Honolulu 6 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
Six days is our 5-day plan with one real change: Pearl Harbor and downtown Honolulu finally get their own days instead of being crammed into one long afternoon. Everything else keeps its slot. For the North Shore or the other islands, see our Honolulu Oahu-base itinerary .
Book these before you go:
- Pearl Harbor’s timed ticket : released 56 days out at 3pm HST
- Diamond Head’s entry slot : out-of-state visitors book up to 30 days ahead
- Hanauma Bay’s entry slot : booking opens 2 days out at 7am HST, closed Mon and Tue
- A Waikiki luau : Friday and Saturday dates sell out first
- Your Waikiki hotel : resort fees and self-parking both run extra
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Waikiki Beach, full day, sunset at Kapiolani Park |
| 2 | Pearl Harbor, back to Waikiki by afternoon |
| 3 | Iolani Palace and downtown, Chinatown dinner |
| 4 | Diamond Head at dawn, Hanauma Bay, evening in Waikiki |
| 5 | Bishop Museum, Ala Moana Center, Kaka’ako |
| 6 | Manoa Falls, Kaimana Beach, Waikiki luau, departure |
Day 1: Waikiki Beach, the full version
Check in between the Hilton Hawaiian Village and Kapiolani Park and spend the day on the beach itself. The calmest swimming section runs between the Royal Hawaiian and the Moana Surfrider, and beginner surf lessons run roughly $60-70 for 90 minutes. Reef-safe sunscreen is a legal requirement statewide.
Day 2: Pearl Harbor, on its own
Take your booked slot as early as you can get one; the USS Arizona Memorial program is free, but the timed ticket is not optional, and there’s no walk-up allocation once the day’s slots release. Budget 45 minutes for the boat program and an hour beforehand for check-in and security. Book a guided Pearl Harbor tour on GetYourGuide if you’d rather have it narrated. Is a whole day too much for Pearl Harbor? Not really: the wider Historic Sites complex, the Battleship Missouri and the Bowfin submarine museum among them, easily fills an unhurried afternoon if the memorial alone doesn’t.
Day 3: Downtown Honolulu and Chinatown
Spend the morning at Iolani Palace, the only royal palace on U.S. soil, self-guided audio tours about $28, 90 minutes. The King Kamehameha Statue stands across the street and gets draped in extensive lei garlands every June 11. Finish in Chinatown for dinner: Helena’s Hawaiian Food on North School Street is cash only and closes when the food runs out. If your trip lands on a first Friday of the month, the neighborhood’s art walk runs 5-9pm.
Day 4: Diamond Head at dawn, then Hanauma Bay
Start at Diamond Head’s 6am opening; the 0.8-mile trail takes 1.5-2 hours round trip through a tunnel and a 99-step staircase. Finish the summit by 8am and drive the roughly 20 minutes to Hanauma Bay, whose booking window opens only 2 days ahead at 7am HST. Entry runs $25 a person plus $3 cash parking; the preserve is closed Monday and Tuesday, so confirm this day lands on a Wed-Sun.
Day 5: Bishop Museum, Ala Moana Center, and Kaka’ako
Spend the morning at Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s largest collection of Hawaiian and Pacific cultural history, general admission $34-39 adult. In the afternoon, take the bus to Ala Moana Center or walk Kaka’ako’s street-art murals and brewery strip.
Day 6: Manoa Falls, a quieter beach, and departure
Manoa Falls Trail is a short, muddy, rainforest hike to a roughly 150-foot waterfall, about 20 minutes inland by rideshare; wear real shoes and expect rain. Is Manoa Falls worth it on the last full day? Yes, as a genuine change of pace before departure, and at 1.5-2 hours round trip it still leaves the afternoon free for a last beach session at Kaimana Beach, near the Waikiki Aquarium at the quiet end of Waikiki.
Close the trip with a Waikiki luau, such as the Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Waikiki Starlight Luau, and book a Friday or Saturday date early.
Before you go
Budget $20-30 for a sit-down lunch and $60-100 for a mid-range dinner; nearly everything is shipped in. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time runs 10 hours behind UTC with no daylight saving time. Skip the rental car for this whole trip: walking, Biki, and TheBus cover every day above.