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Waikiki is home to public places of note, including Kapiolani Park, Fort de Russy Military Reservation, Kahanamoku Lagoon, Kuhio Beach Park, and Ali Wai Harbor.

The park’s name means “a place of peace and tranquility” and it is located along the dramatic Koolau mountain range in Kaneohe. Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden was designed and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide flood protection for Kaneohe.

The 400 acres are geographically laid out and represent tropical regions from around the world: the Philippines, Hawaii, Africa, Sri Lanka, India, Polynesia, Melanesia, Malaysia and tropical America. A network of trails helps visitors discover an abundance of endangered and rare plants. The collection includes over 10,000 specimens.

The park is also a recreational area and includes a 32-acre lake (no swimming allowed) and campgrounds (Friday through Monday with permits). Open 9am to 4pm daily. Located at the end of Luluku Road; Kaneohe, Oahu.

LOCATION:
Outrigger Waikiki
2335 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii

Discover Hawaiian culture – vibrant and timeless – at Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. Here within our beautiful beachfront accommodations, you can still feel the power and spirit of tireless paddlers who once skimmed the ocean swells in our 100-year-old koa canoe. Enjoy music of the islands at intimate concerts with masters of the ukulele and seductive slack-key guitar at this Waikiki hotel. Learn the finer touch of finishing a Hawaiian quilt or weaving delicate feather lei. Explore the spirituality of well-being with practitioners of natural healing. Or grab a surfboard and conquer the waves like a native! You’ll find all of the hallmarks of a truly authentic island experience at our landmark Waikiki Beach hotel setting:

• Perched right on the silken sand of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii
• Across from the International Marketplace, in the heart of Waikiki
• Minutes from Fort DeRussy, Honolulu Zoo and Waikiki Aquarium
• Just nine miles from Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
• No resort fees

 

Waikiki Beach Walk is the largest development project ever to be undertaken in Waikiki’s history. The 7.9 acre area, bordered by Kalakaua Avenue, Lewers Street, Kalia Road, Beach Walk and Saratoga Road, has been completely rebuilt and has emerged as a vibrant showcase and gathering place in the new Waikiki. With a total construction cost of $535 million, it features an outdoor entertainment plaza, 41 new retailers, six great restaurants, and five hotels. Incorporating a design theme that celebrates Hawaii’s voyaging and ocean heritage and takes advantage of the island’s cooling trade winds and year-round excellent weather, Waikiki Beach Walk is the consummate expression of Hawaii today — a place where people come to be enlivened with warm hospitality, a rich confluence of cultures, and nature’s precious gifts from land and sea.

Waikiki Beach Walk just celebrated its one year anniversary : “In its first year, Waikiki Beach Walk has become an icon for Waikiki’s revitalization and a symbol for the area’s successful renaissance,” said Barbara Campbell, vice president of retail development for Outrigger Enterprises Group. “As we wish Waikiki Beach Walk a happy birthday, we are reminded of what was once narrow streets and aging buildings and is now a bustling shopping and dining destination for thousands of visitors and residents.”

 

The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a living museum located in Lā’ie, on the northern part of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Dedicated in October 12, 1963, the PCC is located on 42 acres of land owned by nearby Brigham Young University Hawaii, where most of the performers are enrolled as students. Although it is largely a commercial venture, all profits from the PCC are applied to various scholarship programs run by BYU-Hawaii.

Many performers at the center are students attending BYU-Hawaii on scholarship from their native lands, working up to 20 hours per week during school terms and full time during breaks in order to graduate debt-free. The money which visitors pay for admission, as well as profits from food and gift sales, supports the scholarship programs which have educated thousands of students over the years. Visitors are invited to take bus tours of the university to “see where your money is going,” and to see the Laie Hawaii Temple visitor center. The PCC and BYU-Hawaii are owned and operated by the LDS Church, the Mormons, as is the Laie Hawaii Temple, located northwest of the university.

The PCC is considered to be one of the most widely visited tourist destinations in Hawaii. In recent years, it’s become Hawaii’s number one paid attraction. Visitors are able to observe cultural activities by the peoples who inhabit the islands of the Central and South Pacific Ocean. The Polynesian Cultural Center is the venue for the annual World Fire Knife Dance Competition, in which contestants display their skill with blazing swords.

 

American sculptor Thomas R. Gould was commissioned by the kingdom of Hawaii to create the statue. Gould modeled the figure in his studio in Rome in 1879. A year later, it was cast in bronze in Paris and shipped from Germany. During its voyage to the Islands, however, the ship caught afire and sank off the Falkland Islands. A second statue was cast from the original mold and sent to Honolulu, where King Kalakaua dedicated it in 1883.

Standing eight and a half feet tall, the statue depicts Kamehameha in his royal garb, including a helmet of rare feathers and a gilded cloak. The spear in his left hand serves to symbolize the kingdom’s willingness and ability to defend itself from hostile nations. His right hand, however, is extended in a welcoming gesture of aloha.

The original statue was eventually recovered and brought to the Big Island. The statue in Washington D.C. was made from a mold taken of the Honolulu statue. It was dedicated as a gift to the National Statuary Hall collection in 1969. More recently, a fourth Kamehameha statue was erected in Hilo.

Every June 11 is Kamehameha Day, a state holiday. Among the festivities is a late-afternoon lei-draping ceremony, where the Kamehameha statue is splendidly adorned with fresh flower leis of all types. Fragrant strands of yellow and pink plumeria are placed on the statue’s outstretched right arm. Garlands of royal ilima are hung around its neck. Signifying power and strength, a special lei made from braided ti leaves adorns the king’s spear.

