my little sister goes to school in hawaii and i am jealous of her every day. i asked her to share her favorite things to do on the island of oahu, and she has me wanting to find a way to get there more than ever. prepare to drool.

1. Favorite Beaches:

Keikis: This is my favorite beach. It is not a surf spot but it is more for body surfing. This is usually where Clark Little takes his famous wave pictures. The waves are super powerful here and you can get knocked out just by standing on the shore. Most of all they are really fun and so pretty. When the waves get big it is really fun to sit and watch the body surfers catch these humungous waves and have crazy wipe outs. Keikis is right next to sharks cove, which is a short walk away and great for snorkeling.

Rockies: This is a really good surf spot. A lot of California surfers like this spot because these waves are similar to California waves.

2. Bike Ride along the North Shore

There is this new little shop right in between Laie and Kahuku called Rides and Grinds that you can rent bikes from to ride on the North shore bike path. You would still need to drive a little ways down past Turtle bay to get to the bike path, but it is worth the trouble because it is a pretty ride with cute trees curving around the path. You can stop at random along the path and explore all of the little hidden beaches. Don't be afraid to wander around because there are no private beaches along the north shore, so feel free to to check out any that you see.

3. Snorkeling at Shark's Cove

This is the best place on the North Shore to go snorkeling. You can easily see it from the main road you drive on. It is right across the street from the Foodland in Pupukea, right after you drive past Waimea Bay. Bring your own snorkel gear and just go for it. There are cool tunnels you can swim through throughout the entire thing, but definitely have someone take you who knows what they are doing for the tunnels. If you are not a tunnel person you can swim around and look at all the cool fish. You cannot go here though during the winter because the swell is too big, so the best time would be during the summer when the water calm and flat.

4. Rock Jumping at Laie Point

This is the famous cliff from the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall where Jason Segel and Mila Kunis jump off. The only thing is in the movie it shows you can swim back to the beach after jumping off. But since you actually have drive up to the cliff, you have to climb back up it after jumping because it is far away from the beach. Also do this with someone who has experience rock jumping here. There are always people up there jumping off, so feel free to go and watch how they do it. The locals are really friendly and will help you out.

5. Kayaking at Lanikai Beach:

Located on the east side of the island, Lanikai is a popular place for kayaking. It's just a beautiful beach to check out to get away from the high rolling waves of the north shore. Mostly just a beach to relax at. There is an awesome hike right by called Pillboxes and it isn't a hard hike. You just a walk up the mountain and it looks over the entire beach. You can go snorkeling here too, but you can pretty much go snorkeling anywhere.

6. Kahuku Fruit Stand:

You can get the most delicious fruit from here! Literally any fruit you can think of, they have it. They also have these meat shish kabobs that are delicious, and these fried banana things that are only a dollar. You must have cash. They also have coconuts in a cooler and you just have them cut them open for you and they put a straw in it and you have your coconut drink for the day! This is also located literally right across the street from Kawela Bay which is this little secluded cove you can go to. this is also where they filmed the new Hunger Games 2 Catching Fire.

7. Banzai Sushi

Banzai Sushi Bar is located in Haleiwa in the Marketplace. it is kind of hard to find because it is tucked back in a corner. It is outside because hawaii never gets cold. you can either sit at a table or, my favorite, little cushions on the ground. At night they always have a slide show going of surf videos, and sometimes even a live little band playing some reggae favorites. The best time to go is happy hour on wednesday nights when all the rolls are half price. This isn't a place to get a teriyaki bowl or anything because it is strictly sushi and fish.

8. acai bowls

One of the things you have to get while you are here on the north shore is an Acai bowl. They sell them pretty much anywhere, but the best place to get them is Haleiwa Bowls, which is in this little grass shack across the street from the famous Matsumotos Shave Ice. The second place to check out is this little purple Brazilian truck across the street from Pipeline called Crispy Grindz. For those of who don't know what an Acai bowl is, it is basically this smoothie mixture of acai berries, and other berries, topped with granola, bananas, shredded coconut, any other fruits you would want on top with drizzled honey over the whole thing.

9. Hike the Stairway to Heaven:

This is a super cool hike, you should wear shorts and a shirt but bring a jacket because it gets cold up there since you are literally in the clouds. Don't go when it is raining because it is slippery and you are literally climbing a ladder straight up. You have to go at like 2 in the morning because you have to start the hike before the guard gets there. it is actually illegal to hike but everyone does it. You get to the top and you sit in this cement room thing until the sunrise comes up, then you go back down. The guard will sometimes be there when you come back down, but he's super chill and just waves you by.

10. Watch the Sunset:

If you are driving along the north shore as sunset time, you should definitely pull over at the nearest beach and watch it. They never seem to get old to me, they are always so beautiful! There has never been a time since I have lived here when it wasn't a good sunset. Also, if you are willing to get up at 6 in the morning and go to the beach, the sunrises are equally beautiful. There is no such thing as a bad sunrise or sunset in Hawaii.

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10 favorite things to do / oahu