It’s time to fuel up for the day ahead and what better way than a deep-fried, Portuguese donut, known as a malasada? We’ll guide you to Leonard’s Bakery, one of O'ahu’s most famous spots for these delicious treats. Leonard’s features eight different types of malasadas from its original that’s coated in sugar to custard-stuffed varieties filled with flavors like haupia (coconut) guava, and macadamia nut There’s usually a line, but don’t let that deter you -- it moves pretty fast.
Visit a beauiful temple
Make a quick pit stop at The Tropical Nut Farm to try a wide variety of macadamia nuts from Maui Onion and Garlic to Kona Coffee Glazed. The farm offers free coffee and nut samples so you can try them before you buy.
Take a look at this unique little islet at this beautiful white sand beach
Stop by and take a ranch tour or drive by
Lovely mountain views
Beautiful view of Sea Arch
Stop by or drive by
Stop for a quick view of a breathtaking sea arch at La'ie Point. As waves crash below you’ll see just how this magnificent geologic wonder was formed!
Neat looking mormon temple
Fruit stands and shrimp trucks
Visit food trucks and try some tasty garlic shrimp!
At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, is this a food tour? And, in a way it is! This tour has some of the best food stops on the island. We hope you saved room for dessert because you won’t want to miss Ted’s Bakery's famous cream pies. The specialty is their chocolate haupia pie, but they also have strawberry guava, blueberry, and pineapple macadamia nut, just to name a few!
Famous surfing spot with great sunset views
Famous surf spot
Great place to snorkel with the family
Visit this ancient historic site.
Hike to a waterfall!
Cliff jumping!
Also known as Turtle Beach, this little beach is a natural feeding ground for honu or sea turtles. This beach tends to get crowded, and parking is extremely limited. If you can’t find a spot, just keep driving down the road to the next stop. If you do visit the beach, be careful while crossing the road from the small parking area, and please be mindful to keep your distance from these protected animals. Getting too close to sea turtles will result in a large fine.
Eat and shop
Dating back to the early 1950’s, this dessert spot serves up Hawaiian shave ice in dozens of flavors! It’s a favorite spot for locals and visitors alike. There will most likely be a long line, but don’t let that stop you -- it moves fast. Or--cross the road and check out Aoki's Shave Ice, another local favorite.
Go on a maze and eat some dole whip!
Drive by or take a visit!
One of the first stops along the Shaka Guide East Oahu Shoreline Tour!
One of the popular stops on the tour... We visit the Diamond Head Lookout and Diamond Head Crater!
Visit the Koko Head scenic lookout and see one of the inactive volcanoes of Oahu.
Take a swim at one of the most well-known snorkeling locations on the entire island - Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve!
The Hālona Blowhole is one of Hawai'i's natural wonders, created thousands of years ago when molten lava tubes were formed from volcanic eruptions.
A nice little beach hidden right beside the unique Halona Blowhole!
Sandy Beach Park is notoriously known for it's powerful shore breaks and fine sand that gets into everything!
Choose to visit the Makapu'u Viewpoint - featuring an incredible coastal view of East Oahu - or hike up to the popular Makapu'u Lighthouse trail. If you visit during winter months - you might be lucky enough to see humpback whales out in the distance!
Waimanalo Beach Park on Oahu is a great place for a long beach stroll or a picnic. The 3-mile beach is backed by ironwood trees that provide plenty of shade.
Kailua Beach Park is rated as one of the most beautiful beaches on Oahu! It's seriously the full package... Soft white sand, towering ironwood trees, and crystal clear turquoise waters! What else could you ask for?!
Much like Kailua Beach - Lanikai Beach is famously known for it's turquoise blue waters, soft white sand, and picturesque islands out in the distance. No better way to spend the day!
Ulupō Heiau on the eastern edge of Kawai Nui Marsh in Kailua, Hawaiʻi, is an ancient site associated in legend with the menehune, but later with high chiefs of Oʻahu, such as Kakuhihewa in the 15th century and Kualiʻi in the late 17th century.
