Honolulu is paradise made real. Situated on the southern shore of Oahu, the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the most populous, Honolulu is the capital and largest city of Hawaii and one of the most beautiful, culturally rich, and geographically extraordinary urban destinations in the world. It is a city where the Pacific Ocean laps at the edges of a dense and cosmopolitan metropolis, where volcanic mountains rise dramatically behind downtown skyscrapers, where ancient Hawaiian culture coexists with the most diverse Asian-Pacific demographic mix of any American city, and where the quality of light, the warmth of the air, the color of the water, and the fragrance of tropical flowers combine to create an atmosphere that has been drawing visitors from the mainland United States and from around the world for well over a century.
Honolulu is frequently reduced in the popular imagination to Waikiki, the famous beachfront resort strip that occupies a narrow peninsula of reclaimed land between the Pacific and the Ala Wai Canal, and while Waikiki is genuinely beautiful and worthy of its reputation, it represents only a small fraction of what Honolulu offers. The city proper encompasses a sprawling arc of neighborhoods from the working waterfront of Kakaako through the historic streets of downtown and Chinatown, through the residential valleys of Nuuanu and Manoa, out to the university district of Moiliili and the local shopping corridors of Kaimuki and Kapahulu. Beyond the city limits, Oahu’s extraordinary variety of landscapes, beaches, hiking trails, surf breaks, botanical gardens, and historical sites provides a depth of experience that rewards visitors who stay long enough to venture beyond the resort corridor.
Hawaii occupies a unique position in American life, the only state entirely surrounded by ocean, the only state located in the tropics, the only state with a majority Asian-American population, and the only state that was once an independent kingdom with its own monarchy, its own language, its own spiritual traditions, and its own sophisticated culture that predated Western contact by over a thousand years. That history, and the complex and sometimes painful story of how Hawaii became part of the United States, is present throughout Honolulu in its museums, its cultural institutions, its street names and place names, its political life, and the faces and lives of its people. Engaging with that history honestly and respectfully is part of what it means to truly visit Honolulu rather than merely to pass through it on the way to the beach.
The beach, of course, is extraordinary. Waikiki’s famous crescent of soft white sand, the legendary surf breaks of the North Shore accessible on day trips from the city, the dramatic black sand beaches of the eastern coast, and the green and gold sand beaches tucked into hidden coves around the island all represent a range and quality of ocean experience that is genuinely world-class. The warm, clear, tropical Pacific waters offer some of the finest swimming, snorkeling, surfing, diving, and ocean recreation available anywhere in the world. The weather, with its near-perfect year-round temperatures moderated by the trade winds that blow reliably across the island, makes outdoor activity comfortable and pleasurable in every season.
Honolulu is also a city of genuine urban sophistication, with outstanding restaurants, a vibrant arts and cultural scene, excellent shopping from luxury boutiques to local farmers markets, and a nightlife that ranges from beachside tiki bars to serious live music venues.
It is a city that takes food seriously, as befits a place sitting at the intersection of Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Portuguese, and American culinary traditions, producing a local cuisine of extraordinary depth and distinctiveness. It is a city of music, where the steel guitar and the ukulele are not tourist props but living instruments embedded in a musical culture of genuine beauty. And it is a city of extraordinary natural beauty, where the mountains and the ocean and the light and the flowers create a setting so consistently lovely that visitors find themselves stopping mid-sentence to simply look around and absorb it.
Come to Honolulu for the beach. Stay for everything else.
Getting There
Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, named for the late and beloved Hawaii senator who served for nearly five decades as one of the most respected figures in the United States Congress, is the primary gateway to Hawaii and one of the major aviation hubs of the Pacific. It is located approximately four miles west of downtown Honolulu and about nine miles from Waikiki, and it handles an enormous volume of traffic from the mainland United States, Japan, Korea, Australia, Canada, and other Pacific destinations.
From the US mainland, direct flights to Honolulu are available from a large number of cities, with particularly strong service from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, and other western hubs. The flight from Los Angeles is approximately five and a half hours. From the East Coast, direct flights from New York, Boston, Chicago, and other major cities are available, typically running nine to eleven hours. Hawaiian Airlines, the state’s flagship carrier, operates an extensive network of mainland routes alongside its interisland service and transpacific connections. United, American, Delta, Southwest, Alaska, and several international carriers also serve Honolulu.
Japanese visitors constitute one of the largest international visitor groups to Hawaii, and Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, and other carriers operate frequent direct flights from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and other Japanese cities. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines serve Honolulu from Seoul. Qantas and Jetstar connect from Sydney and other Australian cities. Air Canada operates seasonal service from the Canadian mainland.
Ground transportation from the airport to Waikiki and central Honolulu is available by taxi, rideshare, and the TheBus public transit system. Taxis and rideshares are the most convenient option for most visitors with luggage. TheBus Route 20 connects the airport to Waikiki and downtown at a fraction of the cost, though it requires patience with luggage. Rental cars are available at the airport and are the most practical option for visitors planning to explore Oahu beyond the Waikiki and downtown corridor. Traffic on the H-1 freeway between the airport and Waikiki can be significant during morning and evening rush hours.
