Honolulu is the largest city in Hawaiʻi and without doubt the place where things are happening. In this list we share the best things to do in Honolulu for first-time visitors – including beaches, cultural sights, adventures, and more.
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Things to see in and around Waikoloa, one of the most popular places to stay on the Big Island.The Polynesian Cultural Center calls itself the top paid attraction in Hawaiʻi. It offers a whole range of cultural experiences and invites guests to take part in fun activities for all ages.
The Aliʻi Lūʻau, for example, is held at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Separated into six villages that represent different Polynesian islands such as Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, and Hawaiʻi, it has demonstrations and crafts from each of those cultures.
Finally, don’t let the name deceive you: while it sounds like a museum, it is one of the best places to get to know Hawaiian culture in an entertaining way.
The Ala Moana Center is Honolulu’s largest shopping mall.
It is a four-story shopping center and holds the title of being the largest open-air shopping center in the states. In short, it’s the kind of mall that makes you feel as if you’ve stepped into another world.
In the center you can find over 350 shops and eateries in a wide range – from luxury brands to department and souvenir stores. While not the cheapest place on Oʻahu, you can keep yourself entertained in the mall for a LONG time if that is what you like. Eat, drink, shop, and listen to music to your heart’s content.
Waikiki is one of the most well-known names when you ask people about Hawaiʻi, and for good reason. The beach is made up of 7 sections along two miles of white sand, backed by palm trees.
Many sections of Waikiki Beach are roped off for swimming and the waves are usually gentle. The beaches that make up Waikiki as a whole are:
Popular beach activities here include swimming, surfing, boogie boarding, catamaran trips, and outrigger canoe cruises.
Keep in mind that Waikiki Beach is POPULAR. Expect crowds.
If that’s not an issue for you, go to Waikiki so you can proudly claim that you’ve been to one of the most famous beaches in the world. It is the most well-known beach on Oahu.
When visiting Oʻahu, add ʻIolani Palace to your Oʻahu itinerary. This is the former residence of Hawaiian kings and one of Honolulu’s most historic sites. The palace was completed in 1882, restored in the 1970s, and opened to the public as a museum in 1978.
This sprawling edifice in downtown Honolulu spans several acres and holds everything from opulent royal chambers to plush-carpeted political offices.
A visit to this site will appeal most to history buffs. When you arrive, you can take tours, listen to audio recordings, and even see vintage exhibitions of clothing, fittings, furniture, and royal treasures.
Mānoa Falls is 150 feet tall and only 5 miles from downtown Honolulu.
Movies like “Jurassic Park” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” filmed some scenes in the area.
The hike to the waterfall is open from sunrise to sunset and there is no entrance fee. However, the lot near the trailhead charges for parking.
The trail to the falls can be very muddy, so wear good shoes and bring a change of clean socks for afterwards.
Known to Hawaiians as Lēʻahi, Diamond Head is a tuff crater that formed 300,000 years ago.
The unique profile of Diamond Head is easily seen from the eastern edge of Waikiki’s coastline, and is Hawaii’s most recognized landmark.
Hiking to the summit is an easy (but sweaty) undertaking which includes many (many) stairs. From the summit you can see Honolulu, Waikīkī Beach, and the Pacific Ocean. Non-residents need an advance entry reservation from Hawaiʻi State Parks.
Fun story: Shark’s Cove is named after the shape of the bay, which resembles a shark’s head. Shark sightings are not something you need to worry about.
Close to Haleʻiwa and around the corner from Waimea Bay, Shark’s Cove is known for its snorkeling. A reef protects the cove, which keeps the water calm in summer and full of fish. In winter, North Shore surf often makes it unsafe.
Old lava flows left many lava tubes and tunnels of varying length here. With depths from 15 to 45 feet, there is something for beginning snorkelers and advanced divers.
Kuhio Beach Park is one of the 7 sections of Waikīkī Beach and has calm water.
You can sometimes find free hula shows on the beach, and visitors wanting to go for a stroll and looking for culture should look out for nearby landmarks such as the Duke Kahanamoku Statue, the Stones of Kapaemahu, and the Prince Kuhio Statue.
Pearl Harbor is where Japanese navy aircraft attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet on December 7, 1941, which brought the U.S. into WWII. Pearl Harbor is still an active military base and is also a National Historic Landmark.
You can tour the site and see historical sites like the battleship USS Missouri, the USS Arizona Memorial, the Pacific Aviation Museum, the USS Bowfin, and many more.
Read more on the official Pearl Harbor website.
Close to Honolulu on the south-eastern coast of Oʻahu, the Halona Blowhole is yet another popular attraction you can check out. As waves pound into the cliffs with great force, water spouts out of a blowhole and blasts into the air.
This is not a place to go swimming as the area is dangerous because of strong currents: observe the blowhole from a distance.
The Honolulu Botanical Gardens are a group of five city-run gardens spread around Oʻahu.
Each garden grows plants suited to its location. For example, the Wahiawā Botanical Garden sits on the central plateau at about 1,000 feet, where it is cooler, and is filled with greenery and lots of flowers.
If you are more a cactus and dry-land shrub kind of person you can have a look at the Koko Crater Botanical Garden which is located at a much hotter and drier place.
Kakaʻako is a once-industrial Honolulu neighborhood that is now full of clubs, galleries, new restaurants, and plenty of street art.
