7 Places to Find Unique Souvenirs on Oahu

The Hawaiian island of Oahu is a vacation destination well-known for its natural beauty, fun activities, and exotic culture. Is it any wonder visitors worldwide flock to Oahu each year?

There’s so much here: picturesque beaches, fine restaurants, SCUBA diving, snorkeling, hiking, traditional art, dance, and music. Plus it’s all happening under swaying palms and magical skies.

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If you’re visiting Hawaii soon and looking for a way to carry your newfound love for the islands back home with you, here are some great suggestions for 7 places to find unique souvenirs on Oahu.

1. ABC Stores

OK, if you’ve been to Hawaii before, this may not be the best place to mention first, but, whether you’re visiting for the first or the 50th time, keep reading. Hopefully, this idea will make sense.

If you’ve read anything about Oahu, you’re probably saying, “ABC Stores, that’s a no-brainer, they’re on literally every corner on Oahu!” You may be wondering why, if their gift selections are pricey, unoriginal, and generic, they’re even suggested for unique souvenirs.

So here it is: they are literally on every corner. What this means is you have a plethora of gifts in all sizes, suited for any budget, and most of them are ready for last-minute packing in those final hours (or minutes!) before you jump on a boat or plane to leave this island paradise.

There are pot holders for your favorite aunt, key chains for your little nephew (why an 8-year-old has keys is still a mystery), and printed socks for your best bud who picks you up from the airport. All pretty decent stuff!

The best item to buy at ABC Stores is their vintage replica postcards. Depending on what location you choose, the selection could be amazing.

The postcards feature colorful scenes on quality card stock with rounded edges and are priced moderately with many styles to choose from. When you buy them, you get a bonus ABC stores signature blue-and-khaki flowered stationery bag to keep them safe.

If you’re on a strict travel budget or just want to brag to the coworkers stuck covering your projects, send a postcard! Some ABC Stores even sell the stamps, but not all of them, so be sure to ask when purchasing.

Find a mailbox on the next corner over and you’re done! ABC Stores are often seen by travelers as fancier, glorified 7-11’s, but they still offer some cool things to take or send home.

2. Aloha Stadium Swap Meet

Held Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet showcases several city blocks worth of vendors, kiosks, and specialty booths selling everything from $1 tchotchkes to $500 handmade quilts, and just about everything you can imagine in between.

I was referred to the swap meet after buying souvenirs at Safeway, where the cashier tipped me off to the event and suggested I check it out “for the people watching alone!” She also told me I’d find some great bargains, which I did. 

I went in search of one particular item that I saw online while researching Oahu in the weeks before my trip: a welcome sign for the front door asking visitors to remove their shoes. 

Fun Fact: Some cultures believe wearing outdoor shoes inside brings “bad luck”, a metaphor for germs, into the home. Instead, they have a pair of slippers or flip-flops dedicated solely (pun intended!) to the home: house shoes. 

I searched the Aloha Swap Meet and found the perfect sign: thin, hand-carved, dark wood, surfboard-shaped, with a small hanging hook and the words “E Komo Mai” – Hawaiian for 

So beautiful! I eagerly handed over my $10 (USD) for the sign I’d seen in some souvenir stores up to $30. 

I perused other booths and found some unique souvenirs: beautiful, one-of-a-kind earrings, fancy clip-on hair flowers, collapsible shopping bags in tropical fabrics, and attractive, polished wooden bowls.

Around 11:00 a.m., as the day became warmer and the crowds grew heavier, the Aloha Swap Meet appeared to be in full swing.

Before leaving, I stopped for a refreshing snack at a fruit stand, where the vendors happily whacked open fresh coconuts for buyers to scoop out the meat after drinking the water. 

Conclusion: The offerings at the Aloha Swap Meet are quality items for any budget, varying from cheaply-reproduced keychains to beautiful, hand-sewn sarongs to hand-strung ukuleles. Parking is plentiful and there is a bus from downtown Honolulu and Waikiki (be sure to check the schedule for dates/times). 100% worth the visit! 

3. Cafés and Eateries

Oahu has hundreds of great cafés and restaurants around the island, each offering a unique experience, menu options, and a welcoming atmosphere. But what about take-home items? Oh yes, they have those, too.