There is no commercial ferry service from the mainland United States to Hawaii, though cruise ships from various California ports call at Honolulu as part of Pacific itineraries, and the Norwegian Cruise Line operates interisland cruises within Hawaii that include Honolulu as a port of call.
Getting Around
Oahu and Honolulu are most efficiently explored by rental car, particularly for visitors who plan to visit beaches and attractions beyond walking distance of Waikiki. The island’s road network is well-maintained and signage is generally clear, though traffic on major highways can be heavy, particularly on the H-1 between Pearl City and downtown during commuting hours and on the Pali Highway and Likelike Highway during peak periods. Parking is available at most major attractions and beaches, though it can be limited and costly at popular destinations on weekends.
TheBus, operated by the City and County of Honolulu, is one of the best public bus systems in the United States and connects virtually every neighborhood, beach, and major attraction on Oahu. A single-ride fare covers unlimited transfers within two and a half hours, and monthly passes are available. The bus system is used extensively by local residents as well as visitors and provides a genuine window into the daily life of the island beyond the resort bubble. The number 8 bus runs along Kuhio Avenue through Waikiki and is one of the most useful routes for visitors.
The Skyline rail system, a new elevated rail line currently in operation and continuing to expand, connects East Kapolei in the west to Aloha Stadium and will eventually extend to downtown Honolulu and the University of Hawaii. As it completes its extension, it will provide a useful transit option for visitors in certain corridors.
Within Waikiki itself, walking is the most practical mode of transportation for most purposes. The area is compact and pedestrian-friendly, with the beach, the main shopping streets, and most hotels and restaurants within comfortable walking distance of one another. The Waikiki Trolley operates narrated loop services connecting Waikiki to various shopping, dining, and cultural destinations around the Honolulu area and is a pleasant and convenient option for visitors who prefer guided transportation.
Cycling has become increasingly viable in Honolulu, with bike lanes on several major streets and a Biki bike share system operating with stations throughout Waikiki, downtown, and surrounding neighborhoods. The waterfront promenade along Ala Moana Beach Park and the path around Diamond Head offer excellent cycling in a beautiful setting.
Waikiki
Waikiki is the beating heart of Honolulu tourism and one of the most famous resort destinations in the world, a narrow strip of hotels, restaurants, shops, and beach that somehow manages to accommodate millions of visitors annually while retaining a genuine beauty and vitality that makes it much more than merely a tourist trap. The famous crescent of white sand beach, about a mile and a half long, runs along the southern edge of the peninsula with Diamond Head volcano rising magnificently in the background, framing every view toward the east with one of the most iconic vistas in the Pacific.
The beach itself is the great democratic pleasure of Waikiki, public and free and accessible to everyone regardless of where they are staying or how much money they are spending. The water is warm, calm near the shore, and extraordinarily clear and beautiful in the particular deep aquamarine color of tropical Pacific water. Outrigger canoes, operated by several beach concession stands, take visitors through the surf in the traditional Hawaiian manner, providing an active and joyful ocean experience. Surfing lessons are available from numerous operators along the beach, and Waikiki’s gentle, consistent waves make it one of the finest places in the world for beginner surfers to learn.
The Duke Kahanamoku Statue on the beach is one of the most important public monuments in Honolulu, honoring the great Native Hawaiian swimmer, surfer, and Olympic gold medalist who is credited with spreading the sport of surfing to the world in the early twentieth century. Duke, as he is universally known, was born in Honolulu in 1890 and became one of the most beloved figures in Hawaiian history, and the bronze statue depicting him with arms outstretched is perpetually adorned with fresh flower leis placed by admirers.
Kalakaua Avenue, the main commercial boulevard running parallel to the beach, is lined with luxury hotels, high-end retail boutiques, restaurants of every description, and the constant flow of visitors that gives Waikiki its particular energy. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Pink Palace of the Pacific, opened in 1927 and remains one of the most beloved and distinctive hotels in Hawaii, its Spanish-Moorish pink architecture standing out beautifully against the blue sky and the surrounding towers. The Moana Surfrider, opened in 1901 and the oldest hotel in Waikiki, retains its Victorian elegance and its famous banyan tree courtyard where live Hawaiian music is performed most evenings.
The International Market Place, the historic outdoor market that occupied a beloved spot in the heart of Waikiki for decades under a great banyan tree, has been replaced by a modern shopping center retaining the name and the banyan tree, now surrounded by upscale retail. The stretch of Kuhio Avenue parallel to Kalakaua one block mauka, meaning toward the mountains, has a slightly more local character with smaller restaurants, convenience stores, and the beach park where local residents gather.
