If you are love active experiences and looking to do more adventure and recreation activities around Oahu, then check out all these top adventure tours in Oahu to plan your next fun experience. Some of these Hawaii adventure tours are active and fun experiences, but there’s plenty of soft adventure travel experiences here for those that want to do a little activity when they tour the area.
Quick Plan your Honolulu Itinerary
Are you in a rush on a last-minute trip to Honolulu? Well then, try our jump start guide to book the best tours and hotels
below.
Pro Tip – Since you are planning to visit Diamond Head and Waikiki tour here to enjoy with great views and tour of Waikiki Beach.
Top Tours to Try in Honolulu
Complete Pearl Harbor Experience – Day Trip Tour
Grand Circle Island Tour – Top Rated
Sunset Cocktail Cruise – Easy tour with pick up
Where to Stay in Honolulu
Ilima Hotel – Budget Option , Personally tried
Holiday Inn Express Waikiki – mid range
Halepuna Waikiki – Honolulu luxury hotel or resort
Here are some of the best adventure tours to do in Oahu now
Hawaii is an adventure lovers dream and Oahu has so many amazing places to explore and do some fun recreation, it’s easy to do all of these wonderful experiences below if you have to budget to do them or any of the one’s that peak your interest.
If you are planning to try and experience some fun activities while visiting, check out these fantastic Oahu adventure experiences for thrill seekers of every age group to enjoy.
VIP helicopter tour
This circle around the island tour will take you to some of the most iconic and impressive monuments and natural landscapes to see from above. From the airport and directly to Honolulu and Waikiki, you’ll round Diamond Head to the eastern side of the island and see some amazing coastline views and up the mountains to the pali pass and then into the North Shore and amazing ocean views with the emerald green mountains in the left side. The tour is thrilling especially with the doors open and can practically feel everything all at once. The helicopter traverses the middle of the island and finally cruises over the historic Pearl Harbor area and major monuments in the site.
Check out this fantastic 50 minute around island helicopter tour here for more details and current prices.
If you are looking for the thrilling open door experiences, then check out this helicopter tour here for more details and current prices.
Oahu Zip Line Experience
One of the best adventure tour combos to try out is here Jurrassic Valley where this popular tour takes place at Ka’a’awa valley. Combining a hiking experience and ziplining on tandem lines in 7 spots, this tour will thrill and bring on your adrenaline rush to speed through this magnificent landscape and lush valleys from 200 feet to over a 1/4 mile distance ride.
Or you can check out this alternate North Shore experience with an ATV ride and zipline experience below.
Check out this fantastic zipline tour experience here for more details and current prices.
North Shore ATV ride and zipline tour experience here for more details and current prices.
Surfing lessons on Oahu
One of the most iconic surfing areas in Oahu, the North Shore is famous for surfing competitions. Spring and summer season is calmer and perfect for takin surfing lessons from a pro that will show you the basics in this surfing class.
Check out this fantastic North Shore Surfing lesson here for more details and current prices.
Check out this fantastic Oahu Surfing lesson here for more details and current prices.
Outrigger Canoe Surfing
A fun alternative to surfing is doing a canoe surfing experience on Waikiki with expert guides that will be an exciting thrill experience for you. You’ll join 4-6 paddlers and a guide on this 30 minute thrill ride and might get up to two sets in riding the waves on an outrigger canoe here in Waikiki and learn more about outrigger canoes, their history and tie to Hawaiian royalty.
Check out this fantastic Canoe Surfing lesson here for more details and current prices.
Learn how to scuba dive in Oahu
If you want to learn how to scuba dive on the islands, then doing it in Oahu is perfect. This diving outfitter will set you up with all the basic program to learn how to scuba dive in beginner session.This is a nice small group tour that will take you through the basics with no certification required to learn and then get into the waters.
Check out this fantastic beginning scuba dive and tour experience here for more details and current prices.