Oahu is such a popular tourist destination, it only makes sense that restaurant owners would go above and beyond food and drink to offer some pretty clever souvenirs.

Aside from the usual “souvenir cup” – usually made of low-quality, thin plastic – some cafés and restaurants offer colorful coffee mugs, etched pint glasses, and, for the big spender, YETI brand insulated, stainless-steel stemless drinkware, all with their proud logo.

A visit to the legendary Leonard’s Bakery for its world-renowned malasadas – baked pastries similar to donuts with a creamy filling and a gorgeous, brown sugary crust (OK, literally, it’s heaven in a pink box) – revealed one of the better cafés and restaurants gift selection, although the location is not quite either.

Just behind the cashier, a wonderful selection of take-home items like luggage tags, insulated lunch bags, sticker packs, and t-shirts, beckoned to customers awaiting their puffed, fried-dough delicacies. An impulse buy of a luggage tag and large sticker – both in Leonard’s signature pink (like the box) – plus the logo-patterned insulated lunch bag – only added an extra $8 to my tab. Mahalo!

Again, you may want to keep your suitcase in mind when buying grandma yet another souvenir coffee mug, or opt for one of the more packing-friendly (unbreakable) options, like coasters or can koozies. Whatever you want from your favorite Oahu restaurant if you’re truly looking for a unique souvenir, chances are they sell it, with their logo for all to see.

4. Lin’s Snacks

A friend recommended Lin’s Snacks from an earlier visit to Honolulu and posted photos on her social media showing mouth-watering, colorful bags of dried fruit and nuts in an adorable store run by a friendly staff. Because they also offer shave ice, I knew it was a must-visit not only for souvenirs but also for my travel list of Fun Places to Eat and Drink on Oahu.

Lin’s is a family business that’s been running successfully since 1964. Upon entering, I was greeted by a smiling staff who offered to answer any questions about the merchandise and encouraged me to take my time looking around. The store is laid out well and has wonderful displays of merchandise, featuring snacks like gummy candy, dried green papaya, red ginger, a variety of nuts, and the ever-popular crack seed.

In addition to candy, snacks, and other temptations, Lin’s Hawaiian Snacks serves delicious, moderately-priced shave ice. I ordered a triple-flavor (banana, coconut, and lychee), paid for my ice along with a large quantity of souvenir candy, and was offered a bonus, super-cute reusable shopping bag for just a few dollars more. Of course, I obliged.

I sat outside on the sidewalk at the cute bistro tables and enjoyed my shave ice in front of the store, which was continually busy with happy customers coming and going. Overall, Lin’s Hawaiian Snacks is recommended for all types of travelers, no matter your age, interests, or budget. Lin’s Hawaiian Snacks has a happy vibe and is a feel-good, family-owned place to find unique souvenirs on Oahu.

Editor’s Note: At the time of this article, the online store for Lin’s Hawaiian Snacks is closed, but you can still visit their store at 401 Kamakee Street and shop at their booth at the Aloha Swap Meet. Love you, Lin’s! Mahalo!

5. General Stores

A general store may sound country-fried to a few people, but they usually have some unique souvenirs available. Typically, these stores are local-owned, run by families, and found near a beach village, but not quite in the village so their overhead (and competition) is low.

Here you may get lucky and discover hand-drawn stationery featuring said general store, or straw hats with a band around them featuring the name of the store.

I heard a rumor about a store on the East Shore that sells aprons with the store name on them and name tags like their staff wear, so you can… pretend you work there after you leave? I popped into several general stores on the East and North Shores but never did prove this hilarious phenomenon to be true.

A trip to family-owned Kalapawai Market, with a true corner-store vibe, revealed straw hats with a band around them featuring the name of the store, and obscure road signs and stickers that definitely must be an inside joke with the store owners and locals.

The next time you visit Oahu, be sure to stop and browse in at least one general store. You never know what unique souvenirs you may uncover!

6. Gift Shops

“Of course, gift shops offer unique souvenirs on Oahu,” you’re probably thinking, but how to find the best ones takes some shopping strategy and skill.

