Waikiki is one of my favourite places. I’ve been there 7 times now. This guide is tips I wish I’d known the first time I went. If there is anything else you’d like covered please drop me an email at indulgentexperiences@mail.com or leave a comment below. Keep an eye out over the next few days for Part II. Happy travelling.
Entry requirements to the USA
If you’re an Australian citizen, you’ll need to apply for a via waiver for entry into the USA before visiting Hawaii. The visa lasts for two years and is good for multiple trips. There are a large number of companies who charge you a fee to apply for the visa on your behalf and who’ve tried to make it look like they are the official website. Don’t pay an unnecessary fee, it’s a very easy process to do it yourself. Make sure you use the official US Customs website:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
Who to fly with
This probably comes down to how well you sleep on a plane and how much shopping you want to do. All the flights to Hawaii from Sydney tend to be overnight so if you think the extra few inches leg room will make a difference its probably worth paying extra for Qantas or Hawaiian Airlines. The same if you are going to shop, because buying extra baggage allowance can add hundreds of dollars to the flight.
Qantas and Hawaiian Airlines both have pretty generous luggage allowances (Hawaiian allows you 2 suitcases of up to 30kg each on flights to and from Australia), they both tend to use older planes on these flights and the food and beverage offerings are pretty similar so it probably comes down to which frequent flyer program you’re in (Hawaiian is aligned to Virgin).
Insider tip: If you go with Qantas check your flight details carefully – Qantas only flies some days of the week and so you can end up finding yourself on Jetstar if you pick the wrong day even though you’ve paid Qantas prices.
Insider tip: most flights land in the morning and so you may not be able to get into your hotel room straight away and you want to avoid having to rummage through your suitcase in a hotel foyer so pack some lightweight clothes and a swimming costume in your carry on, then you can head straight down the beach for a refreshing swim while waiting for your room to be ready.
Where to stay
Which hotel you should pick depends on whether you are happy to walk / get taxis from the hotel to eat out or would rather be in the heart of things and how well you sleep (there is a theme here).
If you stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village or the Modern it’s a good 20-25 minute walk along the beach (longer by the road) to get to the Duke Statue.
Most of the hotels on Kalakaua Avenue (the main street) face the road unless you’ve paid for a full ocean view so you will usually hear traffic noise and sometimes delivery trucks during the night.
Insider tip: Stay on Kuhio Avenue which is one block back from the beach and choose a mountain view room. These are at the back of the hotel and so away from the road. It means you miss out on the ocean view and have a (very short) walk to the beach but it’s worth it for for a good night’s sleep. I’ve stayed at the Vibe and the Hilton Waikiki Beach. The Vibe is good but it doesn’t have a pool and the Hilton Waikiki beach does so it gets my vote.
Getting from the airport
There are shuttle buses which will take you to your hotel pretty cheaply but these can take up to an hour to get you there so it’s worth taking a taxi as it will only take 15-20 minutes.
Insider tip: Charleys taxis (https://charleystaxi.com/) has a US$33 fixed fare from the airport to almost all of the Waikiki hotels provided you book in advance. You can do this via their website and then call them when you are through customs. If you take a normal metered taxi the fare is likely to be around US$45-55.
Do I need a car?
If you’re a first timer to Waikiki, probably not as there is plenty to do in and around Waikiki. If you want to go to Pearl Harbour you can easily do that with a tour. If you want to check out the north shore then you’ll probably want a car, but I’d suggest hiring one just for the day as the only parking at hotels is valet which will set you back about US$20 per day plus tips.
Insider tip: if you want to hire a car don’t worry about doing it in advance as there are plenty of hire car places in the streets leading from the beach. Treat yourself and hire a Mustang or other American muscle car.
Where’s the best shopping?
Even with the Aussie dollar trading around US$0.65 shopping in Hawaii can still be good value, particularly for the American brands. Keep in mind that the price you see on tag won’t be the final price you pay as state sales tax will be added on.
There are quite a few shops along Kalakaua Avenue including a small Macy’s, Sephora and Victoria’s Secret and there a Nordstrom Rack on Kuhio. But if you want to shop the best shopping is at Ala Moana a massive mall located about 10 minutes out of Waikiki. It has all the major American department and chain stores. Local buses travel regularly to the centre from Kuhio avenue for US$3 or you can get a trolley / shuttle service at marked stops along Kuhio for US$2.
Insider tip: you can buy an all day ticket on local buses for US$7.50. Make sure you have the correct change as drivers don’t give change. Put your money in the clear plastic box near the driver.
There is also an outlet centre (Waikiki Premium Outlets) about 45 minutes outside Waikiki. Personally, I don’t rate it but I know plenty of people who do. A variety of tour companies run trips out there each day. However, be aware that you have to nominate on the way out there which bus you intend to get back to Waikiki.
There are only a couple of return trips each day which can be up to 2 hours apart which means if you overestimate how long you are going to spend shopping you’ll be stuck there for a while. There isn’t anything else to do near there and the food options are quite limited so it can be a pretty tedious wait.
Given this if you are keen to go I’d suggest hiring a car for the day. If there are a few of you it probably won’t work out that much more expensive than the shuttle companies and you’ll have the convenience of arriving and leaving when you want.
Insider tip: some of the handbag stores have “diffusion lines” which they create specifically for the outlet stores and are never sold in mainstream retail stores. The “original price” marked on these bags is the amount they estimate it would have sold for if it had been released to retail stores. So buy the bag if you think the price you are paying is good value, don’t be swayed by thinking you are getting a massive discount because you may not be.
More information
For more information about Waikiki visit Part II of this Guide.
Very good cathy.
You are in the wrong industry 🙂