Just north of Honolulu, the Nuuanu Pali Lookout offers breathtaking views of the Windward Side of Oahu.
Judd Trail is a 1.2 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Urban Honolulu, Hawaii that features a waterfall and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking and walking and is accessible year-round.
Visit this 400-acre botanical gardens that features plant species from all over the world.
Located just 10 minutes from Waikiki, Manoa Falls feels like a world away! Hike along a jungle path that leads to a 150-foot waterfall.
Visit an artificial lowland tropical rainforest with numerous trails and small water features
Take a walk at the oldest and largest Chinese Cemetery in Hawaii
Visit Manoa Marketplace - a neighborhood shopping center in beautiful Manoa Valley
Hike a loop trail that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels
Visit a popular national cemetery located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu
Enjoy strolling in the garden made for Hawaiian native plants and flora
Visit the oldest of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens
Check out one of our favorite places to get shave ice
Visit a town bustling with traditional dim sum restaurants, noodle shops and hip bars in converted lofts, as well as crowded Asian markets full of antiques and stalls
Check out the best sunset lookout on Oahu situated in a huge grassy hill and looking out over Diamond Head Crater and all of Waikiki
After your drive through Chinatown, you can choose to pull over and take a look around, or we’ll guide you back to Waikiki where you can hit the beach, do some shopping, or take our Heart of Waikiki Walking tour! When you’re in Hawaii, we ask that you act respectfully toward the locals, land, and wildlife. Please pick up your trash; never touch any marine life, plants, or other animals; and avoid unsafe spots. Hawaii’s natural resources are precious, it’s up to all of us to help preserve these resources.
It’s time to fuel up for the day ahead, and what better way than a deep-fried, Portuguese donut, known as a malasada?
This 24-acre garden is steeped in history. The original Moanalua Gardens was located at a different site, but dates back over a century! When the gardens were moved to their current location structures from the original were preserved and transported to the gardens you’ll visit today. The gardens are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and charge $10 admission for non-resident adults and $7 for children 6-12.
Need a quick cup of joe for the day ahead? Stop by Green World Coffee. This shop has a cafe where you can grab a to-go cup. While you’re there check out the shop for its wide variety of coffees using beans from different farms across Hawaii. They also offer free samples of coffee, tea, and chocolate--as well as free tours of their coffee farm. Green World Coffee is open Monday - Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday - Sunday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Enjoyable activities and best attractions for the entire family, including the Pineapple Express Train Tour & the Plantation Garden Tour
Visit Oahu's laid-back surf town, Haleiwa
Check out the all-natural Hawaiian Bath and Body hand-crafted skincare products made locally right on the North Shore. The factory is located at the historic Wailua Sugar Mill. One of the best parts? The guided tour of the factory (paid) will show you how the soap is mixed, swirled, cut, and boxed! Call ahead to make reservations. The soap factory is open daily until 4pm.
Dating back to the early 1950’s this dessert spot serves up Hawaiian shave ice in dozens of flavors! It’s a favorite spot for locals and visitors alike. There will most likely be a long line, but don’t let that stop you -- it moves fast. Or--cross the road and check out Aoki's Shave Ice, another local favorite.
Also known as Turtle Beach, this little beach is a natural feeding ground for honu or sea turtles. This beach tends to get crowded and parking is extremely limited. If you can’t find a spot, just keep driving down the road. If you do stop at the beach, be careful while crossing the road from the small parking area and please be mindful to keep your distance from these protected animals. Getting too close to sea turtles will result in a large fine.
Waimea Bay is an exhibition playground for big-wave riders, including Hawaiian surfing legends
Now, we’ll take you to one of our favorite hidden gems on Oahu. You’ll drive up an unassuming road until you reach Pu’u o Mahuka Heiau. This National Historic Landmark might look like nothing more than a series of rock walls, but over 250 years ago, it was a major temple in Oahu. Learn about this heiau and see artist depictions of what it must have looked like from the informational displays near the parking lot. Please remember that a heiau is a sacred place of great cultural and historic significance and should be respected as such.
