See, Do, Eat: Hawaii | Hikes

Welcome to my new short blog series: See, Do, Eat: Hawaii. I've been to Hawaii twice now, and we've done quite a few things there, which I think could be helpful for you to hear about if you're planning a trip there. Or it might inspire you to book a trip!

First up is the Diamond Head hike! This hike is my favourite of the two we've done, and the one I would recommend if you're only going to do one hike. It takes approximately 40 minutes to get up there, and as you can see in the photo above, the view isn't too shabby. Diamond Head is super iconic, and the view of Waikiki beach is amazing. There are also various look-out points along the way up. Although its obviously up hill, and there are a fair amount of stairs to get up, it is still a relatively easy hike to do. We did this hike on our first trip in 2014, and I'm pretty sure I even just did it in jandals and was fine (although you probably should wear something a bit more cut out for hiking). Don't forget there is an entrance fee of $1 per person!

At the start of the Manoa Falls trail

The Manoa Falls hike starts off being misleadingly easy to do, with big wide open paths, but wait until you're a few minutes in. The scenery on the way up is really cool to see and looks just like something you would see in a Jurassic Park movie (I thought that while we were there and didn't realise, but after googling it just now I found out that they actually shot some of the scenes from the 1993 movie there!). Once you're a few minutes in, the path gets quite narrow and steep, and there are quite a few large steps up, boulders, and tree roots to climb over. It had been raining the night before we went, and so the path was super muddy and slippery. Combined with how narrow and steep it is (and the fall if you slip off the side!), it is definitely a bit challenging - especially if you're as clumsy and uncoordinated as me. Did I think I was going to die a few times? Yes. No, there was even a relatively old lady with a walking stick making her way up. So, so long as you're not extremely unfit, you'll be fine, just take your time and watch where you're going! It will take you about 30 minutes to reach the 150-foot waterfall. Definitely, make sure you wear proper footwear for this one. It doesn't cost to go up this trail, but there is a fee if you want to park there.

Manoa Falls