North Shore Oahu

I was just wondering what everyone here says about the North Shore. It seems some of our group is interested in going to the north shore for the day. What attractions are there and what are your opinions of a road trip there?

There are really no attractions at the North Shore. Sometimes it is packed with surfers (so much so that driving the two lane road can be a problem).

There is a small town called Haliewa

http://haleiwatown.com/

and Waimea Falls Park

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g29222-d737421-Reviews-Waimea_Falls_Park-Oahu_Hawaii.html

or you could get lucky at Turtle Beach and see some of the beasts

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/time-year-turtle-beach-oahu-106738.html

The Polynesian Cultural Center could be considered at the North Shore, but it isn't all the way to the North Shore.

http://www.polynesia.com/?jadid=60716219164&jap=1t1&jk=polynesian%20cultural%20center&jkId=gc:a8a8ae4cd4a202997014a2ebd0a213e72:t1_e:k_polynesian%20cultural%20center:pl_&jp=&js=1&jsid=37269&jt=1&gclid=CNHFx8XPjsMCFVCVfgodGUwAkw

or The Dole Pineapple Plantation is about half-way up if you take the inland route.

http://www.dole-plantation.com/

The trip up can be long as it's the opposite part of the island. The roads are not super highways, but small twisting two lane roads once you leave Honolulu area. You can drive up the coast side of the island or there is another highway through the center of the island. You need to get a map of Oahu and decide if the trip up to the North Shore is something you want to do. The scenery is magnificent!

We stayed a few nights at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore and did some exploring from there. This is a trip that is well worth it, even for the day as part of a full or partial Circle Island Tour.

You can easily do this on your own by heading out of the Waikiki area via the H3 east toward the Windward Coast, about a 30 minute trip. This to me is one of the most beautiful areas in all the islands. You will intersect with Hwy 83 ( Kam Hwy ) which you can take north up the coast and eventually arrive at the North Shore and Haliewa.

The Koolau Mts are spectacular as you drive north on 83 with the sea on one side of the road and the mountains on the other. There are lots of small park pull offs with mostly deserted beaches. Kaneohe Bay is beautiful and has a huge sand bar way out in the middle which you can take an excursion to. You will pass Polynesian Cultural Center and the Kualoa Ranch which has the best Mountain to sea views ever. You can do a movie sites tour there and see where some of the Jurassic Park scenes were shot. Once you reach the North Shore, watch for the shrimp trucks. Waimea Valley is worth a stop. There is a very beautiful and very easy walk back to the falls. Stop in Haliewa to shop or eat. Beyond Haliewa are many gorgeous beaches and lots of surfers.

You can back track at this point and return to Waikiki the same way you came, or cut back to Waikiki down the center of the island on the H2.

The North Shore IS the attraction. It's a very scenic drive along the shore on Hwy 72 once you get past suburban Honolulu (around Hanauma Bay). Kaneohe Bay is beautiful, the beaches at Lanikai and Kailua State Beach are sooo comfy and surrounded by great scenery. Switch to Hwy 83 - Hit up a shrimp truck for some overpriced locally farmed shrimp. Stop off at Banzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach or Waimea Bay to watch some surfers. Stop off for a snack in Haleiwa. Drive home via Hwy 90 down the middle of the island. Merge onto the H2 around Schofield Barracks and follow it to the H-1 and back to the ship.

We just spent two weeks up there over Christmas and New Year. As already posted, the north shore is the attraction. The drive is beautiful. Stop for lunch at turtle bay and enjoy the scenery. It will give you a very different look at Oahu.

We recently stayed three nights at the Turtle Bay Resort on the north shore as we were breaking flights on a trip from French Polynesia and Australia back to our home in Alaska. We have been to Oahu a number of times (i.e., ten or more) as my husband had periodic business trips to Honolulu and I would tag along. Since others have outlined some of the attractions I will just state that for me, the north shore is my vision of what Oahu should be, and we thoroughly enjoy it.

I rented a car from Honolulu for our cruise's day in port and drove up to the North Shore, and it truly is beautiful. I had hoped to see some surfing, but I had the luck to see almost perfectly flat conditions on the surfing beaches.

Wonderfully beautiful, though. I'm glad I made the drive (the drive up the windward side was beautiful too).

I rented a car from Honolulu for our cruise's day in port and drove up to the North Shore, and it truly is beautiful. I had hoped to see some surfing, but I had the luck to see almost perfectly flat conditions on the surfing beaches.

 

Wonderfully beautiful, though. I'm glad I made the drive (the drive up the windward side was beautiful too).

That photo looks like Kailua, not the North Shore!

Yes, surf can be nonexistent. It's the luck of the draw with Mother Nature. Just like in Newport Beach this past fall with the hurricane in Mexico bringing up epic-size breaks at The Wedge. Then, a few weeks later, it was flat enough for a friend of mine to paddle on his outrigger without any waves to get him...

That photo looks like Kailua, not the North Shore!

Yes, surf can be nonexistent. It's the luck of the draw with Mother Nature. Just like in Newport Beach this past fall with the hurricane in Mexico bringing up epic-size breaks at The Wedge. Then, a few weeks later, it was flat enough for a friend of mine to paddle on his outrigger without any waves to get him...

All the sponsorship tents and paraphernalia for the HIC Pro were set up and everything for that day's competition.......so when I was disappointed, I thought about how disappointed the tournament's competitors and sponsors must have been!

I rented a car from Honolulu for our cruise's day in port and drove up to the North Shore, and it truly is beautiful. I had hoped to see some surfing, but I had the luck to see almost perfectly flat conditions on the surfing beaches.

 

Wonderfully beautiful, though. I'm glad I made the drive (the drive up the windward side was beautiful too).

Beautiful picture. This looks like Sunset Beach with Sunset Point where the trees are. We have pictures of our son swimming here in November when the beach looked just like this. Even though we didn't get to see any of the surf competition we had a fabulous picnic on the beach from Mackies shrimp truck. Cherie