5 Days: Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands

5 Days: Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands

Five days is the first version of this trip that actually earns the word Hawaii instead of just Oahu. Three nights cover Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay, then a 35-minute Hawaiian Airlines or Southwest flight puts you on Maui for one full day before flying back through Honolulu to catch your mainland connection. Want more time on Maui instead of a single packed day? See the 6-day version . Only doing Oahu? Drop back to the 3-day version , or read the full Honolulu island-hopping guide .

Book these before you go

Day 1: Land and settle into Waikiki

Flying in from the mainland is domestic, no passport, no customs, just long: San Francisco runs about 5 hours 36 minutes, Los Angeles 5.5 to 6.25 hours. TheBus routes 20 and 303 reach Waikiki from HNL in 45-60 minutes for a $3 HOLO fare, or budget $35-50 for a rideshare. Check in, note the resort fee on your folio (commonly $45-61 a night), and keep the evening light, an easy Waikiki Beach walk beats fighting jet lag through a packed agenda on night one.

Day 2: Pearl Harbor in the morning, Diamond Head in the afternoon

Take an early Pearl Harbor slot, a rideshare or TheBus 20 gets you there in 30-40 minutes; arrive an hour ahead for the 45-minute USS Arizona Memorial program. By early afternoon, hike Diamond Head State Monument , a steep 0.8-mile, 1.5-2 hour round trip with last trail entry at 4:30pm. Grab a plate lunch between stops ($12-18) and eat dinner in Waikiki.

Day 3: Hanauma Bay at opening, then Ala Moana

Arrive close to the 6:45am opening, since last entry is 1:30pm and the preserve is closed Monday and Tuesday for reef recovery. Rinse off and spend the afternoon at Ala Moana Center or Ala Moana Regional Park, a flat 20-30 minute walk from Waikiki. Pack tonight for Maui, you fly out early tomorrow.

Day 4: Fly to Maui, settle in, afternoon at the beach

The Honolulu-to-Kahului hop is about 35 minutes, run frequently by both Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest. Pick up your rental car at Kahului Airport immediately, since Maui has nowhere near Oahu’s bus coverage. Check into Kihei or Lahaina, spend the afternoon at a calm south-side beach, and get an early dinner, tomorrow is a long driving day.

Day 5: Road to Hana, then fly back to Honolulu

The Hana Highway is 620 curves and 59 bridges over roughly 52 miles, doable in a single long day if you leave by 7am and stop selectively rather than at every pullout, Waianapanapa State Park’s black sand beach is worth the detour, most of the rest is not on a one-day version. If that sounds rushed, it is, the 6-day version spreads Hana over two days instead. Book a guided Road to Hana tour if you would rather not drive it yourself. Return your car, fly back to Honolulu (35 minutes), and connect to your mainland flight from HNL that evening, this is a transfer day from here on, budget it as one.

Should you fly home from Maui instead of routing back through Honolulu?

Only if your mainland city has a direct flight there already, a handful do (Alaska and Southwest fly Las Vegas and Denver direct into Kahului). For most travelers, Honolulu has the widest and often cheapest selection of mainland connections, so routing the return through HNL instead of booking a pricier multi-city fare usually wins on cost even with the extra inter-island hop.

Is one full day enough for Maui?

It is enough to say you went, not enough to see much of it. One day covers either Road to Hana or a beach day, not both, and driving the full Hana Highway in a single day means skipping most of its 620 curves’ worth of stops. Treat this 5-day trip as the taste test; the 6-day version is the one that actually does Maui justice.

At a glance

Day Distance / travel time Focus
1 HNL to Waikiki, 9 mi / 20-30 min drive Arrival, settle in, sunset on Waikiki Beach
2 Waikiki to Pearl Harbor ~12 mi / 30-40 min; to Diamond Head ~3 mi / 10 min Pearl Harbor morning, Diamond Head afternoon
3 Waikiki to Hanauma Bay ~10 mi / 25-30 min Hanauma Bay at opening, Ala Moana afternoon
4 Honolulu to Kahului, Maui, 35 min flight Settle into Maui, afternoon beach
5 Kahului to Hana and back, ~104 mi round trip; Maui to Honolulu, 35 min flight Road to Hana, fly back, depart mainland flight

Keep your park pass, Hanauma Bay confirmation and boarding passes on your phone and on paper both, island hotel wifi is not always reliable the morning you need it.