How to Explore Honolulu Without a Car

My friend Cassie and I visited Honolulu, Hawaii for five nights for an awesome girls’ trip filled with delicious Hawaiian food, beautiful views and fun activities. And we managed to explore the island and make the most of our time in Honolulu without a car!

Most people recommend renting a car when visiting Oahu, but Cassie and I don’t drive. But we didn’t let that hold us back! We still managed to explore beaches, valleys, mountains and more without our own set of wheels.

So can you really explore Honolulu, Hawaii without a car? Absolutely! And I’m going to show you how. 

Below I’m sharing all of the fun things we did in Oahu – plus awesome free things to do in Honolulu – that you can enjoy without a car. I’m also sharing my tips for how to best get around the island and proving why Honolulu is the perfect place in Hawaii to ditch the expensive rental car.

You can have an awesome time in Honolulu and on the entire island of Oahu without a car. The beauty of Hawaii isn’t reserved for only those with driver’s licences! And even if you can drive, you may choose not to drive in Hawaii where parking and car rentals are notoriously expensive.

And just to make sure we’re all on the same page geographically before I move on: Waikiki is a neighbourhood in the city of Honolulu on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. A lot of people will use the terms Waikiki, Honolulu and Oahu interchangeably, though they have different geographic boundaries.

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Can you get around without a car in Honolulu? Can you enjoy Oahu without a car?

Absolutely! You can easily get around without a car in Honolulu and even enjoy the entire island of Oahu without a car. In fact, Oahu is the best Hawaiian island to be without a car.

While other islands, like Kauai, would be almost impossible to navigate without a car, Oahu is well connected by public transportation and ride share. Plus, most of Honolulu’s main sites are close together.

There are lots of alternatives to renting a car in Oahu in order to see and do a lot on the island. I’ll get into those below! Not renting a car also means you save the expense of a car rental and parking, both of which can be astronomical in Hawaii.

While you can enjoy downtown Honolulu without a car and still see a lot of the island, I would recommend renting a car if you want to see every corner of the island, not spend any time in Honolulu, be completely off the beaten track and if you don’t have time for public transit. Otherwise, no car is just fine!

How big is the island of Oahu?

The island of Oahu is 597 square miles (1,545 sq km), which is half the size of Rhode Island and not that much bigger than Los Angeles. It’s the third largest Hawaiian island but still very manageable to travel around by bus, public transport, rideshare and day tour.

Transportation on Oahu: How do you get around Oahu without a car?

Without a car, you can get around Oahu by:

Public transportation in Honolulu & Oahu

TheBus, the aptly named public bus network in Oahu is clean, easy to navigate and affordable. It connects most parts of the island, though destinations outside of Honolulu will take longer to get to.

Rideshare, Uber in Honolulu & Oahu

There are a number of rideshare options in Oahu, including popular Uber and Lyft. Of course if you’re going on long drives each day, this can add up.

Day tours in Honolulu & Oahu

Sometimes it’s more convenient to hop on a day tour to get around Oahu without a car. Day tours are a convenient way to see a lot without having to worry about navigating yourself. While day tours can be costly, they’re usually worth it if you’re interested in seeing all of the destinations on offer.

For closer destinations, you can also walk or bike!

How do you get around Waikiki & Honolulu without a car?

For the neighbourhood of Waikiki and city of Honolulu, you can get around by bus, rideshare or day tour, just like you would the rest of Oahu. But you can also walk, bike or take a trolley bus.

You can conveniently rent a bike through Biki, a bike sharing program, or hop on the Waikiki Trolley to visit over 40 points of interest in the Honolulu area.

How walkable is Waikiki? Do you need public transportation in Waikiki?

Waikiki is an extremely walkable area. It’s only 1.5 square miles and full of beaches, shops, restaurants and hotels. If all you wanted out of your Honolulu vacation was to swim in the ocean, eat a poke bowl, hang at your hotel and maybe do a little shopping, you could do it all by just walking around Waikiki.

Waikiki transportation options: Is there a free shuttle in Waikiki?

Unfortunately, there is not a free shuttle in Waikiki. Some hotels do offer free shuttles and airport pick-ups, but fewer and fewer have this service.

Luckily, the Waikiki area is extremely walkable. If you’re not able to or interested in walking, you can also bike, bus or get a ride wherever you need to go in Waikiki.

What to do in Waikiki without a car

Since Waikiki is so small and walkable, you can easily enjoy it without a car. You can hit the beach, go shopping, eat at some delicious restaurants and find so many things to do in Waikiki without a car. Check out 10 must eats in Honolulu, Hawaii!

