Places to entertain your keiki (and you, too) for free on O'ahu

By Chris Oliver
Advertiser Staff Writer

Here are 20 free (or inexpensive) fun things to do with children. Like most events for preschoolers, it's more fun and can be cheaper to get a group of moms and kids together.

• Dolphin Shows at Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Two dolphins live in the hotel's lagoon, surrounded by waterfalls and flower gardens. Feeding times are 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• Take an easy 1/2-mile nature hike and picnic at Ho'omaluhia Park in Kane'ohe. The park is open daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 233-7323.
• Load up the inline skates, bicycles and skateboards and head for Waterfront Park in Kaka'ako. Skate, cycle or just walk along the mile-long ocean promenade.
• Hike to the top of Diamond Head. The trail recently has been renovated, and it's doable for children as young as 5. The area is clean and safe, and the trail is well-marked. $1.
• Visit Byodo-In Temple at Valley of the Temples in Kane'ohe. Kids love to see the peacocks and koi-filled ponds. It's calming and impressive, and children may strike the three-ton brass bell with an offering. 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 47-200 Kahekili Highway, Kane'ohe. Adults, $2; children $1. 239-8811.
• The Barbie Museum in Kailua. By appointment only. Free (donations go to the Cancer Society). 262-9100.
• Fly kites at Sandy Beach or in Kapi'olani Park.
• Take the family on the cycle path around Pearl Harbor. The four-mile track is safely off the road. You can pick wildflowers at the beginning section near the USS Bowfin Submarine museum.
• Take a picnic to the 'Iolani Palace grounds and listen to the Royal Hawaiian Band, noon to 1 p.m, Fridays. Combine it with a visit to the State Library across the way.
• Search for marine life in the tide pools at Makapu'u and Pupukea (but only if there's no surf).
• Visit Battery Randolph Army Museum at Fort DeRussy in Waikiki, which records military history back to the days of Kamehameha I. Kids can see a tank and helicopter and examine a cannon. Open daily except Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free admission and parking. 955-9552.
• Play a round of crazy golf at Bay View Golf course or at Pearlridge. Kama'aina rate: $8 for 12 holes, $12 for 36 holes. Children under 5: $4 for 12 holes, $5 for 36 holes.
• Check out the Makiki trails at the back of Manoa Valley; some, such as the Moleka Trail, are only a half-mile long, with outstanding views.
• Visit the Dole Pineapple Garden Maze. Along the one-mile path, children search for clues to solve the mystery of the maze. 64-1550 Kamehameha Highway. Daily 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Adults, $5; children 4-12, $3. 621-8408.
• At Hawaii's Plantation Village, Waipahu, older children will enjoy seeing how people lived during the plantation era. Daily 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed Sunday. 677-0110.
• Playgrounds! Track 'em down. Triangle Park across from Castle Hospital, Kailua, offers shade, plenty of equipment and enough space to get any kind of game going.
• Meet at Lanikai or Kailua beaches. Both usually are safe for toddlers. No lifeguard, however, at Lanikai.
• Take a walk through Ha'iku Gardens, Kane'ohe. Children can play in the tiny wooden shelters, and feed the koi in the lily ponds. A pathway at one end of the garden makes for an easy quarter-mile stroll through bamboo to a little park.
• Call your local library for weekly keiki storytime sessions.
• Take the poles and nets to Ho'omaluhia park reservoir, Kane'ohe, for catch-and-release fishing, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 233-7323.