We absolutely LOVED our time on Oahu’s North Shore last year. We had so much fun and had a great balance of doing fun things on our list while still having time to stop at a random beach or time to just hang out. Today I’m going to share our North Shore Guide which will include some of our favorite things to do on the North Shore as well as things to do in the same area.

Polynesian Cultural Center

One of our favorite things we did while on the North Shore was visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center. This is definitely an all day activity, you can even make it a multi-day activity since your ticket will get you into the villages for a couple days after your main day there. The PCC is definitely one of the pricer things to do in Hawaii but it is so, so fun and such a wonderful experience. Here is our post with more info about the PCC. If you’re already at the PCC or want something to do before it opens, the Laie Temple and Visitor’s Center is right next door and free! If you need lunch, there is a food truck round-up just north of the PCC that has some great yummy food. Our favorite is Seven Brothers!

Hale’iwa

Regardless of where you’re staying on the North Shore or if you are visiting for the day, Hale’iwa is such a cute, fun surf town that is so so fun to visit. While you’re there, make sure you check out Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. It is such a yummy treat and totally worth the wait if there’s a line! Some of our favorite flavors are guava, mango and peach. I liked adding the condensed milk on top. There are also lots of cute shops and stores around the main road through town that are fun to stop in. We got lots of our souvenirs from the shops in this town. We loved Hale’iwa so much that we went there twice during our trip! One of the times we were there we got lunch at Teddy’s Bigger Burgers and it was such good food. We also spent some time at the beach just outside of town. Check out our post here about the time we spent in Hale’iwa.

Waimea Valley

The Waimea Valley area on the North Shore is so fun and it had our favorite beach! Waimea Bay was our favorite beach of the entire trip. We went there multiple times in the week we spent on the North Shore. Across the road from Waimea Bay is Waimea Falls. This was also one of our favorite places we went on our trip. You go on a beautiful hike/walk through pretty tropical gardens that end at a beautiful waterfall where you can swim. See our post all about Waimea Valley here.

Beaches

And of course there are tons and tons of beaches on the North Shore that are fun to visit. You can always pull off the side of basically any road and find a beach to go to. Some of our favorites were Waimea Bay and Shark’s Cove. If you’re looking for more beach ideas and info on some different types of beaches, you can check out our beaches post here.