Which by the way do you have a list of the freebie stuff to do? Like enjoying the beach, Fort De Russy, etc? Is it possible to walk into hotels you aren’t staying at and watching their demonstrations, etc?

Whoa! Kelly’s asking for a lot with this one, and I’m sure a lot of our visitors would probably appreciate this answer as well. I think I’ll divide this into two articles as there are TONS to do on Oahu that don’t require cash (or maybe just a bit of it as long as you have some sort of transportation.

One thing that pops into mind is Diamond Head Crater. You can get there by bus (http://www.thebus.org for routes and times) and hike the stairs up to the top, where the view is quite breathtaking and well worth the visit. The hike is classified as easy to moderate so if you’re an active person, you shouldn’t have any trouble hiking up the two sets of stairs (one with 99 steps and the other with 76 steps). Of course, wear comfortable clothes, tennis shoes and bring a bottle of water. Entrance into the crater will cost you $1.00 per person, or $5.00 per car. You can park at Diamond Head Lookout, which is at the tunnel entrace overlooking the southeastern shores of Oahu, but park at your own risk. Which reminds me: Diamond Head Lookout is also another great place for a picture opportunity. Be sure not to miss it.

A hike to Manoa Falls is also another option to take. We wrote something about our recent hike up the falls sometime this week which would probably help you. Admission is free, but you’ll have to pay $5.00 for parking. I don’t think theBus goes up there, but check out http://www.thebus.org just to make sure.

After Manoa Falls, you can also visit the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or more commonly called Punchbowl Crater. It might sound a bit somber to visit a cemetery, but there’s a reason why it’s a popular visitor attraction: they have a great view of the entire city and the western side of the island. Admission is free, and the cemetery is open from 6:00AM to 6:00PM.

You can also visit the USS Arizona Memorial. Contrary to what you might have heard, visiting the USS Arizona is actually free. You are under no obligation to donate but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to give a dollar or two to help in keeping the memorial open. It’s the two other attractions at Pearl Harbor that require admission fees (The USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and the USS Missouri). And being that it’s the most popular tourist attraction in Oahu, it’s definitely something that you can’t miss.

You can also go around the island on theBus and visit A LOT of places Hawaii is known for. If you get tired of Waikiki Beach, hop on theBus and head out to Sandy Beach and spend a day there. In addition to that, you can also visit the Makapu’u Lookout and Light House, “From Here to Eternity” Beach (where parts of the movie of the same name was filmed), Halona Lookout (where the famous “blow hole” is located), and if you venture out even further (on theBus, of course), you’ll hit the world-famous Sunset Beach, Banzai Pipeline (Oahu’s famous surfing beaches), and Waimea Beach.

A note about theBus: Bus fare costs $2.00 per ride, but you can get a visitor bus pass for $20.00. This gives you unlimited boarding and re-boarding privileges for four consecutive days. The visitor bus pass is available at all ABC Stores around Waikiki.

OK, that’s it for now. In part 2, we’ll cover more stuff to do in Oahu for (nearly) free. Things to expect:

• Brunch at the Beach in Waikiki
• Lessons and shows at Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and Ala Moana Center
• Walking along Kalakaua Avenue at night
• Aloha Tower
• Hilton Hawaiian Village’s fireworks show
• Many more!