Kapiolani Park, at the Diamond Head end of Waikiki, is a large and beautiful green space bordering the beach that hosts regular events, the Honolulu Marathon finish line, tennis courts, and the peaceful atmosphere of a park beloved by residents for jogging, picnicking, and weekend relaxation. The Waikiki Shell, an open-air performance venue within the park, hosts concerts with Diamond Head as its backdrop.
Diamond Head
Diamond Head, the ancient volcanic tuff crater rising 760 feet above sea level at the eastern edge of Waikiki, is the most iconic natural landmark in Honolulu and one of the most recognized geographical features in the Pacific. Known to Hawaiians as Leahi, meaning brow of the tuna, the crater was formed in a single volcanic eruption approximately 300,000 years ago and has been the defining visual element of the Waikiki skyline ever since. The name Diamond Head was given by British sailors in the nineteenth century who mistook calcite crystals on its slopes for diamonds.
The Diamond Head State Monument encompasses the crater and its rim and is the site of one of the finest and most rewarding short hikes accessible from any major resort area in the world. The trail from the crater floor to the summit follows a well-maintained path that climbs through a tunnel, up a spiral staircase through a former military lookout, and emerges at a series of bunkers and observation platforms on the rim with panoramic views stretching across Waikiki, the Honolulu skyline, the Pacific Ocean, and the Koolau Mountains behind. The hike is approximately one and a half miles round trip with about 560 feet of elevation gain, manageable for most reasonably fit visitors in an hour to an hour and a half. The summit views at sunrise are particularly magnificent, and early morning visits offer the additional benefits of cooler temperatures and fewer crowds. Advance reservations are required and parking is limited.
Downtown Honolulu and Chinatown
Downtown Honolulu, a short drive or bus ride west of Waikiki along Ala Moana Boulevard, is the historic and governmental heart of the city and contains some of the most significant and evocative sites in all of Hawaii. The neighborhoods of downtown and adjacent Chinatown reward deep exploration and provide an experience of Honolulu that is entirely different from the resort atmosphere of Waikiki.
Iolani Palace, completed in 1882 during the reign of King Kalakaua, is the only royal palace on American soil and one of the most historically poignant sites in Hawaii. It served as the official residence of the Hawaiian monarchy until the illegal overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in 1893 by a group of American businessmen and sugar planters backed by US Marines, an event that led directly to the annexation of Hawaii by the United States in 1898. The palace was subsequently used as the territorial and then state capitol for many decades before being restored and opened as a museum. Guided and audio tours of the palace interior reveal the sophisticated and cosmopolitan life of the Hawaiian court, the beautiful throne room, the royal apartments, and the basement prison where Queen Liliuokalani was held under house arrest following a failed counter-revolution in 1895. Visiting Iolani Palace is one of the most moving and important historical experiences available in Honolulu.
The Hawaii State Capitol, immediately behind the palace, is an extraordinary work of architecture completed in 1969 and designed to evoke the natural world of Hawaii. Its columns represent palm trees, its legislative chambers are shaped like volcanic craters open to the sky, and it is surrounded by reflecting pools representing the ocean. The design is distinctive and controversial in equal measure but genuinely fascinating as an architectural statement about place and identity.
Kawaiahao Church, completed in 1842 from 14,000 coral slabs cut from offshore reefs, is the oldest Christian church in Hawaii and the historic church of the Hawaiian royal family. Its architecture combines New England Congregationalist traditions with the physical materials of Hawaii in a way that speaks eloquently to the complex cultural encounters of the nineteenth century. Services are still held in both English and Hawaiian.
The Hawaii State Art Museum occupies the magnificent No. 1 Capitol District Building, a Spanish Mission-style structure from 1928, and presents an excellent collection of art by Hawaii artists spanning traditional and contemporary forms. Admission is free.
Chinatown, immediately west of downtown along Hotel Street and Nuuanu Avenue, is one of the oldest Chinatown districts in the United States and one of the most vibrant and interesting urban neighborhoods in Honolulu. The neighborhood has been successively home to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, and other Asian immigrant communities, and its current character reflects that layered history in its mix of traditional herb shops, lei sellers, food markets, noodle restaurants, art galleries, bars, and nightclubs.
The Chinatown Cultural Plaza and the Oahu Market are excellent destinations for exploring the neighborhood’s commercial life. The lei stands along Maunakea Street, operated by Filipino families who have maintained this tradition for generations, sell freshly made flower leis of extraordinary beauty and fragrance at prices that reflect genuine craft rather than tourist markup. Purchasing a lei here and wearing it through the neighborhood is one of the most sensory and authentic of all Honolulu experiences.
The Honolulu Museum of Art, located at the edge of Chinatown on Beretania Street, is one of the finest art museums in the Pacific, with a collection of over 50,000 works spanning Asian, European, American, African, and Pacific art across a beautifully designed complex of galleries surrounding garden courtyards. The Asian art collection is particularly outstanding, reflecting the cultural demographics of Hawaii and the museum’s position as a bridge between East and West. The Doris Duke Theatre within the museum is an important venue for independent and international cinema.
