thanks for the tips!
Other things I'm thinking of taking them to do --
Hanauma Bay for a morning swim/snorkel
Diamond Head climb (maybe, don't want to be too tired!)
Drive to North shore with H1 or H3 Pali lookout?
Hanauma Bay is fine (except on Tuesdays, when they're closed). ^
Diamond Head is fine ^ (my 10 year old did it in ~15 minutes on a hot July afternoon, even counting stopping for pictures and waiting for dear old dad to catch up
).
But, just to be clear, driving to the North Shore by way of the Pali lookout almost qualifies for the "you can't get there from here" observation.
I
love the Pali Lookout (I have climbed straight up the hill past the WW2 marker to your right as you look out at Kailua) and recommend it to anyone for the awesome views.
I
guess you could hit the Lookout, go down the Pali to Kam highway, turn left, hop on H3 Honolulu-bound and then rejoin H1 toward the North Shore, but I don't know that I'd go with that as my first choice.
If you want to get to the North Shore from Waikiki, take H1 West to H2 to Kam Highway to Haleiwa and follow that south around Turtle Bay to Kaneohe. Then hop on H3 and go home.
Good luck; search this forum for ideas for food on the NS, try some Kona Brewery beers while you here, and enjoy!
Aloha,
Ted