Somewhere to stay in Oahu other than Waikiki?

Hey guys!

My friends and I are heading out to Hawaii at the end of the year. We are going to stay in Waikiki for the first three days and do the whole tourist thing, and then head off to Big Island for a few days for the Volcano National Park. Coming back to Oahu, I thought it would be nice to stay somewhere other than on Waikiki again so we can get a fuller experience of the island.

It would be nice to stay somewhere less ‘touristy’ than Waikiki. However we are tourists… so I would like somewhere where there are activities to do close by and where we wouldn’t be bothering the locals.

We’re from Australia by the way, and pretty active. Also enjoy things like shopping, nightlife etc.

Thanks!

You’ve got three main options: Ko Olina on the leeward side of the island, Haleiwa Town on the North Shore or the Kailua/Kaneohe area on the windward side of the island. Any of those 3 areas will be lots of fun. Ko Olina doesn’t have a night life at all or any shopping but it is probably the best place for tourists to just lay back and relax on private beaches. The waves will just be getting big on the North Shore so you won’t be able to go in the water very far but you will see some amazing surfing! There a couple bars in Haleiwa but by no means is there a night life. But there is lots of shopping at local boutiques. I always seem to run into a lot of Australians on the North Shore (i think because of the surfing) The Kaneohe/Kailua area is close enough to Honolulu whereas you could still enjoy the Waikiki night life but get away from it during the day. There are lots of houses to rent in that area, check out any of the websites that people listed above or of course craiglist. There are some amazing places to hike in Kaneohe/Kailua as well. I’m sure you’ll enjoy any place you stay. And kudos to you for realizing that there’s more to Oahu than just Waikiki!