2 Days in Honolulu
A couple of weeks ago, Korri and I flew to Honolulu to see Boise State football take on Hawaii! We had been planning to go to this game for years and thought it was going to be scheduled for last year. That didn’t happen, so we were thrilled when it was instead scheduled for this year! And with all the conference realignments and such, it’s looking unlikely that Boise State will play in Hawaii again for a long time.
We had a little bit of a mishap with this trip; it’s the first time in nearly four decades of flying that Korri misplaced his ID right before we left the house. We ended up having to fly out a day later, so we lost a full day in Honolulu, but luckily we still made it in time for the game, and we still got to spend two full days in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii!
This was Korri’s first trip to Hawaii and my first trip to Oahu, so it was exciting to explore a new place for both of us. Below, I shared what we did during our 2 days in Honolulu (plus the evening we arrived, so 2 days and some change). I hope this itinerary inspires your next trip to the beautiful capital of Hawaii!
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2 Days in Honolulu
Is 2 days in Honolulu enough?
2 days in Honolulu is enough to see the highlights! I shared some of them in my itinerary below (and noted more things you can do at the end). Honolulu definitely feels like a big city compared to other places on the islands. I wish we could have stayed on the island longer to explore the north shore of Oahu. I definitely recommend spending as much time as possible when you visit Hawaii.
Arrival
We arrived in Honolulu in the mid afternoon and took a Lyft ride to downtown Honolulu; we stayed at the AC Hotel which is one of I believe only two hotels located downtown. It’s a Marriott property, and Korri used free night certificates for our stay. Honolulu also has a great public transit system with The Bus! We opted to save time by taking Lyfts but if you don’t want to spend the extra money, just ride the bus! It is cash only (and for adults, it’s $3 per ride).
Since we didn’t have a lot of time, we didn’t do any big activities our first night in Honolulu, but we did enjoy dinner at Basil Thai, a new restaurant located within walking distance (I got fried rice, my Thai go-to). It was delicious! Afterwards, we stopped at YiFang Fruit Tea for boba drinks. My strawberry tea with boba was AMAZING! We met Tony, who was working at YiFang, and he was so nice and gave us lots of great recommendations.
After dinner, we walked down to the cruise port to see the water. There were only two cruise ships there but definitely room for more! There was also a luau happening.
Day 1
The morning of our first full day in Honolulu, we headed to Drip Studio for breakfast and coffee. This was a recommendation from Tony! It’s a very, very small (cozy) coffee shop with limited seating, but it was delicious. I ordered a chai and the mochi waffles, and Korri ordered a latte and a breakfast sandwich that came with a salad.
We walked off our breakfast by heading to the Hawaii State Capitol and Iolani Palace, which were both walking distance from our hotel. The capitol is indoor-outdoor! I really wanted to do a proper tour inside Iolani Palace, but unfortunately there weren’t any tickets available. Definitely book a tour ahead of time if that’s something you are interested in. The grounds were still cool. Don’t forget to check out the banyan trees in the parking lot between the palace and capitol.
I meant to also stop by the Capitol Modern art museum, which offers free admission and features contemporary art created by Hawaiians! We were quite warm by the time we headed back and I totally forget this was on my list, too.
We then changed and caught a Lyft to Waikiki Beach! We used the Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort as our drop off point, which worked well because it was on the northern end of the beach. It was SO busy in Waikiki, which I wasn’t surprised by, but Korri was. We walked along the beach for quite a ways before we got hungry and walked back to Nalu for açaí bowls. The bowls were fine (albeit expensive), but I enjoy the açaí bowls we get here at home more!
We weren’t in Waikiki for long until we headed back to the hotel to change for the Boise State football game against Hawaii! I brought my blue and orange leis from college; it was fun to wear those one more time. At the game, we met my mom, step dad, and one of their friends who retired to Honolulu. I had Hawaiian shave ice as my game treat! (Oh, and BSU won!)
Things were quite hectic after the game. We had to walk a ways before we could catch a Lyft back to Waikiki for our dinner reservation at Duke’s. There was a street festival happening the same night along the main street in Waikiki, so it was crazy trying to get there. (Luckily, our Lyft driver earlier that day had warned us about the festival, so we knew what was happening.)
Duke’s is a touristy seafood restaurant along the beach. We indulged in lots of drinks (Mai Tais, wine) and yummy food. I ordered the wild mushroom and spinach ravioli, and Korri got the famous Duke’s salad bar and mango BBQ pork ribs. He raved about his meal!
Day 2
The morning of our second full day in Honolulu, we headed to Ali’i Coffee for breakfast and coffee (chai and fancy cinnamon toast for me, mocha and breakfast sandwich for Korri). This was one of our most expensive meals of the trip! It was very good, though; while I wouldn’t normally order $14 cinnamon toast, this one featured a huge slice with a thick layer of cinnamon and sugar (and berries).
We headed straight from there to Pearl Harbor National Memorial. It rained, which felt fitting for the occasion. Even though it’s a somber memorial, it’s important to visit and I was glad we went. I booked this audio tour for both of us, and I thought it was good.
I also succeeded at getting us tickets to see the USS Arizona memorial, which tend to sell out in advance but they release more tickets the day prior. If you don’t get tickets, you might have luck waiting in the standby line. The memorial is small and the US Navy takes you out to it in a boat, which is why there is a limit to how many people can go at a time.
We spent about three hours at Pearl Harbor, but definitely plan for longer if you want to visit the other memorials. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and I changed into my last outfit (I overpacked, of course, and wanted to wear one more look before we left). Then, we headed back to Waikiki for sunset on the beach and to see the comet!
There were SO MANY people on the beach at sunset! I swear people came to the beach just for the sunset. And, well, I can’t blame them. It was pretty! We had to wait quite a while until the comet came out, and then I didn’t want to leave once I saw it even though I was SO hungry.
I found a highly-rated food truck on Google called Pit Stop for dinner. It was probably my favorite meal of the trip. It was just SO good. I think I inhaled my burger! Korri and I both got the crispy cheeseburgers (the cheese is wider than the burger and cooked to a crisp; trust me, it’s delish) and shared fries and a “horchata Hawaiiana” to drink.
After scarfing down dinner, we walked back through Waikiki. That place is happening even when there’s not a festival! We ended up stopping in a few local stores to browse, and I visited a Christmas shop where I found an ornament for our tree (my favorite kind of souvenir).
Korri got one more mocha from Island Vintage (a Kona mocha to be specific), we stopped at an ABC store (convenience store) for more water (the inexpensive Hawaii volcanic water tastes the best of any of them), and then we headed back to our hotel for our last sleep before flying out.
Our two-day trip to Honolulu was short but full! Next time, we hope to spend more time exploring the north shore of Oahu!
More Things to Do in Honolulu
We didn’t have time for these things on our trip, but you may want to squeeze them into your two days in Honolulu (or add them if you’re planning to spend an extra day or so in the city)!
Hike Diamond Head
This is the very large volcanic cone just southeast of Waikiki. It’s a very popular hiking area! Start early in the day, wear sunscreen, and stay hydrated. The views from the top are outstanding!
Hike Koko Crater
This was recommended to us by one of our Lyft drivers! This hike features a fairly significant elevation gain with LOTS of stairs. Like Diamond Head, you’ll be rewarded with gorgeous views.
Snorkel in Hanauma Bay
Our Lyft driver recommended we do this after hiking Koko Crater. He told us that it’s the best snorkeling location on the island. If you’re planning an adventurous day, start with the hike and then finish with snorkeling!