A 7 Day Itinerary for Oahu, Hawaii

Over the course of the last year, I’ve written a bunch of posts about the week that I spent in Hawai’i (Oahu, to be specific), and since it’s approaching summer and you may be planning your vacations, I figured I’d share my Hawai’i itinerary with you in its entirety!

A 7 Day Itinerary for Oahu, Hawaii

A 7-Day Itinerary For Oahu, Hawai'i | @fairyburger - Planning a trip to Hawai'i? Check out this 7 Day Itinerary for Oahu, Hawaii! #hawaii #travel #itinerary #oahu

OneĀ year ago, I flew from Oakland to Honolulu as a present to myself for graduating from medical school. The round-trip plane ticket was $518 (sigh), but I managed to keep costs down pretty well, considering all the things I managed to pack into the 7 days I spent there!

I stayed at an Airbnb ($242 for 7 nights) in downtown Waikiki!Ā H(ere’s some tips on how to travel on the cheap in Oahu!) I definitely allowed myself to splurge on eats because…once again, celebrations for finishing med school in one piece, and also because…it’s Hawai’i! Poke bowls were my jam.

Day 1

I landed at the Honolulu airport in the morning and took a bus over to Waikiki where my Airbnb was. First order of business was of course…food! I got a delicious Strawberry Lychee Shave Ice from Hau Nani Shave Ice (they’ve unfortunately since closed but it’s located in food truck paradise so you’ll definitely find something you like there)!

The first hike I did was Diamond Head Summit Trail (I took the bus for $2.50 bus and admission is $1 if you walk in! $5 if you’re in a car).

I also hung around Bryan Clay Exercise Park (located super close to Diamond Head) and went window-shopping atĀ Crazy Shirts Outlet, found a deliciousĀ Shichimi-Crusted Seared Ahi Tuna Bowl at Pa’ina Cafe, and got a bunch of hair flowers + kukui nut leis/bracelets at Crafts Way.

7 Day Itinerary for Oahu, Hawaii

Day 2

The next morning, I started my day off with an acai bowl atĀ Tropical TribeĀ and wandered my way over to the Royal Hawaiian Center, where I took two lessons (Lomilomi Massage + Beginning Ukulele) for free! I grabbed a ground sirloin steak curry bowl overĀ atĀ HI Steaks and decided to pop into a grocery store (Food Pantry Express)Ā to pick up some provisions. “Some” ended up being: strawberry guava pancake mix, passionfruit pancake mix (I took these back to CA and made em’ on my Tahoe trip!, 1 futomaki roll, 1 california roll, 2 spam musubi, 1 egg salad wrap, 1 tuna wrap, and donburi!

I did a lot of window-shopping and happened upon an actual physical store location for flip flops I’ve been wantingĀ to get since 2012-2013–Sanuk!!! I may or may not have ended up getting two pairs over the course of two days. I also stopped by at King’s Village Farmer’s Market and discovered a delicious tapioca/coconut milk dessert topped with fresh fruit forĀ $2!

I wandered along Waikiki Beach and Kaimana Beach in the evening and headed back to where I was staying. Along the way, IĀ foundĀ Pineapple CountryĀ and got a backpack and a beach tote for $8! :D

7 Day Itinerary for Oahu, Hawaii

Day 3+4

I’d come across a Lululemon during my walk the day before and they apparently had a free yoga class in the morning on Saturday, so I popped in for that before meeting up with one of my college friends, Liz, to have a lazy beach day with her and some of her friends at Sherwoods Beach! There was a lot of tasty food involved! :D

On Sunday, she and her boyfriend took me touristing over the island! We stopped at…

  • Macadamia nut farm and tried a bunch of samples + some of their kona coffee
  • Kualoa Ranch (they filmed Jurassic Park here!)
  • La’ie Point to jump off the cliff (they filmed part of Forgetting Sarah Marshall here!)
  • Food truck hoppingĀ (I got to try this super tasty “Oasis” drink that was sugarcane juice + coconut milk), banana lumpia, shaved ice, fish + chips…and we also stopped at Romy’s Shrimp Place! (I can’t have shrimp though so I just got corn :P )
  • Shark’s Cove
  • Chinaman’s Hat
  • My friend had a performance at the Turtle Bay Resort that evening so that was our last stop of the day!

itinerary for oahu, hawaii

Day 5

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to take a couple buses (there wasn’t a direct line over that early in the morning) to Haunama Bay for a snorkeling adventure withĀ Pure Aloha Adventures! Afterward, my tour guide dropped me off at the trailhead of the Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail, where I managed to squeeze in two hikes:

I walked/bused my way back to Waikiki and went toĀ Ahi Poke and BowlĀ for dinner (..as well asĀ Musubi Cafe IyasumeĀ for snacks andĀ Hawaiian Crown PlantationĀ for dessert…)!

itinerary for oahu, hawaii

Day 6

I woke up super early (willingly!) for pretty much every day that I was in Hawai’i–this day was for my very first surfing lesson withĀ Kimo, the Hawaiian Surf Guru! I’d found great reviews about him on Yelp and they definitely weren’t wrong! I had a ton of fun and actually managed to catch a bunch of waves (+ my back pain miraculously disappeared)! I enjoyed talking with him about life. I really hope I can take more surfing lessons someday!!