Tips for exploring Honolulu without a car

• Book a day tour: If you’re in Honolulu without a car but still want to see some of the further away spots on Oahu, I’d definitely recommend jumping on a full day tour around Oahu. We did one that drove around the entire island and took us to places we wouldn’t have bothered going to by ourselves. Day tours are a great way to see a lot of things all in one day without the hassle of figuring out transportation. Lots of tours pick up and drop off from Waikiki, so if you’re staying there, it’s super easy to join a day tour.
• Get a Go City pass: If you want to see and do a lot in Hawaii, and save money, I’d highly recommend the Oahu: Go City All-Inclusive Pass. It’s a great way to get a discount on a lot of activities you were planning to do anyway, like Kualoa Ranch, Polynesian Cultural Center, Iolani Palace and Pearl Harbor. Plus, the pass also includes day tours, catamaran sails, bike rentals, kayak rentals, surf lessons, luaus, and more. Check out the details to see if the Go City Pass makes sense for your trip.
• If you’re taking the bus, get a HOLO card: With a HOLO card, you can load money onto it so you don’t have to pay cash on the bus. This will also allow you to take advantage of the daily cap; once you hit it, you ride for free the rest of the day. You can also opt for a 7-day or month pass if you think you’ll be taking the bus that often. Check out current TheBus fares here.

Where to stay in Honolulu without a car?

Stay in a central area if you’re going to be in Honolulu, Hawaii without a car. Waikiki is an extremely walkable area and many day tours pick up from there. Honolulu is also the most well connected by public transport and has many top sights within an easy bus ride.

If you’re going to be in Oahu without a car, it makes sense to base yourself in Waikiki or at least in Honolulu for the convenience.

Booking.com

Map of best places to visit in Oahu without a car

4 things to do in Honolulu without a car

Don’t have a rental car in Honolulu? No worries! Check out four amazing places you can easily visit in the city without a car.

Shop and eat at the KCC Farmers’ Market

As a big foodie, one of my favourite things to do in a new city is check out a local market. KCC Farmers’ Market did not disappoint! There was a ton of fresh produce, food trucks and stands selling all sorts of local Hawaiian foods.

I loved that it wasn’t only produce or only prepared food but a great mix of both. This is where I was introduced to lilikoi butter (aka passion fruit butter) and my life was changed forever.

The best part? It was so easy to get here! We took one bus from our hotel in Waikiki and it dropped us off right across the street from the market. This market is also next to Diamond Head, so would be great to combine with a day hike.

Cost: Free to enter

Open: Saturdays 7:30 – 11:00am

How to get to KCC Farmers’ Market without a car: It’s an easy direct bus ride from Waikiki to KCC Farmers’ Market. The bus ride will take apx 30 mins or an Uber can get you there in 10 mins.

Window shop & dine at Waikiki shopping mall, Ala Moana Center

I know a Waikiki shopping mall isn’t a great tourist destination but I really enjoyed our trip to the Ala Moana Center. To start with, the food court was amazing! We got poke bowls and Korean food and everything was delicious.

The shopping center is partially outdoors, which makes the shopping experience very cool. And every store we went into wanted to give us samples – not saying no to that! Plus, it’s next to a Target and Walmart which are the perfect places to pick up cheap souvenirs.

Cost: Free to enter

Open: 10:00am – 8:00pm

How to get to Ala Moana Center without a car: It’s another easy, direct bus ride from Waikiki to Ala Moana Centre. The bus will take apx 20 mins or an Uber will take 10 mins.

Hit the beach at Ala Moana Regional Park

Next to the Ala Moana Centre is the beach. Ala Moana Regional Park was actually my favourite beach in Honolulu. It was way quieter and less crowded than the beaches in Waikiki.

The water was calm and there was no rock barrier so you could float out really deep. I love just floating in the water as gentle waves wash over you. It was perfect!

Cost: Free

Open: 4:00am – 10:00pm

How to get to Ala Moana Regional Park without a car: You can take a direct bus from Waikiki to Ala Moana Beach. The bus will get you there in 15/20 minutes or an Uber will take 10 minutes.

See the sights on a catamaran boat tour

Just because you’re in Honolulu without a car doesn’t mean you can’t get on a boat, right? Cassie and I went on a catamaran tour which was a great way to see Honolulu from the water. We got to take in the views of the ocean, the shoreline of Waikiki and Diamond Head.

