Honolulu Destination and Hotel Guide

Graced with a garland of white sandy beaches woven along the waves of the majestic Pacific Ocean, Honolulu is a spellbinding vacation and business hot spot drenched in the aloha spirit.

Surrounded by verdant mountains and a protected harbor, Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii, the most secluded archipelago on earth. Renowned for its surf and sunshine, Honolulu is the largest city on Oahu, one of the six islands that constitute the state of Hawaii.

This gateway, where East meets West, is truly a multicultural melting pot. With more than 50 ethnic groups represented, Oahu (meaning "gathering place" in Hawaiian) is one of the most culturally diverse and racially integrated places on the planet. In the tourist areas, numerous signs are in English and Asian languages. Many shopkeepers speak Japanese, Chinese, and English.

Situated on the southern shore of Oahu, the Honolulu area includes the historic Pearl Harbor, the downtown business district, the shops and restaurants of Chinatown, the 760-foot-high extinct volcanic crater called Diamond Head, and the 1.5-mile Waikiki Beach, perhaps the world's most famous beach.

Downtown Honolulu is the business core of the island, which has a reputation as the high-tech center of the Pacific. Its location between Asia and the U.S. makes Oahu a technological hotbed for advances at the both ends of the world.

The cuisine here is a delicious mix of East meets West. Hawaii Regional Cuisine, a cutting edge culinary trend, incorporates the flavors and cooking styles of the immigrant cultures - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese - as well as food traditions imported from California and France. Ingredients are those found on the island, including freshly-caught fish, purple potatoes, baby greens, golden pineapples, Macadamia nuts, and Hawaiian-grown chocolate and coffee.

Many of the top restaurant chefs go to Chinatown early in the morning for fresh fish and produce. They get fresh baby greens from Nalo Farm, a seven-acre plot nestled against the Ko'olau Mountains near Waimanalo Bay, and watercress from the third-generation Sumida Watercress Farm, surprisingly located in downtown Honolulu in the midst of shopping malls.

George Mavrothalassitis, chef/owner of Chef Mavro, who serves some of the most elegant cuisine on the island, shows up at the Honolulu fish auction at 7 a.m. to select premium opakapaka (crimson snapper) for his award-winning crusted fish with ogo (seaweed) sauce and watercress salad.

At the opposite end of the culinary scale, visitors can enjoy a hearty plate lunch for $5. You'll find native Hawaiians lined up outside the door of these small food stalls waiting for a plate filled with two scoops of rice, macaroni salad, and meat - often a hamburger patty with gravy, sometimes with a fried egg on top. Frequently the plate lunches include fiery kim chi. And, of course, there's the ubiquitous luau featuring steamed pig.

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel has Waikiki's only beachfront luau. Food, along with everything else on the island, is dished out with a welcoming aloha spirit. A guiding principle of Hawaiian hospitality, this greeting of sharing is heard from morn 'til night. Aloha means hello, love, welcome, and farewell, all rolled into one word.

Around Honolulu you will find a plethora of lei stands. You may receive a strand of orchids or berries at the airport when you step off your plane or when you register at your hotel. If not, there are plenty of places to buy these special neck adornments.

Although Honolulu can be pricey, there are lots of free activities. You can listen to the Royal Hawaiian Band at Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu on Fridays. Experience Aloha Friday with lunchtime entertainment at Honolulu International Airport or downtown at Bishop Square. Stroll through Chinatown for a unique peek at noodle factories, herbal shops, lei stands, and fish markets. Learn Hawaiian hula at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

To reach this Pacific paradise, you will fly into Honolulu International Airport. The largest airport in the state, it handles all international flights to Hawaii and most of those from the mainland, including flights carrying passengers to the neighboring islands of Hawaii, Lanai, Maui, Kauai, and Molokai.

From the airport, downtown Honolulu is about six miles and Waikiki is almost 10 miles. Taxis and rental cars are available at the airport. A taxi from the airport to Waikiki costs approximately $25. Most hotels offer shuttle buses to and from the airport.

You can get around the entire island in three hours by car. Or you can take an inexpensive and fascinating journey on Oahu's public transportation system, The Bus. The basic fare is $1. Several companies rent mopeds, bicycles, and motorcycles.

Compass directions aren't normally used because of the irregular shape of Oahu. Instead, locations are defined in terms of landmarks. "Makai" is toward the sea; "mauka" is inland or toward the mountains; "ewa" is toward Ewa Plantation; and "waikiki" or "diamondhead" is in the opposite direction of ewa.

If you are planning to explore the island, it is cost-effective to rent a car because taxi rides can add up. Of course, The Bus costs only $1 and operates around the whole island. If you plan to just veg out at a beach resort, you can take the free shuttle to and from the airport. Traffic in downtown Honolulu is quite congested between 6-9 a.m. and between 3-6 p.m. Finding a parking spot along the street can be difficult, especially in Waikiki. Most parking lots charge $1-2 per hour.

Honolulu welcomes travelers with thousands of rooms in accommodations ranging from posh resorts to cozy bed and breakfasts, and everything in between. The vast majority of lodging is found along Waikiki Beach. Actually a string of connecting beaches (Sans Souci, Queen's Surf, Kuhio, Waikiki, Fort DeRussy, and Duke Kahana), Waikiki Beach stretches from Diamond Head to the Ala Wai Harbor. A few hotels, including JW Marriott Ihilana Resort & Spa, are on the secluded West Shore of Oahu, about a 25-minute drive from the airport.

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