Surfing on an empty stomach may not have been the best of ideas, but I treated myself to another acai bowl at Tropical Tribe afterward and hung out atĀ Ala Moana Beach Park for a bit. Originally, I was going to try to head to Manoa Falls for another hike but…I missed about 3 consecutive buses and took it as a sign from above not to go since it was getting late in the day (sigh). Instead, I got some shaved ice fromĀ Waiola Shave IceĀ and did a little shopping (yay for swimsuits and more hair flowers?!) and had a poke bowl for dinner!

itinerary for oahu, hawaii

Day 7

I found a greatĀ deal for an SUP lesson over in Kailua where they picked me up from Waikiki! It included equipment rentals and since I was the only one who’d signed up for SUP, they offered to move my lesson to later on in the day so I could bike over to hike theĀ Lanikai Pill BoxesĀ and hang out onĀ Lanikai Beach!

MyĀ Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) lesson was super fun! :] We went from Kailua Beach Park to Flat IslandĀ and my guide packed us snacks and water so we could have a picnic when we made it out to the island! I got back to Waikiki in the late afternoon and did a little more window-shopping (hehh…) before meeting up with friends (yay for our college Hawai’i Club family!) for a sushi buffet at Kats Sushi!

“Day 8”

I was only here for the morning on my 8th day, so I decided to finish it off with guava pancakes,Ā a macadamia nut cinnamon roll + pineapple juice at Cinnamon’sĀ before taking a bus back to the airport.


  • Have you ever been to Hawai’i? (Which island?!)
  • Are you the type to stuff everything you possibly can into a vacation?

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18 comments

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  1. Anddddddddd I could have used this on November 13th 2016! The day we went to Hawaii for our HONEYMOON but had no plan AT ALL! lol!
    GiGi recently posted…Orange Is The New Blackā€¦ In The Kitchen TooMy Profile

    1. I’ve been majorly slacking on my travel posts, hahaha. x_x It looked like you guys had a whole ton of fun though anyway! :D!
      Farrah recently posted…A 7 Day Itinerary for Oahu, HawaiiMy Profile

  2. Looks like you had an amazing time! All those tropical foods look soooo good! Esp the shaved ice! :)

    1. It definitely was!! I love the food there! :P Wish I had more of it right now! *-*

  3. Pinned, tweeted, and stumbled! ;o) Nina @ Vintage Mama’s Cottage

    1. Thanks!

  4. I canā€™t get enough of your Hawaii posts and Iā€™m thinking about planning a trip there sometime soon, so your itinerary is much appreciated. All that sushi made my stomach growl and I’m dying to try shaved ice :) Have a lovely week Farrah.
    Mary recently posted…Challenge MondayMy Profile

    1. I hope you get to go sometime! It’s truly a magical place! <3 And ahhhh, sushi + shaved ice--two of my favorite things in the world! :P

  5. It sounds like a great trip, and staying at an AirBnB seems like the best option; that’s not a bad price for 7 days. As for what i do on vacation, it depends. When I went to London, it was like a bucket list type of trip and the first time I left the U.S. so I definitely had things that I wanted to do and I was busy most of the time, but we took some moments to just relax and stuff too!
    ShootingStarsMag recently posted…Mini Reviews: It Could Happen + Straight ExpectationsMy Profile

    1. Yes indeed! It was definitely the cheapest option I could find in Honolulu (and in such a convenient location! :D!)!

      That sounds awesome! I think having a good mix is important! :P

  6. I am SO glad you posted this because I just shared it to Jesse so we can plan some things! We’ll be in Oahu for just under three weeks in September and I can’t wait!

    We’re doing a mix of AirBNB and holiday rentals because Jesse is really picky about airbnbs!
    Kristy from Southern In Law recently posted…Recipe: Healthy Soft Baked Muesli Slice (Gluten Free & Vegan!)My Profile

    1. Yay! I’m so excuted for your trip! I hope you two have a ton of fun, and can’t wait to hear about where you guys decide to go!

  7. It was hot today…so I just want all that shaved ice!
    Hannah recently posted…Week in review: 1,500 milesMy Profile

    1. I definitely wouldn’t mind some shaved ice right now too!

  8. We had 5 days in Oahu in 2014 and it was the best ever. And yes, we’re the type to stuff everything possible into one vacation. I’d love to go back someday and see more of Hawaii! We also stayed in an Airbnb, within walking distance of Diamond Head, and just got around by bus and leg power, ha! Angel suggested doing Hawaii as our “layover vacation” (our strategy for not buying an extra plane ticket) on this last visit to the USA but none of the routes worked so we did LA instead, ha!
    Rachel G recently posted…Our USA Vacation in NumbersMy Profile

    1. Yay for stuffing everything in possible! :P I think that’s typically how I vacation, but every here and there, I like to throw in a “chill” day to relax. :] Hooray for Airbnbs and saving money! :]

      A layover vacation there would be awesome–such a great way to budget travel, haha. :P I’m glad you had fun in LA though!

  9. I don’t even know how to respond except to say yes please and thank you.
    Susie @ Suzlyfe recently posted…Something’s Gotta Give (Friday Catch Up 6/16)My Profile

    1. Anytime! ;P

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