Love Oʻahu helps you plan a trip to Oʻahu, the most visited island in Hawaiʻi, in a way that respects the place and the people who live here. We give readers the same current, useful, and real information we would give our own family and friends, with local communities, cultural and environmental conservation, and the local economy in mind.
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With love and from our ʻohana to yours, we wish you a wonderful visit and many returns.
Our Mission
We are a home-grown travel guide written for people who love Oʻahu by people who love Oʻahu. Our mission is to help you plan a trip around the real Hawaiʻi while supporting sustainability and local business.
In other words, we give you current, useful, and real information to plan your visit, and we are clear about why buying local and traveling responsibly matters. Hawaiʻi is a complicated and fragile place, and we want it to stay that way for the people who live here and the visitors who come after you.
With that in mind, we carefully choose the places, experiences, and businesses we recommend, and we favor local vendors and tour operators wherever we can. We do not send you to “hidden” or “secret” spots. That kind of traffic damages the places themselves, and people get hurt trying to reach them.
As we say in Hawaiʻi, malama ʻaina (care for the land). Leave the secret spots to the locals, and spend your time on the many places on Oʻahu that are easy to reach and worth your while.
The people behind Love Oʻahu
Love Oʻahu is researched and written by Will McGough, with Gerrit van der Plas reviewing every article and keeping it current, and co-founder Joey Gutierrez guiding what we cover. You can read how we report, fact-check, and update our content in our editorial policy.
Joey and Gerrit
Born and raised on Oʻahu’s neighbor island, the island of Hawaiʻi, Joey has always been close to the people, culture, and landscape of Hawaiʻi, and was glad to share it with Gerrit when they first visited the state together in 2008.
That trip was the first of many. Gerrit was struck by how hard it was to find unbiased, quality information about the islands, and started writing about his own experiences there. What began as a small passion project grew over the years into the guide we now share with you. Read more about Gerrit.
Will McGough
Will McGough is an international travel writer who lived on Oʻahu for years and wrote our Oʻahu guides. He graduated from Virginia Tech and has written for Condé Nast Traveler, AFAR, Travel Channel, Outside Magazine, Men’s Journal, Backpacker Magazine, Forbes, AAA, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and Popular Mechanics, among others.
You can read more of Will’s writing on the Wake and Wander website, or in his book Swim, Bike, Bonk: Confessions of a Reluctant Triathlete. Read Will’s full bio.
Memberships and Certifications
Love Oʻahu is a member of the following local organizations, which support the sustainable development of tourism in the Hawaiian islands:
Hawaiʻi Visitor & Convention Bureau
The Hawaiʻi Visitors & Convention Bureau is a private, non-profit, member-based organization that works to grow tourism sustainably and for the benefit of local communities, protecting the state’s environmental and cultural resources so future generations can continue to enjoy them. You can find our listing on their website here.
Hawaiʻi Destination Specialist and Expert
We are certified by the Hawaii Tourism Authority as Hawaiʻi Destination Specialists and Experts.
