Oahu Tourist Traps: What’s Worth Skipping and What’s Still Worth Doing

259_The Oahu Tourist Traps 1,000 Travelers Say to Skip

[00:00:00] Overrated vs Worth It

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: More than 1,000 travelers voted on the most overrated spots on Oahu, but I’m not convinced overrated actually means skip it entirely because some of the places that people love to call tourist traps are still absolutely worth doing. So let’s separate the actual time wasters from the places that are just, you know, touristy.

[00:00:21] Bryan Murphy: Aloha and welcome to Hawaii’s Best. I’m Brian Murphy, Hawaii destination expert and your personal guide to planning an unforgettable trip to Hawaii. So on social media, I asked a pretty simple question. I asked travelers which popular Oahu spot is most overrated? And one place, it wasn’t even close, Dole Plantation, probably no surprise if you have done any research into Dole Plantation, it got 63% of the vote.

[00:00:48] Bryan Murphy: But I think the word tourist trap gets thrown around like way too easily. A place isn’t automatically bad just because tourists go there. Honestly, Waikiki is probably one of the most touristy places in Hawaii, not probably. It is the tour, the most touristy place in Hawaii. And I still think it’s worth experiencing, especially if it’s your first trip or if you haven’t been to Waikiki before.

[00:01:16] Bryan Murphy: So instead of asking is this a tourist trip, I think really the better question is, is this worth the time and money it’s taking away from the rest of my Oahu trip? So we’re gonna answer that directly. I have a few more examples and some experiences that I wanna share with you and how to vet if it’s worth spending your time and money at certain places on Oahu.

[00:01:41] Kauai Hurricane Update

[00:01:41] Bryan Murphy: But before we get into that, a quick Kauai travel update following Hurricane Lowell. Many of you listened to last week’s episodes. I did two episodes about this. So it’s still worth going back and listening to Friday’s episode. That’s still up to date. Nothing has changed as far as visitor guidance, official visitor guidance, I should say.

[00:02:03] Bryan Murphy: So as of September 14th, recovery is moving in a really positive direction. Power has been restored to about 82% of the island. Lahui Airport is open and back on regular power, not generated power, so that’s encouraging. And most roads are currently passable. But the HTA, Hawaii Tourism Authority is still asking visitors with Hawaii trips coming in the near future to reschedule or consider another Hawaiian island while recovery continues.

[00:02:38] Bryan Murphy: And I’ve had so many conversations through DMs, emails about what this actually means. And I’ve seen so many of you with trips coming up, weddings, anniversaries, and it’s a hard decision. So it’s one thing for HTA to put out something and say, “We’re encouraging you to reschedule or consider another Hawaiian island.”

[00:03:01] Bryan Murphy: And then on the other hand, to actually do that. Most people want to do that and, and are considering doing that, but it’s been really hard with some of the vacation rental side of things. I just can’t help but acknowledge that I’ve seen countless stories of Vrbo, specifically with people trying to come to some sort of reschedule or cancellation agreement.

[00:03:27] Bryan Murphy: So just FYI, if you are thinking about booking with Vrbo, but that is going on, that is out there. So if you do have a Kawaii trip scheduled, I can’t give you like a specific timeline. I need to follow HTA guidelines and I’m gonna continue to do that. If you have a trip like in October, November, I would just kinda hold it loose and stay connected, stay close to kawaiirecovers.org.

[00:03:52] Bryan Murphy: That is the official site that the county has put together, updates, everything you need to know. You can also go to gohawaii.com/lull and you can find up-to-date info from the HTA about travel guidance. Keep monitoring the recovery situation. Lot of positives are, are happening. I’m gonna continue to keep you as up to date as possible.

[00:04:16] Bryan Murphy: So just hang in there if you have a Kauai trip coming up later this year or early next year.

[00:04:23] Dole Plantation Verdict

[00:04:23] Bryan Murphy: All right, so let’s go ahead and let’s get back to the list. Let’s start with the o – the obvious one. I’ve already alluded to it. I already mentioned it, but Dole Plantation. Dole Plantation should actually ran away with my poll on social media.

[00:04:35] Bryan Murphy: And honestly, I, I get it. I understand why, but I wouldn’t automatically tell you just to like throw it away and skip it. My family, we’ve had a lot of good family memories there, specifically when our girls were younger. We rode the Pineapple Express, a train ride there more times than I can remember. We did the maze once and honestly that was enough.

[00:04:52] Bryan Murphy: Never gonna do that again. I remember spending something like 50 minutes, almost like an hour trying to get through the thing and afterwards thinking, okay, well that was a pretty big chunk of our North Shore day. So these days we’ll stop at Dole Plantation. It’s more of a pit stop. We like to use the restroom, briefly walk around, maybe get dull whipped, maybe not, and then just keep on going.

