{"id":13190,"date":"2016-02-19T10:56:45","date_gmt":"2016-02-19T10:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"\/inspire\/?p=13190"},"modified":"2019-04-04T18:15:38","modified_gmt":"2019-04-04T18:15:38","slug":"exploring-oahu-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/exploring-oahu-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Ridiculously Fun Things to Do in Oahu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heading to the Heart of Hawaii<\/a>? Just enjoying the beauty of your surroundings is enough reason to visit … but here are 12 more ideas to make the most of your Oahu<\/a> experience! Get ready for some serious adventure<\/a>!<\/p>\n\"05597<\/a>\n

Photo Credit: Tor Johnson<\/i><\/p>\n

1. Pretend you\u2019re in a movie in Ka\u02bba\u02bbawa Valley.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\"161215_hr5_day4_27839\"<\/a>\n

It\u2019s true that Kualoa Ranch<\/a> raises cattle, but people aren\u2019t here to see the cows. You come for adventure<\/a> activities like ATV and horseback riding through the Ka\u02bba\u02bbawa Valley. You might recognize the area from some little movie called Jurassic Park<\/em> (oh, and Lost<\/em>, 50 First Dates<\/em>, Pearl Harbor<\/em>, Godzilla <\/em>\u2026 there\u2019s a reason behind the Ka\u02bba\u02bbawa\u2019s \u201cHollywood\u2019s backlot\u201d<\/a> moniker).<\/p>\n

Spread across 4,000 acres, Kualoa Private Nature Reserve is made up of three huge valleys that run from steep mountains to rolling hills to tropical beaches. Hakipu\u02bbu Valley\u2019s slopes are the most remote, and they\u2019re ideal for guided hiking and 6WD tours through the jungle.<\/p>\n

Sacred land to the ancient Hawaiian, and managed and preserved by a sixth-generation kama\u2019aina family, the funds raised from visitors\u2019 trips to the reserve go right back into stewardship of the land. Kualoa is less than an hour from Waikiki, on the east coast of Oahu.<\/p>\n

2. Head to the biggest street food event on the island.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

7,000 people sampling the best street food on Oahu<\/a> \u2014 that\u2019s what you\u2019ll find at Street Grindz\u2019 monthly Eat the Street<\/a> event. Taking place on the last Friday of every month, this food truck mecca features 40 vendors serving up Instagram-worthy dishes like waffle dogs, gelato, and loaded burgers. Snap a photo of your dessert from the Girls Who Bake Next Door<\/a> food truck and watch your follower numbers soar.<\/p>\n

If your trip to Hawaii doesn\u2019t coincide with Eat the Street, Street Grindz also hosts the Honolulu Night Market<\/a> on the third Saturday of every month \u2014 it\u2019s a super cool shopping event in a 5,000-square-foot warehouse complete with skate ramp, live music, bars, art, a kids\u2019 zone, and a ton of street food vendors.<\/p>\n

And almost every day along the Kewalo Harbor waterfront you\u2019ll find rotating food trucks and live music at Makers & Tasters<\/a>, Street Grindz\u2019 permanent food park and marketplace. The market is open for lunch and dinner. Tip: Look out for the vendor serving up coconut mochi crunch shrimp.<\/p>\n

3. Check out the only royal palace in the United States.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\"161215_hr5cx_day3_27511\"<\/a>\n

Hawaii\u2019s King Kalakaua was a visionary: Not only was he one of the world\u2019s first monarchs to circumnavigate the globe, but back in 1882 he built one of the most modern residences in the world. Iolani Palace<\/a> had electric lights while the White House was still running on gas lamps, and<\/em> there were intra-house telephones, flush toilets, and hot running water; the modern conveniences we take for granted were big deals back in the Victorian age.<\/p>\n

You can see the opulent Honolulu palace on a self-guided tour, or get a deeper sense of Hawaii\u2019s history with a docent guiding you through the residence. A highlight is seeing all the memorabilia Kalakaua acquired on his global travels.<\/p>\n

4. Visit the Hawaiian version of the Smithsonian.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Founded by a Hawaiian princess and often lauded as the best Polynesian anthropological museum in the world, there\u2019s so much to see at the Bishop Museum<\/a> \u2014 think shark-toothed war clubs, ornate dance masks, and a royal feathered cloak created entirely from the yellow feathers of 80,000 (now extinct) mamo birds.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a planetarium where you can learn about modern astronomy and ancient Polynesian methods of seafaring using wave patterns and the position of the stars to travel thousands of miles across open ocean in outrigger canoes. There\u2019s also the Science Adventure Center where kids (and adults!) get to walk through an erupting volcano. The museum\u2019s open every day.<\/p>\n

5. Set your days and nights around Honolulu\u2019s live music scene.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\"161215_hr4_day2_27286\"<\/a>\n

In the \u201880s, the legendary jazz and blues club Blue Note got its start in Greenwich Village, and today you can get a little taste of that New York vibe under the Oahu sun. Enjoy a Sunday brunch while you\u2019re listening to the Blue Note Gospel Choir<\/a>, and once you\u2019ve finished your pineapple pancakes with dark rum syrup, go hang out on the beach for a few hours, then head to Duke\u2019s Canoe Club<\/a> beachside bar for live music at sunset.<\/p>\n

