Lush Rainforests 15 Minutes from Waikiki: Manoa Falls Hike, Tantalus Sunset & Ho'omaluhia Garden

Look inland (Mauka) from Waikiki Beach to see misty clouds and double rainbows hovering over the green valley of Manoa just 8 kilometres (15 minutes by car, rideshare or TheBus Route 5) behind the city. Within 15 to 25 minutes of your hotel, you can hike to a 45-metre waterfall, stand at Honolulu's best hillside sunset viewpoint, and visit a 400-acre botanical garden.

1. Hiking the Manoa Falls Trail (2.6 km Round-Trip, No Reservation)

Located at the end of Manoa Road (3860 Manoa Rd; paid parking at the trailhead lot, or take TheBus Route 5 from Ala Moana plus a 10-minute walk):

• What the Trail Is Like: upgraded with crushed gravel steps, this shaded 1.3-kilometre walk winds beside a stream beneath giant eucalyptus, monsteras, wild ginger, a banyan-root archway and bamboo groves to a viewing deck at the base of 45-metre (150-foot) Manoa Falls. Pack mosquito repellent and grippy trainers, as brief morning showers keep the falls flowing year-round.
• Lyon Arboretum & Off The Hook Poke: next to the trailhead sits the 200-acre Lyon Arboretum (reserve ahead), and five minutes down the hill in Manoa Marketplace is Off The Hook Poke Market.

2. Free Sunset Viewpoint: Tantalus Lookout (Pu'u 'Ualaka'a State Park)

To see the entire southern coast of O'ahu, from Diamond Head Crater across Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu to Pearl Harbor and the Waianae Mountains, from 320 metres elevation with no hiking and free parking, drive 15 minutes up the banyan-shaded hairpins of Round Top Drive into Pu'u 'Ualaka'a State Wayside (Tantalus Lookout) an hour before sunset and spread a blanket on the grassy bluff.

3. Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden (In Kane'ohe, Free Entry)

On the Windward foot of the Ko'olau Mountains in Kane'ohe (45-680 Luluku Rd) lies 400-acre Ho'omaluhia ('A Peaceful Refuge') Botanical Garden, famed for its palm-lined drive framing the 900-metre fluted Ko'olau cliffs. Stopping in the entrance road for photos is prohibited; drive two minutes inside to the free car parks at Kahua Nui or the Visitor Center for the same mountain backdrop from the lawns.