Waikiki to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden?! It’s a LOT of walking without a car! (bus + parking) Oahu Hawaii travel tips

ALOHA!

Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden can be worth the trip from Waikiki if you want to be surrounded by dramatic mountains and tropical plants.

Even before you arrive on the grounds, once you turn onto the road that leads directly to the botanical garden, it will give you a WOW moment.

Well, it did for me anyway!

You will be going directly towards the Ko‘olau Mountains as you start driving (or walking from the bus stop) on the final road to the entrance!

When you’re actually at the Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden, it’s a peaceful place where you can walk through different sections. It will be a relaxing walk, with paved roads and a few trails you can walk through.

There are also picnic tables around so you can stop by the grocery store before you go so you can have some easy food and eat with views!

And it’s FREE! No reservations needed, no admission fee.

You can get a garden map before you go on the Honolulu government website, and they also have paper maps at the visitor center. You’ll find a QR code there too that you can scan to see the map on your phone. (You should definitely stop by the visitor center no matter what, as there are some displays around there.)

 

 

One of the important things to know if you are into taking pretty pictures around Oahu is that the road after entering the Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden has been an insta-famous spot.

But, they have now made it a thing where they don’t want you to stop and take pictures along the road. If you’re driving, you can still get beautiful pictures of the road from the car as you drive in!

You’re not supposed to take pictures even if you’re walking in. So you really can’t get that perfect picture of the road if you’re not driving in.

 

👆 This is the famous road after the entrance. This is the road you’ll drive (or walk) as soon as you enter. (I took this picture while walking in but it was before they became strict about taking pictures on the road.)

 

Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden is much easier to visit by car.

You can go without a car, but it will just involve a lot of walking. It’s a big area that has different sections that are spread out.

It’s definitely much easier to drive from section to section. You will be doing a lot of walking even if you want to see just a couple of them.

But, you can still see a lot of classic Hawaii scenery even if you don’t go to it all.

So if you think of it as a nice walk with amazing mountain views, then you still may think it’s worth it without a car. A lot of your walking will be done on the same road the cars will be driving. So you can think of it as a long scenic walk on an easy paved path.

 

👆 There are short trails around lined with tropical plants.

 

👆 You can see tropical plants and flowers.

 

Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden is around 15 miles from Waikiki, and it takes around 30 to 45 minutes to get there by car, depending on traffic. There’s no bus that goes directly into the garden, but the bus stop is close enough!

Now, below is a little bit more about going to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden from Waikiki!

 

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How to get to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden

Now, here is a little more about getting to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden from Waikiki, by car or bus, and a note on ride sharing. I have some more pictures below too.

It doesn’t look like there are any tours that make a stop at Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. For a different botanical garden on Oahu, have a look at the circle island tour with a botanical garden stop. You get 2 hours at the garden, and you can use that time to walk to waterfalls too!

 

Driving (parking)

If you already know that you want to rent a car, then you can drive to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. There’s parking within the grounds in several areas. It’s free.

 

👆 You will drive through an entrance station.

 

👆 There is free parking throughout the botanical garden.

 

 

The drive from Waikiki may take around 30 minutes to get there. It’s possible it may take longer depending on traffic. (map)

And longer also if you make stops! You’ll want to take the route of the Pali Highway (map) so that you can stop at the popular Pali lookout (reviews).

Your possibilities for other things to do on the same day after the garden are endless!

The Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden is on the east side of Oahu, and you can explore more of this side.

You can drive to Byodo-in Temple for another leisurely walk. Or if you want something a bit more strenuous, right nearby the temple is the Puu Maelieli Trail (reviews).

Then you can go to Kailua for Kailua Beach and/or Lanikai Beach, and also hike the Lanikai pillbox hike. Then make a stop at Waimanalo Beach for the views, and then you can continue to Makapuu Lighthouse Trail.

Well, you probably won’t have time to do all of this in one day, but these are just some things to look into!

 

To rent a car for the day to go to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden and more, search for the cheapest car rentals. The best prices will generally be from Honolulu Airport.

Take a look at expedia car rentals and discovercars.

 

 

Bus

It’s possible to go to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden by bus. Going by bus from Waikiki means that it will take time and patience! And walking.

I’ve been there twice by bus.

It’s a lot of walking. First, you need to walk from the bus stop to the garden entrance. The botanical garden has a lot of different areas, and they are spread out. So it requires a lot of walking once you’re within the grounds too. A lot! There came a time that I just really didn’t walk any more, so I started heading back.

If you are doing this as your only activity of the day, it might not feel like it’s a ton of walking.

The bus stop near the entrance of the garden is about a 10 minute walk. You’ll be walking through a residential neighborhood to get to the entrance. From there, it’s a 20 minute walk to the visitor center (map). You can walk back to the lake/pond from there. And then it can be a lot more walking to other sections.

 

👆 The bus stop that the directions route you to may be along the main road, but you’ll soon be walking on a road directly towards the mountains!