[00:05:11] Bryan Murphy: So if you’ve got younger kids and riding the train sounds like fun, you know, just do it. Do it one time. It’ll be fine. But just be prepared because the entire place is like a, a huge gift shop. Just be prepared to say no a lot. We just got tired of saying no a lot. We just, you know, kind of like zoom in and zoom out.

[00:05:34] Bryan Murphy: If I had to choose between spending a few hours at Dole or putting that time towards say like Waimea Valley, I hands down would choose Waimea Valley. So my verdict on Dole is reconsider it. Don’t automatically skip it. You do you. All right.

[00:05:48] Swap Meet Shopping Call

[00:05:48] Bryan Murphy: My next one on the list, it’s a little controversial I think, but it’s the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet.

[00:05:54] Bryan Murphy: A lot of people mention this in the poll. This was a distant second comparing to Dole Plantation. I, I’ve gone to the Swap Meet a few times and this one really depends on whether you enjoy this kind of shopping. I, I typically don’t, but there’s plenty of souvenir stuff there like you would expect, shirts, magnets, key chains, all that type of stuff.

[00:06:13] Bryan Murphy: But there are, this is a key, there are some legitimate local businesses and makers that are mixed in to the swap meet. So if you enjoy walking around through vendor stalls and hunted for something interesting, you, you may love it. Maybe you do love the swap meet, you always go. But if shopping really isn’t your thing, I wouldn’t worry about missing it.

[00:06:32] Bryan Murphy: So this one is, I think, real simple. Go because you actually want to shop there, not because it’s on somebody’s Oahu checklist or must do.

[00:06:40] Waikiki Food and Shops

[00:06:40] Bryan Murphy: Now, the one thing on this entire list that I would probably skip, this, I didn’t put this on the poll, but national chain restaurants in Waikiki. And I’m guilty of this too.

[00:06:52] Bryan Murphy: Sometimes you’re tired, the kids are hungry, you just need something easy, familiar, and that’s totally fine. Totally get it. But you only get so many meals while you’re on vacation, while you’re visiting Oahu. So if you have like five dinners on Oahu, I don’t want to spend most of them eating at the same familiar places that I can eat back at home.

[00:07:11] Bryan Murphy: You don’t have to like find some secret locals only restaurant that no tourist knows about. That’s really not the point of what I’m trying to say here. I just would use those limited meals to try and find something that you don’t normally have access to. Maybe it’s even doing Duke’s instead of Cheesecake Factory.

[00:07:30] Bryan Murphy: But I’m not trying to hate on Cheesecake Factory. All I’m saying is that when you’re on Oahu, just try your best to seek those unique places out that are unique to Waikiki and Oahu. The other one on this list that I think it just takes some expectations before you visit is the international marketplace.

[00:07:50] Bryan Murphy: If you visited Waikiki years ago, you may remember it as a very different place. Today, it feels much more like a modern shopping and dining center. Well, it is. And that’s not bad necessarily. I’ve been there plenty times. There’s some good spots to eat there, some good shopping. There’s a target there. But if you want to just shop, grab dinner, and you’re already in Waikiki, it can definitely fit your plans perfectly.

[00:08:17] Bryan Murphy: Just don’t go there expecting the old international marketplace that someone remembers from decades ago. It’s not necessarily tourist trap. You just need to know what to expect before you get there.

[00:08:29] Luaus Worth the Night

[00:08:29] Bryan Murphy: Another big question I get is about luaus. Luaus get called tourist traps all the time. They’re too expensive, they’re touristy, you just gotta skip them.

[00:08:38] Bryan Murphy: And I don’t think it’s really that simple, honestly. If this is your first trip to Oahu and going to a luau is something you’ve always have wanted to do, I wouldn’t just cross it off the list just because someone says that it’s too touristy or it’s a, it’s a tourist trap. I would choose a luau carefully though.

[00:08:58] Bryan Murphy: So you wanna look at who’s producing it, the setting, what’s included, and what kind of experience you’re actually looking for. And I’d be careful with the word authentic. That gets thrown around a lot out there too, is like finding authentic luaus. That gets thrown around a lot with, without much explanation.

[00:09:17] Bryan Murphy: Really, I think a better question isn’t, are luaus tourist traps? I think it’s, is this particular luau worth one evening of my trip? Some of the ones that I would recommend checking out is Malco Warriors, Chief’s Luau, and Toa Luau. That is in Waimea Valley.

