Elysium posted:

As I said above Waikiki is what it is, a small but dense city full of hotels, restaurants, shopping, and traffic, along a crowded but very lovely set of beaches. If that's what you are looking for, look no further. Many people vacation in Waikiki and have a great time. You do not need or even want a car (it will be $50 a night to park it), unless you are trying to leave Waikiki.

As far as I know the only resort on the North Shore is Turtle Bay. It's kind of isolated (as much as you can be on a small island), but people probably like that. Also golf. Definitely need a car the whole time unless you plan on only staying on resort. Dunno, they might have shuttles to attractions or pay-for excursions.

Every time I've gone it's always been small group trips with a rental house, but it's been a while, so I can't speak to the state of AirBnB's and the such. We would just find a nice house on the North Shore and visit Haleiwa (cute town for shopping and restaurants), and alternate beach trips with Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay, Shark Cove and various hikes.

For a slightly more "local" type experience, you might try to find something in Kailua or Kaneohe on the windward side.

These are just places I've personally been, all nice in their own way. I'm sure there are plenty more.