How to Spend the Day in Honolulu on a Budget

What to see that won't cost you a fortune

Welcome to Honolulu!  After booking your flight, finding you lodging, and getting your transportation, it's time to explore the major city in the Pacific.

Honolulu.

Spoiler Alert:  It's a must see because you have too.

It's the least amazing thing in Hawaii.

Honolulu has incredible history and is full of life.  It's a great place to see and spend the day.  We don't recommend much more than that.   There are so many more amazing things to see and do.  

​So make the most of your time and your budget and spend the day with us!  

We started the day by taking advantage of jet lag.  Up by 5 AM and ready to go, we started our day by catching the sunrise.  We headed out to Ala Moana Beach.  It's a smaller beach just on the edge of the vast ocean surrounding Oahu. 

The day greeted us with rain showers, but the warm breezes moved the clouds out of the way and opened the beach in front of us.  Early morning surfers hit the waves before work, while venders set up shop for the day.  While the clouds kept away the perfect sunrise, the day breaking above Diamonhead in the distance was worth getting up for. 

We headed back for an amazing breakfast at the Best Western we were staying in.  After taking a few minutes to pack up, we hit the road.  Our first stop:  Diamondhead.  A once active volcano creating the Hawaiian Islands, it now is the perfect hiking trail for a morning adventure.

Diamondhead sits just outside of Honolulu.  The hike to the top is a moderate hike, but has benches and such to sit on.  For $25, we had the 8 AM spot to start our hike.  As the early morning hikers descended down the trail, we headed to the top to get a glimpse of Honolulu.  The views didn't disappoint.

Next up, we headed to downtown Honolulu to check out the famous Wakaki beach.   Wakaki Beach is incredibly small, and clearly a tourist spot.  It's worth the walk on the pier to get great shots of the city from the water.  There are gardens nearby and parks surrounding downtown.  After walking, if you have time, take a walk through the International Market.  We had tickets we had to get too, so we missed this stop.  However, it's worth walking through if you get the moment.

After lunch we headed over to Pearl Harbor.  Tickets to the Arizonia Memorial are $1 a person.  They book up fast, so make sure you plan your stop in advance.  The memorial is an incredible part of history.  Still to this day, oil rises from the tomb below the water, as a constant reminder of the reality of it's fate from 80 years ago.  We'll share more about Pearl Harbor, as it's story is worth remembering and sharing.

We had a little extra time.  If you have the money and the time, the USS Missouri is worth grabbing the bus and go visiting.  It is more expensive than our typical travel budget.  However, we build in vacation costs as there are some places we will not get to again.  The tour of the Missouri was a time capsule for the era before the 2000's.  When she ware moored, the life on the Missouri stopped.  We found TV's and typewriters straight out of the 90's.  It was a wonderful was to finish the day.

We headed back to a quick dinner, ready to head to bed.  Fighting jet lag at the end of the day is a little tougher when 8 PM feels like 2 AM.  

In one day you can make the most of Honolulu.  The number one travel trip:  Do Honolulu on your first day there.   It's incredibly important.  Doing the city last will end up being a disappointment.  Doing it first is the entry into the Hawaiian Islands.

Everything else in Hawaii just gets better.  

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