Day 3: North Shore

Have your breakfast by the beach, at the Halekulani's swell Orchids restaurant (breakfast, $8–$20), or on the beach (pick up coffee and banana bread from the Honolulu Coffee Company, a few doors down at the Moana Surfrider Hotel). Either way, collect your bathing suit and a towel and be on the road by 8:45 a.m. If yesterday gave you some perspective on Honolulu and its environs, today is your crash course in the rest of Oahu. First stop: Island Seaplane Service's floating dock, where your four-passenger Cessna departs at 9:15 a.m. You could opt for the half-hour flight, but the hour-long tour is twice the thrill (and at $230 per person, twice the price). Choose the latter and you'll be gliding above impossibly idyllic beaches, the deep ridges of Ko'olau Mountains, and great swaths of pineapple fields—all the while following the same flight path that the Japanese fighter pilots took en route to bombing Pearl Harbor (808-836-6273; islandseaplane.com).

Back in the car, take Highway 1 to Highway 2 to the Kamehameha Highway, across Central Oahu. Thirty minutes later, Honolulu will feel worlds away. The view is suddenly bucolic. Follow the signs toward Hale'iwa, a one-road town with more surf shops than stop signs. No matter the hour, it's time for shave ice. Join the line at Matsumoto's, where 50 years in business attests to its popularity (66-087 Kamehameha Hwy.; 808-637-4827; ices, $2–$3). Once you've slurped the last bit of coconut-lychee-banana syrup, hit a few shops. North Shore Swimwear, for one, sells fetching bikinis (66-250 Kamehameha Hwy.; 808-637-7000), and for all other water sport gear, Surf-N-Sea is a small store with a big reputation (62-595 Kamehameha Hwy.; 808-637-7873). Pick up sandwiches at Waialua Bakery (66-200 Kamehameha Hwy.; 808-637-9079; sandwiches, $8), then head to any one of the North Shore beaches for a swim, a picnic lunch, and, at long last, downtime. Spectacular and immensely popular Waimea Bay Beach is right off the highway (look for the giant sea rock). In winter, serious (and seriously gutsy) surfers hightail it to Sunset Beach Park, where the waves can top 20 feet. In spring and summer, the appeal is far tamer: a massive pristine strand hidden from the street.

Afternoon snack? Continue on to the town of Kahuku, where roadside shrimp trucks serve up platefuls of fat, succulent shrimp and sweet local corn. For those who prefer refreshments that don't require towelettes, make your way to Turtle Bay Resort, situated on a rocky point at the island's northernmost tip. Order a drink and pupus (appetizers) at the bar at Ola, the resort's lovely open-air restaurant, and consider your next move: You can linger here past sunset and order dinner (57-091 Kamehameha Hwy.; 808-293-0801; entrées, $17–$38), then return to Honolulu the same way you came (it's the quickest route). Or you can leave no later than 6 p.m. to continue along the coastal road, which is a slightly longer route but postcard pretty nearly the entire way. If you opt for the latter, phone immediately for dinner reservations—for 8 p.m., to be safe—at one of two Honolulu hot spots: Sushi Izakaya Gaku, specializing in small plates such as grilled scallops, fried chicken, sliced octopus (1329 S. King St.; 808-589-1329; small plates, $4–$13), or Town, which draws a chic crowd in the mood for homemade pastas, inventive salads, and buttery rib-eyes (3435 Waialae Ave.; 808-735-5900; entrées, $16–$23). Both restaurants are ten minutes from the hotel.