I’m sure the first thing you thought when you read my title is, “there are only 9 great places to take photos in Oahu?!”  Which of course isn’t the case.  Every spot on the island is pretty magnificent, but while we visited in July, these were the spots that gave us frame-worthy travel shots!  If you follow me on Instagram then you may have seen these already, they are my absolute favorite and I wanted to share them here with my readers.

Waimea

This first photo was taken straight from my car, passenger side.  My husband may have freaked out for a second as I shouted, “wow that’s so gorgeous!” and stuck the camera past his face.  Luckily we were driving slow (and please don’t repeat this action).  The photo below is of Waimea Bay beach which is just to the left of where the photo above was taken.  Gorgeous beach with a spot to the far left of the panorama where some of the baseball players from our team jumped about 30 feet from the cliff into the water. 

Just down the road a short way is the Waimea Valley and Waimea Falls.  For a small fee there are some hikes you can take, and the one to the waterfall is a must.  Despite it raining, grab a life vest and jump into the water to the falls.  You’re advised to climb the rocks around the falls as they’re super slippery. 

The contrast of green vegetation and black rock with the white waters is so beautiful.

Shark’s Cove

Half the team and coaches from our group stayed in North Shore as a handful of us were in Waikiki.  We spent a lot of time up north near Shark’s Cove.  There’s an amazing lagoon and great snorkeling in the area and from what you can see below, the sunsets are heavenly.  Again, the boys are show out on those rocks where they’d jump into the waters below.

Turtle Beach

For obvious reasons, come and see some beautiful honu!  Normally there’s a “ranger” there that blocks off the area when the turtles reach the sand and also have tons of information to share.  Plenty spots to park for free.

Makapu’u Beach Park

Overlooking Rabbit Island, this is a beautiful yet windy spot.  We’ve gone to a few beaches in this part of the island and they’re full of locals with many stories to share.  Some great tidepool areas too for little ones.

Lanai Lookout

I climbed a wall at this spot to walk around.  Others were also exploring this area as well as someone flying a drone.  The landscape from the wind and water erosion was pretty stunning to see.

Waikiki Beach

This is obvious, but take a walk down the beach in front of all the hotels one morning, you can’t miss a shot like this with Diamond Head in the background…

Kualoa Ranch

So many neat tours to look into, this shot was taken from a beach across the street where we looked directly at Chinaman’s Hat.  The mountains are just chiseled so neat, I remember seeing landscape like this in Kauai on the Jurassic Falls helicopter tour.

Lanikai Beach

Finally, Lanikai Beach had the most beautiful water I’ve seen on the island. It was clear and so many shades of blue and turquoise and the sand was white and soft like powder.  The parking is slim pickins and the beach was full, but it’s a gorgeous spot, even when it’s cloudy and overcast.  The picture below doesn’t do it justice, you’ll have to see for yourself.

Tell me your favorite spot on the island for a photo!