Reposted from a WeChat reader’s WeChat public account, Lazy Person 33’s Eat, Drink, and Play. Original link.

On my previous three trips, most of the time I was just taking it easy and visiting a few spots here and there. This time, besides winding down after work on weekdays, I also scheduled several additional places.

Snorkeling

For snorkelers, Hawaii’s summer weather is much better. In winter, the wind and waves are stronger and visibility is poorer. In particular, the North Shore is great for snorkeling in summer, while in winter it turns into a surfer’s paradise.

In winter, Hawaii waters are cold, so wearing a wetsuit is recommended. The wetsuit is super warm, like a thermal wetskin. Because the surf is bigger, I still strongly recommend wearing fins; otherwise, if you run into rip currents, it can be dangerous. We bought our wetsuits locally and checked our fins as baggage. Water shoes or fin socks are also essential.

Oahu doesn’t have a Maui-style snorkel report, so I reluctantly found two more general reference sites: https://www.hawaiiweathertoday.com/dive-and-snorkel/ https://www.weather.gov/hfo/SRF

If you’re not booking a tour and are going on your own, I recommend the “how to get to” section on this site; it’s very useful. For example, below is the spot I’m sharing: https://www.snorkeling-report.com/spot/snorkeling-electric-beach-oahu-hawaii/

Electric Beach

This was the last snorkeling spot on this trip, and definitely the highlight. Across from this beach is a seawater power plant, and heated water is discharged through pipes, attracting lots of marine life. If you’re lucky, you may also see a pod of dolphins here. It is currently the best shore-based snorkeling spot I’ve done on Oahu.

If you follow the snorkeling report directions to navigate to Kahe Beach Park, when you see groups of divers carrying tanks on their backs, you’ll know you’ve come to the right place.

The conditions on the west side were not ideal that day, but I still came to visit this spot anyway. The entrance had large waves, so it’s not great for snorkeling beginners. It was very windy at the beach, so we set up a tent to block the wind and rain.

As usual, I entered the water first, while my child played in the sand onshore.

After entering the water, swim to the right, and you can quickly reach the pipe area. The pipe is easy to spot with a small circular marker. Then keep swimming deeper; at the end of the pipe is the discharge opening. You can clearly see several large pipe mouths, and every so often warm water welling up. Lots of fish gather here, creating a fish frenzy. When it drains, lots of bubbles rise to the surface.

I also bumped into a mother turtle with baby turtles.

On my way back in, I asked a diver about directions. He said there are sharks that stay around nearby, in another direction. I found a man near the outlet (the same uncle from the turtle video), asked if he was interested in taking me to see them. They knew the area and brought me there. The sharks were hiding under rocks near the Buddha statue about 100 to 200 meters out. The water was quite deep, and because I can’t free dive, I asked him to help me with a video. The video also has whale calls in the distance.

I chatted with the man afterward. He said they moved near this area and come here every week for snorkeling/free diving at Electric Beach.

This spot has sharks, fish frenzy, and turtles, and if you’re lucky you may also see a dolphin pod. Many websites rank it as the best Oahu snorkeling spot. The crowds of divers on the beach also back that up. It’s currently my favorite Oahu snorkeling location.

Sandbar

The Sandbar tour is also very famous. I hadn’t booked it on my previous three visits because of various reasons, so this time I finally did. Not someone who likes early mornings, I booked the afternoon tour with Captain Bruce.

There are plenty of parking spaces at the meetup area, and if you book through their website you can even get free pickup from Waikiki hotels. We drove there ourselves. The parking lot has two restrooms for changing; I used the one near the entrance, which is relatively basic by Oahu standards.

We arrived without lunch, and there was one onigiri per person on the boat, plus unlimited snacks, drinks, hot cocoa, and more. I ate one onigiri right after boarding to top up energy. One crew member spoke both Japanese and English and was very friendly with kids. Since the boat provided child life jackets, we didn’t need to bring ours.

The sandbar is very close to shore; it was only about a 15-minute boat ride. It’s a shallow white-sand, green-water area with depth around chest level (I’m just over 1.7 meters). Captain Bruce’s company has built a small base there with paddleboards, inner tubes, float boards, water guns, and more.

