Hawaiian royalty lived life to the fullest, so why not do the same on your trip to Hawaii? Check out our new Hawaiian and Polynesian Cultural Center luau tours for the best vacation experience!

Oahu North Shore and Polynesian Cultural Center Ali’i Luau Tour

Oahu North Shore and Polynesian Cultural Center Ali'i Luau Tour

You’re in Hawaii to experience the authentic island culture, and this tour is the perfect match.

Explore Oahu’s famous North Shore with stops at popular Oahu attractions like the Dole Pineapple Plantation. You’ll also see world-renowned surfing beaches like Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach, where the waves can be massive in the winter time!

After your North Shore adventure with your friendly, knowledgeable tour guide, you’ll find new discoveries at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The PCC is home to countless island activities, traditions, peoples, entertainment, and of course, the best luau experience!

Your self-guide tour of the Polynesian Cultural Center includes the Ali’i Luau buffet plus the exciting “Ha: Breath of Life” Polynesian show!

Book this tour now.

Pearl Harbor and Polynesian Cultural Center Luau Tour

Pearl Harbor and Polynesian Cultural Center Luau Tour

Experience all of the above plus a trip to Pearl Harbor.

Discover the best of Oahu’s two most popular attractions, Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Begin your day with riveting narration from one of our expert tour guides—you won’t want to experience the history of Pearl Harbor without a primer like this!

Explore famous Pearl Harbor attractions like the USS Arizona Memorial at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center as you spend moments of contemplation in memory of the sailors who lost their lives on December 7, 1941.

Following your Pearl Harbor visit, we will take you to the North Shore of Oahu for a look at the island’s laid-back countryside culture. After a stop at the pineapple-loving Dole Plantation, we make our way around the North Shore until we reach La’ie Town, where the Polynesian Cultural Center is located.

Spend your evening enjoying a feast of authentic Polynesian foods, plus the PCC nighttime show “Ha: Breath of Life”.

Book your exciting Polynesian tour package now!

Read more: New Polynesian Cultural Center Luau Tours Available

An hour drive away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu is a charming north shore town called Hale’iwa. It is the landmark community of the peaceful North Shore and a gateway to world famous surf breaks such as Pipeline, Waimea, and Sunset Beach. Known as the surf capital of the world, Hale’iwa is the social and artistic hub of the North Shore community. Take a ride through town and you’ll see a well preserved historical main street full of locally owned shops and laid back North Shore residents.

Downtown Hale'iwa

I recently watched “North Shore,” a 1980s movie about a young up and coming surfer on the north shore of Oahu. This box-office bomb was supposed to be an inspirational action movie, but it ended up being more comical than anything. The stereotypes of punk surfers and outsiders (haoles) coming to Hawaii  was down right hilarious. One particular scene my friends and I laughed about was the fact that Hale’iwa looks exactly the same in the movie as it does today. The community has done a great job preserving the land and limiting commercialization from larger corporations and resorts. The town today showcases the laid-back Hawaiian lifestyle and has forever turned it’s back on the hassles of modern day city living. Residents and visitors all cherish the small businesses that fill up main street in the rustic old buildings, whether its an art gallery, shave ice stand, surf shop, or restaurant.

Minutes before you reach Hale’iwa Town you’ll see a majestic landscape of pineapple fields, over-grown sugar cane fields, coffee farms, magnificent mountain ranges, and a clear view of the Pacific Ocean. On days when the surf is up, which is almost everyday in the winter months, as you drive towards Hale’iwa, you can see the white

Famous Hale'iwa Sign

caps of massive breaking waves on the horizon. Instead of bypassing to continue on the Circle Island Tour, Discover Hawaii Tours will take you on a ride down Main St to witness this quintessential gem of the north shore, Oahu. As one of the highlights on several of our island tours, you’ll witness first hand the culture, history, and laid back vibe this community has to offer.

Read more: Hale’iwa: A North Shore Gem

Sunbathing isn’t the only activity enjoyed by residents and visitors of Hawaii, its also a pastime of the Hawaiian green sea turtle. Protected by the state of Hawaii, these peaceful marine mammals locally known as “honu” frequently sun bathe only on the Hawaiian Islands. When exploring the north shore Oahu, they can be seen “chillin out” on the beach, just like we would.

There are various beaches on the north shore to witness these bulky sun bathing beach bums. When I arrived to one of the honu’s favorite, turtle beach, I could see a handful of them laying in a peaceful, tranquil state as if they were meditating Buddhist monks. Normally sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs, but the Hawaiian green sea turtle comes ashore just to rest, which is what makes these magnificent animals so unique. Swimming around the ocean can be tiring for a sea turtle with too much exercise and predators like the tiger shark on the prowl. Coming ashore is not only a place of relaxation, but also a place of refuge. Whats amazing about witnessing this behavior is that its only been seen on the Hawaiian Islands in the past decade or so. It’s remarkable that they adapted to the environment for survival simply by finding a place for comfort. The turtles ages ranged from 10-50 years old and they each had a special individual name like Ikaika, Kimo, and Brian. Still today these honu make their daily routine of gracefully flopping themselves onto the beach for rest and relaxation.

