If you enjoy shopping for bargains on your Oahu vacation, you’ll love the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. You’ll find Aloha (Hawaiian print) shirts and dresses for all ages, T-shirts, fridge magnets, jewelry, hats, art, antiques, etc.
Most of the prices are really inexpensive. For example, look at the following photo, where we saw seven T-shirts for $20!
Most of the cheaper trinkets aren’t made in Hawaii, but you can find some products that are made in Hawaii – such as ukuleles, soaps and wood carvings
The vendors set up in rows circling Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium. You could potentially spend hours walking around to see all the vendors, so do wear comfortable shoes. I also recommend you wear sunscreen and a hat.
The Aloha Stadium Swap Meet is open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $1 per buyer. Plenty of parking is available. Be sure and take note of where you parked because you will be walking around in circles.
Aloha Stadium is located at 99-500 Salt Lake Boulevard in Honolulu. Use this link for helpful directions by car or bus.
I had anticipated that there would be some ‘ono food vendors at the swap meet, but I was wrong. There weren’t many food vendors at all and the one we tried was just so-so. So, I don’t recommend that you go hungry. There are two restaurants that are relatively close by that I recommend – Nico’s Pier 38 and Liliha Bakery. We stopped at Nico’s for a late lunch and Liliha Bakery for dessert.
Have you been to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet? Did you find some bargains and treasures to take home?
Sheila Beal
10 comments
Hmmm Liliha bakery near by? Though they have the greatest cream puffs I would say it is a 20 minute drive from the swap meet. But then you live on the mainland and probably consider it a hop, skip and a jump. :-0
Well, Karen, I was trying to point out a couple of restaurants that are excellent, in my opinion that are somewhat nearby. These restaurants are somewhat on the way back to Waikiki which most tourists would likely be going towards after the swap meet.
I did qualify my statement by italicizing to emphasize the “relatively” in saying “relatively close by”.
Also, Liliha Bakery is about 2 miles away from Nico’s at Pier 38, which by anybody’s definition is relatively close by!
I googled the directions from Aloha Stadium Swap Meet to Liliha Bakery and it’s only 7.3 miles or 12 minutes away. That’s relatively close by — especially when it’s headed back in the direction of Waikiki.
I love going to local swap meets. What day did you go? Maybe the food vendors only come on a certain day, like Saturday? Here on Maui we have the big swap meet at UH-Maui but only on Saturdays, and yes there are a lot of local food vendors – yum 🙂
Liza – maybe that was it. We were there on Wednesday.
There were food vendors there and we did try one, but it wasn’t very good.
I even tweeted before I went asking for Aloha Stadium Swap Meet food vendor recommendations and got crickets back.
We usually go to the swap meet on every Oahu trip. I think the food vendors are really a variable thing. I have found shaved ice, homemade bread and cookies mostly, not what I would call sustaining food. I have bought some of the t-shirts and been satisfied. Also bought beach towels, key chains, tote bags in great prints, Hawaiian print luggage when we needed it, and nuts and other tasty treats. The nut and spice vendor is one we return for because the prices and offerings are very good.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with the swap meet, Annette.
In February, we went in anticipation of getting a good lunch. There just weren’t that many options and the one we tried was not great.
Hi,,could you please give me the phone#s of the peoples who are selling t-shirt cost 7for$20??? I really want to order some for my daughter’s first birthday party Thank you so much!!!
Quincy – unfortunately I don’t have any plans to be back at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet any time soon at all — as in not even in 2013.
I was at the swap meet last April and there was an Asian man who made ukes. They were beautiful and most came with bag and tuner. Does anyone know how I may contact him? His large booth was on the outside circle. Mahola