Each of the statues serves as a fitting tribute to Hawaii’s greatest king, the “Napoleon of the Pacific” who unified the Hawaiian kingdom and ruled it for nearly a decade.

Few travelers realize that there are gorgeous botanical gardens at the Honolulu International Airport. The Airport, like many hotel lobbies in Hawaii, is an open-air facility. Most people miss the gardens, because the gardens are located downstairs from all the major

walkways to and from the boarding gates and the directions to the gardens are not well-marked.

Visiting the gardens is a great way to enjoy your time between flights. Go to the main Airport terminal and take the stairs or the elevator one flight down. There are four different garden themes: Hawaiian Garden, Chinese Garden, Japanese Garden, and a Topiary Garden. You can enjoy your layover among waterfalls, Koi ponds, foot bridges, and beautiful flowers and plants.

There is no admission charge to the gardens, a refreshing change for most travelers. If you would like a vacation from the typically-overpriced airport restaurants, snack shops, gift shops, and bars, then take flight to the gardens. Stretching your legs for a walk or sitting quietly (with ample legroom) in the gardens after a long flight or between flights is a rare experience at an airport. We have known some travelers who even deliberately include a layover in their itinerary, so that they can spend an hour in the gardens.

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LOCATION:
45-550 Kionaole Road
Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744

Ko’olau Golf Course, rated in Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 Courses to Play” and named the “#1 Golf Course on Oahu” by Golf Digest, is among the top — and toughest — US golf courses. Nicknamed “The World’s Most Challenging Golf Course,” the 200-acre course was carved out of 1,500 acres of jungle in 1991 as a private country club for high rollers. Due to its gargantuan scale and tropical terrain, freelance golf writer Tom Haynes describes Ko’olau as “monster jungle golf” (Golf Courses of Hawaii).

Located just a 20-minute drive over the Pali Highway from downtown Honolulu, you can’t beat this golf course for beautiful Hawaii golf. It has breathtaking mountain views, spectacular fairways surrounded by rainforest, and dramatic sights of the Pacific Ocean. Locals talk constantly about how tough this course is. The rule of thumb is to bring the same number of balls as your handicap. The 18th hole has two carries over a giant jungle ravine–both the drive and the approach shot. Ko’olau is a Par 72 course at 7,310 yards.

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The US Dept. of Agriculture says, “American agriculture is under constant threat of attack from countless enemies. These enemies are often microscopic and include plant pests and disease.”

To prevent the unknowing transmission of these hitchhikers, ALL passenger baggage moving from Hawaii to the US mainland is subject to predeparture inspection at the airport. They ask that you be prepared to open and close your own bags. All agricultural items being mailed must be inspected prior to being taken to the post office.

You must notify the inspector if you have any agricultural items with you. Purchasing items from nurseries and fruit sellers that are qualified to certify them for you takes the worry out of the process. They will package and stamp anything you wish to take that is on the “Permitted” list. Nothing makes everyone back home as happy as fresh Hawaiian fruit, or lovely orchids and tropical flowers.

Agricultural items PERMITTED into the mainland after passing inspection:

- Beach Sand

- Coconuts

- Cooked foods

- Dried seeds

- Dried decorative arrangements

- Fresh flowers (except gardenia, jade vine, and mauna loa)

- “Irish” or white potatoes

- Pineapples

- Plants and cuttings must be certified to be free of pests by the HI Dept. of Agriculture

- Seashells (except land snail shells)

- Papayas require treatments before shipment to the mainland.

- Commercially canned and throughly cooked foods are permitted.

Agricultural items NOT PERMITTED into the Mainland:

- Berries (including coffee berries and sea grapes)

- Cactus plants or parts

- Cotton and cotton bolls

- Fresh flowers of gardenia, jade vine, and mauna loa

- Kikania and pandanus

- Live insects and snails

- Plants in soil

- Seeds with pulp and fresh seed pods

- Soil

- Sugarcane

- Swamp cabbage (unchoy)

- Sweet potato (raw)

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According to WaikikiHotelHonolulu.com and ABC News,

travel to Hawaii is getting cheaper as two airlines

serving the islands have gone bankrupt and tourism has declined.

You can go for less then $500.00 per person

 for airfare and hotel from the West Coast.

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Hungry and curious? Hawaii boasts a wealth of unique “local-style” foods for every visitor’s palette. Here are some yummies to try:

Ahi: yellowfin tuna

Chicken Luau: chicken cooked with taro leaf and coconut milk

Haupia: coconut pudding

Kulolo: taro pudding

Lau lau: pork, butterfish, beef or chicken wrapped in taro leaf and steamed in an imu (underground oven)

Lilikoi: passion fruit

Loco Moco: a fried egg on top of a hamburger on top of a pile of rice, all smothered in brown gravy.

Lomi Lomi Salmon: cold diced salmon, tomatoes and onion

Maui Onion: mild white onion, with sweetness similar to a Vidalia onion

Ohelo Berry: bright red, similar to a huckleberry, used in jams and preserves

Opakapaka: pink snapper

Poi: staple starch of the Hawaiian diet, made from boiled taro root.

Poke: raw fish with seaweed and sesame oil

Shave Ice: freshly shaved ice drenched in a sweet syrup – lighter and flakier than a snow cone

Spam: Well, never mind. Know you will find it everywhere and it is great with eggs!