Honu Taking A Break On Oahu Beach

When coming to witness the Hawaiian Green Sea turtle on the north shore, it is important not to interrupt these creatures in their relaxation period, sort of like my Grandpa. The areas are sometimes roped off like VIP section in a club, but you can still be close enough for a photo shoot. When taking a guided eco tour you’ll learn all the interesting facts about the Hawaiian green sea turtle. Daily departures are offered through Discover Hawaii Tours and will take you to a beach where these honu are frequently spotted. On tour you’ll also discover more natural highlights of Oahu like Waimea Valley, Botanical Gardens, and Moli’i Fishpond. After seeing the Hawaiian Green Sea turtle you’ll agree that its a once in a lifetime experience to witness these rare marine mammals. We hope you’ll learn something from the turtles when you get home; always find time to relax.

Hawaii Sea Turtle Chilling Out On Beach

Read more: Green Sea Turtles: Hawaii’s Original Beach Bums

Surf fans again have reason to head north. The big waves are here for 2010. Though they aren’t expected to stay long, the first round of waves have hit the north facing shores of Maui, Molokai, and Oahu. With faces expected to reach between 25 and 35 feet from Tuesday November 2^nd through Thursday November 4^th, surfers in paradise will no doubt be out in full force.

Catching Waves at Waimea Bay

It is best advised to leave the surfing and swimming to the seasoned and expert surfers during high surf advisories, though we do recommend visiting Oahu’s Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay along the  North Shore to witness these massive waves.  In December, The Quicksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau will hit Waimea Bay. 28 surfers are invited each December with the hope of competing in this classic event. The event requires face heights of 30 feet in order

With the big waves, comes the high surf warning and deadly currents. The advisory is in effect for the western shores of Oahu as well as Ni’ihau and Molokai, and the Big Island’s north shores. The National Weather Service in Honolulu will continue to closely monitor the surf conditions and make changes accordingly and as they deem appropriate for the waters.

Sunset Beach Shore Break

Be sure to join us on one of our Circle Island Tours exploring the island of Oahu, for your chance to see the North Shore and these impressive waves.

Read more: Surf’s Up Hawaii

Hawaii is most known for its beautiful weather, perfect beaches, big wave surfing, and its all around beauty. One often overlooked element of Hawaii and its culture is the diverse cuisine and unique delicacies. Many different foods are grown, produced, and prepared throughout the islands, and are all important to the customs and way of life here in Hawaii.

Locally grown crops have played an important part in Hawaii’s growth and economy for decades. Fields of pineapple, macadamia nuts, and coffee are seen on many of our North Shore and Circle Island Tours, and our Big Island Volcano Tour.

A closer look at local food production:

Pineapple – It is unknown when the pineapple was introduced into Hawaiian culture; however, large scale planting of the fruit began around 1850. James Dole established a plantation near Wahiawa on Oahu around 1900 and production escalated and eventually spread to other islands. Today, the remaining pineapple producers in Hawaii are Dole and Maui Land and Pineapple Company.

North Shore Pineapple Field

Coffee – First introduced to the islands through King Kamehameha’s Spanish Advisor in 1813, coffee remains a very big part of Hawaii’s exports. Unique soil and weather patterns combine to make Kona Coffee some of the most sought after coffee in the world. Hawaii is the sole U.S. provider of coffee in the world and most of the coffee comes from a 20 mile stretch of over 700 small coffee farms along the Kona coast of the Big Island on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa, though there are small quantities produced on the islands of Kauai and Maui.

Taro – No other form of food may represent Hawaii more than the taro plant. Though it is grown in many tropical climates worldwide it is most widely used in Hawaii and early Hawaiians were known to consume large quantities of taro that had been ground into a paste known as Poi. When raw, the plant is inedible and considered toxic, but when cooked or steeped in water, the root is harmless after it has been cooked.

Coffee Tree in Kona

Macadamia Nuts – Introduced to Hawaii from Australia in 1882, the macadamia nut tree was originally raised because of its beauty. A very versatile nut in cooking, there are over 700 farms and 8 processing plants, mostly on Hawaii’s Big Island, that is responsible for 90% of the world’s supply. Used in many foods including candies, breads, coffee, spreads, and cooking oil, macadamia nuts contain a high level of good fats and have been found to reduce cholesterol.

Sugarcane – Though it is not as big in Hawaiian agriculture as it once was, sugar continues to grow in Hawaii. As early as 1802, people on the island of Lanai were using stone rollers to crush the sweet juice from the sugarcane in 1834, the first sugar plantation went up on Kauai after King Kamehameha granted the use of 980 acres to Ladd & Company for growing and harvesting. The booming industry once employed 1 in 12 people and brought in about $150 million each year, but has since seen its prevalence fall as Hawaii has since concentrated its economic ventures elsewhere.

Read more: Hawaiian Agriculture