Dole Plantation: The Pineapple Experience

Oahu’s pineapple theme park!

The Dole Plantation experience combines the historic pineapple history of Hawai’i with theme-park-style activities making this an attraction to put on your “things to do on Oahu” list if you want to stay on the beaten path. These plantations, considered the largest and most famous pineapple plantations in the world, work to keep alive the old-time era of Hawaiian agriculture. If you’re traveling with family members of multiple ages there’s a little something for everyone here.

Located about 40 minutes from Honolulu near the center of the island the Dole Plantation is on lands once designated for pineapple agriculture. This is a good activity to combine with a trip up to north shore country. The main attraction is the largest human labyrinth in the world (listed in Guinness Book of Records) where you can set loose the big kids and challenge seekers. Created from 14,000 varieties of tropical plants they’ll burn an hour or more chasing down stamps for their punch cards in an effort to win prizes for finishing the maze in the shortest time possible.

Younger children and adults wishing to give their feet a rest can enjoy the Pineapple Express Train Ride. The picturesque train/trolley takes you on a 2 mile narrated tour that takes about 20 minutes and offers scenic views of the north shore country and orchards. Locomotive buffs will enjoy checking out the 4 different vintage trains modeled after real locomotives, some from the late 1800’s.

The Pineapple experience at Dole Plantation also offers a self-guided walking tour through 8 different garden areas. If you’re tech savvy you can download their phone app to hear Hawaiian folklore stories and more as you go.  The gardens feature a wide variety of plants relevant to different aspects of Hawai’i’s history. Some native arriving to the islands before human contact, and others introduced by the many cultures of people that have since settled in Hawai’i.

They also offer food at the Dole Pineapple Plantation so you can wrap up your visit with lunch. Standard hamburger stand style fare with the addition of some local plate lunch favorites. Nothing unique but they do have a yummy frozen dessert called DoleWhip, can you guess the featured flavor… ?

Each activity has an individual fee or you can roll different activities into one package. Hours not available at the time of this writing due to COVI-19 closures but you can find updates on their website or by calling:

Phone: 808-621-8408
Website: www.dole-plantation.com

by Honolulu Vibes