I really enjoyed using Shaka Guide Oahu audio tour. My mom, son, and I drove around to explore the island. You are in the comfort of your own car, with people that you love. This is a great affordable alternative than using a tour guide and being crammed into a bus full of strangers. The audio tour is self paced, and the guide gives detailed directions before you come across a historical landmark. It gives you fun facts in between and Hawaiian music plays in the background. We stayed in Waikiki and started super early which was not the best idea. My suggestion is to leave around 8-9 am, so by the time you are getting to small businesses, they will be open. We were not able to check out certain spots due to them being closed. I will definitely be using Shaka Guide for my other road trips in the future.
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Flexible itinerary with optional stops, viewpoints, and walks
- Offline map and audio after download
- Access to the Oahu Grand Circle Island Tour in the Shaka Guide app
- Turn-by-turn audio navigation that plays automatically as you drive
- Tour access does not expire
- One purchase covers everyone in your vehicle
- Stories, Hawaiian history, culture, and local recommendations
Excludes
- In-person tour guide
- Transportation or rental vehicle
- Food and drinks
- Personal expenses
Itinerary
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.
Optional stop: Visit the peaceful Byodo-In Temple and explore the grounds at your own pace. If you choose to enter, admission is purchased separately directly from the attraction.
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
Optional stop: Take in the dramatic scenery of the Kualoa area or choose to explore Kualoa Ranch on your own. Stop for as long as you'd like, or continue along the tour route.
Optional stop: Enjoy views of peaceful Kahana Bay and learn more about the area's history and significance. Stop for a beach break or continue when you're ready.
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! See if you can spot the lizard from the story that the tour describes.
Neat looking mormon temple
Fruit stands and shrimp trucks
Stop in Kahuku for some of the North Shore's famous local food, including popular shrimp trucks and other roadside favorites. Choose what sounds good or keep exploring.
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
Optional stop: Visit Oahu's largest remaining traditional Hawaiian heiau and learn about its cultural and historical significance. Take in the views, then continue when you're ready.
Optional stop: Explore Waimea Valley's botanical gardens and waterfall, or skip it and continue along the North Shore. Some experiences at this stop may require a separate purchase directly from the attraction.
Stop at one of the North Shore's most famous beaches, known for its powerful winter waves and beautiful scenery. Spend some time at the beach or continue along the route depending on your schedule.
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.
Explore Haleʻiwa's shops, galleries, food spots and historic streets for as long as you'd like—or continue when you're ready.
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!
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
This was our first time using Shaka Guide and we loved it. It was so useful while we were driving around Oahu. Hearing the history of the places and then being able to stop and explore them was great. The GPS only hiccup'd once, but it fixed itself pretty quickly. We have used Shaka Guide for a few other places since this trip. Definitely worth it if you are planning on driving the island at your own pace instead of going on a tour.
I can't recommend this enough! This seriously was the most amazing tour on your own time. It was like he was a friend in the backseat telling us everything, we were talking to him like if he was there by the end of the trip. I love these tours. This is my second one I've purchase through Shaka Guide. I highly recommend to anyone. I can't wait to explore more of their destinations with them.
Once you started the tour, it was great. Only issue is you need to get to one of the starting points first and then the tour will start. The software will not direct you to the starting point from where you are.
This was a great experience with an even better tour guide/driver! Brett was awesome and so interesting. He even played the ukulele during our lunch by the volcano! 10/10 day!
Very informative on every stop and history about the island help with all the roads to turn on and did not get lost
Get the lay of the land so you know the locations you might want to day trip to during your time on the island.
We enjoyed the information provided, however, the conflicts between Google Maps and this app were a hassle. It was fun driving around the coast line and glad we took the time.
Found this gem and loved it! My husband and I spent a day traveling the island. We did not stop at every stop but most of them. We enjoyed the stories and music and the island history. It was a great intro to our first day on the island and gave us ideas of places we would like to go back to. I don’t think our kids would have enjoyed it as much… lots of sitting in the car.
Being used to having a car, driver and guide to get the most of our touring, this travel guide delivered an awesome experience. Easy to use and very informative and interesting. We visited sights and locations we would have totally missed without the guide.
If you rent a car, this is THE BEST island tour you can do. Its worth every penny and you avoid spending $120+ per person on those circle tours. The tour has 3 starting points, so just drive to the closest one to you and start from there. Your tour guide literally guides you step by step on where you need to go, where to turn etc. what I love about it is that you are on your own time, you do what you want and skip what you want. I highly recommend this tour, give it a shot it’s just $20, you’ll save yourself a lot of money and you will enjoy it.
Great tour with directions, Stories and music ! Loved that you could stop when wanted and pick up right away! Loved the tips!
