How to Spend 24 Hours in Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu and the surrounding cities are excellent starting points for classic Hawaii activities and tasting local cuisine. Alongside famous historical destinations like Pearl Harbor and ‘Iolani Palace are contemporary shopping malls and hipster cafes. A day is hardly enough time to engage in all the city’s offerings, but here are some tips to spending a quintessential day in Honolulu.
Morning
When thinking of mornings in Hawaii, surfing is probably the first thing that comes to mind for locals. Start your day early with a dawn patrol surf session at Ala Moana or Waikiki Beach. The shore is sprinkled with dozens of shacks, where you can rent a surfboard or standup paddleboard by the hour. For absolute beginners, you can sign up for a surf lesson too and learn the basics.
1. Manoa Falls
Hiking Trail, Natural Feature
A second morning option is to head mauka (toward the mountains) for an easy hike on the Manoa Falls Trail. The path winds through the bamboo, and lush Hawaiian rainforest ending with a close-up of Manoa waterfall.
Lunch
Afternoon
3. World War II Valor in the Pacific Memorial
Memorial
Evening
4. Maita'i Catamaran
Natural Feature
After a day in the sun, head back to Waikiki and buy a ticket for the tradewind sails tour on Maita’i Catamaran. The relaxing sail will take you out past the reef for an unrivaled view of Waikiki and Diamond Head from sea. The adventure continues past the sea cliffs where you might catch a glimpse of a pod of dolphins before returning back to the confines of Waikiki Beach.
5. Duke's Waikiki
Restaurant, Bar, Seafood
Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.
Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.
Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.
Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.
We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.