The Nuuanu Pali Lookout, accessible by car via the Pali Highway climbing through the Koolau Mountains behind downtown, is one of the most spectacular viewpoints in Hawaii, with panoramic views of the windward coast, the green valleys below, and the dramatic vertical cliffs of the Koolau Range. The winds at the lookout can be ferocious, funneling through the pass with remarkable force. The site was the location of the Battle of Nuuanu in 1795, when King Kamehameha I drove the warriors of Oahu over the precipice in the battle that unified the Hawaiian Islands under his rule.
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, located about ten miles west of downtown Honolulu, is one of the most significant historical sites in the United States and a place of profound meaning for American, Japanese, and Hawaiian history. The Japanese attack on the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, which drew the United States into World War Two, killed 2,403 Americans, wounded nearly 1,200 more, and destroyed or damaged 19 naval vessels and 328 aircraft in two hours of devastating aerial assault. The sites commemorating that attack, and the broader story of the Pacific War, are among the most visited and most moving historical destinations in the country.
The USS Arizona Memorial, administered by the National Park Service, is the most sacred of the Pearl Harbor sites, a white marble structure spanning the sunken hull of the battleship USS Arizona, which sank in less than nine minutes after a bomb ignited its forward ammunition magazine, killing 1,177 of its crew. The ship remains on the harbor floor, and oil still seeps slowly from its fuel tanks, the so-called black tears of the Arizona visible on the water’s surface decades after the attack. A boat shuttle operated by the National Park Service takes visitors from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center to the memorial, where the ship’s bell, the names of the dead inscribed on a marble wall, and the view through the openings in the memorial floor down to the sunken hull below create an experience of immense solemnity and emotion. Tickets for the boat shuttle require advance reservation and are frequently fully booked weeks ahead during peak season.
The Battleship Missouri Memorial is anchored nearby, and the juxtaposition of the Arizona, where America entered the war, and the Missouri, on whose deck the Japanese surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, ending the war, gives the Pearl Harbor site a historical completeness that is extraordinary. Tours of the Missouri’s decks, bridge, and interior spaces are excellent, and standing on the spot where the surrender document was signed is one of the most historically charged moments available to visitors anywhere in the Pacific.
The Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island presents an outstanding collection of aircraft from the Pacific War theater, with several original aircraft from the December 7 attack displayed in authentic hangars that still bear the bullet holes of that morning. The museum’s exhibits on the broader Pacific air war, from Midway to the atomic bomb missions, are thoughtful and comprehensive.
The USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, adjacent to the visitor center, allows visitors to board and explore the interior of a World War Two submarine that sank 44 enemy vessels during the war, earning it the nickname Pearl Harbor Avenger. The claustrophobic reality of life aboard a submarine at war is vividly conveyed by the experience of squeezing through its hatches and compartments.
Visiting Pearl Harbor requires careful planning. Demand for the Arizona Memorial boat shuttle far exceeds availability, and advance online reservation is strongly recommended. The Pearl Harbor Historic Sites complex encompasses all four attractions described above, and a full visit to all of them realistically requires a full day.
The Bishop Museum
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in the Kalihi neighborhood is the most important museum in Hawaii and one of the greatest natural history and cultural museums in the Pacific world. Founded in 1889 by the estate of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of King Kamehameha I, the museum holds the largest collection of natural history and cultural artifacts from Hawaii and the Pacific in the world, encompassing over 25 million specimens and objects spanning geology, biology, anthropology, and Hawaiian cultural heritage.
The Hawaiian Hall, housed in a magnificent Victorian building of basalt and coral from 1889, contains the museum’s core collection of Hawaiian cultural objects, including feather cloaks worn by Hawaiian ali’i, or royalty, carved wooden temple images, navigational instruments, traditional weapons, musical instruments, and thousands of other objects that provide the most comprehensive available window into traditional Hawaiian culture and material life. The collection of royal feather cloaks, made from hundreds of thousands of tiny bird feathers in brilliant yellow and red, is one of the most extraordinary museum collections in the world.
The Science Adventure Center presents interactive natural history and science programming. The Planetarium presents shows on Hawaiian navigation and the night sky. The museum’s hula performances, cultural demonstrations, and educational programming make it a living institution rather than merely a repository of objects. Visiting the Bishop Museum is one of the most important and rewarding cultural experiences available in Honolulu and provides essential context for understanding everything else the city and island offer.
Beaches Beyond Waikiki
Oahu’s coastline encompasses beaches of extraordinary variety, from the calm turquoise waters of protected bays on the south and west shores to the powerful winter swells of the legendary North Shore, from the black volcanic rock of the eastern coast to the broad white sand expanses of the Windward Shore. Most of the finest beaches on the island are within an hour’s drive of Waikiki.
