The Best of Oahu
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1 The Best of Oahu Everyone ventures to Oahu seeking a different experience. Some talk about wanting to find the “real” Hawaii, some are looking for heart-pounding adventure, some yearn for the relaxing and healing powers of the islands, and others are drawn by Hawaii’s aloha spirit, in which kindness and friendliness prevail. This book is designed to help you have the vacation of your dreams. For those too excited to page through from beginning to end, this chapter highlights the very best of what Honolulu and Oahu have to offer. 1 THE BEST OAHU EXPERIENCES To have the absolute best experiences on • Meet Local Folks: If you go to Hawaii Oahu, be prepared for a different culture, and see only people like the ones back language, cuisine, and way of doing things. home, you might as well stay home. Slow down—you’re on an island that oper- Extend yourself, leave the resorts and ates on its own schedule. To really experi- tourist quarters, go out and learn about ence Oahu, we recommend the following: Hawaii and its people. Just smile and • Get Out on the Water: You’ll take say “Howzit?” which means “How’s it home memories of an emerald island going?”—and you’ll usually make a new rising out of the cobalt sea with white friend. Oahu is remarkably cosmopoli- wispy clouds set against an azure sky, or tan; every ethnic group in the world the Waikiki shoreline colored by the seems to be here. It’s fascinating to dis- setting sun. There are many different cover the varieties of food, culture, lan- boats to choose from, ranging from tiny guage, and customs. kayaks to 100-foot sightseeing vessels, • Drive to the North Shore: Just an even state-of-the-art boats guaranteed hour’s drive from Honolulu, the North to prevent seasickness. See chapter 6 for Shore is another world: a pastoral, rural details on all kinds of cruises and water- setting with magnificent beaches and a sports. slower way of life. During the winter • Plunge Under the Water: Don mask, months, stop and watch the profession- fins, and snorkel and dive into the als surf the monster waves. See chapter 7. magical world beneath the surface, • Watch the Hula: This is Hawaii, so you where cloudsCOPYRIGHTED of colorful tropical fish flit have MATERIAL to experience the hula. A hula by, craggy old turtles lumber along, and performance is a popular way for visi- tiny marine creatures hover over exotic tors to get a taste of traditional Hawai- corals. Can’t swim? Take one of the ian culture. For a more genuine many submarines or semi-submersibles. Hawaiian hula experience, catch the If you come to Hawaii and ignore the hula halau performed Monday through underwater world, you’re missing half Friday at 1pm at the Bishop Museum. of what makes up this paradise. See See chapter 7. chapter 6. 2 • Experience a Turning Point in America’s Memorial, which straddles the eternal History: The United States could no tomb for the 1,177 sailors and Marines longer turn its back on World War II after trapped below deck when the battleship December 7, 1941, the day that Japanese sank in 9 minutes, is a moment you’ll warplanes bombed Pearl Harbor. Stand- never forget. See chapter 7. ing on the deck of the USS Arizona 2 THE BEST BEACHES See chapter 6 for complete details on all consider it the place to go. Weekdays, these beaches and their facilities. you practically have it all to yourself. • Waikiki Beach: This famous stretch of • Kahana Bay Beach Park: With salt- sand is the spot that originally put and-pepper sand, a crescent-shaped Hawaii on the tourist map. No beach beach protected by ironwoods and anywhere is so widely known or so kamani trees and, as a backdrop, a lush universally sought as this narrow, junglelike valley interrupted only by 1 jagged cliffs, you’d swear this beach was 1 ⁄2-mile-long crescent of soft sand at the foot of a string of high-rise hotels. in Tahiti or Bora Bora. Kahana offers THE BEST OF OAHU OF BEST THE Home to the world’s longest-running great swimming (even safe for chil- 1 beach party, Waikiki attracts nearly five dren), good fishing, and perfect condi- million visitors a year from every corner tions for kayaking. Combine that with of the planet. In high season, it’s packed picnic areas, camping, and hiking trails, towel-to-towel, but there’s no denying and you have one of the best beaches on the beauty of Waikiki. the island. • Lanikai Beach: Hidden and off the • Malaekahana Beach: If you’d like to beaten tourist path, this beach on the venture back to old Hawaii, before jet windward side has a mile of powder- planes brought millions of people to soft sand and water that’s safe for swim- Oahu and there were few footprints on THE BEST BEACHES BEST THE ming. It’s the perfect isolated spot for a the sand, then go north to the romantic morning of swimming and relaxation. wooded beach park at Malaekahana. With the prevailing trade winds, it’s This is a place to sit in quiet solitude or also excellent for sailing and windsurf- to beachcomb along the shore. There’s ing. Sun-worshipers should arrive in the good swimming most of the time, and morning, as the shadow of the Koolau good snorkeling when it’s calm, but no Mountains blocks the sun’s rays in the lifeguard. Surprisingly, very few visitors afternoon. come to Malaekahana—one of the best • Kailua Beach: Imagine a 30-acre pub- beaches on Oahu, it’s a true find. lic park with a broad, grassy area with • Sunset Beach: Surfers around the picnic tables, a public boat ramp, rest- world know this site, famous for its rooms, a pavilion, a volleyball court, spectacular winter surf—the waves can and food stands. Add a wide, sandy be huge, thundering peaks reaching 15 beach, great for diving, swimming, sail- to 20 feet. In the summer months, ing, snorkeling, and board- and wind- Sunset calms down and becomes a safe surfing, and you’ve got Kailua Beach, swimming beach. It’s a great place to which is tops on the windward side of people-watch year-round, as you’ll spot the island. 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