Chances are if you're coming to Honolulu you're staying in Waikiki. If you're staying in Waikiki, you have two main options for Running and Swimming: Kapiolani Park/Diamondhead and Ala Moana Beach Park
Running around Kapiolani Park and Diamondhead should be a run at the top of your list. Not only is it part of the Honolulu Marathon route, but it's also the most scenic run you can do in the Honolulu area. Kapiolani Park itself is gorgeous and is always bustling at any time of the day. The park features a wide grassy expanse dotted with palm trees. In the background is the iconic Diamondhead. Diamondhead is an old volcanic crater and is one of the most well known images of Honolulu.
The run course linked above takes you on a tour around the perimeter of Kapiolani park and up around Diamondhead.
At the turn around of the run is the Diamondhead lookout where you can see spectacular views of the shoreline and nearby Kahala area.
If you're looking to swim around Kapiolani park there is the perfect place. If you zoom in on the map for this run linked above you will see the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial on the ocean side of Kapiolani Park. Just to
the left of this (if you're facing the ocean) is a beach known as Kaimana beach.
As far as beaches go, it's not the most scenic. But this is a popular swimming area. There is an orange windsock that is located 200m offshore, so if you swim out to the sock and back it's a 400m swim.
You swim across a reef and see lots of fish. If you're lucky you may even see a honu!
Depending on the tide there can be a strong current across the reef, so check with a lifeguard if you are unsure of your swim strength. Also make sure it's not jellyfish season!
Another one of my favorite places is Ala Moana. Ala Moana is one of the most popular parks in town, and is always busy with people working out.
If you run the perimeter and magic island, you can get a three mile loop in.
The Magic Island portion is a one-mile loop that offers spectacular views of Waikiki and Diamondhead.
If you are traveling with family, this is a great place to run because you can dump your spouse and kids at the beach and run as many loops as you want.
If you are looking for a place to do a long, calm swim, Ala Moana is your place. They have long, skinny white PVC poles every 500m starting from the lifeguard stand on Magic Island.
Recently they installed buoys to mark the area for the swimmers and the area for the paddleboarders.
Just stay on the beach side of the buoys. The buoys make it a little harder to identify the 500m markers, but just remember to look for the thin white PVC poles.
Both Kapiolani Park and Ala Moana Park have plenty of bathrooms, water fountains, and showers. In Hawaii, people will just soap up right at the outdoor showers, then go inside the bathrooms to change. You see many people emerge from the ocean, soap up, and then come out of the bathrooms ready to go straight to the office!
If you're not used to the Hawaii heat and humidity, I suggest you carry a handheld water bottle, but you should have plenty of access to water fountains along these running routes.
Happy Traveling and Happy Training! Aloha!
