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Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach
4
About
This iconic landmark in Waikiki is one of Hawaii’s most famous beaches, located on the south shore of Oahu. Waikiki Beach is the birthplace of modern surfing culture—look out for the statue of renowned waterman Duke Kahanamoku, who popularized the sport internationally. Once the playground of Hawaiian royals, today the beachfront is lined with resorts and some of Hawaii’s most historic hotels. Surfers, swimmers, and sunbathers flock to this beach all day long. Boat tours in Waikiki are a great way for admiring the coast away from the crowds. Neighboring Kalākaua Avenue has plenty of shopping, dining, and entertainment options. – Tripadvisor
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What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

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  • Charles L
    Effingham, Illinois29 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Sheraton Outrigger Hotel Waikiki Beach Hawaii
    The Outrigger Hotel was one of the best we've ever stayed at. Our whole family loved it. The views were spectacular. We witnessed couples renewing their wedding vows on the beach. Restaurants and gift shops were nearby. We love the Hard Rock Cafe which was one block away. Out son's family took surfing lessons behind the hotel. We could see Diamondhead in the distance which we all climbed later.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written November 1, 2023
  • Richard H
    Fort Worth, Texas221 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Love this Beach
    We enjoyed morning walks on the beach. It was a perfect way to start the day before it got warm and busy with people. The walkway along the beach is also a perfect way to get up to places, such as restaurants and such, more central and northern. Even if you’re not a water person, don’t come to Oahu and not explore Waikiki Beach.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 3, 2023
  • Canucksontheloose
    Victoria, Canada766 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Quintessential Hawaiian Beach
    If you like crowds, this is a great beach. You can rent chairs and beach stuff nearby or from the hotels; the beach is relatively clean and the water is warm. But if you like quieter beaches, go to Ala Moana Beach or Magic Beach at the top end of Waikiki Beach. Same nice sand, more grassy areas and trees but farther from the madding crowd.
    Visited March 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written November 15, 2023
  • Toni Y.
    Singapore, Singapore50 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    It’s the a Hawaiian beach
    There’s nothing wrong with Waiki. It’s a nice beach with lots of people and you feel relatively safe. It’s also very close to the city. That being said, I have a hard time giving it full marks because it’s not that special relative to other beaches.
    Visited January 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written December 4, 2023
  • Tony B
    Phoenix, Arizona80 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    What a blast
    Ive been lucky to have visited Maui 4 times and this was my first time to Oahu. You hear it get run down as a big city with no Aloha left. I found the opposite to be true. So many things to do. From cage diving w/sharks in the North shore to enjoying the uncrowded beaches in South Waikiki, there is something for everyone. We rented E-bikes and road to beautiful Manoa falls area. Even hit a great Kaoroke show at the International Market. With so many restaurants/bars on the strip it isn’t hard to find great happy hour/specials all over town. We did a package from Expedia that was $2000 air and hotel for 5 nights at The Park Shore (see my reviews) Is it a different vibe from Kauai? Yes, but variety is the Spice of Life!! Aloha
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written December 29, 2023
  • jongable
    Oakland Charter Township, Michigan764 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Stunning and fun
    I had visited Hawai’i 6 times before deciding that my 7th trip would be to stay on Waikiki and I loved it. Yes, Waikiki is crowded and a bit loud since it is basically part of the city scene. However, the beach is stunningly beautiful. Swimming and seeing Diamond Head in the background is a memory I will always have. Another neat aspect of Waikiki is how far one can walk out at low tide - it must be at least 1,000 ft from shore before the water is above an adult’s head. Plus, even though the beach is crowded, everybody was mostly cordial and polite.
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written December 31, 2023
  • BelaN74
    Mississauga, Canada5,580 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Busy but beautiful.
    Busy but Beautiful! I guess it’s to be expected, going after Christmas and before New Year that it would be busy. I’ve never seen Waikiki beach so busy. It was still beautiful and enjoyable until someone decided to put their towel right on mine. Can we not respect at least a one foot between people. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. Personal space people.
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written January 20, 2024
  • Tor B
    4 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Waikiki area
    Pretty but over hyped. Everythingin the area is designed to separate you from your money. Look at restraunts along the outside edge of the area for good food at cheaper prices. Parking is almost as expensive as a rental car. If you are willing to walking mile or take the bus, rental cars prices drop almost 50%. We did day rental to a old over night parking fees.
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 5, 2024
  • L2912UBs
    Melbourne, Australia806 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Crowded small area
    View for yourself. Path is wide and well maintained, can do wheelchair along easily. Beachfront/sand is thin and as along main strip of road, gets crowded. Plenty of surf schools for tourist convenience but research slightly outside of Waikiki options. Best area to sit is left past the zoo and Lulu’s. Bring a towel, sand is soft. Turtles are known to stroll in early pre sunrise but I didn’t see any. Beach Volleyball nets along this area. Sunset from Waikiki can be lovely. As soon as it starts dropping, streams of people from hotels run onto the beach.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written February 11, 2024
  • TinkToo
    Edmonton, Canada278 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Always a pleasure...
    Can get very crowded at times but always a nice place to hang out. Always enjoy a few hours at the beach. You can rent paddles boards, take surf lessons, snorkel. One end near the zoo is very calm and great for kids.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written March 6, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles18,855 reviews
Excellent
9,286
Very good
5,731
Average
2,926
Poor
679
Terrible
233

