'Auana by Cirque du Soleil was such an amazing experience!…read more As a mom, a lot of my planning revolves around finding experiences my seven-year-old daughter will enjoy, and this one was definitely worth it! The acrobatics, music, stunning costumes, humor, and Hawaiian storytelling all came together so beautifully. She was completely entertained from beginning to end! Seeing my daughter experience Cirque du Soleil for the first time made the evening even more special. She loved it, I loved it, and it's definitely one of my favorite memories from this summer.

Such a fun and entertaining show! I loved the combination of circus skills, music, dancing, and…read moreHawaiian influences. There was a really good variety throughout the performance, so it kept things interesting from start to finish. The aerial elements were definitely a highlight for me, and I loved seeing the different performers bring their own skills and personalities to the show. It felt like a fun mix of traditional Hawaiian inspiration and modern circus performance. We chose seats near the back corner and actually loved the view. You could see the entire stage really well from there, and I think being a little farther back gave us a great perspective on the larger group numbers and aerial performances. I don't think you necessarily need the most expensive seats to have a good experience here.

2026 Hawaii Rainbow Film Festival. Located in the heart of Honolulu, surrounded by the urban…read morerevival of Chinatown. 2nd floor bar and lounge area allows for drinks and food. Tons of parking in the surrounding public garages.

I was blessed enough to experience various shows at the Hawaii Theatre Center, the most recent…read morebeing a showing of Nosferatu (2024) for Halloween, which was a special experience with some friends who are also into horror flicks. The theater supports both movies as well as live shows, which makes it a unique cultural space. You're not supposed to eat in the theater itself, and if you want to drink you would need to buy a sippy cup-like container from the bar. I suppose it is meant to protect the theater from decay, all these protective measures. The bartender who served us wine was friendly enough. I loved seeing the art around the theater.

This was a reasonably fun experience at the Hilton Hawaiian village. We knew it would probably be a…read morebit of a tourist trap, but we figured that we had to try a luau in Hawaii. Book your tickets ahead of time particularly if you want the diamond premiere seating option which guarantees you a table in the first two rows for better entertainment viewing as well as express entry into the venue, first access to the buffet, and a welcome drink plus three cocktails per person. When you enter you are given a welcome Mai Tai and then have to take the obligatory souvenir photo which they will try to sell you later - I think it was $60. We were then shown to a table in the second row which had a great view of the entertainment. These are shared tables where you will likely sit with other families. There was a group "hula lesson" which was silly but sort of fun. They will then release each table to visit the buffet with the first two rows going first. They had a nice variety of hot and cold dishes of varying quality. The pulled pork was probably the best. The beef short ribs were the worst with some portions being almost entirely fat. A gross aspect - there were flies and bugs buzzing around the buffet with no covers on any of the food. Also, keep an eye on the buffet if you want to go back for seconds. At some point they just closed it down with no announcement before they admitted guests who had booked the entertainment only option which did not include the food. There are some restrooms a short walk away just outside the luau area. The bar seemed massively overwhelmed with a huge line the entire night except right after we hit the buffet the first time. I spent part of the night in the long line instead of having a closeup view of the entertainment. Maybe offer the first two diamond premiere rows table service so we wouldn't have to wait in the enormous line. The entertainment was the best part of the experience with some amazing performers including fire dancers. They charge more for the luau on nights when there are fireworks, but they did not seem to make any effort to help you view the fireworks and instead started clearing away all the tables which made us feel like they wanted us to leave before the fireworks even started. Overall, this was a fairly fun experience but I doubt we would visit again on future trips.

I don't recommend buying show only tickets, you won't be able to see much of anything. The show…read morewhile nice, is on the floor so you can't see much of it. The distance and stage height make it a challenge. I would recommend moving seats closer on sides. Making the dancers go to all areas not just food guests, have some entertainment, hula hoops, games, things for kids. Give more than a single .25 cent soda. They tried. The people putting on show did their best. But you can see the show for free if you walk by the lagoon 15-20 minutes after the show starts. Save your money.

Disclaimer; we only saw the show, we didn't participate in the pre-show activities or the Lu'au…read moredinner. The dancers, musicians host and fire dancers were so awesome. These folks are so great at what they do. I'll be honest I was really just waiting for the fire dancers...for me that was the highlight, but all the performers are great and did a great job of keeping the crowd engaged by participating. Only complaint is that a lady guest was standing up and taking videos and blocking everyone else's view behind her. Other than the inconsiderate guest, the show, venue and performers were fantastic. Also, couldn't have asked for more perfect weather!

