Find the Best Things to Do in Leeward Oahu
By Jade Eckardt
About Leeward Oahu
Photo courtesy of Kailua Real Estate Oahu
Oahu's Leeward Coast in named so because it lies in lee of the central mountain range, greatly blocking rain, clouds, and wet weather from the area. It's a beautiful coast that's a stark difference from nearby Honolulu and the North Shore, with a lot of offer.
For luxurious accommodations you have the option of the Disney Aulani Resort, located oceanfront in the center of the Leeward Coast. For adventurous attractions the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park provides hours of water slide fun. For casual nightlife Kemo`o Pub offers just about the only late night partying venue in the area. And for shopaholics on vacation, Waikele Premium Outlets is sure to please.
The Leeward Coast is hot, sunny and generally dry, but is loaded with fun and relaxing things to do.
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See & Do
At Hawaiian Waters Adventure park, you'll be treated to relief from the Leeward Coast heat while adventuring down one of the many water slides, or standing wave to surf. You can spend the whole day here with the kids running around the wave pool, artificial beach, small child area, and huge water slides. Parents can partake in the fun before relaxing at the on site bar with a tropical drink.
Located on the Leeward Coast in close proximity to Ko Olina Resort and other awesome locales, the adventure park is an easy and convenient stop while spending time on the hot and dry west side.
Eat
No Hawaiian vacation is complete without a luau right? So stop into the over the top, elaborate, yet perfectly planned out Paradise Cove Luau. At the wildly raging dinner celebration at the Ko Olina Resrot, you'll be treated to beautiful hula dancing, tons and tons of food, and other entertainment like fire dancing and music.
Revered as one of the best luaus on the island, the Paradise Cove Luau is centrally located on the Leeward Coast and easily reachable from anywhere you may be staying out there. It's also not a long drive from Honolulu and well worth the drive to partake in a Hawaiian tradition.
Party
At the Kemo`o Pub, one of the only places for really nightlife partying at the start of the Leeward Coast, you'll find anything from pool table fun to a wild theme party, live music, or just a usual but fun bar night.
The place has been around a long time, and ranges from classic dive bar to a location to ride a mechanical bull, to breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant. The nightlife here is composed of locals and military people since it's located right across the street from Schofield Barracks, an Army base. This is a good place to meet people and talk story around the pool table, or dance your behind off.
Stay
At Disney's Aulani Resort on the Leeward Coast, you'll find a vacation destination within itself. Literally everything a visitor could need for a complete vacation can be found here. Multiple huge pools offer relief from the bright Oahu sun, mellow bars act as a platform for after dark relaxing and socializing, and the Disney theme of course brings a homey comforting and exciting element for the children.
Spas, hot tubs, shopping, numerous restaurants and beaches out front complete the resort. A modern and luxurious haven on the Leeward side, the resort brings modernity and beauty to the otherwise modest Leeward Coast.
Shop
The Waikele Premium Outlets offer the most bang for your buck while shopping for clothing, accessories, shoes and some home decor. By far the largest shopping center on the Leeward Coast, the outlets bring high end product to you for a price that's a drastic drop from the usual amount.
You can find a huge variety of shops. From high end shops like Coach and Saks 5th Avenue, to casual surf like Blue Hawaii and casual trends including Converse and Guess?, the array goes on and on. It's a great relief to have it on the leeward side since it's a much, much farther drive to Honolulu should you need a new bathing suit or dinner dress.