Everything About Hawaii

Kapiolani Park

Kapiolani Park was dedicated on June 11, 1877, on Kamehameha Day, by King David La’amea Kalkaua and named to honor his wife, Queen Kapiolani. Many of Hawaii’s wealthy families built in the area when the park was first established. Today, the park has become a very popular gathering place for the locals. On any weekend, many families can be found using the park for outings, picnics, and barbeques.

The park also serves as home for the Waikiki Shell, Waikiki Aquarium, and the Kapiolani Park Bandstand. The Waikiki Shell is used for many concerts from the Honolulu Symphonic “Pops” to Hawaiian Music. The park is also the former site of the Kodak Hula Show. At the time of printing, the show has been indefinitely stopped due to financial problems.

The Kapiolani Park Bandstand is used nearly daily by many groups wanting to show off their talents in presenting the many different cultures of Hawai’i.

Kapiolani Park

This has been a quick overview of Kapiolani Park and what you’ll find there. Next, an article on The Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

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Waikiki Aquarium

The Waikiki Aquarium was established in March 1904 and has continuously served the Hawaiian community as well as the many visitors to Hawai’i who enjoy the exhibits. It is the third largest aquarium in the United States and at a cost of $3 million, was renovated in May 1994. The aquarium provides a “children friendly” environment with most tanks at eye level. There are over 240 species on display including the chambered nautilus, giant clam, octopus, reef fish, and Hawaii’s State Fish the numuhumu-nukunuku-a’pua’a. The main focus is on marine life of the Hawaiian Islands and the South Pacific. The aquarium also works with the University of Hawai’i on various sea life research projects. Don’t forget to visit the special tanks at the rear of the building where they are growing live coral. When the Waikiki Aquarium first opened in 1904 it was located 100 yards closer to Waikiki. Originally, there was no admission charged because they wanted to attract riders to the trolleys that serviced the Waikiki area. The cost of the trolley ride was a nickel each direction.

Waikiki Aquarium – Hours/Tickets

The Waikiki Aquarium is open daily from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm (actually closing at 5:00pm. They offer special limited hours on Thanksgiving Day and New Years Day. They are closed on Christmas Day and also the day the The Honolulu Marathon is held. The general admission is $9/adult, $4/children 13-17, $2/children 5-12, and a special discount of $6/Hawaii residents, military, students, and seniors (with ID).

Waikiki Aquarium – Summary

Many people visit Waikiki Aquarium every week and are happy they took time from their normal “beach activities” to visit this attraction. Just across from Waikiki Aquarium you’ll find the subject of our next article, Kapiolani Park.

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Honolulu Zoo

The Honolulu Zoo, which is a part of Kapi’olani Park, was established in 1947 and covers 43 acres. There are over 1250 animals from 265+ species on display. There is a very relaxed atmosphere allowing you to stroll the winding pathways through gardens of flowers and tropical plants. Some of the attractions you will find are the Reptile House, Elephant Encounter, Children’s Zoo, and the newest addition, the African Savanna. In creating the 10 acre African Savanna, they have come as close as possible to duplicating the animals natural habitat.

Honolulu Zoo – Visitors

Although rather small as zoos go, the Honolulu Zoo gets approximately 750,000 visitors peach year and has been named one of America’s best zoos. You can find the zoo at the far East end ofWaikiki at Kapahulu Avenue and Kalakaua Boulevard.

Honolulu Zoo – Hours & Admission

The Honolulu Zoo is open from 9:00 to 4:30 pm daily except Christmas when they are closed. There is a general admission price of $14/adult $6/child. With a local or military ID admission is $8/adult and $4/child. Children 2 and under are free.

Honolulu Zoo – Final words

The Honolulu Zoo is just one of the many attractions in Waikiki. Next we’ll present an article on the Waikiki Aquarium, which is just across from the Honolulu Zoo, on the ocean side of the road.

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Diamond Head

Diamond Head Crater

Diamond Head is quite probably the most recognized landmark in Hawai’i. In ancient Hawai’i,Diamond Head was known as Lae’ahi, now shortened to Lē’ahi. Lae means “brow”, and ‘ahi is a type of fish. The name describes the shape of the crater–it looks like the brow of an ‘ahi fish. It is said that Pele’s favorite youngest sister, Hi’iaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, is the one who named the crater.

Later, the crater came to be known as Diamond Head. This came to be, when the first explorers arrived on O’ahu. These sailors found what they thought were diamonds, which they later learned were actually worthless calcite crystals. But, the name Diamond Head is the accepted name today.

