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Honolulu trip  
 
Hi everyone  
We are thinking of going to Honolulu for the first time and was wondering if anyone can give me some advice as to finding a good website to rent a high rise one bedroom Condo with a beach access and few feet away from the best area of Honolulu. Will We need to rent a car? Any other advise or tips on things to do in in Honolulu would be much appreciated.  
 Please pm me

We were there for 10 days - didn’t need to rent a car. The bus took us most places we needed to go on the island (we bought a day pass most days) and did an island guided bus tour one day to see the rest of the island. You can rent cars when your there if you feel you need to see more. I bought a Go Oahu pass online from Costco for $99 (Canadian) which i:ncluded a lot of attractions I wanted to go to in Hawaii for much cheaper (also saving the conversion). Things I did that were i:ncluded: catamaran tour, snorkelling at Hanauma Bay, luau, buss tour of the island, Kualoa ranch, Pearl Harbour, Dole Plantation to name a few. I highly recommend looking into this if they still do it (I was in Honolulu 3 years ago before covid). We used Air BnB to find a condo for our trip - it wasn’t beachfront, but it was 2 blocks away, had good amenities, close to attractions, and a little cheaper. We ended up buying groceries and doing a lot of cooking ourselves, or making sandwiches to bring on our excursions to save a little money but just a heads up things are way more expensive on the island as it costs more to get there. Was a bit of a shock to see. We ended up renting beach equipment from a kiosk to hang out at the beach one day. There are a few around if you go this route. Best of luck in your planning, Honolulu is a beautiful place.

In addition to any local advice here like the above helpful post, check out the Trip AdvisorTravel Forums as well. There's a list on the right which you can get into that addresses condos, etc. from many other travellers like yourself.  
Sounds like a great place to enjoy!  
 
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowForum-g60982-i38-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html

We bought daily bus passes and used those every time we wanted to go somewhere, very reasonable and multiple bus numbers stop at each stop so just make a note of the bus routes near you. The trolleys are fun but quite expensive. An adventure pass is good too for places like pearl harbour and Hanauma bay. We also did a bus tour of the island which was very good and i:ncluded lunch where Jurassic Park was filmed. Can’t help with the condo as we stayed in a hotel near the zoo. Great location as fairly quiet but only a short walk to the centre of Waikiki.

Thanks everyone for detailed recommendations and sharing your experience  
I am so excited for this trip

I found when doing price comparisons that AirBnB was more expensive than some of the other sites. I have used VRBO.com (Vacation Rental By Owner) a few times and have been very happy with the results. There are lots of filters, and you can zoom in by map area if there is a specific spot you want to be near for your stay.  
 
Not for booking the trip, but I like using Trip Advisor to read up on some of the attractions of the area we're visiting, although in recent years they seem to have moved more towards recommending the attractions that are paying to advertise on the site, so take things with a grain of salt. The traveller reviews can reveal some great tips and tricks for making the most out of your trip!

We have enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center on several different trips to Hawaii. It provides a great look at seven different South Pacific island cultures. It is worth a chole day's visit. I would suggest going to the luau followed by the evening show. You can book tours to the site but we save money by taking the island bus. For more information see: https://www.polynesia.com/

Budget permitting rent a car for even one day to tour the island. Check out the north shore and the food trucks located there, really good! Try to find the marina as there are amazing restaurants there that serve up the fishing boats fresh catch. I found the marina on the last day, very disappointed I didn’t find this area sooner..for me it’s all about the food! Lol..have fun!

Get yourself set up with Turo instead of using a rental company. They are akin to AirBNB but with peoples cars. We save a bunch using them over the standard rental companies.  
 
We've been to Honolulu three times. Yes, get a car at least for a few days. The rest of the island is far cooler than hanging out just in the city (which can be VERY filthy and scary in places). We stay at a condo about 20 minutes outside of Honolulu (about halfway between the city and North Shore) and just love the vibe outside the city. We've done the Polynesian centre, North Shore (where you have to try a shave ice) , Dole plantation, etc. Those were all a bit touristy for our liking but we LOVED the Kualoa Ranch tours. https://www.kualoa.com/kualoa-tours-activities/  
We did the movie set tour last time - they show you where a lot of different movies were shot and it was cool. Also toursity but lots of fun.  
 
Food options are vast, but can be costly if you skip all the fast food options (and there are a LOT of fast food options there). We have a condo so we hit Costco (the highest volume Costco in North America) and we stock our fridge with food and alcohol to save money. My guys do a lot of scuba while we are there so us girls usually end up in the MANY brew pubs around the bays and docks while we wait - and that can add up. But we have found lots of awesome hole in the wall places. There is also an outlet mall to hit up, but for souvenirs you should go to the "Swap Meet" https://alohastadium.hawaii.gov/ It is the most cost effective place to get both authentic and "made in China" Hawaiian stuff...LOL  
 
If you are in to history at all, the Pearl Harbour experience is worth the money. It is expensive, so look into Groupons or Airmiles tickets or other ways to shave some cash. I was awestruck standing on the ship - I got goosebumps once I realized the significance of where we were standing.