Check out one of the "Top Twelve Shore Dives in the World"
See some of the biggest, heaviest waves on the planet!
Visit a famous North Shore beach famous for big wave surfing during the winter season
At this point you might be hungry for some lunch, but can we suggest some pre-lunch dessert? You’re on vacation, right? We’re about to visit some great food trucks, but first, we’ll stop at Ted’s Bakery for some famous cream pies. The specialty is their chocolate haupia, but they also have strawberry guava, blueberry, and pineapple macadamia nut, just to name a few! If you did want to grab some lunch, Ted’s also has burgers, plate lunches, and sandwiches.
Park at Kahuku Fruit Stand and walk across the street to find a pathway that will take you to Kawela Bay -- a picturesque beach with banyan trees, soft sand, and turquoise waters.
Unassuming food truck offering a range of shrimp & local seafood, fried or steamed
On our way to the next stop, we’ll quickly drive by La'ie Temple. No need to get out of the car, just listen as we tell you the story of this site that was designed after King Solomon’s temple described in the Bible. With its gleaming white finish, the temple is dubbed the “Taj Mahal of the Pacific.” Here you’ll find a visitor center with clean restrooms if you want to make a pit stop.
Stop for a quick view of a breathtaking sea arch at La'ie Point. As waves crash below, you’ll see just how this magnificent geologic wonder was formed! See if you can spot the lizard from the story that the tour describes.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is one of Oahu’s most visited attractions. It features island villages that represent six Polynesian islands: Hawaii Tahiti Samoa Fiji Tonga, and Aotearoa (New Zealand) The center also has a luau, night show, and marketplace. Please note: A visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center is a full-day excursion. We recommend you stop by to check out the marketplace and come back another day if you’d like to do the activities.
Go for a quiet beach walk at Kahana Bay, a gorgeous spot without any crowds. There’s also a public restroom if you need a bathroom break.
Visit an incredible private nature reserve that has been the scene for a multitude of Hollywood movies and television shows.
Pull into Kualoa Regional Park for a stunning view of Mokoli'i Island. Known for years by its nickname, Chinaman's Hat, the cone-shaped island is a well-recognized landmark on the Windward side. This is just a quick stop for the view, but if you’re looking for some more adventure, you can come back another day with a kayak and paddle out and explore the island.
Visit a temple built for commemorating the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaiʻi
Now we’ll begin to make our way back to Waikiki with more stories about Oahu’s rich history along the way! When you’re in Hawaii, we ask that you act respectfully toward the locals, land, and wildlife. Please pick up your trash; never touch any marine life, plants, or other animals; and avoid unsafe spots. Hawaii’s natural resources are precious, and it’s up to all of us to help preserve these resources.
The trip we used completely was the circle tour, which had a stop at places that we probably would not have found on our own. We also used and looked at the other trips, but not in their entirety we thought that the whole bundle was definitely worth it to find out more about Honolulu and Oahu. The narrator was easy to listen to and provided excellent driving instructions.
Easy to use and helpful for getting around the island. Gives multiple highlighted stopping points and information along with each.
This was the best activity we did on the island. We rented a jeep with the top down and went on our way. It was easy to download the app and get started. The guide knew where we were and provided information and history relevant to the location we were at. During delays due to traffic, it played lovely Hawaiian music and told stories about Hawaii. We went at our own pace and stopped at what we wanted to. We learned so much and loved everything about this. I would do this anywhere.
Loved this tour. We used it several times throughout a 10 day visit on Oahu. Guide is great even around construction zones. We had a blast driving ourselves and stopping when and where we wanted to. We saw so many sites. No site was left unseen. Great tour, take a speaker or hook to the car speaker and enjoy. You will definately need to charge your phone as you go. Also Great music in between sites. Highly recommend.
I loved the tour! I was surprised how well explained it is. The VO is very cool and interesting. The stops were amazing and the tips very helpful. It made our day a very pleasant and happy tour!
