Hawaii Pictures | Top 7 Family Activities | Things To Do On Oahu, Hawaii

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Whether you’re visiting Oahu, Hawaii or already live in Hawaii (or more specifically, on Oahu), it’s sometimes hard to come up with ideas for family-oriented activities or things you can do with children.

For those who are planning a visit, you may have feelings of skepticism about certain activities.

For those that live in Hawaii, we may sometimes take for granted the sites and events that are readily available to us day in and day out. Having an at-home get together with family and friends is always nice, but it’s always nice to be familiarized (or in some cases, re-familiarized) with other activities.

Well, no worries! Local Kine Hawaii is here to provide assistance. We’ve compiled a list of 7 family-oriented Oahu, Hawaii activities to do while you’re here. Most of these activities do require some money, but we assure you that the majority of the list will not burn too big of a hole in your pockets.

If you are entertaining children and are looking for things to do on Oahu that all members of your party can enjoy, consider some of the following suggestions:

7. Activity: Visit the Honolulu Zoo

Location: Between Diamond Head & Waikiki - 151 Kapahulu Ave. Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

Price: $8 per adult, $4 per Kama’aina adult, $1 per child

Lions, chimpanzees, and pythons…oh my! What kid doesn’t like to see a variety of wild animals? The Honolulu Zoo is home to more than 1,000 different types of animals.

Edutainment is having fun while being educated, and that is exactly what you can accomplish with a visit to the Honolulu Zoo. The zoo is great for entertaining a brood of children. If anything, with all the wild animals in view, it’ll make the overly hyper sugar rushed kids look not as wild.

On the financial side, going to the zoo is cheap…and if you’re anything like me, cheap and entertaining activity equals happy kids and happy adults.

6. Activity: Tour Iolani Palace

Location: Corner of King and Richards Streets at 364 South King St., Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

Price: $6-$20 for Adults | $3-$15 for Youths | Kama’aina Sundays: On the first Sunday of every month, Kama’aina guests receive free admission with proof of residency (Hawaii State ID or Driver’s License)

Iolani Palace is the USA’s only official state residence of royalty. The palace was built by King Kalakaua in 1882, and is deeply rooted in Hawaii’s more modern history. Visit the History Page of the official Iolani Palace site for more information.

5. Activity: Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park

Location: 400 Farrington Hwy. Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii

Price: $36 for Adults | $26 for Youth | $16 for Senior Citizens | Special Group Discounts are Available

Love the water? Then you’ll probably love the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. With water slides like the Big Kahuna and Cliffhanger, and Da FlowRider wave simulator, this is sure to be a hit with the whole family.

*Just a quick tip: If you’d like to get a few dollars off of admission, try rummaging through a local newspaper or magazine for some discount coupons. This tip also applies to most of the paid activities in this list.

4. Activity: Swim With the Dolphins at Sea Life Park

Location: 41-202 Kalanianaole Hwy. #7
Waimanalo, Oahu, Hawaii

Photo by pinhole

Price: $150+ | Discounted Rates for Kama’aina

Dolphins are beautiful sealife mammals. The children would love to get up close to them. Swimming with dolphins can be possibly be a truly unforgettable experience.

This activity is a bit pricey. There are several other activities at Sea Life Park worth checking out, including the main dolphin show (normally around $15-30 for admission).

3. Activity: Explore Hanauma Bay

Location: 7455 Kalanianaole Hwy., Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

Price: $5 for 13 years+ | Free for Under 13 years | $1 Parking Fee

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is a fish sanctuary home to numerous species of fishes and sea life. The fish are abnormally tame here. So tame that they are not afraid to swim right up to you while you’re in the water. Surely, a family snorkel activity will be memorable.

Just remember, no feeding the fish .

2. Activity: Explore the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC)

Location: 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy. Laie, Oahu, Hawaii

Price: Admission packages starts at $43 for children and $58 for adults

Question: Where can you find Maori Warriors, Tongan Drummers, Tahitian Dancers, and Samoan Fire Knife Dancers?

Answer: You can find them all in one place…at the Polynesian Cultural Center

This is a great activity if you would like to explore not just Hawaii’s culture, but the rest of Polynesia also. Besides Hawaii, Polynesia consists of Samoa, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Fiji, Tonga, Easter Island, Tahiti and the Marquesas (French Polynesia). See the remakings of the old village, a Hawaiian Royal Court, and the stone statues of Rapa Nui just to name a few.

To top it all off, enjoy the dinner lu’au buffet and the hula and tahitian dance show.

1. Activity: Picnic at the Beach

Location: Waikiki, Ala Moana, Pipeline, Makapu’u, and wherever else there’s sand and ocean on Oahu, Hawaii

Price: Priceless…and free (not including the cost of parking, food, and water equipment)

Hawaii beaches are world famous for their beauty and splendor. This list would be severely incomplete without mentioning a family day at the beach as an activity. This is most definitely an activity that all members of the family - Mom, Dad, and keikis - can enjoy! The best part of it all is admission is totally free.

So, there you have it…the Top 7 Hawaii Family Activities to do on the island of Oahu. We will go into an in-depth review of activities in future articles. For now, this list is just intended to whet your appetite for going out and having a recreation day with the family. Mahalo

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