Exploring Oahu — Hiking, Eating, and Training Jiu Jitsu on Hawaii’s Most Beautiful Island

Background

I have been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for about 10 years, and my main reason to travel to Oahu was to spend some time training with the world-famous Marcelo Garcia, who, in November 2024, opened a school in Kailua.

After reaching out to him over Instagram, I quickly booked my flights and started planning my trip.

When

April 25th — May 23rd

Where to Stay

Since my main goal was to train as much as possible, I opted to stay near the gym in Kailua. I found this nice Airbnb that was a few minutes’ walk from the gym. The price was quite high, but it meant that I could avoid big touristy crowds and could do without renting a car for the whole time.

Getting Around

I used The Bus (67 route) to get to Honolulu, about a 50-minute journey. It wasn’t always on time, but the service was quite good and the price was reasonable. You can buy a Holo pass from 7-Eleven (cash payment only) and easily check the balance or top it up again online.

Empty bus on my way back towards Lakani from Downtown Oahu.

For one of the weekends, I rented a car from Enterprise in Kailua for the weekend, Friday to Monday, to make it easier to get to some hikes.

Cafes

Chadlou’s: This was my daily coffee spot, the staff are so friendly and the coffee is great
Traditional Coffee Roasters: Nice spot to work and get a coffee. They have a lunch food truck on weekends, which was very nice
Bean About Town: Great beans and tasty treats, two locations on the island
Rise & Grind Coffee Bar: Nice coffee and toasted bagels. Good wifi and laptop-friendly
Lanikai Juice, Kailua: great peanut butter smoothies

Bean about Town. Tradition Coffee. Penut butter Smoothie from Lanikai Juce.

Food

The Pig & Lady: The pho here was superb.
The Daily: Great smash burgers
Foodland: Best poke and a big selection
Maria Bonita Lunch Wagon: Great tacos and the staff are so nice and kind. I went here regularly after training
Lanikai Brewing Company: Grab a pizza from Valentina’s Brick Oven next door and enjoy it with a cold one
Paia Fish Market Kailua: Tasty fish and great value

Pho from The Pig & Lady. Burger from The Daily. Tacos from Maria Bonita.

Hikes

I’ll be honest… coming from Switzerland, I have a pretty high bar for hiking. While Oahu has some beautiful hikes and birdlife (more on that below), I found the hikes very crowded, which took away from the experience a little, unfortunately. Probably because I did the most popular hikes?

Lanikai Pillbox

Easy 40-minute hike. It can be quite slippery and muddy, especially if it has just rained.

Short hike but epic views from Lanikai Pillbox

Koko Head & Waimano Falls

I did these two on the same day. Koko Head was busy even at 7:30 am. I managed to find parking but I think arriving any later you might find it harder.

Waimano Falls was nice, but busy. When I got to the waterfall, there were a lot of people there.

Waimano Fall easy enough hike but can be very slippery if it just rained

Laie Falls

My favourite hike. I only saw 1 person during my hike and then a family at the waterfall. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Highly recommend it. The last part down to the waterfall was very steep and slippery. Be careful and if it just rained, then maybe avoid going all the way down.

Laie Falls trail. Some section required using a rope. Bring good hiking shoes ( always)

Swimming

You have to exercise caution when swimming in Hawaii, as there are so many rips, currents… It’s no joke. Never go in alone and never underestimate the ocean.

Alan Davis Beach**: **cool, easy stroll down to a nice beach.

Alan Davis Beach — some guys where jumping into the clear water below

China Walls: This is a local spot, and lots of people jump in, but you gotta be careful. To get out, you’re relying on the waves coming in and lifting you back up to get out. It’s not as easy as it looks. People drown here. I didn’t swim, but a friend of mine did and mentioned he found it hard to get back out… and we were out on a calm day. Still worth going and enjoying the nice view… some surfers catching the wave at the end of the “wall”.

Lanikai Beach: Loved this beach, and the turtles were a regular occurrence.

The beutiful Lanikai Beach — Look out for the turtles that regularly show up

Things to Do

Twin Islands Kayak tour —really enjoyed this, it was a good workout too. You can do it in a single or a double kayak if you have a partner with you. Took about 1.5 hours paddling there and 45 minutes back ( thanks wind).

Twin Islands Kayak and Queens bath on Kauai

**Check out the **North Shore. No pumping waves while I was there but lots of places to eat and shop. Note: I love the swim shorts from Florence, picked up two nice board shorts here… then I went over to Haleiwa Bowls and got a nice acai bowl… only to see that they offered a 20% discount at Florence with a receipt… yeah should have done that the other way around
Take an evening walk along Kailua Beach

Drive up the north east of the island and enjoy the view, stop at Kahuku Farms

The Drive along the north east cost and an epic sandwich Kahuku Farms

808 Skate. Cool small business with a friendly owner. Picked up some sneakers here.
**Drop in to **Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu Hawaii for a class. Honestly, the whole team here are so nice and welcoming. Almost every day, they had visitors, and Marcelo is there teaching all the time. Respect.
If you’re feeling like a cold plunge and a sauna, or a warm yoga session, sign up for a week pass at Elevate Health Club, it’s a great value and the staff and facilities are top!

That’s it in a (coco)nutshell.