Traveling with the Shaka Guide was easy and really enjoyable. We could stop in any stop we wanted. Directions were clear, stories were very interesting, we learn a lot about Hawai'i culture. We loved it. We did the tour in 6 to 7 hours but we did not stop in the beach to get wet, only to see. It may take longer if you plan to get yourself in the water. We have no problem whatsoever with conection to the car or audio, everything went very smooth. I even saw a huge turtle in the turtle beach, great experience!
Only $20 ?!? For such a great audio tour with freedom to stop and skip the things we only wanted to see. Very informative as welll. Love the background music between stops.
We loved the guide, the stories, an the humor of the guide. We made several stops along the route and enjoyed it all
We have been to Oahu several times, however this auto tour was the best and most informative opportunity to see and experience the island.
The app was cumbersome to use. You have to follow the specified route in the specified direction. It is not flexible.
Due to the recent Maui fires our trip was pivoted to Oahu. We didn't do any research before we traveled. Found this audio driving tour and decided to download. Since this gave a nice overview of many areas of the island we could decide what we wanted to re-visit later. The app was easy to use and the voice instructions were very clear and direct. We enjoyed the anecdotes and little history/stories along the way. Definitely worth it.
I am traveling with my husband who is very electronic-savy. It directed us to Waikiki beach to start three times but would not start the tour. We tried calling for help and we’re met with voicemail . They didn’t get back to us timely enough.
This audio guide is AMAZING! we visited all of the stops our hotel offered on a big bus tour, and got to stay at each as long as we liked. The tour is easy to follow and gives you turn by turn directions. The audio content was entertaining and we learned a lot about the Island. We purchased the bundle and also did tours on Maui, the big island and Kuai. All were excellent
Watching the beautiful waves breaking The white caps and the gorgeous hues of blue was just breathtaking. The canopy trees and rich foliage were just amazing to see
Malasadas at Leonard’s. Would recommend buying only what you can eat fresh as they don’t keep well and are very filling!
Surrounding countryside, ocean views, local cuisine, historical dialog...difficult loading and starting app, but worth the time.
Fantastic your! Audio tour guide was thorough, engaging and made the tour fascinating, fun and easy to follow along. The points of interest were great. Very relaxing drive!!!
Great audio tour around the entire island. I strongly recommend this tour to anyone who does not want to be a tour bus.
The tour was great’ we loved the narration and the history behind the sights we experienced. The directions were great and very clear. Overall this was a much better experience than I expected. We spent time where we wanted and skipped places we weren’t as interested in. I would 100% recommend!
Super handy! Nice info, humor, happy music, app works perfect, good foot tips, found places I would have missed! Download (WiFi) before you take off!
Great way to learn about the island and its inhabitants. Driver was a hoot, lots of funny information! Would go again! Fun!
Excellent itinerary and driving directions. The speaker had a clear voice, easy to understand, and pleasant to spend the day with. Would recommend this audio tour to friends.
We visited Oahu 20 years ago on our honeymoon and did a circle island tour on a bus. We loved the tour but sometimes wanted more time at some of the stops. On this trip with our children, we wanted to experience the circle island tour on our time. This app is perfect for it and it does a surprisingly good job of navigating the streets of Oahu. We enjoyed our tour and recommend to anyone that wants more time to experience the destinations on the circle island tour.
The couple who run the tour are really sweet and knowledgeable of the area. We were able to see about 4 sea turtles. We didn’t see much other than fish through the glass bottom, but it was fun.
The views were great and the information provided was really good. We seen things we wouldn’t have even known about it without it
We couldn't get the app to work. We were given alternate web sites to try but they didn't work either.
We loved using this app. We were able to stop when we wanted to and stay as long as we wanted. Skip the crowded buses and waiting on others, and take this tour. You can go again and again and 1/10 of the cost of other tours. Will definitely use again. 😃
Great way to see Oahu on our own time and schedule. Easy to follow along and very knowledgeable about the history.
This tour was a perfect fit for me and my husband! We loved the narration, made the stops we wanted and kept driving when we didn’t want to stop. We bypassed the big tour buses filled with dozens of tourists, and enjoyed most of the sites without the long lines. We rented a car, so this sounded more appealing than taking the tours, and for the price, it’s worth it! We absolutely loved the tour and being able to go at our own pace. I recommend this for those who are looking for their own experience, at a better price (if you have a rental car). I recommend being prepared for swimming (and snorkeling), possible hiking, and comfy clothes for the ride (and stretchy pants for eating, especially hitting the food trucks).
This was beyond perfect, loved the history and all the fun spots. We even saw the a sea turtle! Loved this and will do other tours!
Loved it but couldn't get Bluetooth to transfer through car audio. Otherwise tour was amazing!! We spent approximately 8 hours on this tour, stopping at several places for a half hour or more.
Awesome app. Was a little buggy and the guide was super cheesy, but who cares when you get a great tour of the island for only a few bucks.
Great! Would ask for more stops around Downtown and more history of the island and people over music ( which was very nice too)
Really good commentary on many places in Oahu. Got to see some places of which many folks are not aware.
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