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, about ten miles east of Waikiki on the southern coast, is one of the finest snorkeling destinations in Hawaii and one of the most protected and carefully managed marine environments on the island. The bay occupies an ancient volcanic crater whose southern wall collapsed into the sea, creating a sheltered, shallow lagoon of extraordinary clarity and marine abundance. The coral reef within the bay supports a remarkable diversity of tropical fish, sea turtles, and other marine life that are remarkably comfortable with human presence after decades of careful management. Access requires advance online reservation for a timed entry permit, and visitors must view an educational video about reef protection before entering the water. The efforts are well worth it, as the snorkeling experience at Hanauma Bay is among the finest accessible to non-divers anywhere in Hawaii.
Lanikai Beach on the Windward Shore, accessible from the town of Kailua about thirty minutes over the Pali Highway from Honolulu, is consistently rated among the most beautiful beaches in the world, a narrow strip of powdery white sand fringed with coconut palms and fronting the extraordinarily calm, clear, and impossibly turquoise water of a protected bay. The view across the water to the twin Mokulua Islands offshore is one of the most photographed in Hawaii. Parking is limited and requires using street parking in the residential neighborhood behind the beach, but the beauty of the destination rewards the effort completely.
Kailua Beach Park, adjacent to Lanikai, is a longer and somewhat more accessible stretch of equally beautiful sand and water and is popular with windsurfers, kitesurfers, kayakers, and paddleboarders taking advantage of the reliable trade winds. The town of Kailua itself has excellent independent restaurants, coffee shops, and boutiques and is one of the most pleasant day trip destinations from Honolulu.
Waimea Bay on the North Shore, about an hour’s drive from Honolulu, is one of the most famous surf breaks in the world, the site of the legendary Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational surf contest that takes place only when wave heights reach thirty feet or more, an event that occurs only a handful of times per decade. In summer, when the north swells subside, Waimea Bay becomes a calm and beautiful swimming beach with crystalline water and a large rock from which the brave and the foolish leap into the bay below. In winter, the transformation of the same beach into one of the most powerful and dramatic surf environments on Earth is one of the great spectacles of the natural world and can be observed safely from the beach.
The Seven Mile Miracle, the stretch of North Shore coastline between Haleiwa and Sunset Beach encompassing Waimea Bay, the Banzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach, and dozens of other legendary surf breaks, is the spiritual home of professional surfing and the site of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing competition held each November and December. The Pipeline, where waves pitch over an extremely shallow reef to create perfectly barreling hollow waves of enormous power and beauty, is the most photogenic and most dangerous surf break on the North Shore. During contest season and large swells, the beaches are packed with spectators watching among the world’s best surfers ride waves that most people would only watch from shore.
Makua Beach on the Waianae Coast and Yokohama Bay at the western tip of the island offer relatively uncrowded and wild beaches in a dramatic setting where the Waianae Mountains meet the sea. The communities of the Waianae Coast are among the most Native Hawaiian in character on Oahu and deserve respectful and humble engagement from visitors.
Hiking and Outdoor Activities
Oahu’s interior mountain ranges, the ancient Koolau and Waianae mountains carved by millions of years of volcanic activity and erosion, provide some of the finest hiking accessible from a major resort destination anywhere in the world. The trails range from easy walks through botanical gardens to strenuous ridge hikes requiring significant fitness and a head for heights.
The Manoa Falls Trail, about four miles from Waikiki in the cool, green Manoa Valley, is one of the most accessible and rewarding short hikes on the island, a gentle forty-five-minute walk through lush tropical forest to a beautiful waterfall dropping 150 feet into a moss-covered amphitheater. The Lyon Arboretum at the head of Manoa Valley, operated by the University of Hawaii, is a magnificent botanical garden of five acres encompassing thousands of tropical plant species in a gorgeously lush setting.
The Koko Head Crater Trail is a strenuous workout disguised as a hike, climbing the steep outer flank of an ancient volcanic crater via 1,048 railroad ties set into the slope by the military during World War Two. The climb typically takes thirty to forty-five minutes of sustained effort and rewards with panoramic views of the southeastern coast, Diamond Head, and the Koolau Range. It is a beloved early morning exercise destination for local residents and a memorable experience for visiting hikers who enjoy a genuine physical challenge.
The Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail on the eastern tip of the island is an easy paved path winding up the cliff face to a historic lighthouse with panoramic views of the windward coast, the offshore islands of Rabbit Island and Flat Island, and the Pacific stretching to the horizon. From January through May, the offshore waters are a prime humpback whale watching area, and the elevated viewpoint makes whale spotting particularly productive.
The Pillbox Hike above Lanikai Beach follows a red dirt trail up a steep ridge to a series of World War Two military observation pillboxes with one of the finest panoramic views on Oahu, encompassing Lanikai Beach, the Mokulua Islands, the windward coast, and the Koolau Mountains. The hike is steep but short, taking about thirty minutes each way, and it is particularly popular at sunrise.
The Aiea Loop Trail in Keaiwa Heiau State Recreation Area winds through a forest of eucalyptus, Norfolk Island pine, and native Hawaiian plants on a ridge above Pearl Harbor, with excellent views of the harbor, the Ewa Plain, and the mountains. The trailhead is an easy drive from downtown Honolulu.