[00:09:36] Do Not Skip These Icons

[00:09:36] Bryan Murphy: Now, some of the places I would still do that are considered tourist traps, and some of you voted that you should skip these, but I, I still think you should do them because apparently anything popular with visitors can qualify.

[00:09:49] Bryan Murphy: Totally get it. But take Waikiki. Yes, it’s touristy, very touristy. I still think you should experience it though, especially on your first trip. Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head in the background, Duke Hanamoku statue, restaurants, Duke’s on Sunday. Like there’s something special about that and I have some really great memories with all of those.

[00:10:11] Bryan Murphy: Now, that’s totally different than should you spend your entire Oahu trip in Waikiki? Absolutely not. Get outside of Waikiki and experience more of the island. All the sides of the island are just incredible to explore, but that’s very different from someone saying Waikiki isn’t worth visiting. We still visit Waikiki.

[00:10:32] Bryan Murphy: Even if we’re staying on the west side in Koolina, we’ll still make our way into Waikiki because there’s honestly some things we just like doing there. The other one is Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor, it’s special to me, honestly. Its special to a lot of people, probably maybe to you. Pearl Harbor is another one on the list I, I’ve seen that included on tourist traps, and I honestly completely disagree with that.

[00:10:53] Bryan Murphy: A lot of tourists go there, obviously, but that’s not why it’s worth your time. What happened there still matters today. It helps really put an important part of Hawaii and US history into context. And for me, Pearl Harbor is something that I make time to do at least once. We’ve been a few times. We’re actually planning on going back this winter because our youngest girl, she’s been before, but she was a baby at the time.

[00:11:22] Bryan Murphy: I think now she can go and kind of appreciate it a little bit more. So we’re still planning on going back to Pearl Harbor in a few months.

[00:11:29] Waimea Valley and ABC Stores

[00:11:29] Bryan Murphy: The other one that I’ve mentioned already is Waimea Valley, and this goes back to what I said about Dole Plantation. I really love Waimea Valley. We’ve actually have had them on the podcast before just to hear more about the place and the history, the, the really rich history of Waimea Valley.

[00:11:45] Bryan Murphy: And especially if you are traveling with a multi-generational group. We went with my in-laws. We loved it. It’s an easier pace. You’re walking through the valley. It’s mostly shaded. There’s gardens, cultural sites along the way, and the experience is about more than just a waterfall. So I’m gonna link below my conversation I had with the director of Waimea Valley below so you can check out, learn more about them.

[00:12:13] Bryan Murphy: And then the other one on my list that might be controversial that I don’t think you should necessarily just write off and skip are ABC stores. ABC stores are definitely aimed at visitors. They’re also useful though. We use them, drinks, snacks, sunscreens, sun shirts, something you forgot back at the hotel.

[00:12:31] Bryan Murphy: There’s also some ABC stores that have really good food options. So you don’t need to have like an existential crisis because you bought it at an ABC store. It’s okay. Tourist oriented doesn’t automatically mean bad. I think going to ABC store is, is totally fine. And yes, there’s touristy things there, but there’s also some local made stuff there as well.

[00:12:53] 3 Questions to Decide

[00:12:53] Bryan Murphy: So what’s actually worth skipping for me, this comes down to value and not just money. It’s the time it takes. If you have only like five or six days on Oahu, every attraction that you add to the itinerary means you’re taking time away from something else. So before you put something on your itinerary, I’d ask a few simple questions.

[00:13:14] Bryan Murphy: Do I actually wanna do this? Like honestly, I’m having that conversation with my wife right now and about a Maui trip that we’re gonna be taking in a few months. We’ve talked about like if we wanna do, uh, Rodahana and I’m like, nah. I’m like, eh, I don’t, I don’t know if I wanna commit a whole day to that on this trip.

[00:13:31] Bryan Murphy: The other question I would ask is how much of the day is it really going to take? And then final question to ask about this is, what am I willing to give up to make this fit in? Dull plantation might become a great family memory for you. It was for us, but now it’s not part of what we typically do.

[00:13:49] Bryan Murphy: Someone else might spend two hours there and wish they’d kept driving to the North Shore. Neither person is, is wrong. That’s why I, I wouldn’t build my entire trip around avoiding touristy things. Just know what you’re getting yourself into basically.

[00:14:04] Wrap Up and Subscribe

[00:14:04] Bryan Murphy: So I hope that was helpful for you in your planning.

[00:14:07] Bryan Murphy: And if you want more tips like this, you wanna learn more about Hawaii and planning and hear from local voices, I have guests on the podcast as well. Go ahead and just take five seconds and hit follow on your podcast app, whether you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify. All right? And until next time, as always, live with Aloha.