Not sure if my expectations were too high, but after experiencing this luau, I'm not sure if I…read morewould want to experience another luau especially for the price that was paid. Performers: The performers did a wonderful job dancing and putting on different acts. They were entertaining. During one act, a man climbed a tree with his bare feet. All the dancers did great. Food: The food was a buffet style serving line with servers. The food was decent. It was nothing to rave about, but it also wasn't the worst. It pretty much did its job. Overall: Again, I don't know if my expectations were too high, but I honestly wanted to leave, but I paid so much so I wanted to stay to see if the experience would get better. I don't have any other luaus to compare this to, so it could have been great and just not for me. I did feel like it took a long time to get the show started. There was a little entertaining before the show started, but I felt like there was a lot of wasted time.

What a beautiful local theater! We were in Oahu for Spring Break and traveling with our theater…read moreteen so thought to check the listing and luckily there was a show: West Side Story and it fit into our schedule. Easy parking, clean rest rooms, no frills concession, and cute merch. I got the reusable cup too. People were so nice and friendly. We sat at the very back of the theater and enjoyed it. The actors were so talented and so glad we were able to see it. My teen also got autographs and the actors were so happy and willing to sign her playbill. A couple were surprised that they were being asked for an autograph. When in Hawaii, after enjoying the beach and watching the sunset, why not catch a musical produced well run by the local community and supported and loved by the community.

We went to the Diamond Head Theatre for the first time to see the Les Mis Production. Although…read moresmall, the venue has a good view from every seat and the angle of the chairs, the spacing between the chairs and rows is adequate. In addition for our production, the acoustics were fine, no problems. Although not on the level as the best Broadway productions, the local community cast delivered on all levels. In addition, due to the small venue, the show really draws you into the production . All in all a great experience.

We had a tough time picking a luau for our visit to Hawaii and I'm so glad we decided on Nutridge!…read moreThe whole experience was wonderful from the beautiful grounds, the entertainment, to the cultural information, games, music, we loved every second!!! The proximity to Waikiki was so convenient. They also provide transportation if you need or or you can drive yourself to the location. I would recommend Nutridge to anyone looking for a luau that is smaller, interesting, and beautiful!

The staff are super warm and friendly and the location is among the best luau locations out there…read more I've been to many different luau productions. This one is definitely intimate and we had a very small crown (less than 50). I enjoyed the games and activities. The issue is the price- for this price more should be included. Cash bar and limited performers. Additionally - the food is reported to be farm to table but they openly joke much of it is from Costco. Much was packaged and clearly not grown or made in Hawaii. Overall the experience was lovely but seemed overpriced for what was delivered.

A night in Kaka'ako is always a fun place to explore, and just be entertained!…read more The Honolulu Night Market at Our Kaka'ako is indeed a fabulous adventure into the biggest street/block party filled to the brim with all things local...food, retail and culture. I've been to so many and each and every one is very unique where you can find either fashion runway stage, live street art, or even a dance night in the barn. I just love the vibe SALT and surrounding Our Kaka'ako brings with the vibrant art we're so blessed to have and this particular night (November 19th) there was actually much more shopping just perfect for the holidays and the party went further down to Ya-ya's. Tonight I was fortunate to have gone after work so I kept it short but found some awesome treats. Some straw toppers to add to my holiday gift giving and some cheesecake cups (OG, Strawberry and Cookie Butter) of course I got one of each to share...ate the Strawberry which of course omg was yummy!! Not too sweet as the Strawberries was just perfect as I tried to get an even scoop of it all in every bite. Walked further down and honestly wasn't in the mood to wait too long for anything found something that would just exactly work for me. Ya-Ya's Chophouse & Seafood and tonight they had two items - Steak Kebabs - Fat Fried Rice with TAB (aka Thick Ass Bacon lol!) I seriously wanted the fried rice but thought that the Steak Kebabs was more sensible for me personally and it came with two kebabs each fully loaded with steak, mushrooms, peppers and onions with a huge scoop of rice! So many options I really was considering including Henna from Henna Happens, Birria Tacos from Dolce Vita, Corn from Corn Onoz Hawaii but though there's always a next time yes!?! I remember pre-pandemic Yelp had a booth here and hoping as things return to normalcy that we'll see it back again one day (hint hint!) Absolutely love this Honolulu Night Market as it offers so many cultural coolness that you can't find anywhere else! Thank you!