The company has two boats—one that goes snorkeling first, and one that does paddleboards first. We were on the latter. For snorkeling, there are float boards with windows, which are great for my child, who has gone to the sea many times but is still a bit scared of snorkeling. There were snorkel masks too, and it sounded like they might even provide prescription masks, though I didn’t catch it clearly. They also provide life jackets, but no fins. We brought a pair of fins ourselves, otherwise swimming would be quite tiring.

The captain on the other boat was especially good with kids and caught small crabs for us to play with.

He even played a water-gun battle with my child, who couldn’t stop laughing. A few very friendly Japanese travelers on the float board saw how cute my child thought she was and kept asking if she was okay when she accidentally fell into the water after getting too excited.

During snorkeling, the crew led the group; we didn’t swim directly over the coral but circled around it. It’s recommended to swim on the side closer to the coral to see more. We saw two turtles that day, both hiding under coral and showing only half their bodies.

Because everyone was snorkeling together, it can get a bit crowded and you may bump into people from the same boat from time to time. The water was fairly clear that day; there weren’t too many fish (but still more than on the few snorkel trips I’ve done in Mexico and the Caribbean). Non-swimmers get extra care. It’s still quite beginner-friendly and a good option for bringing kids.

Hanauma Bay

This was our second visit to Hanauma Bay; last time we came when our kid was one year old. Back then, you didn’t need to reserve tickets—just queue up. Now you need to book two days in advance. You can check the weather and then choose which day to go. Reservation time starts at 7:00 a.m. Hawaii time, and once the time comes, open this URL: https://pros7.hnl.info/hanauma-bay

Try replacing the 7 in that URL with other numbers and keep refreshing, then use whichever one opens first. For those who struggle with early mornings, we chose 9:45 a.m. Remember to bring $3 in cash for parking—cash only. There were still some parking spots when we went. The line at entry took much longer than before: multiple batches waiting in line, plus an orientation video and a tram down the hill, and by the time we got to the beach it felt like around 11:00 a.m.

We set up our tent again, and it was so comfortable.

This time on Oahu, it somehow felt like there were a lot more Japanese visitors than before. But I used to come during Christmas, so the timing probably had something to do with it.

Last time I came to Hanauma Bay, I was still a beginner at snorkeling, and I don’t remember what it felt like back then. This time, the fish looked really big and chunky, as if they were fed well. There were many fish I didn’t see elsewhere. The fish density was just not high that day.

For lunch, I went back to the entrance to buy food, which was a bit of a hassle: take the tram up, get a stamp, buy food, then come down. When I came down, the tram had just left, so I ended up walking down, and still didn’t catch the next tram quickly.

The food was burgers and the like, not very tasty—just enough to get me through.

Taken while waiting for food.

This was taken while I was walking down the hill. I called my child’s name from up high, and he heard it right away—his hearing is much better than my teammate’s.

Going to Hanauma Bay is so tiring, so it feels like this might be the last time we come, just taking photos as a memory.

We stayed until about 2 or 3 p.m. and headed back.

On the way back home.

Attractions

Ko Olina Lagoon

Ko Olina Lagoon has four man-made lagoons. In winter, when Hawaii is windy and choppy, it is especially calm. Lagoons 1-3 are all near hotels, while Lagoon 4 has no hotel, and that’s the one we visited.

Lagoon 4 has both grass areas and beach, and the area is pretty big. I initially planned to snorkel but didn’t really see anything, so we just swam for a while with the kids. A good place to relax.

The view of some unknown nearby hotel.

Gǔlánní Ranch

This time we only made restaurant reservations in advance and didn’t plan much, since Oahu attractions are fairly familiar even if we haven’t visited all of them. We decided on the first day to stop by Gǔlánní Ranch.

I booked the tickets on the official website an hour or two ahead, had breakfast, then drove over. It is on the east side of the island, and it’s actually quite far. If you can handle a packed, “special ops” style schedule, you could group a few east-side activities together.

The tour was sold as a jungle adventure. The guide was good and very energetic. The open-top vehicle was quite bumpy all the way, so remember to fasten your seatbelt. It stopped at two points; at the second stop there was a short hike, and the view was great after climbing.

A sighting on the way back. This time I saw this kind of “single-column tree” in two spots. It was pretty interesting.

