Hiking Diamond Head, Waikiki
One of the best activities I did while in Hawaii was a hike of Diamond Head crater. This park is a popular tourist attraction in Waikiki, but was much more challenging and beautiful than expected.
We started our hike in the morning, walking from our hotel at the far end of Waikiki Beach to the Diamond Head crater park. This added about 4 miles to our round trip of walking through the whiter neighborhoods of Honolulu. If you enjoy walking and a calmer environment I highly recommend adding this on to the hike.
Once we got to the Diamond Head entrance, we entered the tunnel to get into the crater. Yes, a tunnel. To access the Diamond Head park you must walk or drive through a tunnel bored into the side of the crater. This tunnel serves as the perfect doorway for the crater, as you emerge from the darkness and mountains into a wide expanse of green fields and crater walls.
Once in the park, a $5 entry pass sold at the trailhead is required to begin your hike. After passing the trailhead checkpoint, you begin waking up. The trail is easy for the beginning, either paved or made of smooth stones for the entire way. Once you start going at a steep uphill is when it starts to get challenging, with layers of steep switchbacks between the cliff wall and a drop down the crater (with railings of course). To get to the top after the switchbacks involves one more tunnel, a stair-filled cave going upwards, the end obscured in darkness.
At the end of the tunnel, however, is the view. At the top of Diamond Head crater you are standing on its edge. The entire side of the island is visible, with blue ocean and rolling green mountains all around. A platform is placed at the top with railings, the highway point of Diamond Head and a perfect photo op.
We hiked Diamond Head on a clear, sunny day. This is what I imagine the best weather for the hike would be. No clouds provide for a perfect view and rain may make the stairs and switchbacks tricky. Do wear lots of sunscreen and use it throughout your hike! The sun exposure at the top is hot, and I burned even with my layer of sunscreen applied that morning.
Of course bring lots of water. It is definitely necessary on the hike and there is only one store in the part, a food truck that sells cold pineapple products. I was glad to have water and a cold CBD lemonade to drink on the way up. This is one of the reasons I enjoyed walking to and from the hike. The streets leading back from Diamond Head are filled with small businesses and cafés. We stopped on the way back for sushi, coffee, and smoothies at lunch.
I highly recommend this hike to anyone visiting Waikiki. The one-way trail is east to get to without a car, but more challenging than your average tourist activity. Not only can you get fun pictures in the bright sun and get active, you can get a beautiful view of the island.
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