 

👆 Walking a few minutes from the bus stop with mountain views!

 

Overall, expect the time in transit from Waikiki to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden to take just under 1.5 hours one way. This includes the time walking from the bus stop to get to the entrance. If you time it right, you might find some bus options that get you there in closer to 1 hour.

A bus transfer will be necessary no matter what. Google maps makes it easy to navigate by bus to the garden! Just look for the public transit icon, pick a route you like, and do what it says!

Just to get you started, for example, you can type in your hotel in Waikiki as your starting point, and Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden GATE as your destination. See the map.

For reference, see the “Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden gate” marker on the map. There is also a “Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden” that puts it in the middle of the garden. Which is fine in general if you know that’s where it is, but it won’t give you an accurate walking time to the entrance from the bus stop. You can also do your directions to “Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden Visitor Center” (map + reviews).

When you’re actually in Waikiki, you’ll just use your current location as the starting point. It will tell you where your nearest bus stop is. You can play around with the routes. Doing this on the google maps app on your phone gives you more details. You can click on “scheduled” to see more upcoming departures, and you can click on “stops” when you’re actually on the bus to see exactly how many stops you have left (and follow along on the map with GPS once you’re on the bus). It will tell you where your nearest bus stop is.

If you are going by bus, it will be helpful to do a google maps bus route search for the way back to Waikiki. You can take screenshots of future bus timings for the way back.

The first time I went to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden, I went to downtown Honolulu on the same day (first) to see Hawaiian royalty sites. The second time, I went to Byodo-in Temple on the same day (also first). Perhaps this is why I felt like the garden was so much walking, because I had already done a lot of walking by then.  😅

 

👆 Google maps is the easy way to figure out how to get from Waikiki to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden by bus!

 

👆 You’ll see different options, so you can expand each route to see which one is best.

 

👆 You can expand out any bus route for details. This is bus #2 when coming from Waikiki. The bus stop that you’ll get from the directions will probably be about a 10 minute walk from the entrance. But you’ll feel like the walk will start shortly after you step off the bus because you’ll be walking with mountain views!

 

👆 It will also tell you about future bus timings! You can expand the “scheduled” section to see the different bus timings of any particular route. Do this for your way back and screenshot it!

 

It will be worth getting a HOLO card for the bus to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. You can get the card with a “day pass” at any ABC Store in Waikiki. This acts as a public transportation cash card, and you can load it up online if you want to take the bus on another day too. You can also order your card online if you still have time.

Otherwise, you’ll need cash in exact change for every bus ride you take. See current bus fare.

Since you have to transfer at least once to go from Waikiki to the Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden, if you don’t have a HOLO card, it means you will be paying individually for each bus ride at least 4 times. (Counting up the bus rides to get there and back.) There is no such thing as a transfer ticket if you pay in cash. With a HOLO card, you will be capped at the cost of a “day pass” and never pay more than that in one day for bus fares.

 

To decide if this extra time in transit is worth it for YOU, read the reviews of people who have visited! (And see more pictures below!)

 

 

Uber

There is Uber in Waikiki.

Since there is a sign at the visitor center about uber, this would indicate that many people take uber to get to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. It will be about a 40 minute drive. You can check the uber app even if you’re not currently in Hawaii just to get an idea of how much it will cost. For the best estimate, try to do a search during the day Hawaii time since it will be based on real-time data of available drivers!

The well-known taxi company called Charley’s Taxi lists their flat rate as $83 for a one-way taxi from Waikiki to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. Of course this can change.

 

👆 The last Uber pick-up at the Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden visitor center is 3:45pm.

 

 

More Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden tips

👆 The road that leads to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden.

 

👆 Come with food from the grocery store and you can have a picnic.

 

👆 You can go to the Kilonani Mauka overlook.

 

👆 It’s a short overlook trail.

 

👆 I saw these yellow hibiscus flowers near the entrance as I was walking in.

 

👆 Hawaii’s history is Polynesian history.

 

👆 You can get the Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden map before you go, or get a paper version from the visitor center.

 

👆 You can also look for the QR code once you arrive at the visitor center to get the map on your phone.

 

 

Quick travel tips when you are OFF TO WAIKIKI!

The Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden is one of the 5 Honolulu botanical gardens that are managed by the Honolulu government.

You can go to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden on your own by bus (map). It will take time, and it does require a bus transfer. The nearest bus stop is about a 10 minute walk to the garden entrance, and then about a 20 minute walk to the visitor center. It’s a scenic walk almost as soon as you get off the bus!

It’s about a 40 minute drive by car, maybe longer with traffic (map). See cost of car rentals at expedia.

It’s nice easy walking around the garden! Wear footwear good for walking.

If you’re driving to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden, you’ll want to make a quick stop at the Pali Lookout (map). Maybe you want to go to Byodo-in Temple afterwards for another nice scenic walk (map).

 

Happy walking around the Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden!