WaikikiWaikiki is located on the island of Oahu within the city of Honolulu. It is the area makai (towards the ocean) of the Ala Wai Canal. From almost any hotel in Waikiki, the walk to Waikiki Beach is less than 5 minutes. Activities in Waikiki:Waikiki BeachThe beach is about two miles long. Just showing up with a towel is fine, you can rent or buy almost anything you need, including lessons. Activities include: fishing, swimming, snorkeling, body boarding, surfing (with lessons), outrigger canoe rides, boat rides, sailing , windsurfing (with lessons), and shopping. Shopping The hotels have shops, the beach has shops, the sidewalks are fronted by luxury store after luxury store, and right in the middle is the International Market Place Waikiki with over 130 merchants. Sights The sunset at Waikiki is fantastic, and although you can take a sunset dinner cruise, it is just as good from the beach or the restaurants along the beach. There's the Duke Kahanamoku statue - usually adorned with leis - the Waikiki Aquarium and the Honolulu Zoo are both nearby and inexpensive, and the U.S. Army Museum on Fort DeRussy near the beach. Shows A free hula show and torch-lighting ceremony is performed every night at 6:30 by the Duke Kahanamoku statue. Every Friday the Hilton Hawaiian Village puts on a fireworks show. Several Waikiki stages hold shows like Don Ho and Society of Seven. Waikiki TransportationTry the Waikiki Trolley or theBus or even an historic walk.Waikiki SunsetsWaikiki sunsets are almost always highly visible and gorgeous. Waikiki gets very little rain over the course of the year so you are almost always guaranteed a good view of the sunset. Sunset cruises vary from larger boats offering full-course dinners to smaller sailboats offering only the view - and most will take 2 to 3 hours. Viewing from shore is just as good, just find a nice spot on the beach or get a good table (good luck) at one of the shoreline restaurants.
Waikiki at NightIn a sense, Waikiki is like any other major tourist city - except it's very clean, very warm, rarely rains, and is relatively safe due to the nature of Hawaii's people. For some great photos of what it looks like near the fancier stores check out the intro slideshow here. The main street is Kalakaua Ave. Walking around at night is very interesting - there are street performers with all the usuals and then some more unusual things, like people with parrots you can pose with, and my son's favorite: a dog wearing sunglasses and a sweater with a real mouse on his back. There are shops and shops and shops, plus restaurants and hula shows and christmas lights. It's a nice, tropical atmosphere with crowds of people walking around.
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