Guided Oahu Tours

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Back to OahuGuided Tours

If your time is limited, you might want to consider a guided tour. These tours are informative, can give you a good overview of Honolulu or Oahu in a limited amount of time, and are surprisingly entertaining.

E Noa Tours, 1141 Waimanu St., Suite 105, Honolulu (tel. 800/824-8804 or 808/591-2561; www.enoa.com), offers a range of tours, from island loops to explorations of historic Honolulu. These narrated tours are on air-conditioned, 27-passenger minibuses. The Royal Circle Island tour ($54 for adults, $43 for children 6-11, $37 for children under 6), stops at Diamond Head Crater, Hanauma Bay, Byodo-In Temple, Sunset Beach, Waimea Valley (admission included), and various beach sites along the way. Other tours go to Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona Memorial and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Waikiki Trolley Tours, 1141 Waimanu St., Suite 105, Honolulu (tel. 800/824-8804 or 808/596-2199; www.waikikitrolley.com), offers three fun tours of sightseeing, entertainment, dining, and shopping. These tours are a great way to get the lay of the land. You can get on and off the trolley as needed (trolleys come along every 2-20 min.). An all-day pass (8:30am-11:35pm) is $25 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $12 for children (4-11); a 4-day pass is $45 for adults, $27 for seniors, and $18 for children (4-11). For the same price, you can experience the new 2-hour narrated Ocean Coastline tour of the southeast side of Oahu, an easy way to see the stunning views.

Polynesian Adventure Tours, 1049 Kikowaena Place, Honolulu (tel. 808/833-3000; www.polyad.com), also offers a range of guided excursions. The all-day island tour starts at $55 for adults, $30 for children under 12; the half-day scenic shore and rainforest tour is $25 for adults, $18 for children 3 to 11; the half-day Arizona Memorial Excursion is $24 for adults and $18 for children 3 to 11.

If you'd rather go touring on your own, TourTalk-Oahu (tel. 877/585-7499; www.tourtalkhawaii.com) offers a complete package of 2 1/2-hour narrated CDs (or cassettes) with driving instructions and a 72-page booklet containing color maps, photos, site information, and Hawaii facts for $25. The self-guided driving tour not only guides you around the island to see the most popular sites, it has cultural and historical information as well.

Waikiki & Honolulu Walking Tours

Downtown Honolulu -- The Mission Houses Museum, 553 S. King St., at Kawaiahao Street (tel. 808/531-0481; www.missionhouses.org; TheBus: 2), offers a guided walking tour of historic downtown Honolulu on Thursday from 9:30am to 12:45pm. The fee is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $10 for children 6 and up; age 5 and under free; rates include the $10 fee for the regular Mission Houses tour. The tour also includes the capitol district, making stops at sites such as Iolani Place, the Kamehameha Statue, the Royal Tomb, and the grave of Rev. James Kekela (a missionary). Reserve a day ahead in person or by phone.

The Hawaii Geographic Society (tel. 808/538-3952) presents numerous interesting and unusual tours, such as "A Temple Tour," which includes Chinese, Japanese, Christian, and Jewish houses of worship; an archaeology tour in and around downtown Honolulu; and others. Each is guided by an expert from the Hawaii Geographic Society and must have a minimum of three people; the cost is $10 per person. The society's brochure, Historic Downtown Honolulu Walking Tour, is a fascinating self-guided tour of the 200-year-old city center. If you'd like a copy, send $3 to Hawaii Geographic Maps and Books, 49 S. Hotel St. (P.O. Box 1698), Honolulu, HI 96808.

Chinatown Historic District -- Two 3-hour guided tours of Chinatown are offered Tuesdays at 9:30am by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, 42 N. King St., at Smith Street (tel. 808/533-3181; TheBus: 2). The cost is $5 per person; call to reserve. The Hawaii Heritage Center (tel. 808/521-2749) also conducts 2-hour walking tours that focus on the history, culture, and multicultural aspects of Chinatown. Tours begin Fridays at 9:30am at the Ramsay Gallery, 1128 Smith St., at North King Street (TheBus: 2 or 13, get off on Hotel and Smith sts.); the cost is $5 per person.

Guided Ecotours

Oahu isn't just high-rises in Waikiki or urban sprawl in Honolulu, but extinct craters, hidden waterfalls, lush rainforests, forgotten coastlines, and rainbow-filled valleys. To experience the other side of Oahu, contact Oahu Nature Tours (tel. 808/924-2473; www.oahunaturetours.com). They have seven different ecotours, starting at $20 a person. They provide everything: experts in geology, history, Hawaiian mythology and archaeology, round-trip transportation, entrance fees, bottled water, snacks, use of day packs, binoculars, flashlights, and rain gear.

If you want to explore a hidden, ancient Hawaii that even most lifelong residents have never seen, book a tour with Mauka Makai Excursions, 350 Ward Ave., Honolulu (tel. 808/593-3525), a Hawaiian-owned and -operated ecotour company specializing in field trips to off-the-beaten-path (and sometimes hidden in the jungle) ancient temples, sea caves, sacred stones, petroglyphs, and other cultural treasures. Tours range from a half-day ($43 adults, $32 children 6-17) to a full day ($75 adults, $63 children). They provide bottled water, insect repellent, rain gear, beach gear, fishing tackle, and hotel pickup; you bring your imagination.

A Bird's-Eye View

To understand why Oahu was the island of kings, see it from the air. Island Seaplane Service (tel. 808/836-6273; www.islandseaplane.com) operates flights departing from a floating dock in the protected waters of Keehi Lagoon (parallel to Honolulu International Airport's runway) in either a six-passenger DeHavilland Beaver or a four-passenger Cessna 206. There's nothing quite like feeling the slap of the waves as the plane skims across the water and then effortlessly lifts into the air.

Your tour will give you aerial views of Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head Crater, Kahala's luxury estates, and the sparkling waters of Hanauma and Kaneohe bays. The half-hour tour ($99) ends here, while the 1-hour tour ($179) continues on to Chinaman's Hat, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the rolling surf of the North Shore. The flight returns across the island, flying over Hawaii's historic wartime sites: Schofield Barracks and the USS Arizona and Missouri memorials in Pearl Harbor.

Captain Pat Magie, company president and chief pilot, has logged more than 32,000 hours of flight time without an accident (26,000 hr. in seaplanes in Alaska, Canada, the Arctic, and the Caribbean). Any day now, he'll break the world record for seaplane hours.

A Cruise through the Islands

If you're looking for a taste of several islands in a single week, consider taking a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line (tel. 800/327-7030; www.ncl.com), the only cruise line that operates year-round in the Hawaiian islands.

Norwegian Cruise Line's 91,000-ton, 2,240-passenger ship, Norwegian Star, leaves every Sunday from Honolulu and makes stops on The Big Island, Maui, Kauai, and Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati, before returning to Honolulu the following Sunday. Prices start at $1,847 per person, based on double occupancy in a budget cabin and go way up for the nicer staterooms and suites, but deals are often available through travel agents.

The disadvantage of a cruise is that you won't be able to see any of the islands in depth or at leisure; the advantage is that you can spend your days exploring the island where the ship is docked and your nights aboard ship sailing to the next port of call.