Visiting the Dole Plantation in Hawaii

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When I visited Hawaii, I knew there was one big touristy thing I wanted to do. I had to visit the Dole Plantation. First of all, I love pineapple. And secondly, it’s just so iconic that it must be good right? When I first started looking into the plantation, and where it was, I kind of thought my dreams were going to be dashed. It’s not exactly somewhere conveniently located if you’re staying in Honolulu. It involves buses and waiting around in the hot Hawaiian sun. Just for what? Some ice cream with pineapple? There was no way this was going to fly with Jeff. I could see how the conversation was going to go. But the pineapple Gods must have been smiling down on me as my plan came to fruition (you bet I used that word on purpose).

Where Is the Dole Plantation?

The plantation is on the island of Oahu. The island that is home to Honolulu, Hawaii’s largest city, and state capital. Honolulu is about as far to the South of the island as you can get. And the Dole Plantation, well it’s more around the middle of the island. Basically in the middle of nowhere. Makes sense since you need a lot of land for a plantation. The Dole Plantation is along the Kamehameha Highway, on the way to Oahu’s North Shore, the other popular area on the island.

Pineapples not your thing? I’m sure chocolate is! Read about my Chocolate Plantation tour (including samples) on the Big Island of Hawaii

How Do You Get to the Dole Plantation?

As I mentioned already, it is not the easiest to get to. The island, while not big, is not overly public transport friendly without waiting around due to limited schedules and possible bus changes. I was not excited at the prospect of getting onto a hot bus in the middle of June to travel for nearly two hours to the plantation. Jeff, I was sure, would be even less excited. But it can be done. My recommendation though is to rent a car. You will have a lot more freedom to roam the island and the journey to the plantation from Waikiki will be around 30-40 minutes. Incidentally, our Smart car rental for 3 days cost $99 which was amazing. We filled up on gas once and it gave us so many more opportunities to travel around Oahu.

So with a rental car, my plan for some Dole Whip was back on track. With our new set of wheels and a game plan of visiting the North Shore, I casually suggested a stop at the Dole Plantation as it was “on the way”. Success! We drove out of Waikiki onto the I-H-1 West, then headed North eventually taking the HI-99 past Mililani to the plantation.

Parking at the Dole Plantation

I was almost giddy the whole way there, so when we finally pulled up to the plantation and saw that it was PACKED, I was a little nervous we might not get in. The parking lot, a winding unmarked gravel expanse, was full. We drove around slowly looking for someone leaving, as was everyone else. Once you’re on the route into the car park it’s basically impossible to give up as it’s pretty tight. You instead just have to keep going until you get to the end to turn around. It was at this point we lucked out as someone was leaving. The pineapple Gods were BACK!

When to Visit the Dole Plantation

My advice – as early in the day as you can. We had taken our sweet time leaving Waikiki, stopping for breakfast and at a couple of other places along the way. By the time we got to the Dole Plantation it was afternoon and probably the busiest part of the day. Hence the parking issues. It’s a popular place year round since of course everyone wants to visit this iconic attraction. But I would also say avoid weekends and noon to mid afternoon if you can. Or be prepared to wait out people leaving. The good news is there are plenty of people who just run in for some ice cream and the gift shop and don’t spend long.

Dole Whip ice cream

It’s the reason we came here, the same as I’m sure many other people. The delicious, pineapple flavored whip ice cream. Dole Whip is $6-10 USD in either a cone or a bowl and depending on whether you get a topping or not. Of course I got fresh pineapple topping on the Dole Whip for $6.95. The Plantation Grille has a number of other pineapple themed foods like a Pineapple Chili Dog, or some less pineapple-y snacks. The Dole Whip was delicious. So creamy and satisfyingly cool on such a hot day. Not to mention spectacularly Instagrammable.

What Else is There to Do at the Dole Plantation?

It’s not just about ice cream. The plantation is a great place to learn about the history of pineapples in Hawaii and how the plantation started as well as how to grow them yourself. The plantation is free to enter, although for some of the activities you have to pay an additional price. Basically you can spend as little or as much as you want here depending on your love for pineapple.

Pineapple Express

For $12 you can take a train tour around the plantation. It takes 20 minutes and you’ll get to learn about the Dole Plantation as you travel. It’s somewhat similar to a train ride you might take through a zoo, so definitely more one for the kids. But it’s a cool way to find out more about the plantation. Insider tip: buy tickets online in advance. You can get them when you are there but as I mentioned it gets busy at the plantation.

Pineapple Garden Maze

Learn about plant life in Hawaii while having a little fun. Roam the huge maze around the plantation and try not to get lost. The maze is big, one of the biggest mazes in the world covering almost three miles of paths. The maze costs just over $8 per person. Make sure to have your Dole Whip before you go in to keep your strength up. Insider tip: remember to take some water with you. Hawaii gets hot and you might be out there for a while enjoying yourself.

Remember to take a reusable water bottle with you on your travels, like this one from FastTech

Pineapple Garden Tour

Explore the gardens for just over $7 per person a ticket. The gardens are huge and contain a number of tropical plants you won’t see in a lot of places. Want to see cacao plants used to make local chocolate? Or coffee plants? And of course pineapples. Again, remember the gardens might be hot in the summer and are outside so take sunscreen with you and some water. You can also buy your tickets in advance. Insider tip: buy a ticket combo if you are going to do more than one of these activities.

Dole Plantation Shop

Not sick of pineapples yet? Head over to the gift shop for some pineapple anything-you-want to take home with you. Dried pineapple, pineapple syrup, pineapple jam, pineapple candy. Lotions, t-shirts, stuffed toys and games. Basically if you can flavor it with pineapple it will be in that shop. I may or may not have spent a small fortune on pineapple related goods. And I’m not even ashamed.

Is it Worth Visiting the Dole Plantation?

Unless you hate pineapples (in which case we can’t be friends), in my opinion yes this is worth the trip. If you are heading to the North Shore, or if you have a car with you, then make the trip to the Dole Plantation and enjoy some pineapple-y goodness. If we didn’t have the car I would question whether I would want to make it all the way there by bus. Especially when there are so many lovely places to stop along the way. Why not make a day of it?!

The trip can be as cheap or as expensive if you want. You don’t have to take any of the tours and can still see a couple of small pineapple gardens without paying anything. Relax and walk around the grounds with some Dole Whip and take in the fresh air of rural Hawaii. Maybe just get there earlier than I did. It would have been a little less hot, and a little less crowded perhaps. But I’m glad I went.

If you’ve enjoyed this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Have you been to the Dole Plantation? What other fun activities did you do in Hawaii?