Neighborhood 48H guide
Downtown / Chinatown: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
ʻIolani Palace, Chinatown’s lei stands and markets, and dinner at Fête.
Downtown Honolulu holds the capital district, with ʻIolani Palace, the only royal palace in the US, the State Capitol and the King Kamehameha statue. Next door, Chinatown has historic storefronts, lei stands, markets, bars and restaurants.
Photo gallery
Photo: Leo Carmona · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
History and food are within a few blocks, and a hotel here is a change of pace from the beach.
Who it's for: History lovers, food travelers and business trips.
Pros
- ʻIolani Palace and the capital district
- Chinatown food and bars
- Away from the resort crowds
Cons
- No beach
- Quiet downtown at night
- Some rough blocks in Chinatown
48H Downtown
Palace, Chinatown, dinner.
10:00 – ʻIolani Palace
Book online ahead; closed Sundays and Mondays; no same-day tickets.
12:30 – Chinatown markets
Maunakea Marketplace and the lei stands on Maunakea Street.
18:30 – Fête
Farm-to-table Hawaiian cooking on Hotel Street.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
Eat
Maunakea Marketplace
1120 Maunakea St
Chinatown food court and produce market.
Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
ʻIolani Palace
364 S King St
Home of Hawaii’s last monarchs. Tickets online only; closed Sun–Mon.
Photo: Leo Carmona · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
AC Hotel by Marriott Honolulu
1111 Bishop St
112-room downtown hotel near the harbor, a short walk to Chinatown.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Downtown / Chinatown.
Outside resort-zoned areas such as Waikīkī and Ko Olina, Honolulu does not allow vacation rentals shorter than 30 days unless the home has a city permit. Check for one before you book a short stay.
Browse vacation rentals in Downtown / Chinatown on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Honolulu
- Central Waikīkī — The Moana Surfrider’s banyan, the Royal Hawaiian’s Mai Tai Bar and the Duke statue on the sand.
- West Waikīkī / Fort DeRussy — Fort DeRussy’s lawns, sunset hula at House Without a Key and the Hilton Hawaiian Village lagoon.
- Diamond Head End / Kapahulu — The Diamond Head summit trail, Kapiʻolani Park, malasadas at Leonard’s and plate lunch at Rainbow Drive-In.
- Ala Moana / Kakaʻako — Locals’ beach at Ala Moana, sunset on Magic Island and Kakaʻako’s murals next door.
- Kāhala — A quiet resort beach past Diamond Head, dolphins in the lagoon and dinner at Alan Wong’s.
- Ko Olina — Four calm crescent lagoons, Aulani for the kids and dinner at Monkeypod Kitchen.
- Kāneʻohe / Windward — Byodo-In Temple under the Koʻolau cliffs, Kāneʻohe Bay and the drive to Kualoa.