I know I know, its crowded and not Kauai, but we've been to all the main islands and sometimes its just nice to hang out on Oahu.
There are the basic things to see and do, and read up on them and decide if you'd like to enjoy them. First is the Polynesian Cultural Center. You can tour all the cultures and "islands" and enjoy the different folks and customs. And, by the way, you don't have to be Mormon to enjoy them.
Hang out on Waikiki. You can enjoy the International Market Place which is a bit over priced and yes, very touristy, but its fun and you can always chat with any folks wandering around. On the far western part of it is a food court and you can pick up a plate full of noodles, other oriental foods, or a slice of pizza, fairly reasonable. For breakfast you can take in the Dennys or better yet, Lulu's. This restaurant is on the far eastern corner of Waikiki above the Coffee Shop and you can sit facing the ocean and eat breakfast, its nice and fairly reasonable for Hawaii anyway. In the evening go into any of the hotels on the beach and sip on a drink on a balcony or patio overlooking the waves.
You must have lunch at Pacific Beach Hotel. They have a two story aquarium and you can eat lunch and watch a diver feed the large fish in the tank. Its very pricey so a tips is, go for lunch, its spendy but you''ll save a lot by avoiding dinner prices.
If there is a big crowd on the beach, go into the park area on the east end and its usually a lot slower there and not too many people. Also there are movies in the evening, little crowded for me, but some enjoy it, and unique since its right on the sandy beach.
Everyone goes to Pearl Harbor, but dont miss the Submarine Museum just to the right or northwest of Pearl Harbor museum. It costs a few dollars but there are many memorial podiums and the names of those who went down with their subs, some still havent been located, and also enjoy the museum and tour a WW2 sub.
Dont miss the Aloha Stadium Flea Market. Sometimes there are over 1,000 booths and some of the things you can find havent hit the mailand yet and its interesting to look through everything. There also is an early breakfast there at one of the snack bars that wasn't half bad. If you brought your handicapped card with you, you can park in the center of the flea market and under the shade or work your way around until you find some shade to park under.
There also is a lot of museums and art in Honolulu thats enjoyable..or for a lark, drive by Dog the Bounty hunter's office and have your picture taken.
Even if you're not a Jehovah's Witness, there is their headquarters for missionary work and Bible printery which you can tour for free and see where they have reached throughout polynesia with their missionaries, pretty nice folks that will guide you around and give you some tips on what to do locally.
Drive around the island and stop at the shops and cafes around northshore. Stop at Sunset Beach (pipeline) if you can find a parking spot and work your way around to Dole Pineapple on the way back.
The west shore has some very nice beaches but unfortunately there is a lot of crime and ghetto like conditions, which is a shame cause its a gorgeous area and there are some nice people over there. But dont miss Hanauma Bay Park. Its crowded but go early and it wont be bad. Its a must though at least once in your life. Very weird having fish swim around your legs and feet. Good for small kids too!
If you have younger ones around, take a Monday or Tues and go to the Hawaiian Waters Water Park. You can go to a water park anywhere however, go during the week when school is in and the place is EMPTY. One day I took my granddaughter and her mom and there were less than 100 people in the entire park, unreal! Wont find that anywhere on the mailand. If you're older, just hang out in the shade or float the lazy river over and over and over.
All this is just a start but you can look up all the attractions on the net, but these are nice. Have Fun!

It's our first trip to Hawaii & our honeymoon. We went towards the end of August 2007.

Thursday

On the very first day, we had lunch at the International Market Place. Arthur had Loco Moco (Hawaiian locals' fave); and I had shrimp tempura ramen. I would not recommend anybody to eat here. The food wasn't great at all. Then, we walked back to the hotel and have a rest. We were very exhausted from the 10-hour flight.

We took the bus and went to Ala Moana Shopping Mall. It's a HUGE mall; and has various great brands. I was quite histerical to have found my favorite brand Hollister. We just missed shopping in the US very much.

Dinner at the Alan Wong restaurant.
The restaurant might not have the greatest fine dining ambience, but the food was INCREDIBLE. They serve Hawaiian fusion. We truly enjoyed each and every dish.

We stayed at Hilton Prince Kuhio. Excellent location, service and newly renovated. Totally recommend to everyone. Very good value for its price.

Friday

We rented a car for the day. Stopped by at the nearest Walmart to buy some snorkeling gears. We ended up buying lots of souvenirs there, Hula girls, calendars, hula girl's outfit, etc. Things are far so much cheaper here (compared to Aussie!)
We drove through the North Shore; stopped at Waimea Beach (best view with the big rock where everyone jumped into the water from.) Then Pupukea Beach... we stopped just before the Shark Cove. Reason being we found parking spots straight away... it says Pupukea Beach Recreation Park; we thought it was the Shark Cove. Snorkeling in Pupukea was fine. We saw a couple of fishes in the coral. Because we've snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef early this year, and saw tons of different kinds of fishes and other marine creatures, Pupukea was nothing compared to it (duh!)

Starving, we looked for the famous Giovanni Shrimp Shack. Good thing it's not that hard to find, because I read in the Trip Advisor that there are at least ten of these shrimp trucks along the road. Anyhow, the shrimps were great, lots of flavour. It was quite dear, about $12/ plate. You get 12 shrimps and a choice of rice or french fries.

Stopped by at the Dole Plantations, taking pics, shopped for some cute souvenirs. I got the cutest pinneaple doll with a face and pink cheeks.