Hawai’i’s Civil Defense headquarters, National Guard facilities, and the F.A.A. are all located in Diamond Head Crater.

Diamond Head – Hike to the Top

The public is permitted to visit the crater and to hike the trail to Diamond Head Summit. The peak is 760 feet and there are two sets of steps (99 steps and 76 steps) and a 225 foot tunnel. Don’t forget to bring lots of water! Also, a flashlight is recommended for the tunnel. The hike to the top can be done in under 45 minutes and the view is well worth it.

Diamond Head – Admission

Admission to hike the trail is $1 and there is a $5 parking fee if you decide to drive. The city bus does stop outside the crater, but it’s quite a long walk to the entrance.

Diamond Head Crater

This has been our quick introduction to Diamond Head Crater. Our next article is set to be The Honolulu Zoo.

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Kauai Hawaii

Kauai Hawaii The Garden Isle

Kauai Hawaii is the forth largest of the Hawaiian Islands and has a population of 62,640. It is the oldest and farthest north of the major Hawaiian Islands. Kauai Hawaii first became known to the Western World when Captain James Cook discovered it in 1778 landing at Waimea Bay. It was at this time that Captain Cook first referred to the Hawaiian Islands as The Sandwich Isles. In 1835 the first sugar mill was established and lead to the arrival of immigrants to work the fields.

Kauai Hawaii – Different

There’s a huge difference between all the hustle and bustle of Honolulu with Waikiki Beach and the very laid back atmosphere of Kauai Hawaii. With far less than a tenth the population of Honolulu and virtually no high-rise buildings, your experience in Kauai Hawaii is going to be very different, and quite probably a welcomed change!

Kauai Hawaii – What To Do

Even though there is less to do on The Garden Isle, that does not mean there is nothing to do. Every Kauai visitor wants to see the Waimea Canyon, usually referred to as The Grand Canyon of the Pacific for it’s resemblance to the Grand Canyon in the US Mainland. You can easily get there in a rental car, take a guided tour, or go all out with a helicopter trip through the canyon. There are parts of Kauai that get the highest annual rainfall in the world, usually well over 400 inches per year, but those areas are not easily accessible.

A boat ride up the Wailua River and a visit to the Fern Grotto is also a must do trip and is easy to get to from where ever you are staying on the Isle.

Some of the other things you may find of interest would be a trip to the North Shore, including a visit to the Waioli Mission House which is listed with the National Registry of Historic Places. Also of interest may be; Napali Coast, Hanapepe Town, Old Koloa Town, Hanalei Town, Kilauea Lighthouse, and Opaekaa Falls.

Kauai Hawaii – Final Thoughts

As with my other articles on the Hawaiian Islands, this has just been meant to be a quick look and overview of Kauai Hawaii. For more information, do have a look at my additional articles as I publish them. You may also want to download and have a look at the Kauai Official Travel Planner. This has been Kauai Hawaii.

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Big Island of Hawaii

The Big Island of Hawaii

Officially called Hawaii Island, there is always a bit of confusion as to what some one is talking about, so The Big Island of Hawaii has become the most common way of referring to Hawaii County. The Big Island of Hawaii is 4,028 square miles and is almost double the size of all the other Hawaiian Islands combined. With a population of only 175,784, The Big Island of Hawaii is really quite small when compared to Oahu.

The Big Island of Hawaii – Facts

At only 800,000 year old, The Big Island of Hawaii is the youngest of all the Hawaiian Islands. If you have visited any of the other islands, it will be obvious to you that this is much newer land compared to any other island. There are two major mountains (volcanoes) that comprise most of the island and they each have their own bragging rights. Maunakea Mountain, at 13,796 feet about sea level is the tallest mountain in the world. It gets the rank of tallest because when measured from it’s base at the ocean floor, it’s actually 32,000 feet tall. The other is Maunaloa Mountain with bragging rights of being the most massive mountain in the world. The third and probably most well known mountain is Kilauea. When most people think of Hawaii, once they get past the image of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach, they will think of volcanoes. This is where Kilauea comes in. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It has been erupting continuously since 1983 and is one of the most thought of scenic attractions in all of Hawaii.