You could follow the pack and look in the stores along Waikiki Beach that sell t-shirts in bulk (think $10 each or 3 for $25) – some of these stores have fun items – but if you venture out just a bit further, especially when visiting a popular attraction – chances are you’ll find some lovely stores that care about what you take home. 

A visit to the massive gift shop at the Dole Pineapple Plantation left me in awe of the place that I already knew I would love weeks before visiting Oahu.

Instead of my usual disdain for memory-forced memorabilia, I walked around wide-eyed, enjoying the colorful signs, jars of pineapple jams and candies, and the huge selection of clothing, which included everything from pineapple-patterned ankle socks to cozy, oversized, hooded sweatshirts.

Towards the back of the gift shop, where you can watch a live pineapple cutting demonstration about every 45 minutes, the finer gifts are offered, including hand-blown glass pineapples, wooden musical instruments, and elegant, fine jewelry. 

Like many gift shops in tourist attractions, the Dole Pineapple Plantation offers many items from their online store, in case you don’t want to buy souvenirs and cart them home.

If you see a gift shop at a tourist attraction, feel it out before you pass it up. Look for shops that have unusual or creative displays, not items haphazardly tossed on shelves or still in their shipping boxes.

Talk to the shop owners and ask what their favorite items are or if they have a best seller. You never know – you could end up with a fond memory of the attraction and a wonderful, unique souvenir.

7. Goodwill

Many travelers will tell you that you can learn a lot about a place by visiting a local thrift shop. What is or was trendy, the highs and lows of the economy, and what counts as a “donation” in one place may not be true of another.

There are several Goodwill stores sprinkled throughout Oahu, each with varying hours and levels of quality for donated items. Quite often, a Goodwill or thrift store is a good option for small, unique gifts like vintage jewelry or unusual households.

The store I visited in Honolulu had an “island life” section, where the staff had placed items like a palm-tree-shaped neon sign, an inflatable tiki god, fluffy pineapple pillows made of faux fur, and vintage “monkey pod” bowls in need of oiling up to revive their wooden surfaces.

All of the items in the “island life” section were priced at under $10.00. Yep, even the neon sign.

While the selection for unique souvenirs may be limited, the space in your suitcase could be as well. Remember, even if you find that perfect midcentury-modern bamboo chair at a rock-bottom price, getting it home on the plane could be a challenge. If you do decide to visit a Goodwill for souvenirs, shop wisely, have fun, and use an eagle eye when making selections. After all, someone set down what you’re picking up!

Bonus: Safeway

Now, you might not think a chain grocery store would have the greatest souvenirs, which is why it’s added as a bonus.

I happened upon a selection in the back of the Safeway store on Kapahulu Avenue one afternoon and was pleasantly surprised.

As the rain drizzled down outside, I shopped the store slowly, going from aisle to aisle, taking in all the fun items we don’t have back home in California: colorful island-themed sodas, row upon row of kimchi, and entire aisles dedicated to ramen noodles (so many varieties!)

At the back of the store, I encountered the souvenir section and delighted in small finds like bags of guava pancake mix, coconut cookie mix, macadamia nut bars, and bamboo rice paddles. Some items, like playing cards and placemats, were not big sellers and were marked down to half price.

On an end cap display, a large wooden bowl held dozens of tiny versions of itself, each of them stuffed with small bags of Kona coffee wrapped in a clear cellophane bag with a cute palm leaf-shaped To and From tag at the top. An instant gift, and a great find at only $5.00 each.

I purchased several items, including a few colorful, reusable shopping bags with retro images of Hawaii splashed across them, and the cashier – the same one who tipped me off to the Aloha Swap Meet – gave an approving nod at my finding their “stash.”

While you may have to get creative to find gift-worthy items at Safeway, or any of the other grocery store chains on Oahu (I hear Foodland makes pretty tasty sushi in their deli, but not good for gifts), you can still find plenty of unique souvenirs.

Souvenir Wrap Up

To wrap up (or gift wrap up in this case!) there are some remarkably fun places to shop and savor the creative vibe of Hawaiian-style memory-makers.

Whether you’re searching for a sign to tell visitors to your home to remove their shoes or a sweet selection of cool postcards suitable for framing, you’ll be able to find some unique souvenirs on Oahu. Are you ready? Get set. Go shop!