There were only about 4-5 food trucks when I visited, and it felt small. Around 6 PM, the area had…read morevery few people. There was some live music, but it seemed more like a quick stop for tourists rather than a real night market. I didn't try any food because the atmosphere wasn't appealing, so I left quickly.

What a performance…read more.. Thank you to Terry K for taking me on this journey to something that I've never tried personally is to see a play and Manoa Valley Theatre offers us some amazing performances that I've been lucky to see a play though it's never been at Manoa Valley venue itself and what a difference it is. The vibe here is full of energy as many start arriving and you need to check in and verify your seating which the staff does and also informed us that the air conditioning wasn't fully operational and provided us with a bottle water is a nice gesture though was slightly warm the cool Manoa air kept us decently cool. As we get to chill prior by getting a drink and/or snack is nice and there are great options available including some alcohol. Kim's Convenience is the play and from what we were told is once a series on Netflix which I don't have but I like that I have no idea as I can enjoy the play just as they visualize which was great and fun since it was a comedy, if anything the seating leaves no room for anyone to pass in front of you so I had leave the row and wait in the aisle for others to take their seat but in all comfortable and easy to view the play without being blocked from the previous row. Bravo to this creative and wonderful evening with a great friend as doing something unique like this was so much fun and a memorable experience. Thank you!

The Princess and the Iso Pea was very good. Cast was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised by the…read morequality of sound, light effects and friendliness of the ushers. Snacks were available for purchase both before the show and during intermission. Cash and card accepted. Parking is available on the street and at Manoa Market place. Manoa Market place was suggested in an email I received from the theater confirming my tickets. Everything was well organized. Warnings: The theater has seen better days and is very dusty. It's an allergy nightmare and if you have a dust allergy request seating away from the walls. Seating is old and uncomfortable. Be prepared if you have back issues, it's an older theater. There is only one women's restroom with 4 stalls. My entire intermission was spent in the line.

Improv Superette! Laughter is medicine and Improv Superette is the perfect venue for it!…read more Parking- Street parking is da bestest. Harbour Court for security.

Saw "A Holiday Themed Improv" tonight and was so heartened to watch the current generation take…read morehold of our attention and keep it for the entire evening!! Improv isn't an easy skill for the novice. You have to be quick on your feet to take whatever scenario is thrown at the actors, act it out on the spot, and interact with the other actors to expand on the situation. The audience ate it up and laughed so much (especially the local/non local clips). It was the fourth of four nights for this hardworking crew and they were exhausted at the end of the show. If this troupe of young people can successfully fill a community theatre for four nights, it gives me hope for this generation. Mahalo, kids!!

I enjoyed my one time I went there to see Johnny Valentine and am sad to hear they closed the venue…read morepart. I loved arriving at this shopping center and going through the music classrooms, almost like a speakeasy. Cute older couple that runs the place. Very...Italian decor? Moody, night club vibe on the upper level, older crowd mainly. The food and drink were not too bad. Would I go just for the food? No. But the ambiance was really cool to experience, I'll miss it!

Medici's is a special little gem in Mānoa transporting you to a magical space filled with music,…read morefood, and happiness. The club opened in April of 2014 and features jazz, blues, classical musicians in Hawaii. This was our second time here and loved it. Tim and Carolyn (owners) are very welcoming couple who work in tandem to operate this place. Tim is the chef, artist, and manages the music events upstairs. Carolyn is the musical director for the school downstairs. All proceeds from dinner/shows help support the Manoa School of Music and the Arts downstairs. The ambiance is beautiful and well-decorated with plants, art, paintings. Tim is an artist, so you will find his paintings for sale too. We took one home during the NYE event and admire it everyday. Your ticket includes live music and a tasty 4 course gourmet meal who is cooked by Chef Tim. Just a word of warning is that the meal is on the smaller side. The dishes are served on mostly paper plates but I assume that's how they also keep the costs lower. Most of the attendees seem to be 50+ so the food might be catering to those who are older and don't eat as much. Although we ended up being content by the end with drinks. You will likely end up sitting with strangers since the tables are large, circular, and can seat up to 6-8 people. This can be a good way to socialize and make some new friends. They also have a bar that has very reasonable prices. $25 wine bottles and only $7.50 for beer/wine glasses. Cocktails available too. Highly recommend this place if you're looking for a special place to enjoy the beautiful tunes of jazz. Hard to find places like this anymore!