ALOHA!
I have taken the bus to do the Lanikai pillbox hike a couple of times.
ð There is a bus stop near the start of the Lanikai pillbox hike. Once you get off the bus, you turn right onto the street up ahead and it’s about a 5 minute walk to get to the Lanikai pillbox trailhead!
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Depending on how you want to hike the Lanikai pillbox hike, and what else you want to do, there are a few different ways that you can take the bus to do the Lanikai pillbox hike.
No matter what, there is a bus stop near the Lanikai pillbox trailhead!
If you are taking the bus, you have even more options!
That’s because it means that you can also do a one-way hike, instead of a round-trip hike!
So first, you need to decide if you want to just do the Lanikai pillbox hike the way most people do it.
This is to start it in the Lanikai neighborhood, hike to one or both of the pillboxes, and then hike back the same way you came.
Or, you can keep hiking past the pillboxes for more of the Kaiwa Ridge Trail and make it a one-way hike!
You can also do it as an out-and-back after hiking more of the Kaiwa Ridge Trail.
And if you do want to do the whole Kaiwa Ridge Trail, and you only want to hike one-way, you then need to decide which direction you want to hike!
If you want to also see Lanikai Beach, then it’s a matter of whether you want to see Lanikai Beach before you hike, or after!
You can see more about how to hike the Lanikai pillbox hike.
If you want to do the Lanikai pillbox hike the way most people do, then basically, you can get off at a bus stop near the start of the Lanikai pillbox hike in the Lanikai neighborhood… or you can take a bus to Kailua and then walk to the Lanikai pillbox hike.
ð You can take a bus to the start of the Lanikai pillbox hike, or you can go to Kailua Beach and then walk to the Lanikai pillbox hike from there.
Can you take a bus to the Lanikai pillbox hike?
Yes, you can take a bus to do the Lanikai pillbox hike!
The 671 bus goes directly to the Lanikai neighborhood.
There is a bus stop near the start of the Lanikai pillbox hike.
The bus loops around the neighborhood, so there is a bus stop that a walk of around 5 minutes from the start of the Lanikai pillbox hike.
That said, unless you are already in Kailua, going to the Lanikai pillbox hike by bus will require a transfer.
The only way to catch the direct bus to Lanikai is in Kailua.
Google maps makes it easy to figure out how to take the bus to the Lanikai pillbox hike!
Well actually I did have a near google maps fail when going to the Lanikai pillbox hike by bus, but more about that in a bit! ðĪŠ That is not the norm for taking the bus on Oahu, though!
Waikiki to Lanikai pillbox hike bus
You can get from Waikiki to the Lanikai pillbox hike by bus.
You might have to transfer the bus twice, #1 in Ala Moana or downtown Honolulu, and #2 in Kailua. (map)
It might take you 2 hours one way to get from Waikiki to the Lanikai pillbox hike by bus.
Honolulu cruise port to Lanikai pillbox hike bus
You can get from the Honolulu cruise port to the Lanikai pillbox hike by bus.
You will have to transfer the bus once, in Kailua. (map)
It might take you 1 hour 15 minutes to get from the Honolulu cruise port to the Lanikai pillbox hike by bus.
More below about the bus to Lanikai pillbox hike!
ðī
Bus transfer for the direct bus to Lanikai pillbox hike
This was nearly a google maps fail for me!
Basically, the spot that you get off the bus in Kailua is not the same spot that you will get the bus to Lanikai from.
So once you get off the bus in Kailua, make sure to walk up the road.
Well, this is if your bus transfer is at the corner of Kailua + Hamakua, as it was for me.
And, that is even though the Kailua bus stop sign shows the 671 route number!
I was waiting forever at the same bus stop that I got off at. Looking at google maps, it seemed like I would be just fine at the bus stop I got off at.
And because there’s a bus stop sign with the 671 Lanikai bus!
I played around with google maps and sometimes it would tell me that I can get the bus from the bus stop I was at, and sometimes it would tell me to get the bus from the bus stop up the road.
Well, since I was at a bus stop that had the 671 route listed, and since I had seen google maps say that I can get the bus from the current bus stop, I stayed put.
Finally, after it seemed like I had missed several bus timings according to google maps (it showed there was a bus at a certain time, but then no bus showed up at the bus stop, and then another bus timing showed up… but then no bus showed up…), I walked up the street. (It was just a couple of minutes.)
And, there was a bus that was labeled Lanikai!
Apparently, the other bus stop was only for drop-offs, and you will have to walk a little further up the street to a different bus stop to catch the bus to Lanikai.
I asked the bus driver about it when I finally got on the bus to Lanikai.
ð I got off the bus at this Kailua bus stop at 9:07am at Kailua + Hamakua. Google maps showed that the 671 bus should arrive shortly. So I stayed at the bus stop. Many buses came by, but none of them were bus route 671 to Lanikai!
ð The bus stop I got off at in Kailua has a bus route sign for 671 Lanikai. But even after waiting for over 50 minutes, no 671 bus stopped here. ðĪ
ð Finally at 10am, I started walking up the street and saw another bus stop. This is the bus stop I should have been at all along to go to the Lanikai pillbox hike. I probably would have waited for just 5 to 10 minutes, instead of nearly an hour!
ð This bus stop where you can get a bus to Lanikai pillbox hike is in front of a yoga studio. (map)
ð Once I got to the correct bus stop, I saw a bus that said 671 Lanikai on it! What a relief!
ð Riding the bus past Kailua Bay on the way to the Lanikai pillbox hike.
