Waikiki

June 23rd, 2004

Waikiki 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 Beach
The 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. The Imax Waikiki shows big-screen entertainment, and several Waikiki stages hold shows like Don Ho and Society of Seven.

Waikiki Transportation

Try the Waikiki Trolley or theBus or even an historic walk.

Waikiki Hotels

There are dozens of hotels in Waikiki, but some main hotels that have the prime spots on the beach are the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, the Royal Hawaiian, the Outrigger Waikiki, and the Hilton Hawaiian Village.