Ocean activities available from Honolulu and around the island include world-class surfing and surf lessons, stand-up paddleboarding, outrigger canoe paddling, snorkeling, scuba diving, deep sea sport fishing, whale watching cruises from January through March, sunset sailing and catamaran cruises along the Waikiki coast, and kayaking to the Mokulua Islands off Lanikai Beach.
Food and Dining
Honolulu’s food culture is one of the most distinctive and rewarding in the United States, a reflection of the extraordinary diversity of the islands’ population and the unique culinary traditions that have evolved over generations of cultural exchange between Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, and American food ways.
The plate lunch is the quintessential local meal, a generous tray of rice, macaroni salad, and a protein, which might be kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, lau lau, chicken katsu, or any number of other options. It is the food of working people, filling and flavorful and deeply embedded in the daily food culture of the islands. Rainbow Drive-In in Kapahulu, operating since 1961, is the most beloved plate lunch institution in Honolulu and a genuinely important cultural landmark.
Shave ice is Hawaii’s most beloved sweet treat and is entirely distinct from the snow cones sold elsewhere in the United States. Properly made Hawaiian shave ice is made by pressing a block of ice against a rotating blade to produce an extraordinarily fine, soft, almost powdery shave that absorbs the colorful flavored syrups poured over it rather than merely coating them. Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa on the North Shore is the most famous purveyor, a pilgrimage site that draws lines of devoted customers, but excellent shave ice is available throughout Honolulu. Adding a scoop of ice cream underneath and azuki beans on top elevates the experience further.
Spam musubi is another beloved local food, a block of seasoned rice topped with a slice of fried Spam and wrapped in nori seaweed in the manner of Japanese onigiri. Hawaii’s cultural embrace of Spam, a canned meat introduced to the islands during World War Two when fresh meat was scarce, has become a point of cultural pride, and the product appears on menus from convenience stores to hotel restaurants throughout the islands. Spam musubi, purchased from a convenience store, is the perfect walking-around snack.
Poke, the Hawaiian preparation of cubed raw fish seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, limu seaweed, and Hawaiian sea salt, is perhaps the most globally influential Hawaiian culinary export of recent decades, though the poke available in Honolulu bears relatively little resemblance to the oversauced, trend-driven versions proliferating in mainland cities. Ono Seafood in Kapahulu and Tamura’s Fine Wine and Liquors in multiple locations are among the most beloved traditional poke destinations in Honolulu.
Loco moco, another Hawaiian original, is a bowl of rice topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and generous ladles of brown gravy, a combination that sounds unlikely and tastes magnificent, particularly after a morning of surfing or hiking. Cafe 100 in Hilo on the Big Island claims to have invented it, but it is ubiquitous throughout Oahu.
Traditional Hawaiian food, rooted in the pre-contact indigenous cuisine, centers on kalua pork roasted in an underground imu oven, poi made from steamed and pounded taro root, lomi lomi salmon, haupia coconut pudding, and lau lau of pork or fish wrapped and steamed in taro leaves. The best opportunity to experience traditional Hawaiian food in its proper cultural context is at a luau, and Honolulu and Oahu offer several luau experiences ranging from intimate and culturally authentic to large and tourist-oriented spectacles.
The restaurant scene in Honolulu has matured dramatically and now encompasses genuine culinary ambition alongside its extraordinary local food traditions. MW Restaurant by husband and wife chefs Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka is one of the most celebrated fine dining destinations in Honolulu, presenting a menu of contemporary Hawaii Regional Cuisine that draws on the island’s multicultural food heritage with exceptional skill and creativity. Senia in Chinatown is another outstanding destination for creative contemporary cuisine. Vintage Cave Club is an extraordinary ultra-fine dining experience in a dramatic underground setting. The sheer density of outstanding Japanese restaurants, reflecting the enormous Japanese-American population of the islands, is remarkable, with excellent sushi, ramen, izakaya, and Japanese comfort food available throughout the city.
The Ala Moana Center food court and the nearby Ward Village area have excellent food hall and restaurant options. The KCC Farmers Market at Kapiolani Community College on Saturday mornings is one of the finest farmers markets in Hawaii, with local vendors selling freshly made food, tropical produce, local honey, coffee, macadamia nuts, and handmade goods in the shadow of Diamond Head.
Arts, Culture, and Entertainment
Honolulu has a vibrant and sophisticated arts and cultural scene that is frequently underestimated by visitors focused on the beach and the major tourist attractions.
The Hawaii Theatre Center in Chinatown is a magnificently restored 1922 vaudeville palace, now presenting a full calendar of live music, dance, comedy, film, and theater productions in one of the finest historic theater interiors in the Pacific. The Blaisdell Center, a large convention and performance complex in the Moiliili neighborhood, houses the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall and Arena, which host the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, touring Broadway productions, major concert acts, and sporting events.