We spent our evening in the Polynesian Culture Center. I learnt how to do hula dance! Everything was so well organized. The highlight of our visit was the Horizons night show. It was AWESOME, esp the fire show at the end. We are so fascinated by the performances; the staff were so talented and well trained.If you ever travel to Honolulu, this is something you don't want to miss (seriously!)

Saturday

Kayaking at Kailua Beach
We went on the 2-hour guided Kayak tour with the Kailua Sailboards & Kayaks. Words cannot describe how beautiful the Kailua beach is. It's paradise (for anyone who loves beaches). We kayaked to the Mokulua Islands off Lanikai Beach on Oahu. What's great is that it's an ocean kayaking, overlooking 3 other islands. You can see through the water; it was THATclean and clear. We saw a sea turtle! Twice!! On the way going and returning. They said it's a good luck if you see one. At the end of kayaking, I was so exhausted. It was actually our first time kayaking ever. We both have done canoing before and Arthur did rafting many times, but never kayaking. I am not being a baby here, but the kayak was really heavy. Art had to help me getting it off the sand. We had to pull the kayaks back to the KSK shop. After washing up, we get our free lunch at the restaurant next door. The food tasted extremely good after an active day like that. On the way back to the hotel, we all fell asleep in the car because of the heat and everything. All we can think of was to swim in the hotel after.

Once we arrived though, there was a surfing event on Waikiki beach. Of course we had to witness this cool event. It was an acrobatic surfing competition. Each surf has at least 2 people on it (female and male); I saw one that has 3 . At the end of the wave, the female(s) stand on the male's shoulder and did an acrobatic pose.

We felt so blessed, having used our time in Honolulu so wisely. There's always a destination/activity that wowed us everyday. Anyhow, we decided to (window) shop at Ross (across from Walmart). As soon as we stepped in, we split and went insane!!! There's so many nice home decor stuff (for the bestest prices). We walked back to the hotel with large plastic bags on both hands.

Sunday

Attended the 11 o'clock mass in St Augustine on Waikiki beach.

Shop at Swap Meet, Aloha Stadium.
Swap Meet is heaven for any bargain hunter. Let me tell you how incredibly cheap things are. Bikinis are only $15. T-shirts: buy 6 for $15. They are not low quality at all. They are typical college shirts brands. I don't know how they did it. But even in Mangga Dua (Jakarta) or Bandung, a decent T-shirt for $2.50 would be very hard to find.
Continue shopping at Waikele Premium Outlet for a short while.

Monday

Hiked the Diamond Head.
I've read somewhere in the trip advisor that it's a grandma hike, very easy, etc. I have to tell you it's definitely not a difficult hike. The steps/stairs are pretty well scraped, but it does take 1.5 hours one-way to reach the top. It could be hot as well. However, anybody must not give up, because it was soooooooo worthed!!!! The view from the top was amazing! It's like watching "Things To Do Before You Die" on a helicopter ride. You can see in 360 degree the Oahu island, get a great view of Waikiki, the rainforests, etc.

We LOVE Hawaii and definitely will come back for more! 5 Days was enough to visit the touristy spots, but not enough to get to know Hawaiian way of life.

Anyhow, we finished Diamond Head at noon. Took the bus to go to China Town & downtown area. Had lunch at Like Like Drive Inn. The place looked quite dirty; and some of the people who came in looked a bit ghetto. But the food was great! We learn to eat in Drive Inns next time we visit Hawaii.
We found Ross in Chinatown. Of course, we had to stopped and do our crazy shoppings again!

I wonder what the other islands are like (Maui, the big island Hawaii, Kauai, etc).

Tuesday
Early flight to go back to Sydney. Back to real life.
Mahalo (means thank you in Hawaiian) for reading this very long post.

Had the good fortune to visit in January/February of this year. It was an excellent winter vacation. The weather was absolutely beautiful with only 1 day of light rain. I was captivated the instant I stepped off of the plane into this tropical paradise. The feeling of the air, the smells, the gentle breeze off of the ocean...I will remember it always.
The scenery is breathtaking and the people were very friendly everywhere that we went (how could they not be, living in this amazing place).
There is so much to do whether you are into sightseeing, sports, shopping, cultural experiences, etc. It is a place for everyone, families, couples, young and old.
We stayed at the Resort Quest Waikiki Beach Hotel. Great location, reasonable prices, very good service/friendly staff and clean. Would definitely stay there again.
I could go on and on.....
If you want an unforgetable vacation, this is the place to visit.

Oahu was our first stop on our World Trip. We were so excited to finally see Hawaii. That was until we got there.
Firstly, the transfer driver warned us about walking around the streets at night as the "ladies of the night" would approach you even if are a family with children. Also, there were a lot of "undesireables" walking around at night. We checked in to our Hotel very early in the morning ie: 3am, greeted by a very strange man who looked like he was on drugs. Got up to our room which was very ordinary and extremely noisy from the traffic noise.
The Island definitely caters mainly to the Japanese tourists as we found it difficult to get "normal" meals here unless you ate at MacDonalds or Pancake House. We found the staff to be mostly Indonesian or Samoan and certainly not very friendly at all.
The only nice thing we enjoyed was the beach, but being summer is was extremely crowded.
On our last day we went to Germaines Luau, which was pretty cool. Had to try and end on a high note. The Bus drivers to the Luau are awesome.
We would certainly not waste our time in Hawaii again. The Gold Coast, Queensland, is by far a nicer place.