I think this tour is a good way to refresh your mind and body. There are also other tours where you can visit Jurassic Park filming spots and take photos, etc. But if time is very tight, you may consider skipping Gǔlánní Ranch.

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor was technically our second time there; the first visit was during my first trip to Hawaii. Back then, as a broke student with limited time, I only wandered around the free areas for half a day before leaving. This time we set aside a full day for Pearl Harbor, and it felt very worthwhile. We didn’t even finish it all when we arrived at 9 a.m.

The reservation for the USS Arizona Memorial opens at 3:00 p.m. the day before. If you do not reserve, the standby line is still pretty long. There is a nominal reservation fee of $1: https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/233338/ticket/16

Saw the single-column tree again.

The parking lot is still quite large, and finding a parking spot didn’t feel like a problem.

So much time has passed since the last visit that I didn’t even remember backpacks were not allowed. Bags can only be stored at the nearby third-party storage area, or you can bring a small clear bag like those used at concerts.

We bought the full package: 2 adults and 1 child, for a total of about $240 or around $260, which is still quite expensive but absolutely worth it again. In my personal ranking, it was: surrender ship > submarine > shipwreck > aircraft museum.

We went to the submarine first. It was my first time entering a real military submarine, and it felt very novel and impressive. The kids also liked it a lot. You can pick up a free Chinese-language audio guide at the entrance.

Being inside felt as if I had a glimpse of what underwater life was like back then.

The submarine museum is small, but it’s still pretty interesting.

Afterward, we went to the wreck site. Entry starts 5 minutes before the scheduled time; if you have a reservation, you don’t have to wait in line at all. You hear a short briefing right after entering.

Then we took a short boat ride to the location of the wreck. The wreck tour was emotionally heavy from start to finish.

At the very end there is a monument honoring the people who tragically died on the ship, as well as the survivors.

At noon, we ate lunch at the restaurant near the submarine museum, ordering garlic shrimp and a hamburger. Both were quite tasty, but service was super slow and the portions were really small.

After lunch we took the shuttle to the USS Missouri. The shuttle is free and runs every 15–20 minutes.

The Missouri has a free Chinese guide, which is very suitable for bringing your parents. The Missouri is the ship where Japan signed the surrender. It was originally berthed in Washington state, but because of the symbolic link—USS Arizona marks where the United States entered WWII, and the Missouri marks where WWII ended—it was moved to Pearl Harbor.

The Missouri has many stories, and listening to the guide’s explanation was very moving.

After the tour, you can explore the ship interior on your own. The Missouri was renovated later, and there are many signs of modernization inside.

Finally, we continued by shuttle to the aviation museum. There are many fighter aircraft, and there is also a free Chinese audio guide. Personally, I found the aviation museum a bit disappointing, mainly because you can’t really go inside.

The big warehouse next to it is pretty interesting, with the bullet holes from that time still preserved in the windows as a memorial.

The package also includes a virtual-reality experience, but we were short on time, so we had to skip it.

I think Pearl Harbor is suitable for anyone who has studied WWII history. By the end of the day I gained a lot of perspective and insight, and I hope we can bring our parents back another time.

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden

Before the sandbar tour, we drove by briefly. The visitor center was gorgeous—a true earthly paradise. The staff there were very friendly and suggested we should drive all the way through to a lookout point to overlook the lake. We must have taken a wrong turn and couldn’t find the spot. Since we needed to catch the tour, we just left. The garden has various overlooks and even a campsite, so it’s still worth stopping by.

Byodo-In Temple

After finishing the sandbar tour, we stopped by for a bit. It was quite small; in and out took only about half an hour. But it is a scenic spot at every turn and still gives off a Japanese temple vibe.

You can buy fish feed to feed the birds and fish.

The ticket booth at the entrance was casual; they only charged us for two adults. I mentioned we had a child with us, and he said, "No problem, just go in."

Because it is really small, it doesn’t feel worth visiting alone. It’s a spot you can include as a side trip, especially if you’re into Japanese temples.

Oahu Series

About the Author

This is reprinted from a WeChat public account of a WeChat reader, "懒人33 的吃喝玩乐." These are all original quality articles. If you’re interested, you can follow.