The Honolulu Museum of Art, as described above, is the premier visual arts institution in the city. The Contemporary Museum in Makiki Heights, housed in a 1925 estate with spectacular gardens and panoramic city views, is an excellent venue for contemporary art in an unusually beautiful setting. The First Fridays Honolulu monthly event in the Chinatown arts district draws thousands of residents and visitors to gallery openings, street performances, food trucks, and the general festive atmosphere of the neighborhood’s creative community.
Hawaiian music is a living and evolving tradition of genuine beauty, combining the mele or traditional chant of ancient Hawaii with the steel guitar, ukulele, and vocal harmonies that developed through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in contact with Portuguese, Mexican, and American musical traditions. The slack-key guitar, or ki hoalu, a style of fingerpicking guitar developed in Hawaii in which the strings are tuned to open chord positions, is one of the most distinctive and beautiful guitar traditions in the world. The Masters of Hawaiian Music Concert Series, the Hawaii International Film Festival, and the Hawaiian falsetto contest at the Merrie Monarch Festival are among the most significant cultural events celebrating Hawaiian musical heritage.
Hula is the living embodiment of Hawaiian cultural knowledge, a form of movement and chant that encodes in its gestures and lyrics the history, mythology, genealogy, and natural world of Hawaii. The Merrie Monarch Festival, held each year in Hilo on the Big Island in the week following Easter, is the most prestigious hula competition in the world, but hula performances are available throughout Honolulu at luaus, cultural centers, and venues including the Bishop Museum and the Royal Hawaiian Center.
The Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie on the windward coast, about an hour from Honolulu, is the largest tourist attraction in Hawaii and presents the cultures of Polynesia, including Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Tahiti, through village environments, craft demonstrations, cultural performances, and an evening luau and show. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and staffed largely by students from the adjacent Brigham Young University Hawaii, and while its commercial tourism orientation is evident, the quality of the cultural programming and performance is genuinely excellent.
Shopping
Shopping in Honolulu ranges from the extraordinary concentration of luxury retail at the Ala Moana Center to the local farmers markets, artisan shops, and cultural vendors that offer the most authentic and meaningful souvenirs of the islands.
The Ala Moana Center, the largest open-air shopping mall in the world with over 350 stores on four levels, sits between Waikiki and downtown Honolulu and anchors the retail life of the city. Its tenant mix includes department stores, luxury boutiques from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and Burberry, and a comprehensive range of mainstream and specialty retail. The Ala Moana Center is the shopping destination of choice for both residents and visitors and is essentially unavoidable for anyone spending more than a day or two in Honolulu.
The Royal Hawaiian Center on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki is a dedicated shopping complex with an emphasis on luxury brands and a significant cultural programming component, including free hula lessons and cultural demonstrations. The DFS Galleria Waikiki, operated by the duty-free shopping giant, is particularly popular with international visitors eligible for tax-free purchases.
For more local and authentic shopping experiences, the Honolulu Museum of Art Shop carries an excellent selection of art books, prints, and locally made gifts. Na Mea Hawaii in Ward Village is the finest Hawaiian cultural and arts gift shop in the city, specializing in authentic Hawaiian-made products, traditional crafts, books about Hawaii, and locally produced music. The Chinatown neighborhood offers lei stands, herb shops, local food products, and artisan goods that reflect the community’s cultural character rather than the tourist retail of the resort area.
Macadamia nuts, Kona coffee, Hawaiian sea salt, locally made chocolate from Oahu and other islands, and handmade Hawaiian quilts are among the most meaningful and authentically local souvenirs available.
Luaus
The luau is one of the most enduring and beloved traditions of Hawaiian hospitality, a feast combining traditional food, music, dance, and storytelling that has roots in the pre-contact Hawaiian feast tradition known as aha aina. Contemporary luaus range from small, intimate cultural experiences to large commercial productions serving hundreds of guests, and the quality and cultural authenticity of the experience varies considerably between operators.
The Paradise Cove Luau on the Ko Olina coast and the Polynesian Cultural Center’s Ali’i Luau are among the largest and most elaborate commercial luau experiences on Oahu, featuring full buffet dinners of traditional and local Hawaiian food, open bars, craft demonstrations, and extended evening entertainment programs featuring hula, Samoan fire knife dancing, and Hawaiian music. The Chief’s Luau at Sea Life Park on the windward coast offers a more intimate experience in a beautiful setting. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel luau in Waikiki, held in the hotel’s ocean-front Mai Tai Bar, combines the beautiful setting of the Pink Palace’s beachfront with a curated luau experience.
For visitors seeking the most authentic and culturally grounded luau experience, smaller operations and those recommended by knowledgeable local sources are generally preferable to the largest commercial productions, though the latter are professionally executed and provide a pleasant introduction to Hawaiian food and performance traditions.
Day Trips and Neighboring Islands
Oahu is the most convenient base for exploring the other Hawaiian Islands, with excellent interisland air service connecting Honolulu to Maui, the Big Island of Hawaii, Kauai, Molokai, and Lanai multiple times daily.
