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Visiting O'ahu, Hawai'i
Photo by Brandon Karaca| Unsplash
Aloha! Are you planning on making a trip to O'ahu in Hawaii? If you do you may legitimately wonder how you will care for basic and essential necessities like food or transportation there. That article is just for that! Hopefully, it will be able to help you.
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Updated on 8/8/2025
​Where to eat in Honolulu/O'ahu?
Food is often an essential part in traveling. It can be a whole part of tourism as well as a simple necessity for any normal human being. But often, people wonder where they can eat, or where can they eat for cheap? Here is a guide to food in Honolulu. We don’t have the presumption to say it has everything, but it can definitely help you.
Restaurants & Fast Food
There are quite a bunch of restaurants in Honolulu. These include:
Duke’s Restaurant-Bar
This place named after the famous Hawaiian surfer is one of the must do in Waikiki. It features both a bar and restaurant with ocean view, live music (during specific times) and a pretty cool atmosphere. The food there contains classic dishes like hamburgers, and more local specialties. One of the restaurant's most famous items is the Hula Pie made of ice cream, cookie and macadamia nuts.
The Duke’s is in the price of Waikiki. Be aware that Duke’s Restaurant works on a first come first served system. More precisely, you shouldn’t expect a waitress to guide you to an available table. You will need to walk in and find your table on your own — that also implies that it is not because you were there for longer than you will be the first to get a table. Once successful at getting a table, you can just wait for a waitress to come to your table.
Our Experience
We tried the Dukes on a Sunday evening and it was very busy, but we were able to get a small table for our party pretty quickly. However, that system to get tables can be a bit annoying. That being said, we had a great experience enjoying the sunset, and the food and drinks tasted good. The team of the restaurant was also very nice and efficient.
Stix Asia
​“Stix” is a food court located in Waikiki. It features a bunch of small asian restaurants of multiple kinds, mostly Japanese food. It is a very nice place for any asian food lover.
Our Experience
We ate there once and had a good time. The place was clean, prices fair (depends on the person, of course) and not too busy.
Royal Hawaiian Center’s Food Court
If you are looking for places with a great variety of food, the Royal Hawaiian Center’s food court is a good choice. It features several local or mainstream restaurants and fast food. It has plenty of space to eat, and like most of Hawaii, it is very clean. However, it can be very full during peak hours.
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
Hawaii does have its own fast food, and L&L may be one of the most well known. The fast food offers several different options, the most popular probably being the plates. These plates can contain different types of meat with a side like rice or else. If you are in Waikiki, you can find one in the Royal Hawaiian Center’s food court.
Our Experience
With our group of four, we ate at L&L once. We found the prices to be quite expensive. However, the quantities were generous, and the taste was nice. We would definitely recommend sharing if you would like.
International Market place
The Royal Hawaiian Center has a foodcourt, and so does the International Market Place. The mall has plenty of options to eat including restaurants on the first and third floor, or a little grocery store (mentioned a bit later) on the second floor. The center also has a Target.
Grocery Stores For Everyday Food
Oahu does have the mainstream stores like Target, Walmart or Safeway . However, you will quickly notice that they are not numerous on the island. So here are local stores to buy everyday food.
Foodland
Foodland is a friendly and convenient supermarket. It has basic ingredients and food as well as other basic items. There is not much to say about it, except that it is a normal grocery store.
Kahala Mkt.
​Kahala is owned by Foodland and the lone of that name. But it is actually a great place if you seek fresh and quality food. To be honest, the supermarket is pretty small and a bit expensive, but their selection of fresh products is very good. It is notably a great place if you want quality smoothies, juice or sandwiches.
Mitsuwa Marketplace
This chain of Japanese grocery stores has one location in Waikiki in the International Marketplace. As a grocery store, it sells all types of food imported from Asia, and notably, prepared meals which can be a great option to eat. Additionally, the location in Waikiki has what we could call a mini food court with tables and restaurants.
Best Coffee Shops In Honolulu
Who does not love coffee? Well, actually there are a lot of people who don’t, but happily most coffee shops offer more than just coffee, and Honolulu is no exception. In Hawaii, you will find plenty of coffee shops. Of course, you will easily find big brands like Coffee Bean or Starbuck there, but there are also several locally owned brands that are really good.
