The North Shore is about an hour from Waikiki but feels like another island: surf towns, shrimp trucks, sea turtles and, in winter, some of the biggest waves on the planet.
Oahu's North Shore stretches roughly from Haleiwa to Kahuku. In summer the ocean is often flat enough for snorkeling; between about November and February, swells from the North Pacific can bring waves of twenty feet or more, and the area hosts world-famous surf contests. Either season makes a great day trip.
A suggested route
- Leave Waikiki early and take the H-1 and H-2 through central Oahu. A stop at the Dole Plantation near Wahiawa breaks up the drive.
- Haleiwa town – galleries, surf shops and a famous shave ice line.
- Laniakea and nearby beaches – green sea turtles often rest on the sand. Keep your distance; they are protected.
- Waimea Bay – calm swimming in summer, giant waves in winter. Waimea Valley across the road has a botanical garden and waterfall.
- Ehukai Beach (Banzai Pipeline) and Sunset Beach – watch expert surfers from the sand.
- Kahuku – garlic shrimp trucks for a late lunch, then return via the windward coast.
The Eddie
The Eddie Aikau big-wave invitational at Waimea Bay only runs when open-ocean swells are consistently huge, and in many winters the call never comes. Surf fans joke about the odds of seeing it in any given year, and the contest has run only around ten times since the mid-1980s, which is exactly why the whole island turns up when it does.
Safety first
- Winter shorebreak and currents are dangerous; swim only where lifeguards say it is safe.
- Do not leave valuables visible in rental cars at beach parks.
- Traffic through Haleiwa can crawl on winter weekends when the surf is up.
Public transport works too: TheBus routes reach the North Shore from Honolulu, though the ride takes a good part of the day. Most visitors rent a car for the loop.
Top photo: Sunset over Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu. Photo: Jordan Robinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