The Chief’s Luau was so magnificent from the four opening stations with activities that explained some skills of the Polynesian people through the dinner and the final performances of the 5 different places in that History of Hawai’i through dance and music.
This was amazing! I never want to travel without it again!! We learned so much from this and didn’t miss a single thing!! Our guide even sounded as though he was authentically from the area.
We have a family of 6 and a van and this tour worked very well for us. We took grand island Oahu tour and also Honolulu backyard rainforest tours. Both tours showed a lot of interesting places, which we would never see otherwise. Commentary is upbeat, fun and good for kids. App is done very well: easy to follow route and easy to resume your after pause. And all this goodness for only $30! Best purchase I have made while on vacation. Highly recommend!
At the beginning, it was a little bit hectic getting started. Once, we got on track it was great. Your guide was spot on. There was so many attractions it would be hard to choose my favorite.
I found the app a bit frustrating in the beginning because I had purchased the app months ahead of my planned vacation to Hawaii so I had time to familiarize myself; however upon arrival unto the island of Oahu I couldn't get the app to work correctly. I had the phone number for the company with me so I called only to discover they were closed on Sunday. So I left a message on their emergency line for help but no one ever called me back until 2 days later. That was very frustrating! I needed immediate help while I was on the circle island tour and no one was available. I found out that I had to delete the app and upload it again in order to get it to work correctly since I had purchased it so far ahead. Even though I had done an update I still had to delete the app and upload again. Once I did that the app worked fine. So after the beginning frustration it worked great and I would recommend it. We did the circle island tour, the walking tour of Honolulu, the North shore tour and used it whenever we were driving around the island. The stories you hear along the way are fun and entertaining. The GPS navigation is great; especially when you aren't familiar with the area. And the Hawaiian music sets the mood for the day of your adventure.
I would highly recommend using Shaka guides self driving audio tours. We used them for exploring the east and north shores of Oahu, and found it extremely user friendly, useful, informative and enjoyable. A great ( and economical) alternative to booking guided tours. I will definitely look for the Shaka guides for future destinations!
Looking forward to the tour. Downloaded the app but was not able to join the tour. I tried multiple locations. I was using an iPhone.
App is somewhat problematic if you want to start from the beginning of a tour already in progress. Once you figure out the ins and outs of how to navigate starts and tour changes (NOT intuitive), it's a good App. Needs some work on the GPS map rendering). By the third day I had most of the bugs figured out. Expect some frustration if you don't get it started the correct way first time out!!
The guide was easy to stop and restart on another point or at last point. It REALLY gave us guide to places that we had not been before. We lived in Oahu LONG time ago and this was great for us to just follow at our own pace and not have to get on a tour. The information given was great. Funny at times.
What a wonderful idea. This app guided us around Oahu, highlighting historical landmarks and guiding you to some of the most photogenic locations on the island. In-between points of interest, traditional Hawaiian music played, with a useful map guiding you from point to point.
These Oahu guides made our trip. They were so good, we then bought the Big Island tours for when we landed there. They are self-guided, so we hooked the phone up to the car, and used AppleCar, so the map was showing and off we went. Directions were in good time, clear, and the information/stories were excellent. You can choose to stop at the various sights, or not, as you please. Plenty of places to stop and eat if you choose. There were so many surprises and interesting places. The Waikiki walking tour takes you through hotel lobbies and explains the historical significance of each location. No normal tour would do that! The highlight was being directed down a narrow pathway, from the back of a car park to a beach with Turtles resting in the sun. Magical. The walking tour in the historical area was equally good. Worth Every penny
I used the Kauai Shaka Guide back in February 2023. It did not disappointment. I recommended it to several friends. Now on my trip "home" (Oahu) I decided to purchase the Oahu package and take my friends around the island. Wow! I was really embarrassed. We started with the North Shore tour. Coming from Kapolei, the tour didn't mention how many historical or scenic spots on the way to Mililani via H2. I had to do it. What did it miss? It didn't mention anything about the plantation towns we passed - Ewa & Waipahu. The sugar cane and pine apple plantations was a big deal back in the day and a large part of the island's history. Heading into Haleiwa, it did not mention the history of the big circle at the beginning of town. On toward the north shore, it mentioned Waimea Bay but not Waimea Falls right across the street. It didn't mention why Shark's Cove got its name. Didn't mention any hiking spots like the Haleiwa Pill Box. Really disappointed. We're going to give another 2 a try. Hope they'll be better
Excellent series. Explore the island on your own schedule without having to keep up with a group, and save hundreds of dollars besides.
