Wander around Oahu without spending a cent! How? Read our list below for the best free things to do in Oahu!
1. Watch a movie at Courtyard Cinema
The IBM parking lots turns into an awesome outdoor movie theatre every second Thursday of each month as they partner with the Hawaii International Film Festival and Consolidated Theaters at Ward Village and host free movie with free seating, parking, and best of all, free popcorn. Just make sure to reserve your tickets online!
2. Explore a desert garden
Love cactus and succulent? Then the Koko Crater Botanical Garden is perfect for you! Marvel at some beautiful plants including rare and endangered dry land species, native Hawaiian plants and flowers that bloom during the summer and fall.
3. Appreciate art at the Hawaii State Art Museum
Check out awesome masterpieces like permanent and rotating collections of paintings, pottery, sculptures, and 3-D works. Dubbed as the “people’s museum,” this four-gallery museum is free to the public all year round! Cool, huh?
4. Join free yoga class
Enjoy the Hawaiian breeze to the fullest as you do sun salutation and downward facing dog at the Diamond Head Lawn in the iconic Moana Surfrider. They offer free monthly Vinyasa flow as you listen to the sounds of the waves, led by some famous yoga instructors from the island. Perfect for your pre or post surf activity!
5. Drop by the Hālona Blowhole
It’s a big tourist attraction in which the ocean waves push itself 30ft in the air through a molten lava tube! It’s best to enjoy the water spout from afar as the ground is dangerous when wet.
6. Enjoy a fireworks show
You don’t actually need to buy tickets to enjoy the pyrotechnic light show at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for the finale of their Rockin’ Hawaiian Rainbow Revue, all you have to do is to find a stretch of sand or grass to enjoy the fireworks light up the night sky.
7. Enjoy Hawaiin sunset with Sunset Mele on the Rooftop
Make some friends and enjoy the Hawaiian sunset on the rooftop of the Hawaii Convention Center which transform into an entertainment spot with free movie screening and live entertainment once a month. Don’t forget to bring your blankets or low-backed chairs and snag a front row seat.
8. Sip fine wines for free
Every Friday and Saturday afternoons, Fujioka’s Wine Times hosts free wine tasting, definitely a perfect spot to drop by before doing your night activities.
9. Hit the beach
Of course, what else will you don in Oahu? All beaches are definitely free to the public so grab your beach essentials and a surfboard and enjoy the Hawaiian sun and sea!
10. Take a hike to the Nuuanu petroglyphs
Hike along Nuuanu Stream near Nuuanu Memorial Park past Alapena Falls and arrive at a small cave with animal and human formations carved onto the walls. You can also dip in a beautiful waterfall along the way.
11. Visit the USS Arizona Memorial
Head to the site of the Pearl Harbor Attacks and pay your repects. Around 2 million tourists visit the site a year and the first 2,000 guests can enter the monument for free.
12. Learn some skills at the Royal Hawaiian Center
Ever wanted to learn to strum a ukulele, string lei, give lomilomi massage, weave lauhala jewelry or learn the hula basics? You can all learn these for free with the Center’s Complimentary Cultural Programming.
13. Join a running club
Burn some calories while travelling by joining free running groups like the Hawaii Running Lab that hosts organizes runs on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the Lanikai Juice Kakaako’s running club that ahs post-run refreshments and weekly raffle prize giveaways.
14. Visit the Royal Mausoleum
Visit the final resting place of the Kamehameha and Kalākaua Dynasties, which is the only royal burial ground in the nation. Also known as Mauna Ala or fragrant hills, it is located in Nuuanu.