Catamaran cruise to Diamond Head
Enjoy an easy and fun cruise along Waikiki to Diamond Head and back on this gorgeous fast sailing catamaran cruise along the coastline.Gorgeous views, snacks and non alcoholic drinks and enjoying the day out on the water with fun photo opportunities on this cool cruise to do in Waikiki beach.
Check out this fantastic catamaran tour experience here for more details and current prices.
Go Kayaking to the Mokes
The waters around the east side of Oahu around Popular Kailua with the stunning ocean and beach and calm waters most of the day. If you are up to the challenge, then you can kayak all the way to the Mokes (short for Mokuloa islands) or the smaller islands just lying outside of Lanikai and Kailua s and a fun adventure in itself. You can sign up for a self tour with basic instructions or you can go to explore the Mokes on a half day rental program. Takiing a tour below will give your more guided information and history of the areas and the islands below.
Check out the details from this kayak tour experience here for more information and current prices on the tour.
Snorkeling tours in Oahu
There are plenty of fantastic snorkeling tours you can do around Oahu and enjoy some time in the waters and checking out the marine life, tropical fish and corals. You can find a variety of outfitters here to satisfy any snorkeling fun at some of the most iconic spots around the island to have a fun experience.
Check out the details from this snorkel and cruise outfitter here for more information and current prices on the tour.
Parasailing in Waikiki
A fast and scenic aerial ride above Waikiki on a parasailing experience you’ll love doing on the water. A fast boat with you in tow above and the gorgeous coastline views of Waikiki and Diamond Head, it’s a total fun experience you’ll never forget here. A family friendly event that everyone can enjoy, check out the details to this parasailing experience here for more information and current prices of the tour.
Check out the details from this Parasail experience here for more information and current prices on the tour.
Submarine adventure off Waikiki / Honolulu
One of the most popular underwater experiences that is open to all age groups is to experience the marine life and tropical fish in a submarine adventure. The large 64-person submarine will take you out beyond Waikiki’s outer reef to depths of around 100 feet. Along the way you’ll see some plane and boat wrecks, fantastic marine life turtles, dolphins, large fish and even sharks the deeper you get into ocean depths beyond Waikiki.
Check out the details from this submarine outfitter here for more information and current prices on the tour.
Take an elegant Sunset Cruise and dinner tour
The perfect time to be cruising off the Waikiki coastline would be sailing on a fantastic classic ship with dinner and show. Watching the sunset on board and maybe sipping a Mai tai or tropical drink would be the ultimate of enjoying time on the water, fantastic coastal views and having a toast to your end of day here in Oahu. You might even get to see the magical firework displays over Waikiki at night time.
Check out the details from this sunset dinner cruise here for more information and current prices on the tour.
Kualoa Ranch Adventures
This iconic ranch experience on the eastern side of the island hosts is variety of exciting adventure experience that is fun for all age groups. The set for popular TV shows and movies including: Jurassic Park, Lost, Hawaii 5-O and Lost were all filmed here and now you can experience the ranch with these fun activities:
Check out the details from these Kualoa ATV experiences here for more information and current prices on the tour.
Horseback riding the ranch and valley area of Kualoa ranch, check out the details to this tour here for more information and current prices.
North Shore Biking adventure
This combination of circle island tour with biking activity at two different locations will give you a fun outdoor experience while exploring the island. This bike and island tour is fun day activity that is easy with light activity on mostly flat area to bike through along the scenic North Shore landscape. Popular attractions to visit along with a waterfall bike ride to scenic Waimea falls is a fun highlight to this tour package.
Check out the details from this North Shore Biking outfitter here for more information and current prices on the tour.
Shark Cage Experience on the North Shore
Those visitors looking for extreme adventure experiences will be drawn to this shark cave experience that allows seeing sharks up close but in a safe cage in popular waters where sharks travel. This shark cave outfitter will take you out to the local waters and cruise on the North Shore where local sharks do live and frequent so that you will get an up close and personal experience.
