Ultimate 5 Day Oahu Itinerary on a Budget

If you’re headed to Hawaii for a tropical vacation and plan to visit Oahu, check out our 5 day Oahu itinerary. This itinerary can also be condensed into 3-4 days if you plan to visit other islands during your trip to Hawaii! This 5 day Oahu itinerary really has everything: beach time, gorgeous hikes, SCUBA diving, and more.

Hawaii can be quite far depending on where you live. This is a fantastic and easy trip for West Coasters to do. For East Coasters, it might make more sense to travel for two weeks if you can, and really make the most of that plane ticket and flight time (12 hours of travel time on average from the East Coast). If that’s the case, take the opportunity to visit some of the other Hawaiian islands. For now, let’s dive into the BEST of Oahu, Hawaii.

Important Info to Know Before You Go

• The best time to visit Oahu for balancing out weather and crowds are the months of April, May, September, and early October.
• Avoiding November-March will be ideal if you don’t want to get caught in the rainy season, BUT the winter is a great time for big waves, surfing, and whale watching.
• A car rental for at least a few days on your trip is ABSOLUTELY worthwhile to get to know the whole island. Trust us, you’ll want to.
• All beaches in Oahu (and all of Hawaii) are public land. There are no private beaches. However, some beaches may be inaccessible without military base access.
• Pack reef safe sunscreen (we like Blue Lizard) to protect the reefs and pack water shoes (highly recommend Chacos for how versatile they are)
• Make a reservation in advance for: USS Arizona Memorial / Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Hanauma Bay, and Diamond Head Crater

Below you’ll find our detailed 5 day Oahu Itinerary!

What to See in Oahu in 5 Days

Day 1: Fly to Oahu + Waikiki Beach

Expect to arrive in Oahu sometime in the mid-to-late afternoon, especially if you’re flying from the east coast. For us, it took about 12 hours, but since Oahu is 6 hours behind EST (5 hours behind EDT, Hawaii doesn’t observe daylight savings), we arrived around 4 PM.

On this first day, we checked into our airbnb (this thrifty studio apartment), and then grabbed some dinner at Marugame Udon in Waikiki. The line moves quickly and the Udon noodles are fantastic. Then we walked the 5 blocks to Waikiki beach for the sunset.

The jet lag really kicked our butts the first night, so we forced ourselves to stay up until 9:00 PM, and then we passed out.

Day 2: Hanauma Bay + Diamond Head Crater Hike

On our first full day in Oahu, we set out to snorkel in the world-famous Hanauma Bay and hike the Diamond Head Crater.

Hanauma Bay

• Hanauma Bay (HBay) is open to the public ONLY Wednesday through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• You will need to make a reservation 2 days in advance, starting at 7 AM HST. Reservations often sell out within the first 5 minutes, so set yourself an alarm.
• Entry tickets are $25 per person, with children under 12 and active duty military entering free.
• Parking is on a first-come, first-serve basis (no reservations) and costs $3.00. Cash payments only. Because of this, it’s best to do Hanauma Bay early in the morning. There are no entry times past 1:30 PM.
• Renting snorkel gear at HBay will leave you potentially waiting in a long line and cost $20.00 at least. Our recommendation is renting some in Waikiki before heading out, or bringing your own.

After you’ve enjoyed yourself snorkeling and dried off on the beach, head about to Diamond Head.

Diamond Head Crater Hike

From Hanauma Bay, the entrance to the Diamond Head Crater Hike is about a 25-30 drive via Highway 72 (Kalaniana’ole Hwy). This will also be taking you back in the direction of Waikiki.

• If you plan to do this hike, make sure you make a reservation. Reservations for entry are $5.00 per person and $10.00 for the parking. Reservations can be made up to 30 days ahead online via the Hawaii state park website.
• The Diamond Head Crater Summit Trail is 1.9 mi, Out & Back, Moderate difficulty

Following the hike, stop at Tonkatsu Tamafuji for the BEST Tonkatsu (breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet) on the way back to Waikiki. Pro tip: take the opportunity to eat all the asian food while in Hawaii. It is amazing.

Day 3: Koko Crater Railway Trail + Kayaking to Mokulua Islands

Koko Crater Railway Hike

On Day 3, drive back out toward Hanauma Bay to get to Koko Crater Railway Trail. This trail follows abandoned railroad ties used by the military in WWII. When you make it to the top, you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of the Honolulu Shoreline and Hanauma Bay.

• Koko Crater Railway Trail is 1.6 miles, Out & Back, and CHALLENGING
• There is no shade. Bring a hat and some sunscreen
• This is a popular hike, and it does get busy & hot, so doing it in the morning is your best bet.