A godsend for touring O’ahu! I planned our entire vacation around the information on these tours. The number one priority is to maximize your time on this beautiful island, and these tours allow you to do that. I had never been to O’ahu, and the daunting task of putting together an itinerary was made so easy with these tours. The tours are Informative and fun. The only glitch was that the rental car disconnected from my phone a couple of times, but as long as occupants in the car can still hear your phone, it works out. If your travel party does not like crowded, costly tour busses, this self-drive app is more than worth the $30 I paid for the bundle. I recommend listening to the tours you wish to take before going on your trip so that you can plan to buy tickets, etc. for stops you are quite sure you and your party want to make. Caveats: be sure you have a driver who is comfortable operating a vehicle in busy traffic! We are fortunate that my husband is a confident navigator. I also recommend having the tour on two phones to use when the phone battery on one phone is almost dead. Even plugged in to the car, a GPS will eat battery life quickly. An extra $30 to have the app on two phones is a small price to pay.
We loved this app. We used it to guide us around the North Shore. All of the food recommendations were awesome. The instructions were easy to follow, and we enjoyed hearing the history. We plan to use it again during future visits.
We used Shaka Guide island bundle for Oahu. They worked great with my phone and we didn't get lost either, even in the city. It was fun to hear about the cool places we were seeing, and discover more of each island that was off the beaten path. Besides providing relaxed & carefree navigating for us it is also funny. We did all but the 2walking tours in the city. For Oahu 2 of the tours for circling the island are almost the same (a few different tour stops so check those to not miss something), one going each direction. That was very helpful. We also did the Kauai Bundle and loved all of those.
We rented a car while in Oahu and did the North Shore loop and the East side tour. We had such an amazing time. The places we visited were wonderful! This was better than being in a bus tour with many other people and not having the time to enjoy each spot. We were able to stay at each location for as long as we wanted to or by-pass some of the ones we had already visited. The East side tour brings you to some beautiful beaches which are not crowded like Waikiki. We actually enjoyed the tours so much that the next day, we went on to visit some of the places that we liked a lot. This was the best money spent in our trip. Don't think about it, purchase it. You won't regret it!
The audio tour was good, we did learn a lot, and it was very good with directions, and pointing out local things to do. It's a good app to get if you are wanting to sight-see and learn about the area on your own.
This was our third island with Shaka tours! We did the Waikiki walking tour and the loop driving tour. Thought they were both great! Learned so much, saw so many interesting things! The driving and walking directions are spot-on!!!
I have been on plenty of tours in my travels, and this gets an A+. Not only were the directions spot on, but the "host" was very intelligent and informative. We did 3 guided tours in a week, well worth the app, for sure. When the tours were over I felt as if we should have left a tip!
My family really enjoyed the self-guided audio tours. We only had time to do 2 of the 6, but wished we had done more. Great way to see the island and focus on the key places without having to do a ton of research on your own. Price is well worth it.
This app is PERFECT for your visit to Oahu! We used it in mid-May 2021 during our one-week stay on the island and it was such an invaluable tool! You have to have a rental car and a backup battery, but I can't imagine that my trip would have been half as amazing without it. We crossed paths with many people on expensive tours going to the same spots it led it us to. We found a number of hidden gems (lookout points, trails, and restaurants) and the GPS capability is top notch. Highly recommend!
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