Organized Tours

If your time is limited, you might want to consider a guided island tour. These tours are informative, can give you a good overview of Honolulu or Oahu in a limited amount of time, and are surprisingly entertaining.

E Noa Tours, 1141 Waimanu St., Ste. 105, Honolulu (tel. 800/824-8804 or 808/591-2561; www.enoa.com), offers a range of tours, from island loops to explorations of historic Honolulu. These narrated tours are on air-conditioned, 27-passenger minibuses. The Majestic Grand Circle Island tour ($80 for adults, $67 for children 6-11, $59 for children under 6), stops at Diamond Head Crater, Hanauma Bay, Byodo-In Temple, Sunset Beach, Waimea Valley (admission included), and various beach sites along the way. Other tours go to the Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona Memorial and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Waikiki Trolley Tours, 1141 Waimanu St., Ste. 105, Honolulu (tel. 800/824-8804 or 808/596-2199; www.waikikitrolley.com), offers three fun tours of sightseeing, entertainment, dining, and shopping. These tours are a great way to get the lay of the land. You can get on and off the trolley as needed (trolleys come along every 2-20 min.). An all-day pass (8:30am-11:35pm) is $30 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $14 for children (4-11); a 4-day pass is $52 for adults, $31 for seniors, and $20 for children. For the same price, you can experience the 2-hour narrated Ocean Coastline tour of the southeast side of Oahu, an easy way to see the stunning views.

Polynesian Adventure Tours, 1049 Kikowaena Place, Honolulu (tel. 800/622-3011 or 808/833-3000; www.polyad.com), offers several excursions. The all-day island tour starts at $71 for adults, $42 for children under 12; the half-day scenic shore tour is $30 for adults, $23 for children 3 to 11; the half-day USS Arizona Memorial Excursion is $32 for adults and $22 for children 3 to 11.

For those who'd prefer a self-guided driving tour, TourTalk-Oahu (tel. 877/585-7499; www.tourtalkhawaii.com) offers a complete package of 78-minute narrated compact discs, driving instructions, and a 72-page booklet containing color maps, photos, cultural and historical information, and Hawaii facts for $25.

Walking Tours

The Mission Houses Museum, 553 S. King St., at Kawaiahao Street (tel. 808/531-0481; www.missionhouses.org; TheBus no. 2), offers a guided tour of the Visitors' Center, frame House and Printing Office, Tuesday to Saturday at 11am, 1pm, and 2:45pm. Admission is $10 adults, $8 seniors, and $6 children age 6 and up, age 5 and under free.

The Hawaii Geographic Society (tel. 800/538-3950; hawaiigeographicsociety@gmail.com) presents numerous interesting and unusual tours, such as "A Temple Tour," which includes Chinese, Japanese, Christian, and Jewish houses of worship; an archaeology tour in and around downtown Honolulu; and others. Each is guided by an expert from the Hawaii Geographic Society and must have a minimum of three people; the cost is $15 per person. The society's brochure, Historic Downtown Honolulu Walking Tour, is a fascinating self-guided tour of the 200-year-old city center. If you'd like a copy, contact Hawaii Geographic Maps and Books, 49 S. Hotel St. (P.O. Box 1698), Honolulu, HI 96808, or at hawaiigeographicsociety@gmail.com.

A Bird's-Eye View

To understand why Oahu was the island of kings, see it from the air. Island Seaplane Service (tel. 808/836-6273; www.islandseaplane.com) operates flights departing from a floating dock in the protected waters of Keehi Lagoon (parallel to Honolulu International Airport's runway) in either a six-passenger DeHavilland Beaver or a four-passenger Cessna 206. There's nothing quite like feeling the slap of the waves as the plane skims across the water and then effortlessly lifts into the air.

Your tour will give you aerial views of Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head Crater, Kahala's luxury estates, and the sparkling waters of Hanauma and Kaneohe bays. The half-hour tour ($135) ends here, while the 1-hour tour ($250) continues on to Chinaman's Hat, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the rolling surf of the North Shore. The flight returns across the island, flying over Hawaii's historic wartime sites: Schofield Barracks and the USS Arizona and Missouri memorials in Pearl Harbor.

Ecotours

Oahu isn't just high-rises in Waikiki or urban sprawl in Honolulu; it also has extinct craters, hidden waterfalls, lush rainforests, forgotten coastlines, and rainbow-filled valleys. To experience the other side of Oahu, contact Oahu Nature Tours (tel. 808/924-2473; www.oahunaturetours.com). It offers seven different eco-tours, starting at $27 per person, and provides everything: expert guides (geologists, historians, archaeologists), round-trip transportation, entrance fees, bottled water, and use of day packs, binoculars, flashlights, and rain gear.

Specialty Tours

Below are a couple of little-known, off-the beaten path tours.

Hawaii Coffee Company, 1555 Kalani St. (tel. 808/847-3600; www.hicoffeeco.com), has an excellent "behind the scenes" tour of their LION and Royal Kona Coffee facility as well as their Hawaiian Island Tea Company. You will be met in the retail/cafe area of their facility and taken through the 55,000-square-foot plant on a step-by-step tour of how Hawaii's oldest and largest coffee company processes and roasts their dozens of different brands and types of coffee. Allow 30 to 45 minutes for the tour, plus extra time to try the various coffees in the cafe. This is one of the best places on the island to stock up on a few bags of coffee or boxes of teas. Not only are the prices competitive, but, in November and December, exclusive specialty Christmas coffee can be purchased at this location. Free tours are given Monday through Thursday, 10 times a day (call for current tour times and reservations). The E Noa Trolley no. 10 also stops here.

For those looking for a really different look at Honolulu and the island, Oahu Ghost Tours (tel. 877/597-7325; www.oahughosttours.com) offers a look at the island's supernatural history. Originally started by Glen Grant (1947-2003), who dedicated his life to exploring stories and sightings of the paranormal, the company has continued his investigations of ghosts, unusual sightings, and the unexplainable. The tours range from Honolulu City Haunts, a 2-mile walking tour of places where supernatural events still occur today ($34 adults and $29 children 11 and younger), to Sacred Spirits Tour, a 5-hour walking tour of the most sacred Native Hawaiian spots on Oahu ($56 adults and $43 children 11 and younger), to Orbs of O'ahu, a driving tour that circles the island, stopping at some of the "most haunted" locations ($54 adults and $43 children 11 and younger).

Rolling Through Waikiki on a Segway

One of our favorite ways to tour Waikiki is on a Segway Personal Transporter, the silly looking two-wheeled machine that resembles a push lawn mower (big wheels and a long upright handle). Amazingly enough, within just a few minutes you get the hang of this contraption, which works through a series of high-tech stabilization mechanisms that read the motion of your body to turn or go forward or backward (it's propelled forward through twisting the hand throttle). And it's fun -- think back to the first time you rode your bicycle and the incredible freedom of zipping along without walking. Glide Ride Tours and Rentals, at the Aloha Tower, 1 Aloha Tower Dr. (tel. 808/941-3151; www.segwayofhawaii.com), will instruct you on the Segway (they make sure that you are fully competent before you leave their training area), then take you on an introductory tour (you must be 16 years of age or over and weigh more than 80 pounds). The tours range from a 30-minute introductory tour for $49 per person to a 2 1/2- to 3-hour tour of Waikiki, Kapiolani Park, and Diamond Head, for $130 per person.