Head to Waikiki Beach Walk and grab some new clothes for the night, then take your pick: You could head back to Blue Note \u2014 they\u2019ve got two live performances going on every evening \u2014 or get cultured at Kani Ka Pila Grille<\/a> at Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort. This is an ideal place to taste local dishes like ahi poke \u2014 marinated raw ahi tuna \u2014 and the Hawaiian music by local performers is unreal.<\/p>\n

6. Zipline over Oahu\u2019s North Shore.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cruising along Oahu\u2019s longest ziplines<\/a> \u2014 ranging from 500 feet to nearly half a mile long, and starting at 410 feet high \u2014 at Keana Farms<\/a>, you\u2019ll rappel between platforms, navigate sky bridges, zoom through the air at high speed … and do it all in the name of helping the planet. By not disturbing the tropical plants being grown in the farm below, you\u2019re preserving the land. Right? Papaya, taro, eggplant, basil, cherry tomatoes \u2014 they\u2019re all grown here.<\/p>\n

7. Hang out with Waikiki\u2019s surf and yoga kids.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\"Surf\"<\/a>\n

Photo Credit: Tor Johnson <\/em><\/p>\n

You have<\/em> to learn to surf (or at least try) while you\u2019re in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach Activities surf school will take you from being a \u2018kook\u2019 to riding the waves safely.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s no need to be stuck inside a sweaty studio practicing yoga when you\u2019re on Oahu. Take your practice outside at Kapiolani Park, because there\u2019s nothing quite like practicing your first downward dog of the day while looking up at Mount Leahi. Outrigger<\/a> offers yoga at Waikiki Beach Walk on Wednesdays from 4-4:45 p.m.<\/p>\n

8. Eat all the fancy fusion food you can.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With more than a third of Hawaii\u2019s population descending from Asia, Oahu is one multicultural place. And that means incredible fusion food. At the Ocean House<\/a> in Waikiki you\u2019ll get the freshest island seafood \u2014 think dishes like steamed kahuku moi with garlic scampi black bean sauce, and crab-stuffed mahi mahi. And you\u2019ll be dining al fresco, by the ocean. At Roy\u2019s Hawaii<\/a>, run by celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi, you can order amazing sashimi and spicy blue crab cakes.<\/p>\n

9. Get involved in Lei Day.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

May Day on Oahu means Lei Day. To celebrate, Outrigger<\/a> will be hosting a lei-making ceremony as well as a hula ceremony and an appearance from the 2016 May Day Lei Queen and her court.<\/p>\n

10. Discover the Polynesian Cultural Center.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\"161215_hr5_day4_27948\"<\/a>\n

At the Polynesian Cultural Center<\/a>, you get to visit eight Polynesian-themed villages<\/a> complete with thematically clothed staff and architecture, giving visitors the chance to sample traditional Hawaiian, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Samoan, Aotearoan (New Zealand), Fijian, Tahitian, and Tongan lifestyles.<\/p>\n

There are theater shows, a massive boat parade, and a nightly luau (traditional Hawaiian party\/feast). Other activities include spear throwing, poi twirling, fire making, and you can even learn the right way to crack open a coconut (a truly useful skill for island visitors).<\/p>\n

11. Learn the history of Pearl Harbor.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Anyone interested in naval and military history will have a lot to see during a visit to Honolulu and Pearl Harbor<\/a>. Site of the historic Japanese bombing that provoked America to join the Allies in World War II, Pearl Harbor has been a main naval base for the U.S. Navy from 1899 until present day.<\/p>\n

The harbor itself is home to several impressive military ships. These include the USS Missouri<\/em>, a battleship that saw intermittent service from WWII until the Gulf War, and on whose decks the Japanese ended the Second World War by signing the instrument of surrender in 1945. Today, the Missouri <\/em>is a museum ship that visitors can tour, as well as a popular setting for Hollywood action films such as Under Siege<\/em> and Battleship<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A short boat ride away, straddling the submerged wreckage of the USS Arizona<\/em>, is the World War II Valor<\/em> in the Pacific National Monument, which draws over 1.8 million visitors a year. From this monument, the smokestack of the famous ship can still be seen emerging from the water.<\/p>\n

12. Learn to play the best ukuleles on the island.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\"161215_hr5_DSC2617\"<\/a>\n

If you’ve ever hung out on YouTube playing Israel ‘Iz’ Kamakawiwo’ole’s \u201cSomewhere Over the Rainbow\u201d on a loop (and if you haven\u2019t, you should), you should probably go to the ukulele institution that is Kamaka Hawaii Inc.<\/a> It\u2019s turning 100 this year. The original owner, Samuel Kaiali\u2019ili\u2019i Kamaka, invented the round-bodied, mellower-sounding \u201cpineapple\u201d style ukulele. And they\u2019re pretty famous. Adam Sandler actually played a custom-built Kamaka in the film 50 First Dates, <\/em>and it\u2019s said that George Harrison would buy as many as he could find in stores and give them to friends as gifts.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re unsure about whether a high-quality ukulele is for you, Kamaka also offers 30-minute factory tours most weekday mornings.<\/p>\n