Ride the Trolley to Diamond Head Crater, Hike Up and Enjoy Magnificient Views...

Mouse over a photo to pause the Diamond Head, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii slide show.

We buy trolley passes and catch a ride from the beach at Waikiki to Diamond Head Crater.

About Diamond Head Crater
Called a tuff cone and created by a single explosive eruption of steam and ash approzimately 150,000 years ago, Diamond Head Crater is an almost perfect circle with a diameter of 3520 feet and a floor area of 175 acres. Diamond Head is 760 feet high at its peak. The concrete structure at the top where visitors stand and the bunkers below were completed in 1910 and called Fire Control Station Diamond Head. The Diamond Lighthouse, built is 1899, is now a fully automated 60,000 candlepower light which can be seen 17 miles away. It serves as a beason for ships approaching Honolulu harbour from east and west.

Diamond Head Trolley
We caught the trolley at the beach and it was really fun: A open-air wooden trolley. Our first stop was the beach look out at Diamond Head for ten minutes. Then we rode up through residential streets past a mall (where you could get off and shop - Whole Foods is there) and on to the Diamond Head Park entrance ($1 entrance fee). A bit of a hike up the path and some stairs took us to lookouts showing views of the crater, the ocean, downtown Waikiki and the communities on the hills. Once we had taken in all the views, we hiked back down and boarded the trolley that rolled through other community areas of Honolulu and then returned us to the Waikiki beachfront.

There are three trolleys with the company we booked with: Diamond Head, Chinatown and Downtown and a Shopping Excursion. We rode the Diamond Head trolley firsts. Then we jumped on the Chinatown trolley which wasn't that fun, not a bustling or big Chinatown area and the trolley seemed to go through industrial areas more than anything else.

We didn't ride the Shopping trolley, but the shops in Waikiki are amazing: all the high end ones high end outlets (Barney's outlet anyone?) and low end too. I did buy some board shorts and a cute swimsuit top at Loco Boutique where everything is made in Hawaii - buy locally and get cute swim gear at the same time!

Overall we'd recommend the trolley pass. When we were there it was a two day pass for one day, but we found that one day was enough time to ride and see all we wanted to. Purchasing online gives you a further 10% off. Just get the hotel to print your e-ticket. it says to give this to an outlet to get your real ticket. So we went through the hotel concierge, not saving the 10%, and got an e-ticket anyway that we used the entire time (never did trade them in for real tickets). So, you may be able to save that 10% by doing the booking online yourself.

Deep Cove BC Travels April 2011

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