Once you finish hiking Koko Crater, head up to Kailua beach, a 45 minute drive north.

Lanikai Beach & Mokulua Islands

When we got to Kailua, we opted to rent a double kayak for a 1/2 day (4 hours) for $85 ($42.50 per person) from Kailua Beach Adventures. You will also have to pay a $6.00 landing permit. We took these kayaks out to Lanikai beach and to the Mokulua Islands “The Mokes” to explore these beautiful volcanic, rocky islands.

• If you aren’t a strong kayaker, we recommend joining a tour and going with an expert guide.
• You’ll need a landing permit for The Mokes, which you cannot get on Sundays. Plan your trip for Monday through Saturday
• Kayaking in a double is MUCH easier than in a single, especially on the ocean.
• We even got to see a Hawaiian Monk Seal on Moku Nui (the bigger of the two islands)
• Kayaks are due back at 5 PM, so make sure to get there by 1 PM at the latest.
• If you don’t want to kayak to the Mokes, you can instead enjoy your time by renting stand-up paddle boards, snorkeling equipment, surfboards, and more.

You could also substitute the kayaking excursion with the Lanikai Pillbox hike, a 1.6 mile, Out & Back, challenging hike. You can see The Mokes from the top!

You’ll be exhausted after this day, so head back to Waikiki (45 minutes), and wash up for dinner. We went to Musubi Cafe Iyasume to try the famous Hawaiian way of making Japanese rice balls with SPAM.

Day 4: Scuba Diving + Pearl Harbor National Memorial

In the morning on Day 4 we went on a beginners SCUBA diving excursion out of Waikiki.

• We booked our SCUBA dive via Viator. We highly recommend this website for booking activities and being able to see reviews!
• Our tour was 5 hours, and it was our first time scuba diving, so no PADI certification was required.
• The experience was out of this world! We saw sea turtles, octopus, eels, and beautiful, tropical fish.

Pearl Harbor National Memorial

After our SCUBA diving experience, we drove to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. Visiting Pearl Harbor is a must on your trip to Oahu. It is a beautiful and educational memorial to this sobering event in US history.

• The cost to park is $7.00 per car and is pay by phone.
• The cost for the park is FREE, though they do charge a $1.00 program management fee per person.
• You can reserve your time to see the USS Arizona Memorial via recreation.gov

On our way back to Waikiki, we stopped in Honolulu for some delicious Hawaiian food at Helena’s. Try the Pipikaula style short ribs! Yum!

Day 5: North Shore + Dole Plantation

On Day 5, we took our rental car up to the North Shore. Our itinerary this day consisted of:

• Waimea bay for a swim in the morning. Try to get there early for parking purposes or you may have to pay $10-$20 for overflow parking.
• Hiking the Ehukai Pillbox Trail, 2.3 mile loop, moderate difficulty. You will see stunning views of the North Shore from the top!
• On the way back, we stopped in Haleiwa Town to get some of the famed Garlic Shrimp from Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck.
• After eating a bunch of shrimp, we topped off dinner with some pineapple “Dole Whip” from the Dole Plantation (back in the direction of Waikiki).

Note: We missed out on going to the Polynesian Cultural Center, and while we wished we had, it’s a very expensive activity (almost $200 per person).

Note: Flights to the east coast usually leave late at night, so we flew out at 10:30 PM on Day 5. Therefore, we had to pack up all our stuff before heading out in the morning. We just washed up at the airport before our flight.

This trip was certainly ACTION PACKED. You might be wondering, is 5 days enough in Oahu? We think so, but you could easily spend 6-7 and add in these additional points of interest:

Additions for Oahu Itinerary 6 Days:

• Sunset Beach (North Shore)
• Lanikai Pillbox Hike
• Polynesian Cultural Center
• See turtles at Laniakea Beach (North Shore)
• Kualoa Ranch (For Jurrassic Park fans! We drove by but did not pay to enter)

Budget for Our 5 Day Oahu Itinerary

Flight from Atlanta to Oahu	$828 per person
Rental Car + Gas	$200 per person
Food/Drink	$175 per person
Lodging	$362 per person
Activities	$230 per person
TOTAL:	$1795 per person

For a more budget friendly tropical trip, see our Puerto Rico itinerary!

Ways to Save

• Be judicious with your activities. There are AMAZING free or budget-friendly activities in Oahu. There are also really expensive things (helicoptering, Polynesian cultural center, etc). Pick what matters to you.
• Shop for breakfast and lunch groceries. Eat dinner out. It will save you a lot on food!
• Forgo the resorts.
• Shop around for flights. Often arriving or departing on a weekday can save you $100s.

We hope this 5 Day Oahu Itinerary is useful! Have a blast! Hawaii is a dream.