How tight of a budget? You'll start hemmoraghing money the second you get off the plane in Hawaii. Everywhere you go, someone's got their hand out for a tip. Most tour companies tell you not to rent a car, but IMO, the public transportation/tour options are either unwieldly and slow, or expensive as hell. (The Bus is relatively cheap, but takes forever to get anywhere) The problem with renting a car is parking. Last time we were on O'ahu, (2001) most of the hotels were charging $25-$50/day for parking.
We got a free ticket for the Circle Island Tour, so it cost us $50 to go, which isn't bad. Nice ride, great driver. Had lots of fun on the trip. While we could have driven it ourselves, we didn't know all the places to go, nor the history behind them, and so, it wouldn't have been the same. (cheaper, but fuck it, it's Hawaii. Spend, Spend, Spend!) We went to see Don Ho at a dinner show too, but that's no longer an option.
There's a very nice public aquarium in Honolulu if you're into that sort of thing,
http://www.waquarium.org/
Hanauma Bay is one of the nicest snorkeling spots on the island,
http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/p.../hanaumabay/index1.htm
The Dole Pineapple plantation is a nice stop on the way to/from the North Shore:
http://www.dole-plantation.com/
The Byodo-in Temple is really nice, and can be accessed on the way to/from the North Shore:
http://www.hawaiiweb.com/oahu/...ee/byodo-in_temple.htm
(go up one way, back the other)
Don't forget to have some shave ice at Matsumoto's while you're at the North Shore...
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