Tag: Parking fee

Diamond Head State Monument

sunrise

Most of the hikes on Oahu are a bit off the beaten path, but Diamond Head hike is not. It’s located in Honolulu, and it looks out over the resorts and the downtown area.

You drive up and pay $5 per car to park. You’ll get a ticket to put on your dashboard and a map of the park.

pineapple shop

At the entrance, there are bathrooms, a gift shop, and a pineapple stand (where you can get those fancy drinks in pineapples that everyone always has pictures of.)

Then, you start up the trail. It’s a brutal hike in the summer because it’s very steep and crowded. However, it’s not as difficult in the winter. I still recommend bringing water and sunscreen, though.

stairs

The trail wraps up along the wall of the crater, and takes you through a very narrow tunnel.

At a lookout halfway up, you can choose to continue back into the tunnel and do a spiral staircase to the top, or take metal stairs that are outside.

I recommend the metal stairs because being crammed into dark and narrow tunnels with lots of people isn’t my idea of a good time.

better tunnel shot

From the top, you can see Diamond head lighthouse directly below, as well as Honolulu on one side and Koko head on the other side.

view of city

The sweeping views are pretty amazing for what is a fairly short hike. I did it at sunrise, and it only took me about half an hour.

looking towards kokohead

In spite of the crowds, it’s a nice little hike. I recommend everyone do it once.

lighthouse

Hanuama Bay

Hanuama Bay is by far the most well-known snorkel spot on Oahu. Everyone is told that it is the place to go if you want to see fish here.

Now, I will say, I saw a lot of parrot fish there and I had a good time. So, there’s that. However, I will also say that it was one of the most crowded places I have ever been.

As I tried to snorkel, people were constantly wadding by and kicking up sand. Everywhere I looked there were so many people. The fish are not spooked by this, and that’s great. However, it does make for pictures that aren’t very clear because of all the sediment in the water.

I think this is a great place for people who do not snorkel regularly. This is because you pay $7 to get in and that money goes towards conservation. You also have to watch a video about how you should not touch the animals or the coral, and I think tourists should have to do that. However, if you’re a regular snorkeler, it all feels a bit boring.

The park is free with military ID, but even if you are military I still recommend you bring money. I wish someone would have told me that. See, there’s a shuttle that will take you down to the water and back up the giant hill after you snorkel. However, I didn’t know that, so I had to walk.

I saw signs for food up at the top, but they ask that you not bring food down to the beach so that liter can’t get into the water. However, I still saw plenty of litter in the water.

There are lockers, but I left everything in my car and just left my flip flops on the beach. No one stole them. I think we should all have a crappy pair of flip flops for this purpose.

The nice thing about a place with crowds is that there are amenities. The showers and bathrooms are good to have, and the little trolley looked great as it passed me while I walked up.

It’s too crowded for turtles of sting rays, but that’s okay. Sometimes it’s just nice to see pretty fish. This is a good place for that, as long as you don’t want pictures of them.

Oh, and don’t forget that there’s also a parking fee. I’d say just bring a $20 bill per person in a plastic bag, and you should be good to go.