OAHU & MAUI · HAWAII
Snorkel the reef, climb the volcano, chase the sun.
Oahu and Maui in one trip. Pearl Harbor, Waikiki and the North Shore on one island; the Road to Hana, the Haleakala sunrise and the humpback whales on the other. Snorkel trips, luaus and helicopter flights across both.
Only here
Three days you can only have here.
Beaches and boat trips you can find across the Pacific. A sunrise above the clouds, a snorkel inside a sunken crater and the harbour where the war began belong to these two islands.
Inside a volcano
Snorkel Molokini Crater
Three miles off Maui, a drowned volcanic crater curves out of the sea in a thin crescent. Inside its sheltered rim the water drops crystal-clear to a hundred feet, full of butterflyfish and the odd reef shark. Most trips pair it with Turtle Town, where green honu graze the reef close enough to drift over.
- 1 Maui Snorkeling Adventure to Molokini and Turtle Town
- 2 Maui Snorkeling Adventure From Ma’alaea Harbor to Molokini
- 3 Maui Snorkel Adventure: Molokini Crater and Turtle Cove
Above the clouds
Sunrise on Haleakala
You leave in the dark and climb to the 10,000-foot summit of a dormant volcano, above a sea of cloud, to watch the sun come up over the crater. Mark Twain called it the sublimest spectacle he ever saw. Many trips coast the long volcanic road back down by bike as the island wakes below you.
- 1 Haleakala 6 Line Zipline Adventure
- 2 Haleakala Sunrise Best Self-Guided Bike Tour
- 3 Maui: Majestic Haleakala Sunrise Tour with Pick-up
December 1941
Pearl Harbor & the Arizona
On Oahu’s south shore, a white memorial straddles the sunken hull of the USS Arizona, where 1,177 sailors still lie and oil still rises to the surface. A short boat ride and a quiet few minutes mark the morning the United States was pulled into the Second World War. Many tours pair it with the battleship Missouri alongside.
- 1 Oahu: Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial
- 2 Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour
- 3 Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial & Honolulu City Tour
Start with the standout
The day most visitors book first.
More travellers build a trip around this one than anything else on the islands.
The classics
Hawaii's Most Popular Tours
Pearl Harbor, the Road to Hana, the Molokini reef and the circle-island drives. The days most people fly in for.
Where to begin
The experiences a Hawaii trip is built around.
Pearl Harbor, the reef, the Road to Hana, the luau, the helicopter flight and the winter whales. The handful of days most trips are planned around, and the best way to do each.
Oahu or Maui
One island, or both?
Honolulu and Maui are a 40-minute hop apart but feel like different trips. Oahu is city, history and surf; Maui is reef, road and volcano. Here is how the days usually split.
East Maui
The drive is the destination.
The Road to Hana threads the rainforest coast of east Maui: 600 curves, 54 one-lane bridges, black-sand beaches, roadside waterfalls and banana-bread stands. The magic is all in the stops, which is exactly why letting a guide take the wheel beats white-knuckling it yourself.
Read the guide: the best Road to Hana tours →December to April
When the humpbacks come back.
Every winter, thousands of humpback whales swim 3,000 miles from Alaska to breed and calve in the warm, shallow water between Maui, Lanai and Molokai. From December to April they breach within sight of shore, and the boats that go out to meet them get you as close as the law allows.
See the whale-watching trips →The Pacific
The water is the main event.
The islands sit alone in the middle of the Pacific, 2,400 miles from the nearest continent, ringed by coral reef and dropping fast into deep, clear blue. It is why the snorkeling is this good, why the whales come back every winter, and why every boat trip out here feels like an event.
The best snorkel trips →Oahu’s North Shore
Where big-wave surfing grew up.
An hour from Waikiki, the North Shore is seven miles of legendary surf, Pipeline, Sunset and Waimea Bay, that draws the world’s best every winter when the giant swells arrive. Come summer the same bays go glassy and calm, the shrimp trucks fire up in Haleiwa, and green turtles haul out on the sand.
- 1 Tour of North Shore & Waimea Waterfall
- 2 All Inclusive Ultimate Circle Island Tour, Waimea Falls & Lunch
- 3 7-Line Maui Zipline on the North Shore
By pace
From beach-slow to doors-off.
Hawaii does every speed. A sunset sail and a luau when you want to slow down, a reef and a long drive when you want to explore, a helicopter or a first surf lesson when you want the adrenaline.
Take it easy
Sunset sails and luau nights.A catamaran into the sunset with a mai tai, an oceanfront luau with kalua pig and hula, the slow end of a Hawaii day.
Out exploring
Reefs, waterfalls and long drives.Snorkel Molokini and Turtle Town, drive the Road to Hana, loop the island past the blowholes and the lookouts.
Full throttle
Doors off, board out.A doors-off flight over the sea cliffs, a zipline through the rainforest canopy, a first surf lesson on a Waikiki roller.
Golden hour
The whole island stops for the sunset.
Hawaii takes its sunsets seriously. Catamarans push off from Waikiki and Lahaina as the light turns gold, mai tais in hand, sometimes with dinner and a show, sometimes just the sail, the spinner dolphins riding the bow and the green flash if you are lucky.
See all 27 sunset cruises →By island
Two islands, six ways in.
Honolulu for the city and the beach. Maui for the reef and the road. The North Shore for the surf. Pearl Harbor for the history. Lahaina for old Hawaii. Lanai and Molokai for the quiet.
By activity
Pick how to spend the day.
Snorkel if you want the reef. A boat if you want the whales. A helicopter if you want the sea cliffs. A luau, a waterfall hike, or sunrise on the summit.
Plan it
Three perfect days.
First time in Hawaii? Three standout days that show off both islands without a wasted hour.
Just added