Vintage Island Coffee
Vintage Island Coffee was founded in 1996 and has about 4 locations on O’ahu. They offer all types of beverages as well as foods, and all their coffee and coffee based brews are made of Kona Coffee (a Hawaiian coffee growing on volcanic slopes). It can be a bit expensive for budget travelers, but if you are able to, we definitely recommend it.
Hawaiian Aroma Caffe
This Hawaiian based coffee company is a pretty normal one featuring coffee based drinks, smoothies and food. But what we particularly appreciated with it – other than the surf themed decoration – is the price. Compared to other coffee located in Waikiki, Hawaiian Aroma offers prices much lower than their competition, and this price difference does not mean that their drinks have lower quality.
How to move around O’ahu?
Usually the second most asked question in a trip after “When do we eat?” is “How to get around?”. Well, the fact that O’ahu is an island does not mean that transportation methods are limited. It is even the opposite, there are a lot of options.
Driving In O’ahu
Driving is probably the most obvious way of moving around, and in Hawaii it stays one of the best options. Roads can get you nearly everywhere on the island, and it stays your best shot to get to more remote places in the island. However, we do understand all the stress that comes with driving, or simply the price of renting a car. But know that if you plan to drive in O’ahu, people drive well. Nonetheless, roads are narrower than in the US mainland, parking spots can be expensive and difficult to find in some areas, and traffic near Honolulu can be a real pain. It will be up to you to choose between the freedom offered by a car, versus the disadvantages of driving one.
The Bus Of Honolulu
Like most places, O’ahu features a bus. This bus called “TheBus” has stops a bit everywhere around the Island, most being in Honolulu. There is nothing much to say about this bus. You can see the fares here.
Skyline
Honolulu rail system recently opened. The ongoing project (scheduled to be fully completed in 2031) currently has 9 stations that can take you from Kualaka’i to Halawa. Additionally, an extension from Halawa to Kahauiki should open in October 2025. In the future, the Skyline should be able to go up the center of Honolulu. The fares of the Skyline are (for the moment), the same as for the bus (see below). However, Skyline needs to be paid with a valid HOLO card.
HOLO Card
The HOLO Card is a reloadable transit card allowing you to ride TheBus and the Skyline in O’ahu. It costs an initial fee of $2 to get the card, and then you will pay the amount you wish to add on your transit card. With that, you will be able to pay for all your rides with these two systems by simply tapping the farebox at the beginning of your trips. The HOLO card can also be loaded with different passes mentioned earlier. Getting a HOLO card is simple, you can get some at the HOLO vending machines located at the Skyline stations or the Transit Pass Office and some participating stores.
Fares for TheBus & Skyline
Happily, TheBus and Skyline share the same fares. Here they are:
Single (Includes 2.5hours of unlimited transfers if paid with HOLO card): $3.00
Day Cap: $7.50
3-Day Pass: $20.00
7-Day Pass: $35.00
Month Cap: $80.00
Month Pass: $80.00
Annual Pass: $880.00
Some reduced fare programs are also available. You can go here for more information.
Waikiki Trolley
If you don’t want to drive, to walk, and are looking to stay in Waikiki, that may be your best option. The Waikiki trolley is a trolley operating in Waikiki and the surrounding areas with 4 lines and 35 stops. Some lines notably include stops to famous spots like Diamond Head Craters or Iolani Palace. In fact, each of their lines has a dedicated “theme” like history, shopping and exploration.
The Waikiki Trolley is hop-on, hope-off. You can either buy a multiday pass allowing you to ride unlimited on all rides for a specified amount of time, or a single line day pass allowing you to ride unlimited on just one line for one day.
Fares
1 Day, Multi Line Pass: Adult $62.00 and Children $34.00
Four Day Pass: Adults $74.00 and Children $45.00
Full Week Pass (7 Day): Adult $85.00 and Children $56.00
1 Day Pass
Blue Line: Adult $34.00 and Children $22.00
Red Line: Adult $34.00 and Children $22.00
Green Line: Adult $20.00 and Children $14.00
Pink Line: Adult or Child $6.00
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