Oahu (hawaii) 7 Day Trip in Feb, 2017

Day 1: 

My wife and I arrived late in the night the previous day, so our trip started in the afternoon. First place to visit was Byodo-In Temple. Lord Buddha's Statue with calm and peaceful atmosphere, this is a must visit place for people who is visiting Oahu. FYI - I do not follow Buddhism ☺️. Then we visited Kailua Beach Park, without doubt I will rate it as my favorite beach in Oahu. As this is a beach park, this will have showers and restrooms. 

Day 2: 

Pearl Harbor Visitor Center - Most of the people know some history about this place and you get to know more. If you haven't heard about it then you have to visit for sure. Plenty of parking, no handbags, wallets are allowed inside the center. You can carry camera, phones, bottled water but no bag packs and handbags. In the night we went to Waikiki Beach for exploring the night life. Ate the delicious shave ice cream as well. 

Day 3: 

Planned to start early in the morning for Hanauma Bay to do some snorkeling. We reached there by 10:30 and parking lot is already full. So change of plans, have visited some view points and reached Lanakai Beach which is very close to the Kailua Beach park. This is also one of the must to visit beach with beautiful Green and Blue water. Note there are no showers and restrooms at this Beach. Did some snorkeling as there was some Coral Reef. 

In the evening we went to Ko Olina Beach park for Sunset. Though we haven't got a proper sunset because of clouds, this park has one of the best views and you can see the lagoons.  

Day 4: 

Reached Hanauma Bay at 8 am in the morning. We got the parking. 7.50 dollars entrance ticket per person. There will be a 9 minute video on DOs and DONTs. One of our best day started.. we snorkeled for around 3 hrs. with breaks. This Beach has coral reef right at the shore and you would see so many different types of fishes which you may not find even if you go deep into the ocean. Again this is a Beach park and you are paying the entrance ticket so you will find nicely maintained park with snack shop, restrooms and showers. There is no restriction on general stuff what you can carry! Alcohol is not allowed :) We bought our own snorkel set along with the fins but you can rent them here. 

Day 5: 

Drive to scenic North shore. Ate at Giovanni food truck.. Shrimp was awesome. Saw Turtles at Waimea Bay. Visited couple of beaches on the way. Only this day I felt like I went to some country side. It was relaxing, out of urban life!! 

Day 6: 

Visited the Waikiki beach, relaxed, and came back. Everyone who visits Oahu will visit this Beach. Expect it to be crowded but this is a vibrant beach. Waves are less and best beach to relax for non-swimmers to relax for long time and go far into the ocean. For about half an mile into the ocean, water didn't reached to my neck level. 

Again visited Ko Olena park for Sunset. Got a better sunset view and I like this area for its calm atmosphere and nice views. 

Day7: 

Went to Waikiki again ☺️ Relaxed, did some paddle boarding and reached hotel in the evening. All the time we are in Waikiki, we parked our vehicle at Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. May not be a cheaper option, but if you are buying something then this a good option.

Checked out from hotel the next day early in the morning from Hampton Inn, Kapolei.

Note: We haven't visited Polynesian Culture Visitor Center because we have visited similar thing in Maui. For first time Hawaii visitors this is recommended

Trails: We haven't visited trails but things which we had in our plan if time permits were:
1) Lanikai Pillbox 
2) Diamond Head State Monument
3) Koko Crater Trailhead




Post your questions and I will try to answer them as quickly as possible. Have a great Trip!