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North Shore Surf & Cultural Museum
You can get a sense of how integral surfing is to the town's character by visiting the funky North Shore Surf & Cultural Museum, where the tone is marked by a key North Shore word, 'usually' - it's staffed by volunteers who surf so, naturally, when the surf's up expect the place to be closed up! There's a good collection of vintage surfboards, period photos and classic surf posters, along with reasonably priced lost beach jewelry.
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Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
Whatever you do, don't miss the ridge-top Nu'uanu Pali Lookout with its sweeping vista of windward O'ahu from a height of 1200ft (366m). From the lookout you can see Kane'ohe straight ahead, Kailua to the right, and Mokoli'i Island and the coastal fishpond at Kualoa Regional Park to the far left.
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Polynesian Cultural Center
A nonprofit theme park showcasing the cultures of Polynesia, the Polynesian Cultural Center is owned by the Mormon Church and is one of O'ahu's biggest attractions, second only to the USS Arizona Memorial. The park has seven theme villages representing Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga, the Marquesas and Hawaii, each containing authentic-looking huts and ceremonial houses, many elaborately built with twisted ropes and hand-carved posts.
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Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau State Monument
Attributed to the legendary menehune , Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau State Monument is a long, low-walled platform temple perched on a bluff above Waimea; and it's the largest heiau on O'ahu. The terraced stone walls are a couple of feet high, although most of the heiau is now overgrown. It's an excellent site for a temple, with a commanding view of both Waimea Valley and Waimea Bay. West, the view extends along the coast to Ka'ena Point.
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Sea Life Park
Hawaii's only marine park, Sea Life Park combines all the celebrities of the sea into a variety of zoo- and circus-like exhibits. The highlight is an enormous 300,000-gallon aquarium filled with sea turtles, eels, eagle rays, hammerhead sharks and thousands of colorful reef fish. The park also has a penguin habitat, a turtle lagoon with green sea turtles, and a seabird sanctuary that holds red-footed boobies, albatrosses and great frigate birds.
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Shark's Cove
Shark's Cove is beautiful both above and below the surface. The origin of its name is uncertain, but sharks are no more common here than anywhere else on the island. It's part of the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District, dedicated to conserving the unusual coral reef here, noteworthy because of its resistance to the impact of big winter waves. From May to October, when the seas are generally calm, it offers great snorkeling and diving.
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Sunset Beach Park
Sunset Beach Park is the bikini queen of all North Shore beaches. Leggy white sands, perfect proportions of sea and sky and a nearly golden halo of sunlight. In winter, the beauty becomes a beast with monster waves and challenging breaks that make it a classic winter surfing destination. Come summer, the shoreline begins to smooth out and the waves mellow. The beach has rest rooms, showers and a lifeguard tower.
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Ulupo Heiau
The building of Ulupo Heiau, a sizable, open-platform temple of stones piled 30ft high and 140ft long, is attributed to menehune, the little people who legends say created much of Hawaii's stonework, finishing each project in one night. Fittingly, Ulupo means 'night inspiration.' It's thought to have been a luakini (place for human sacrifice). From the path across the top of the heiau, hikers get a view of Kawainui Marsh.
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USS Arizona Memorial
Each year over 1.5 million people arrive in Pearl Harbor, bombed by Japan in 1941, to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. From the memorial, which sits directly over the sunken Arizona , visitors can look down on the wreck that became the tomb for 1177 sailors. The free 75-minute tour includes the boat ride to the memorial and back and a documentary on the attack.
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Valley of the Temples
The Valley of the Temples is an interdenominational cemetery in a stunning setting just off the Kahekili Hwy. For most visitors the main attraction is Byodo-In, the 'Temple of Equality.' Dedicated in 1968 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, Byodo-In is a replica of the 950-year-old temple in Kyoto, Japan. For a panoramic view of the valley, head up to the hilltop mausoleum with the cross.
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Waimea Valley Audubon Center
Across from Waimea Bay Beach Park, this elegant center (a botanical garden by any other name) has more than 5000 species. There are sections of ginger, hibiscus, heliconia, native food plants and medicinal species, including many that are endangered. Waimea sits at the end of the main path through the garden, 0.8 miles from the entrance. The park has centuries-old stone platforms and terraces and replicas of early thatched buildings.
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Yokohama Bay
Locals say Yokohama Bay is the best sunset spot on the island. It certainly has the right orientation and an attractive mile-long sandy beach. Being the last sandy beach also helps the symbolic appreciation of the setting sun. The bay is so named for the large numbers of Japanese fishers who came here during the railroad days.
Winter brings huge pounding waves, making Yokohama a popular seasonal surfing and bodysurfing spot best left to the experts.
