50 First Dates and the windward coast
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Queen’s Beach and Sans Souci, Kapiʻolani Park
Waikīkī & Diamond Head · Free to visit
The beach at the Diamond Head end of Waikīkī. The Elks Lodge next door stood in for the Outrigger Canoe Club in The Descendants, and the water offshore is where the film opens and, near the end, comes back to.
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50 First Dates and the windward coast
Henry and Lucy’s Oʻahu, from the Hālona Blowhole and Makapuʻu to Heʻeia Kea harbor and Kualoa.
8 placesA full dayRead the guide ↓
- 1. Queen’s Beach and Sans Souci, Kapiʻolani ParkThe beach at the Diamond Head end of Waikīkī. The Elks Lodge next door stood in for the Outrigger Canoe Club in The Descendants, and the water offshore is where the film opens and, near the end, comes back to.The Descendants (2011) +1Waikīkī & Diamond HeadFree to visit30 minutes to an hourFree
2. Hālona Blowhole lookout and coveA roadside lookout above the blowhole and the little cove beside it. Watch the spout from the wall.50 First Dates (2004)East sideFrom outside15 minutesFree
3. Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse TrailA paved path climbs to a lookout over the red-roofed lighthouse, Makapuʻu Beach and the islets off Waimānalo. Whales pass in winter.50 First Dates (2004)East sideFree to visit1½–2 hoursFree
4. Sea Life ParkThe marine park at the foot of Makapuʻu, where Henry Roth works as a vet. The outdoor scenes were shot here; the underwater tunnel was in California.50 First Dates (2004)East sidePaid entry2–3 hoursAbout $60 adults, $5 parking
5. Heʻeia Kea Small Boat HarborA small working harbor on Kāneʻohe Bay, where kayak and boat tours leave from. It played the dock for Henry’s boat.50 First Dates (2004)WindwardFree to visit20 minutesFree
6. Waikāne pier (Lucy’s house)The old pier sticking out into Kāneʻohe Bay, with Mokoliʻi beyond, is the one behind Lucy’s house. The house and pier are private; this is a look from the road.50 First Dates (2004)WindwardFrom outside10 minutesFree
7. Moliʻi FishpondThe Hukilau Café stood in a clearing beside this 800-year-old fishpond. It was a set: the outside was built here, the inside in Los Angeles, and it was taken down after filming. Today there’s just the shoreline and the pond.50 First Dates (2004)WindwardTour only1½ hours on the Ocean Voyage tour$59.95 adults (Ocean Voyage)
8. Kualoa RanchThe ranch’s Kaʻaʻawa Valley is the road Lucy drives every morning. It’s private land; the Movie Sites & Ranch Tour takes you through it.50 First Dates (2004) +1WindwardTour only1½ hours for the movie tour$59.95 adults (Movie Sites & Ranch Tour)
Watch before you go
Official clips and trailers from the studios’ own channels. They load only when you tap play.
The guide
How to do it: 50 First Dates and the windward coast
50 First Dates was shot almost entirely on the windward and east sides of Oʻahu, and the drive between its locations is one of the best on the island. Start in Waikīkī, where The Descendants opens and closes, round the east end past the lookouts, and head north along Kāneʻohe Bay to Kualoa.
The film’s biggest set, the Hukilau Café, no longer exists, and Lucy’s house is private. What’s left is the scenery: the lighthouse, the harbor, the pier in the water at Waikāne and the valley where Henry kept staging roadside rescues.
- The order to do it in
- Clockwise from Waikīkī: Sans Souci, Hālona, Makapuʻu, Sea Life Park, then over to Kāneʻohe for Heʻeia Kea, Waikāne and Kualoa. Book the Kualoa tour for the afternoon.
- When to go
- Start early for Makapuʻu, which has no shade. Sea Life Park opens about 10am and isn’t open every day; check before you go. Weekdays are quieter at Kualoa.
- Getting there
- You need a car. Allow about 1½ hours of driving in total, plus the drive back from Kualoa to Waikīkī (about 50 minutes via the Likelike or H-3).
- What to bring
- Water and a hat for the lighthouse trail, reef-safe sunscreen, closed-toe shoes for the Kualoa tour.
- What it costs
- The lookouts, beaches and harbor are free. Sea Life Park is about $60 for adults plus parking; Kualoa’s Movie Sites & Ranch Tour and Ocean Voyage are $59.95 each for adults.
Worth knowing
- Lucy’s house and pier in Waikāne are private: look from the highway only.
- Stay at the Hālona lookout. The cove below is signed closed and people have drowned there.
- Kualoa is a sacred place, once a puʻuhonua (place of refuge). Call the islet offshore Mokoliʻi.
Researched and written by us from Wikipedia: 50 First Dates, Wikipedia: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Wikipedia: Blue Crush, Wikipedia: The Descendants, Wikipedia: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and Wikipedia: Sea Life Park Hawaii, among others. Episodes checked against episode guides; places and access checked October 2026. Private homes are view-only from the street.