Reminiscing on Oahu Favorites
A guide to traveling there to dive, adventure, and more — the wrecks, the reefs, the plate lunch, and everything I'd tell a friend before they go.
By Alexis Jabbour2 min read
I've logged more dives on Oahu than almost anywhere, and every time I go back the island gives me a reason to stay longer. This isn't a dive-sites-only list — it's how I'd actually spend a week here, in and out of the water.
Above the surface first
Before the tanks: rent a car and get out of Waikiki. Drive the windward side to Lanikai for the softest sand on the island and the pillbox hike at sunrise. Hit the North Shore for garlic shrimp trucks, Ted's chocolate haupia pie, and — in winter — the biggest waves you'll ever watch from dry land. The west side (Waianae) is quieter, drier, and where the water gets that impossible blue.
Then, the diving. Here are the sites I send everyone to.
1. The Waikiki wrecks — YO-257 & San Pedro
Two wrecks sitting side by side in the sand off Waikiki, shallow enough for a relaxed dive and reliably full of turtles, eels, and the occasional passing eagle ray. It's the perfect first Oahu dive — easy, iconic, and a short boat ride from town.
→ Book it: the Waikiki wreck dive tour on BookWithBuddy. (Paste the exact listing link and I'll wire it directly.)
2. The Sea Tiger
The big one — a 189-foot former smuggling vessel sunk on purpose, now the largest wreck off Oahu. A little deeper, a lot more dramatic, with resident green sea turtles that could not care less about you. Bring a light and take your time in the swim-throughs.
3. The Waianae coast
The west side is my favorite half-day on the island: clearer water, fewer boats, and a real shot at pelagics — spinner dolphins on the surface interval are basically part of the itinerary. This is where Oahu stops feeling like a vacation and starts feeling like the ocean showing off.
→ Book it: the Waianae coast tour on BookWithBuddy. (Same — send me the listing URL to link.)
4. Shore diving: Electric Beach & Shark's Cove
No boat, no problem. Electric Beach (Kahe Point) sits across from a power-plant outflow that draws warm water and huge schools of fish — plus turtles and, if you're lucky, dolphins. In summer, Shark's Cove on the North Shore is a shore-diving playground (and, yes, the name oversells the sharks).
My dive logs
I keep a running log of every dive — conditions, sites, what we saw. If you want the unfiltered version of these sites over time, here are my dive logs. (Link your Buddy dive-log profile here.)
That's my Oahu. Come for a wreck dive, stay for the west-side sunsets. And if you book any of these, tell them Buddy sent you.