Oahu
Oahu, nicknamed 'The Gathering Place', formed by two volcanos, is the most populous, most developed and most well known of the Hawaiian Islands. Oahu is home to the idyllic splendor of Hawaii's rich natural beauty and to the bustling excitement of world-famous Waikiki Beach and the names and images most commonly conjured up by the mention of Hawaii are all here: Honolulu, Pearl Harbor and Sunset Beach. The state capital, Honolulu, is the major exit/entry point for travelers. Honolulu and Waikiki form a relentless urban area of freeways and high rises that resembles a hybrid of Miami Beach and downtown Tokyo. The vast majority of the island's tourist infrastructure is located in this area. Outside the urban perimeter are all the beaches you could wish for, aqua-blue bays, fluted mountains and valleys carpeted with pineapple fields. The island's surf beaches (try Banzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach, Makaha) are legendary, but there is also great bodysurfing (Makapuu Beach, Waimea Bay), windsurfing (Kailua Bay), snorkeling (Hanauma Bay) and diving (Three Tables and nearby Shark's Cove).
Waikiki:
Many visitors are dismayed by Waikiki, a high-density beachside extension of Honolulu which is crowded with tourists, shoppers, restaurants and nightclubs. The Moorish, pink-turreted Royal Hawaiian Hotel is a survivor from the days when Rudolph Valentino was a romantic idol and people came to Hawaii by luxury liner. South-east of the city is Diamond Head, a tuff cone and crater formed by a violent steam explosion. Its 760-ft (228m) high summit forms the backdrop to Waikiki, and is one of the best-known landmarks in the Pacific. It has a good hiking trail and there are fantastic panoramic views from the top.
Honolulu:
Sure, it's got wide beaches, waving palms and balmy weather, but Honolulu isn't just the tropical splendor you used to see on Hawaii 5-0. As the only US city located in the tropics, the only one with a royal palace and the only one that can claim an equal blend of Western, Asian and Polynesian influences, Honolulu offers visitors a cornucopia of cross-cultural attractions.
You'll find yourself disappointed if you've come to Honolulu to 'get away from it all' - it's among the world's most visited locales - but with a little perseverance and a fair amount of planning, you'll find there's plenty of elbow room for all. The valleys above the city have lush forest reserves and often-empty hiking trails. And within an hour's drive of the capital, you can find tranquil coves for swimming and snorkeling, quiet gardens and towns so small and peaceful that you'll almost forget the throngs on the beaches.
Oahu Attractions:
Discover the Honolulu Zoo and the Polynesian Cultural Center which stands as a tribute to the diverse history of the island's people, nature and tradition.
Hanaumu Bay in southeastern Oahu, is a wide, sheltered bay of sapphire-and-turquoise waters set in a rugged volcanic ring. It has fantastic coral and marine life and wonderful snorkeling, but it's under environmental pressure from the sheer number of visitors coming to feed and view the fish.
The Nuuanu Pali Lookout, in the southern Koolau Range, has brilliant views of the windward coast from its 1200-ft (360m) elevation. This is where Kamehameha the Great routed Oahu's warriors during his invasion of the island in 1795.
Hawaii's most visited attraction is
the Arizona Memorial and U.S.S. Missouri at Pearl Harbor, north-west of Honolulu, where 1.5 million visitors come each year to learn about the surprise Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and to pay their respects to the 2335 dead U.S. servicemen.