Little Bird Blog

Secret Island Beach sits along Kaneohe Bay at Kualoa, a narrow strip of land bordered by open ocean on one side and an ancient Hawaiian fishpond on the other. The secret is, it’s not an island. Visitors who arrive via the Kualoa Ranch tour cross the fishpond by boat, which makes it feel like one. […]

Bellows Beach is a 2-mile stretch of white sand on the windward coast in Waimanalo, part of Bellows Air Force Station. It’s open to the public on weekends only, from around noon on Friday to midnight on Sunday, and sometimes closed for military training. Check for signage at the guard shack on Kalanianaole Highway before […]

The Honolulu Zoo sits in Kapiolani Park at the edge of Waikiki, 42 acres of African savanna, tropical forests, and Pacific island ecosystems. It’s home to elephants, giraffes, rhinos, lions, cheetahs, orangutans, Komodo dragons, and a keiki zoo where kids can get hands-on with farm animals. The shaded playground in the middle of the zoo […]

The Byodo-In Temple sits at the base of the Ko’olau Mountains in the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park in Kaneohe, about 45 minutes from Waikiki. It’s a non-denominational Buddhist temple built in 1968 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii, a smaller replica of a nearly 1,000-year-old temple in […]

The Kalawahine Trail is a 2-mile out-and-back hike in the Honolulu Mauka Trail System, winding through moss and fern-covered forest above the city. It gains about 570 feet, takes one to one and a half hours, and ends at a T-junction where you can turn back or keep going connecting to Pauoa Flats, Manoa Falls, […]

Kahana Bay Beach Park sits on the windward coast of Oahu, tucked between the Ko’olau Mountains and the ocean just north of Ka’a’awa. It’s a state park, which means camping is allowed, the facilities are decent, and the parking is right at the beach. The water here has a reddish tint from the surrounding clay […]

Kawela Bay is a small, crescent-shaped bay on Oahu’s north shore, tucked behind the Ritz-Carlton Turtle Bay and hidden from the road by a wall of dense forest. It’s part jungle, part quiet beach, and unlike anywhere else on the island. The forest is laced with trails, dripping banyan roots, and tall trees that connect […]

The Crouching Lion hike is a short, steep scramble on Oahu’s windward coast near Ka’a’awa, about an hour from Waikiki. The trail gains roughly 300 feet in under half a mile, with ropes to help on the steeper sections and views of Kahana Bay and the Ko’olau Mountains at the top. It’s one of the […]

Kokololio Beach Park is a quiet, locals-known beach in Laie on Oahu’s windward coast, about an hour from Waikiki. From the road all you can see is a grassy field and a wall of trees, which is exactly why most visitors drive past without stopping. Just over the hill behind the bathrooms is a sandy […]