Here it is, the pros and cons of Waikiki! There are plenty and, as a local, I could understand why my parents avoided it like the plague haha. I knew Waikiki existed, but I just never experienced it for myself. Fast forward to now and we just returned from our trip to Waikiki. There were so many things I enjoyed, but so many things I really didn’t like. 

I hope this article will shed a little light on the pros and cons of Waikiki and help you know what to expect. 

Waikiki Pros 

THE BEACH! 

Wowzer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful beach before. Golden sand stretches for a good while on Waikiki’s shores and it’s absolutely amazing. The cool thing about the water is that sand doesn’t get stuck up your swimsuit like it does on the North Shore, because the waves aren’t as rough. But my favorite part was the color of the water–it was so silky, smooth, and aqua looking.

There’s also something for everyone on Waikiki beaches. If you’re adventurous, rent a surfboard for $10 (for 2 hours) just a block from the beach. Have kids? There are cute bay areas with incredibly calm water, perfect for little ones. If you just want to lay back and relax (like me), there’s a lot of space for that too. I was seriously amazed at the color and consistency of the water and waves at Waikiki beach. I highly recommend!

Convenience 

If you stay in Waikiki, you are literally only a few blocks from the beach. I loved being able to wake up early and hit the beach, or SLEEP IN and still get a good amount of time under the sun! Everything is quite close in Waikiki so you never have to walk that far for food, beach, or even the outdoor showers to rinse off the salt water! 

And I have to mention that if you forget something (like sunscreen, sunglasses, sunhat, slippers, towels, etc), there are ABC stores literally everywhere. I went into an ABC store once on the Big Island (where I’m from) once and thought the prices were overrated , but my experience in Waikiki was different. The prices were fair for the convenience! 

Great place for families 

I don’t have kids, but I saw a lot of families and they looked like they were having a blast. Once you find your beach spot, you can pretty much stay there all day. There are a lot of cons, which I’ll get into next, but if you want to take the kids somewhere to enjoy the sun, salty water, and sand, Waikiki is such a great option. The convenience of walking a block to the beach was really nice! And the bay areas of Waikiki were just perfect for kiddos. 

Waikiki Cons 

Busy

People. People everywhere. On the beach itself, you’ll probably end up sitting less than three feet away from the person at your right and left. There are just SO many people. The North Shore is so different from Waikiki and a lovely break from the crowds, but the prices of hotels and places out there are definitely higher. So, for the price of the hotels and the convenience of the beaches, Waikiki is a great option.

No real Hawaiian food 

I wasn’t actually looking for real Hawaiian food, because vacation means eating out at whatever places I want to eat out, even if that’s Panda’s express haha! So yeah, real Hawaiian here wasn’t even looking for real Hawaiian food but my husband loves and wanted the real stuff. We’re talking laulau, kalua pig, lomi salmon, and poke. While Waikiki has some fun stuff, like spam musubi and teri burgers, most of the cuisine is inspired by Hawaiian food. So you might see a kalua omelette, a coconut flavored something, pineapple on a burger, etc, but you won’t find REAL Hawaiian food. You’ll have to drive somewhere for that, sorry. 

Homeless

The amount of homeless people in Waikiki really surprised me. I’ve always known that cities have plenty of homeless people, but you couldn’t walk one block in Waikiki without passing a homeless person. It was really sad and while I don’t know exactly the reasons for the homelessness, their presence really gave Waikiki a different vibe. You could tell some homeless people weren’t all there mentally, while others were on drugs. One homeless person, who looked pretty normal, walked through the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade yelling that he was hungry. I have so many opinions on homelessness but, as I said earlier, I don’t know the exact reasons. 

The police are present in Waikiki, but the homeless people really aren’t out to get anyone, especially if you mind your own business. There was a homeless lady telling an officer he was “hewa,” which means “shameful or wrong” and he ignored her. You could tell that many of these officers knew the homeless people and they probably dealt with them many times, which, again, is just sad.

Anyway, you’re probably wondering: is it safe to walk around Waikiki then? Yes. I think it’s safe, especially if you’re out at reasonable times. I never felt like I was in trouble or scared when we walked around Waikiki. The homeless people don’t want to bother you–not to be mean but they seemed more concerned by other things. They really do mind their own business. I even walked out alone one of the nights to grab some food, and I felt ok. 

Smells

If you’re a highly sensitive person like me, you might get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of smells. One second you smell weed (marijuana), the next second you smell sewage. Suddenly the wind changes direction and it smells like BO (body odor). Greasy food smells, strong perfumes, cigarette smoke, vape, and more were pretty much the only thing I could smell when we walked on the streets. The beaches were fine but boy those streets of Waikiki were smelly. It gave me such a headache. 

Dirty 

I think the county of O’ahu tries to keep Waikiki clean. But… with that many people in Waikiki, it can’t be perfect. It seems like the further southeast you walk on Waikiki, the more debris of plastic and branches wash up on the sand. Seagulls and pidgins are everywhere. And with so many homeless people, Waikiki feels somewhat dirty. Homeless people are on almost every corner, digging in the garbage cans, looking for leftover food to eat or cans/water bottles to recycle.

But here’s a positive example: we saw a guy who walked along the beach, each morning, picking up trash. What a champ. 

Traffic 

We hardly drove on this last trip but we rented a HUI and bumped into traffic on our last day. Traffic is traffic. It’s annoying, makes the drive time longer, and sometimes can’t be avoided. If you do plan to travel around the island, try to avoid Waikiki/Honolulu area at normal peak traffic times, like mid morning, when people are heading to work, or late afternoon/evening when people are heading home. 

Want fun ideas of places to visit in Hawaii? Check out my free downloadable Hawaii bucket lists!

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Let’s hear from you!

How was your Waikiki experience? Do you agree with this list of pros and cons of Waikiki? Is there anything you’d add or take away from this list? Let me know in the comments! 🙂

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