Maui, about thirty minutes by air
, is the second most visited Hawaiian Island and offers extraordinary natural diversity including the massive Haleakala volcano, the Road to Hana coastal drive, world-class whale watching in the Auau Channel from January through March, and the beautiful beaches of the Kaanapali and Wailea coasts.
The Big Island of Hawaii, also about thirty minutes by air from Honolulu, is the largest island by land area and one of the most geologically active places on Earth, with Kilauea volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park producing the only place in the world where visitors can regularly observe active lava flows. The island’s extraordinary diversity of climate zones, from tropical rainforest to alpine desert, and its magnificent Mauna Kea summit with world-class astronomical observatories make it one of the most scientifically remarkable places accessible to ordinary visitors.
Kauai, known as the Garden Isle, is the oldest and most geologically eroded of the main Hawaiian Islands, its ancient volcanic surfaces having been carved by rain and rivers into the dramatic cliffs and valleys of the Na Pali Coast and the extraordinary Waimea Canyon, often called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It is the most rural and least developed of the main islands and the most purely natural in its appeal.
Practical Information
Climate: Honolulu’s climate is one of the most consistently pleasant in the world. Temperatures vary relatively little throughout the year, averaging in the high seventies to low eighties Fahrenheit year-round, moderated by the reliable northeast trade winds that blow across the island for much of the year and keep humidity at comfortable levels. The summer months from May through September tend to be warmer and drier, while the winter months from October through April are marginally cooler and wetter, with occasional heavy rainfall particularly on the windward side of the island and in the mountain valleys. The south-facing beaches of Waikiki are generally sunny and pleasant throughout the year.
Hurricane season in the central Pacific runs from June through November, and while direct hurricane hits on Hawaii are relatively rare, tropical storms and their associated rainfall can affect the islands during this period.
Water Safety: The ocean around Oahu is beautiful but deserves respect and should not be underestimated. Ocean currents, shore break, and waves can be powerful even at beaches that appear calm, and the surf conditions can change rapidly. Warning flags at beaches should always be observed, and swimming at unguarded beaches requires caution and awareness. The North Shore during winter swells is an extremely dangerous swimming environment for all but expert ocean swimmers. Rip currents are present at many beaches and knowing how to respond to one, by swimming parallel to shore rather than against it, is important knowledge for all ocean swimmers.
Cultural Respect: Hawaii has a living indigenous culture that deserves respect and genuine engagement rather than superficial appropriation. The aloha spirit that characterizes Hawaiian hospitality is genuine and beautiful, but it exists alongside a history of cultural suppression, land dispossession, and political subjugation that remains deeply relevant to the lives of Native Hawaiian people today. Engaging with Hawaiian culture respectfully means learning something of its history, supporting Native Hawaiian cultural institutions and businesses, following protocols at sacred sites, and approaching the experience of being a guest in these islands with humility and gratitude.
Best Time to Visit: Honolulu is an excellent destination year-round, but the winter months from December through March offer the additional attraction of humpback whale watching in Hawaiian waters. Summer brings the largest crowds and highest hotel rates but also the calmest ocean conditions for swimming at most beaches. The shoulder periods of April through May and September through October offer a good balance of pleasant weather, manageable crowds, and somewhat lower costs.
Costs: Hawaii is one of the more expensive domestic travel destinations for Americans, reflecting the cost of transporting virtually everything the islands consume across thousands of miles of ocean. Hotel rates in Waikiki range from budget to ultra-luxury, and advance booking is advisable for the best rates. Restaurant prices are generally higher than mainland equivalents at comparable quality levels, though the plate lunch and other local food traditions offer excellent value. The state of Hawaii levies a transient accommodations tax in addition to the general excise tax on goods and services, and visitors should factor these into their budgeting.
Conclusion
Honolulu is a city that gives generously and asks relatively little in return except the willingness to be present, to look up from the guidebook and the phone and the curated Instagram moment and simply be in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The ocean is there every morning, the same improbable color it was the morning before and the morning before that, and the mountains are there behind the city, green and steep and ancient, and the flowers are blooming and the trade winds are moving through the palms and the whole magnificent Pacific is laid out before you with a generosity that feels almost personal.
But Honolulu gives more than beauty. It gives history, complex and important and still unresolved, that demands engagement. It gives food of extraordinary depth and originality, music of genuine loveliness, cultural traditions of a sophistication and elegance that predate Western contact by centuries and continue to evolve and flourish in the present. It gives the particular warmth of a city that has always been a crossroads, a meeting point of cultures and peoples who have learned, imperfectly but genuinely, to live alongside one another in a place that everyone who comes to love it claims as their own.
The aloha spirit is real. It is not a slogan or a marketing concept. It is the distillation of something true about human possibility in a particular place, the possibility of generosity, of welcome, of genuine care for the stranger and the visitor and the neighbor alike. Honolulu offers it freely, and the best thing a visitor can do is receive it with the gratitude and the grace it deserves.
Mahalo. Thank you for coming. Come back soon.
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