Check out the details from these shark cage experiences here for more information and current prices on the tour
Glass Bottom boat experience
Cruising off the shores along Waikiki, this glass bottom boat experience allows you to see the world underneath without getting wet and they will take you to places where you can enjoy all the marine life and tropical fish in the local waters. Cruising during sunset adds another fun element to this experience and seeing the coastline, city views and a magical sunset at the same time.
Check out the details from these glass bottom boat experiences here for more information and current prices on the tour.
Looking for more Oahu experiences?
Explore the waterfalls of Oahu
Best Oahu snorkeling spots to explore
Conclusion on amazing adventure experiences in Oahu
You can’t go wrong exploring around Oahu and trying out any of these fantastic adventure experiences around the island and really see the best of the island.
Book mark this post when you want to plan and do any or all of these fantastic recreation and outdoor experiences around the island and you’ll love visiting Oahu!
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It is great to know that I can learn how to scuba dive in Oahu. I have always wanted to see more of the underwater world, but I never did more than snorkelling. I’d like to learn how to dive and Oahu seems like a perfect destination for it. The helicopter VIP tour sounds pretty exciting as well.
Yes there’s a lot of fun adventure tours and experiences you can easily enjoy around Oahu now
Great post!
They honestly sound all good, but I like the sound of the cruise and the glass bottom boat best. I would like to try surfing here, as Hawaii is the home of it! Oahu looks incredible to visit.
Hard to choose with this many good choices of things to do around Oahu
Oahu is a fabulous destination. This is the first I have heard of canoe surfing and would love to try it. I have driven past Kualoa Ranch but didn’t stop, ATV through the area sounds like a lot of fun. Not so sure about the shark cave, it is interesting that the North Shore is the spot to surf and for sharks!
It is more nature inspired along the North Shore and not as commercialized so the sharks are happy here.
This is a great list for fun outdoor adventures in Oahu. I always like to be active when I’m travelling, and so this list gives me so many options. I would definitely want to take a helicopter ride to be able to really see and admire the landscape, as well as, a catamaran cruise to Diamond Head, and maybe at night to catch the sunset.
You definitely picked up some of the most popular things to do in Oahu for adventure and recreation fun, its amazing to do right?
So many cool things to do in Oahu. I specially would like to do some diving and snorkelling when I go there. Although the shark cage diving sounds a bit scary to me. The sunset dinner tour sounds amazing, This must be such an amazing place to visit. Thanks for sharing all these tips.
There are so many amazing adventure tours to do in Oahu, I’m sure you’ll your visit here and do a few of these experiences.
These truly are some thrilling experiences! I have always wanted to scuba dive and Oahu seems like the perfect place to learn. I’d be very interested taking beginner lessons. The idea of a small group session sounds like I would get the personal guidance I might need. But I’ll admit, a sunset cruise and dinner tour, glass-bottom boat ride, and catamaran cruise to Diamond Island are probably more my speed. How great to choose from many options in Oahu that I know would love!
I think you would enjoy visiting Oahu and doing many of these adventure experiences
Wow there is certainly a lot to do in Oahu and I missed most of it when I was there. I did visit the Kualoa Ranch and I loved the tour we did there. I think I want to do nearly everything on your list, I love kayaking and I would like to do some of the boat trips too. I think though I will give the Shark Cage a miss though, I really don’t want to get that close to them!! I love Hawaii and hope I get to go back and experience some of these tours.
It’s always fun to go back to Oahu and do more adventure and recreation tours
Though my boyfriend is afraid of heights, I’m dying to go on that Ohau zipline with him! I think he’ll find it tame compared to the shark cage experience, that’s incredible interesting and terrifying all at once. Nice to see there is a long list of activities for every thrill seeker or foodie that visits.
There’s a lot of amazing views and adventure experiences around Oahu to enjoy
I’m itching so bad to visit Hawaii and to visit Kualoa Ranch, it’s so iconic it’s been a dream forever!
HOpe you get to try some of these adventure tours when you do