I put “hiking” on my list for Hawaii because it’s a gorgeous place with plenty of weird plants and wildlife and I wanted to see it up close.

Diamond Head is a well known landmark here in Honolulu, quite close to Waikiki, so hiking this trail was a given. It’s a very easy hike to make, especially if you bus it to the start of the trail. You pay your 1$ entry fee to the park/monument and you’re on your way. I walked from Waikiki, that takes about an hour (easy walk, pavement most of the way), and the trail itself is about 45 minutes. Add-ons to that if you like to stop along the various lookout points and take pictures and you’re probably going to stay a while at the top. I was out the door and back again in 4 hours, but like I said I walked from Waikiki and I took loads of pictures. This is not a difficult hike unless you suffer from illnesses or injury, bring a bottle of water and you’re golden.

Important things to remember:
It costs a dollar to get in, cash only! I didn’t actually know this, despite researching a little (not enough obvisouly) about the hike. They don’t have ATMs up there so bring cash. I asked a guy coming down off the hike and he thought it would be too bad for me to miss it just for a dollar so he gave me a dollar bill out of his own pocket. My plan was to find an ATM in the city and come back, but of course I accepted. Faith in humanity restored, I absolutely love kind people ❤

Remember sunscreen, the sun can be ferocious and there’s no shade to be found anywhere on the trail. I would recommend leaving early before the sun starts to catch properly, like 8 or 9 am. I left at 10am today, but I lucked out as the weather was overcast the entire time. Warm enough, but not scolding.

Also, remember the normal hiking stuff. Sensible shoes, a hat can be nice if the sun’s out (but not absolutely necessary), sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen.

The hike was great, fantastic views of Waikiki and Honolulu and as far out to sea as you’d ever want to see. After this fantastic accomplishment (harr harr) I spent the rest of the day at the beach. A fairly arduous 2 minute walk from my hostel. #ItsAHardKnockLife