For lunch, try Nalu Health Bar & Café in South Shore Market.
The Honolulu Museum of Art opened in 1927 and has one of the largest collections of Pan-Pacific and Asian art in the US.
The Honolulu Museum of Art’s main campus houses one of America’s best Asian art collections, as well as works by Picasso, Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh.
When visiting, see the “Arts of Hawaiʻi” collection of cultural artifacts and landscape paintings.
The Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design is housed in the former home of Doris Duke close to the Diamond Head crater just outside Honolulu. It now serves as a public museum dedicated to the arts and cultures of the Islamic world.
The museum houses a diverse collection of art, furnishings, and built-in architectural components from countries like Iran, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Syria, Egypt, and India. Tours to the Shangri La Museum leave from the Honolulu Museum of Art and must be booked well in advance; there is no individual access.
For experienced divers, the Corsair Wreck Dive Site is one of the best dives close to Honolulu.
Located 3 miles off Hawaiʻi Kai Marina, the site is a WWII Corsair fighter plane that ditched there in 1945 and now lies on the ocean floor.
You will need a boat and a guide to get to the area and the dive spot is rated as “advanced” and located at a depth of around 115 feet.
The Aloha Tower is sometimes called the Hawaiian Statue of Liberty, and was the tallest building in Hawaiʻi when it opened in 1926. Back in the days it was a lighthouse welcoming sailors home.
The now retired lighthouse is 184 feet high and built in the Hawaiian Gothic style.
Pro tip: an elevator takes visitors up to the observation deck on the 10th floor, with views of the Honolulu shoreline. Admission is free.
Situated at just a half-hour drive from Honolulu, the Kualoa Ranch is a 4,000-acre private nature reserve and functioning cattle ranch. The ranch is very famous for the many films that were shot there, and is popular for the many tours they organize on their property.
There are almost too many tours and activities on the Kualoa Ranch to note here. A good way to start is to take the “Jurassic Adventure Tour” or to go on the UTV Raptor Tour. Both ways let you explore the Hakipuʻu and Kaʻaʻawa Valleys.
Other activities organized on-site are ziplining, electric mountain biking, horseback riding, and farm tours.
Shave ice should be on your list of Hawaiian foods to try. Waiola Shave Ice, with shops in McCully and Kapahulu, is a good place to pop your shave ice cherry.
The main ingredient of shave ice is shaved ice, but the magic comes from the many toppings and juices that are added. Shave ice is almost universally adored by locals.
Just think about some of the flavors: mango, cherries, passion fruit, haupia, chocolate, green tea, mochi, pineapple, and margarita. The best part? You can mix and match your favorites.
Sans Souci Beach Park is one of the calmer sections of Waikiki Beach, and a good pick if you want a quieter stretch of sand.
Sans Souci Beach is shallow, sandy, and without strong currents. It is one of Waikiki’s best family beaches. It also is a good snorkeling spot.
Also known as Kaimana Beach, Sans Souci is an old name that goes back to 1884 and means “without a care” in French.
This is another one for the shopaholics. The 310,000-square-foot Royal Hawaiian Center specializes in luxury brands and stretches along a three-block section of Kalākaua Avenue in Waikīkī.
Complimentary music, hula, and cultural classes are available in The Royal Grove. Open daily from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.
The Chinatown district is next to downtown Honolulu and is a trendy area with interesting art galleries, cafes, and a monthly First Friday series event.
Visitors can find traditional Chinese restaurants and a dim sum scene, as well as many blocks of local lei stands, traditional shops, and fresh produce markets.
A landmark in Chinatown to visit is Kuan Yin, which is a Buddhist temple. Chinatown is also a good place to pick up some souvenirs.
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum is THE place to be if you want to learn about Hawaiian history and culture.
The museum holds more than 24 million historical, cultural, and natural history items from Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
Learn about Hawaiian gods, historical events, and much more in the three-story Hawaiian Hall.
Next to the extensive Hawaiian exhibits, the museum also has many natural history treasures on exhibit. Fun fact: they possess the third-largest insect collection in the United States.
The Koko Crater is a 1,208-foot-tall volcanic ash cone. The trail that lets you climb to the lookout point is tough but offers great views of the landscapes around this part of Oʻahu.
To reach the lookout point you must climb 1,048 exceedingly steep railroad-tie steps, which the military laid during World War II so it could bring supplies to the bunkers at the summit.
The KCC Farmers Market is organized every Saturday from 7:30 to 11:00am by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.
As one of the larger farmers markets in Honolulu this is a good place to visit to go shopping for fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, meat, unusual jams, specialty local seasonings, etc.
Honolulu Beerworks is one of the larger craft breweries on Oʻahu. Founded in 2014, this microbrewery offers a bunch of seasonal beers alongside its regulars.
In May 2025 it moved from Kakaʻako to a larger brewery and taproom at 1632 Hart Street in Kalihi, with food trucks out front.
The Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout is a lookout point 5 miles from downtown Honolulu. It looks out over Kailua, Kāneʻohe Bay, and the cliffs of the Koʻolau Mountain range.
The lookout is open every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. Entry is free, but non-residents pay $7 per car to park.
Keep in mind that the area of the lookout can have strong winds so be cautious here if the weather looks iffy.