ð Inside the bus to the Lanikai pillbox hike.
ð You can follow along on google maps to know when your bus stop to coming up. When you see that it’s next, you’ll pull the rope thing. This will signal to the bus driver to stop next. Then once the bus stops, the door may or may not open automatically. If it doesn’t, there’s a spot on the door to TOUCH, and you will touch that, and the door will open! And then you’ll get off the bus and off you go to the Lanikai pillbox hike!
In retrospect, I saw several “no service” buses pass by the bus stop I was waiting at in Kailua, and I’m guessing those were all buses to Lanikai that started just up the road! I unnecessarily waited around for 50 minutes! I think I could have been on the next bus to Lanikai in like 5 to 10 minutes!
That was very annoying, but when I got off the bus in Lanikai and started walking the streets, all of that was forgotten! ð
On this particular day, I took the bus to Lanikai, went to Lanikai Beach, walked over to Kailua Beach (for bathroom…), then walked back to Lanikai to start the Lanikai pillbox hike!
ð Walking the streets of Lanikai.
ð You can go to see Lanikai Beach before you hike to the Lanikai pillboxes… or save this for after your hike!
ð There is a bus stop about a 5 minute walk from where the Lanikai pillbox hike starts.
ð Once you get off the bus, you’ll turn onto the road that goes “inland” (non-beach side) which will be a bit of an incline. You will keep walking until you see the trailhead which will be directly off the side of the road on the left side.
ð You will keep walking until you see the trailhead which will be directly off the side of the road on the left side.
ð Off you go to hike to the Lanikai pillboxes from the trailhead!
Option: Bus to Kailua, then walk to the Lanikai pillbox trailhead
Another option you have is to take the bus to Kailua Beach, and then walk to the start of the Lanikai pillbox hike.
There are no facilities (like bathroom) at Lanikai pillbox trailhead, so if you want to use the bathroom before you go (for example), then you may want to stop by Kailua Beach first.
That, and, it’s a nice walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai.
It’s about a 10 to 15 minute walk, but there is a part of it that you can get views of Kailua Bay from above! We will call this the Kailua Bay overlook.
For easy reference on a map, the Kailua Bay overlook is at/near the Lanikai Monument.
After you have gone to the Lanikai Monument, if you want to save yourself a little bit of walking, then there is a bus stop near the Kailua Bay overlook area.
That will be a bus ride of a couple of minutes from there.
So you would save yourself 5 minutes of walking.
But since you’re hiking anyway, you might as well walk the rest of the way… ðĪŠ
ð There are several bus stops near Kailua Beach. This is one of them. You can walk from Kailua Beach to the Lanikai Monument that is at the top of this hill, and then come back down to get on the bus to the Lanikai pillbox hike here, if you want to minimize your walking. (map) Otherwise, you’ll walk another 10 minutes or so from the Lanikai Monument to get to the Lanikai pillbox hike.
ð Take the bus to the Lanikai pillbox hike from Kailua… or walk!
More need-to-know about going to Lanikai pillbox hike by bus!
The Lanikai pillbox hike is one of the best hikes on Oahu.
The Lanikai pillbox hike is free, and you don’t need to make any reservations for it.
There aren’t any sort of facilities (aka bathroom) near the Lanikai pillbox trailhead. So prepare accordingly!
Figuring out which bus to take on Oahu is easy!
Just consult google maps!
Once on google maps, enter your destination. Setting the destination as Lanikai Pillbox Hike can work out for purposes of figuring out your bus route.
Then select the public transit option. Then you can zoom in to the map to see the bus stops near the start of the hike.
You can see little bus icons on the map that indicate bus stops.
For the best route options, it’s best to set the departure time around the time of day that you will be taking the bus to the Lanikai pillbox hike.
The default is “leave now” and for example if it’s overnight in Hawaii when you search, it might not give you the best idea on your bus route options. There are also less or no bus routes directly to Lanikai in the evenings, so if you search at that time, it will show that you have to walk more.
To further ease your mind about riding the bus, see the visual: How to take the Oahu bus!
You should buy a HOLO card before you take the bus to the Lanikai pillbox hike.
This card is not necessary since you can pay the bus fare in cash once you get on the bus (exact change), but it will make things easier.
The HOLO card is basically a cash card that will serve as your Oahu bus pass.
You can load it up with cash, or you can load it up online with your credit card.
But first you need to buy the HOLO card in person. You cannot buy this on the bus.
You can buy a HOLO card at any ABC Store in Waikiki.
You will need minimum $5 cash to get started ($2 for the card + $3 minimum bus fare), and then you can load the rest online. (Or, you can just pay in cash however much you want to load up the HOLO card!)
If you are starting your bus ride in Kailua, then you may find it to be fine to just pay cash if you don’t have any bus transfers.
Just make sure you have dollar bills!
If you have bus transfers, like if you are coming from Waikiki, then you will be paying $3 each time with cash.
If you use the HOLO card, you will never pay more than $7.50 in one day for the bus. See current bus fares.
This means that if you are not starting your bus ride in Kailua, it will also end up being cheaper to have a HOLO card.
Otherwise, you will need to pay $3 in cash with each bus ride, on the way there, and on the way back. With transfers, that adds up.
See more about the HOLO card.
And that’s a bit about how to get to Lanikai pillbox hike by bus!
See more for planning your trip to Lanikai pillbox and beyond:
HAPPY BUS RIDE TO THE LANIKAI PILLBOX HIKE!
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