If you’re not up for surfing or kayaking, or just want to spend even more time on the water, a boat tour is one of the best things to do in Honolulu.

It was also just a really cool atmosphere! The crew was very fun, chatty and too willing to pour us free drinks.

Cost: We went with Makani Catamaran, which was included in the Go City Pass! Or you might be more interested in snorkelling with sea turtles, a sunset cocktail cruise, or swimming with dolphins!

Open: Boats leave throughout the day. Currently, Makani sails at 11:00am, 2:00pm and 5:00pm.

How to get to Makani Catamaran without a car: From Waikiki, you can take a 30 minute direct bus to where Makani Catamaran sails from or a 15 minute Uber ride. Their pier is also just a 5-15 minute walk from Ala Moana Center and Ala Moana Park, which makes a day of shopping, sailing and hitting the beach very easy to plan!

6 things to do in Oahu without a car (that are easy to reach from Honolulu!)

So you can obviously get around Waikiki and Honolulu without a car, but what about the rest of Oahu? Here are some places you might want to visit on the rest of the island and how to best reach them without a rental car.

Tour the impressive Kualoa Ranch

Visiting Kualoa Ranch, on the other side of Oahu, was my favourite part of our trip to Hawaii. Kualoa Ranch is probably best known as a movie set; it’s where they filmed Jurassic World, Jumanji, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hunger Games and many more TV shows and movies. But it’s not just a movie set. It’s also a working cattle ranch and home to some of the best views in Oahu.

Visitors to Kualoa Ranch can ride ATVs, visit the farm, go horseback riding, play on the beach and take a jungle jeep through the grounds. We opted for the jungle jeep where our tour took us through the ranch to point out some of the awesome views and filming locations.

It was so gorgeous and such a fun experience in the jeep. At one point, our driver decided to race back down the trail and it felt like we were on a roller coaster!

Cost: There are lots of tours and activities to choose from at Kualoa Ranch; check out current experiences and prices here. Keep in mind that if you have the Go City Pass, a Kualoa Ranch activity is included!

Open: 7:30am – 4:30pm

How to get from Waikiki to Kualoa Ranch?

How to get to Kualoa Ranch without a car: If you have the time, you can take the bus from Waikiki to Kualoa Ranch direct or with one connection. The bus will take about 90 minutes or an Uber from Waikiki to Kualoa Ranch will take 45 minutes.

Enjoy the shows and a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center

Another big highlight of our trip to Hawaii was our visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center. This is also over on the other side of Oahu by Kualoa Ranch, so you may want to visit both on the same day so you only have to head out there once.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is a HUGE outdoor network of mini villages, each one representing a country in Polynesia. Each village is decked out to look like their country in a specific time period and hosts a show and demonstration to share their culture.

There’s dancing, costumes, singing, coconut chopping, audience participation and hilarious jokes. They also host luau dinners and a big show at the end of the night.

While I sometimes think experiences like this are cheesy and inauthentic, I really enjoyed my time at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I learned a lot and it was clear that a lot of care and passion was put into every element.

Plus, it’s hard to beat a luau and incredible Polynesian dance, music and blazing fire knives show!

Top tips for visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center: 

• Map your route out before you start so you can catch show time at each village. They all perform at different times, so use the map so you can see as many as you can.
• Take advantage of the free stuff! Lots of the village demonstrations will send participants away with a little something. We got free temporary tattoos at one of the villages and free leis at our luau dinner.
• Stay sun safe! Bring lots of water, re-apply sunscreen and seek out the shade, which might be difficult to find in you’re attending lots of shows. This is a tip for any hot destination but is especially important if you’re spending all day at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
• Give yourself lots of time. Besides the shows, you’ll want to spend time walking around each village and discovering everything that has been set up. There’s also an entire shopping area that is great to explore. Give yourself a few hours, if not a full day, and don’t rush your visit.

Cost: Polynesian Cultural Center has a number of different packages; check out their current packages and pricing here. Or use your Go City Pass as entrance is included!

Open: 12:30 – 9:00pm, closed Wednesdays & Sundays

How to get to the Polynesian Cultural Center without a car: By bus, the Polynesian Cultural Centre is about two hours from Waikiki on a direct bus or with one change. It’s only an additional 30 minutes from Kualoa Ranch, if you want to visit both on the same day.

Otherwise, an Uber to the Polynesian Cultural Center will take about an hour. They also offer a shuttle service from Waikiki that you can add on to your ticket that will be cheaper than an Uber and faster than the bus!

