Beaches: Makapu’u (east side, across from Sea Life Park), Kailua, Waimea Bay (North Shore)
Diamond Head
Activities: Snorkeling in Shark’s Cove (North Shore, summer only), watching surfers at Sunset Beach (winter only), hiking (backyardoahu.com), Byodo In Buddhist temple (Kaneohe), heiau in Kailua (check guidebooks, near YMCA), Pearl Harbor, flea market at the stadium (Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday), sunset cruise on the white catamaran with a blue and white sail that leaves from behind the Outrigger Waikiki ($15!)
View from Kuliou’ou Ridge Trail
Restaurants: Duke’s (I prefer the bar menu), House Without a Key, Orchids & La Mer at the Halekulani, Kona Pizza in Hawaii Kai, Ezogiku (noodles in Waikiki), Indigo (Chinatown), Diamond Head Market & Grill (casual local food, on Monsarrat between Kapiolani Park & the entrance to Diamond Head), Wailana Coffee House for breakfast (near Hilton Hawaiian Village)
Turtle Bay Resort
Hotels: On our most recent trip (fall 2010) we stayed at the Lotus at Diamond Head (formerly the W, a Castle Resorts hotel when we stayed there, and it’s now an Aqua hotel). Nice rooms, very laid back staff (no water spritzes or remembering your name, but not bad, either), fantastic location away from the heart of Waikiki but still close enough, and the street parking nearby is convenient and either cheap or free. No pool, no shops, no bars, no restaurants, but an excellent option. The Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore is fantastic. I’ve stayed there twice and loved it. Very isolated and quiet, yet you can get to town in 45 minutes or so. The Halekulani is right in Waikiki, is very luxurious (and expensive) and very quiet, yet still convenient to everything. The Sheraton Moana Surfrider and Outrigger Waikiki are in the middle of everything and right on the beach. The Kahala Resort is an amazing hotel with a dolphin lagoon, but very expensive and in a residential neighborhood about 15 minutes away from Waikiki. We stayed at the Renew in 2008, which you can read about in that entry.
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