able to get pictures of spinner dolphins or whales!

19. Whale watching

There are several whale watching tours available out of Waikiki. The winter months are the best time to see a whale. One of the days I was out snorkelling, my wife saw a whale very close to where I was. She was on the beach watching me and I was out by the scuba divers. Unfortunately I did not see it…

20. Watch a Live band

Many of the restaurants and bars will offer free live music in the evenings. I saw this many times when we were out and about in Waikiki. One of our favourite places to watch live music was Tiki’s and Ko! Tikis is a roof top patio that is ocean front, they had a reggae band playing here. Ko is a secret gem located at the Bamboo hotel, the owners name is Sam and he is super nice. Many of the live bands will play some of the Hawaiian reggae music and classic Hawaiian tunes.

21. Stand Up Paddle Boarding

Stand up paddle boarding is really popular to do right off of Waikiki beach. The reason it is so good here is because the water is very calm in most areas. When you stand up paddle board, you will get an awesome upper body workout from paddling around, as well as lower body stabilization workout. It is one of our favourite ways to stay fit on Oahu.

22. Booze Cruise or Sunset cruise Waikiki

The booze cruises in Waikiki happen several times a day, I have done this at least 6 times over the years on the big yellow catamaran. For $25 USD they take you out for 2 hours for an all you can drink catamaran cruise. It is a lot of fun.

If you opt for the romantic sunset cruise, you can bring champagne and eat cheese boards on a catamaran. We went on this and we watched a beautiful sunset right on the ocean.

If you have any more insight or questions about Honolulu, Oahu, please shoot us an email or comment. We want our Hawaii Travel blogs to be the most comprehensive source of information about Hawaii on the internet.

The Rampersauds at Ko Olina Beach in Oahu, Hawaii