Visit Laie Hawaii Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Since we were in Honolulu without a car, Cassie and I opted to do a day tour around the island. This was a great way to get to things that are far away and to get a little taste for different spots in Oahu.

One of our bus tour stops was the Laie Hawaii Temple, a huge Mormon church on the north point of Oahu. I had no idea that there was such a large Mormon community in Hawaii but apparently Mormons were involved in founding parts of Hawaii and now have quite a large population there. Who knew?

The Laie Hawaii Temple and estate were really beautiful and enjoyable to see. We only visited briefly on our bus tour, just to take a few photos, but you could spend more time exploring and going into the Visitor s’ Center.

Cost: Free

Open: The Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors’ Center is open from 9:00am – 8:00pm

How to get to Laie Hawaii Temple without a car: Laie Hawaii Temple is a far way from Waikiki by bus, about 2.5 hours with one change. By Uber, it’s just over an hour. However, the temple is just 8 minutes by bus or 15 minutes walking from the Polynesian Cultural Center, so would be easy to visit as a side trip.

Take in the view from Hanauma Bay

Another stop on the bus tour was, Hanauma Bay, a legendary snorkelling cove. It was absolutely beautiful to see from above! You can take in the view for free but will need to pay to access the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. You can learn more and reserve a spot online here.

Cost: The viewpoint is free but access to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is $25 per non-Hawai‘i resident 13 years or older

Open: “The Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve (HBAY) is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, with entry allowed from 6:45am to 1:30pm. All HBAY visitors must leave the nature preserve by 4:00pm.”

How to get to Hanauma Bay without a car: Unfortunately Hanauma Bay is not the easiest to reach by public transit; it’ll take 90 minutes and involve 1-2 buses and 30-40 minutes of walking. Luckily, an Uber ride is just 25 minutes. You can also visit on a day tour, like we did.

Enjoy the scenery from Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout

Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout was something I had researched before our trip to Hawaii and really wanted to see. But I figured we wouldn’t be able to see it since we were exploring Honolulu without a car. So I was thrilled when our tour bus did a stop here so we could take in the views. They did not disappoint!

Cost: Free

Open: 6:00am – 6:00pm

How to get to Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout without a car: Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout is not accessible by bus but is only a 20 minute Uber ride from Waikiki. It may also be part of a day tour itinerary, such as the one we went on!

Sample a tasty treat at the Dole Plantation

Our tour bus only did a quick stop at the Dole Plantation, which is all the way on the other side of the island, so I didn’t get to check out the gardens, maze or train. But it was enough time for me to grab a cup of Dole Whip and learn what heaven tastes like!

Cost: Entrance to the Visitor Center is free and you can check out prices for the train, gardens and maze here

Open: 9:30am – 5:30pm

How to get to the Dole Plantation without a car: To get to the Dole Plantation from Waikiki by bus will take about 90 minutes with one change, or an Uber ride will take 40 minutes. I would suggest visiting as part of a day tour as I’m not sure the 40/90 minute journey would be worth it for the Dole Plantation alone (as delicious as Dole Whip is!).

More things to do in Honolulu & Oahu without a car

Have more time on Oahu and want to explore more from Honolulu without a car? Here are some other experiences and sights you can visit:

• Pearl Harbor National Memorial & Battleship Missouri Memorial (1 hour by bus, 25 mins by Uber)
• Iolani Palace (30 mins by bus, 15 mins by Uber)
• Kailua Beach Park (90 mins by bus, 40 mins by Uber)
• Waimea Valley (2.5 hours by bus, 1 hour by Uber)
• Diamond Head (20 mins by bus, 10 mins by Uber)

Check out some other awesome experiences you can add to your Oahu, Hawaii itinerary:

Final thoughts on exploring Honolulu without a car

As you can see, we had an amazing time exploring Honolulu without a car during our five day trip. It didn’t feel like we missed out on anything being car-less and were easily able to see the highlights of Honolulu and Oahu by public transit or day tour.

Because Honolulu is such a big and busy city, I believe it’s one of the only places in Hawaii you can thoroughly enjoy without a pricy rental car. On other islands, self-driving or expensive multi-day tours are essential to get around. So if you don’t want to drive in Hawaii, I recommend basing your trip in Honolulu.

I’d love to know, have you been to Honolulu? What was your favourite spot or what are you excited to see if you haven’t been before?

Read next: More posts on Hawaii

• How to Spend 5 Days in Kauai, Hawaii
• Top 10 Must Eats in Honolulu, Hawaii
• The 10 Best Places to Eat in Kauai

 

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