Kim Z
4 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Couples
The beach is small, smells like urine, major homeless issue, covid killed a ton of businesses and it just seems dirty. The most the restaurants we ate at were over priced with bad food, and you have to make a reservation or you're not getting in unless you're willing to wait an hour and a half.
Cheeseburger in Paradise, Hy Steak house and a food truck were the only 3 places I would recommend eating at. Hy steak is a very classy restaurant with a dress code. Truly enjoyed this experience.
If you're staying in Waikiki I recommend planning in advance the different excursions out of the town.
Written April 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MG444
Bucharest, Romania28 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Family
The beach was just too crowded for me to like. The water was dirtier than I thought as well. Finding restaurants along the Waikiki main road is also very painful, now after COVID, prices have drastically risen! If you want to watch the sunset I do not recommend it as much as I would the other west coast beaches, because on Waikiki the whole sunset is blocked by a small mountain.
Written May 31, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TweedleDee
Huntsville, AL395 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Very nice beach but not all that large and can get crowded. If you plan on being out there for the day there are chair and umbrella rentals that are a good idea as even on nice temperature days the sun can still be quite brutal. Very nice water and stays relatively shallow for quite a way out. Not a lot of sand area, but there is also a lot of food and shopping venues just across the street. You can also go further down towards the south side of the beach and there is a large shaded park area that can be explored. Parking is at a premium so you might have to pay a meter or park at a nearby parking garage but the bus is also a good option as the stop is right in the middle of the beach area!
Written March 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ChrisH
Frederick, MD550 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Waikiki Beach and the surrounding area is ok but the rest of tourist and working class Honolulu is no better than third world (unless you visit the multimillionaire areas).

Spent a week at one of the high rise hotels on Waikiki beach in early February. Waikiki is very nice but an extremely expensive area.

Totally unimpressed with the rest of Honolulu though. More like being in a third world city than our perception of Hawaii from TV shows. Dirty, rundown, noisy and way too much traffic and pollution. Constant traffic jams and speeding vehicles make walking hazardous.

Used the Waikiki Trolley as our main means of transportation and saw many areas of the city where we would not have gotten off the trolley to wander around without feeling totally unsafe, especially Chinatown.

The city has changed for the worse since we were here in the 1980s.

Honolulu International Airport restrooms near the American/United check-in areas are also horrendous at 230pm in the afternoon. Dirty, smelly, trashy and pee all over the floor. Another example of Hawaii state not caring about its number 1 industry, Tourism.
Written March 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Diane D
Naples, FL164 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021
I never got tired of the view from our balcony high above the beach watching the surfers, sunbathers, sailboats, and sunsets. Once down on the street, however, the crowds on the beach, lines at every shop and restaurant, homeless people approaching, and traffic made the street level less appealing. Waikiki, an urban city with a beach running along the edge, is not representative of the relaxed, tropical island paradise atmosphere Hawaii is famous for.
Written July 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Eric S
Saint Louis, MO110 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Couples
My wife and I stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort for our anniversary. The beach is stunning in its beauty. I recommend staying in one of the few hotels that are actually on the beach as most are across the street. We went to the beach early and late in the day. The morning and near sunset are lovely times to be on the beach and it is not too crowded at those times. The beach does get very crowded during the main time of the day, but it is an exciting vibe. The surfers are fun to watch as are the sail boats. Diamond Head on the one end is breathtaking. The sand is soft and the waves generally are calm. It is fun to people watch as well. There is so much to do in the Waikiki area we had no need for a rental car.
Written June 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

StacyInDC2012
Alexandria, VA867 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2021
We enjoyed Waikiki Beach because we didn't go for a traditional beach day. Our first visit was during our first night in Hawaii, just before sunset. It was still crowded, but not nearly as packed as I imagine it was during the height of the day.

We returned the following morning shortly after sunrise (thanks East Coast jet lag) and enjoyed the beach for about an hour before the crowds showed up.

The proximity to the city is convenient and the view of Diamondhead impressive, but for a "day at the beach" I'd prefer something a little less central & crowded!
Written September 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

HillaryDawn
Paphos, Cyprus47 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
We mostly swam at the end of the beach nearest the Duke statue and near Waikiki Zoo. Wouldn't really recommend. Was packed and one side was too rocky, where the other side, while being protected and great for little kids, felt dirty. If you go up the strip and swim in front of some of the nicer hotels, you'll have a better time. All in all, it's a stunning beach with crystal clear waters and near-white sand, but parts of it are nicer than others!
Written January 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

VeeLee4
Arlington, VA145 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
We have visited the other islands, and I had hesitated to come to Oahu because I thought Waikiki would be too touristy. Well, it is very touristy, but not in the sense of an Ocean City or Orlando. It's very pretty, with the hills in the background, and lots of green space. It was cloudy and rainy the last few days of our vacation but it was still pleasant, and we enjoyed the Iolani Palace, Bishop Museum and Honolulu Museum of Art.
Written January 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kyliethefabulous
Batemans Bay, Australia5 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Family
Not sure why there’s so much hype about this beach. It’s crowded, very built up and the coral under your feet once in the water isn’t the best experience. It’s pretty to look at in spots, the water is clear (although the rubbish in the water at the nearby marina is disappointing), and it’s suitable for small kids as there’s almost no waves.
Written January 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Waikiki Beach - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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