The Big Island of Hawaii – More To See

Although Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the most commonly thought of site to see on The Big Island of Hawaii, there are many other points of interest that shouldn’t be missed during a visit. There is the historic Kailua Village – now Kailua/Kona, and the capital of Hawai County –Hilo. You can visit Waimea and catch the Paniolo’s, or Hawaiian Cowboys. And if you’re a coffee connoisseur, Holualoa and the coffee fields will be a sure stop during your visit. There are the famous black sand beaches that you won’t want to miss, but did you know there’s also a green sand beach? Also, if you’re up to a bit of a side trip, you can drive to the farthest point south in the United Stated and with a little luck may see the cliff divers in action!

The Big Island of Hawaii – Conclusion

In this article I’ve only pointed out a few of the sites and things to do on The Big Island of Hawaii. If you’d like to learn more about The Big Island of Hawaii now, you can download and view Hawaii’s Big Island Vacation Guide. In future posts I’ll be going into some of the specifics and details of all that The Big Island of Hawaii has to offer.

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Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

Historic Lahaina Town

The historic town of Lahaina has become the hot spot and place to visit on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The town was once called Lele, which in Hawaiian means relentless sun. During the early nineteenth century, Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and during the mid-1800’s was a historic whaling village at the peak of the whaling boom. During the whaling boom, it was common to have hundreds of whaling ships and over a thousand sailors in the village.

Lahaina Today

There are about 55 acres of Old Lahaina that have been set aside as a historic district and Lahaina itself is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Today you can stroll down the streets of Lahaina and find several places of interest such as museums, art shops, restaurants, novelty shops as well as many other historic spots like the U.S. Seaman’s Hospital, Hale Paaho (Lahaina Prison), and several other spots along the Lahaina Historic Trail.

Lahaina – More To Do

Just a couple recommendations that I consider must see places are the banyan tree at the beginning of Lahaina. This tree is one of the largest living things in the world, and when you see it you’ll understand why. Some thing else you should think about, is where to eat. A definite suggestion is to take in the Royal Lahaina Luau. Generally considered to be the best luau in all of Hawaii, if you haven’t enjoyed one of these Hawaiian Feasts yet, this is a must do in Lahaina. Also, from Lahaina you can find many other opportunities for tours outside of the town. There are so many attractions and things to do and see that, if you haven’t already researched the area before coming you need to find a local tour/travel desk and get more information.

Lahaina – Conclussion

I have personally visited Lahaina many times, and never get tired of exploring the town. Once you’ve been there, you’ll certainly mark the days until your return! I will be covering many of the must see, and nice to see if you have time, spots around Lahaina and the rest of the Island of Maui. So, don’t forget to continue reading our articles as we post more.

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Waikiki Beach

The Beaches At Waikiki Beach

Technically, there is no beach here named Waikiki. The name Waikiki Beach actually applies to a district of Honolulu which has several beaches located within the district.

Collectively the sandy area fronting Waikiki is known as Waikiki Beach, and many of the maps call the beaches Waikiki. But using the sea walls that project into the waters as a dividing line each area has different names. The meaning of the Hawaiian word Waikiki is: Wai = fresh water and kīkī = spouting. So, Waikiki means spouting fresh water. This comes from all the fresh water springs that were in the area.

Kahanamoku Beach. This beach is located fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village. This beach was named to honor Duke Kahanamoku, two time Olympic swimming champion and Sheriff of Honolulu. The beach and lagoon area was created by Henry Kaiser and the Harbor Commission in 1955, by dredging and then filling the area with sand thus completing the addition in 1956.

Fort DeRussy Beach. Fronting Fort DeRussy and named because of the fort at Kalia. The military began proceedings to acquire the land in 1904. Much of the land was purchased from private land owners and by condemnation proceedings. The fort was originally named, Kalia Military Reservation for the ancient name of the area.

Gray’s Beach. This beach is located to the east of the Halekulani Hotel. The Hawaiian name for this beach is Kawehewehe. The early Hawaiians believed that if a person was ill, the waters of the area would cure them if they bathed in it’s water. Gray’s beach was given it’s name because of a boarding house operated by Ms La Vancha Maria Chapin in 1912. For many years this part of Waikiki beach was considered the best swimming area in the Waikiki area.

Royal Moana Beach. This beach area extends from the front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel to the Sheraton Moana-Surfrider Hotel. The ancient name for this beach was Kahaloa named for one of the healers from Kahiki. But the modern name is more well known because of the location of the hotels bordering this beach area.

Waikiki Beach Center

To many of the old timers this portion of the beach is still known as Taverns. In 1960, the City of Honolulu purchased the land under the tavern and demolished the building to create more beach space. The original building housing the tavern was built in 1884.

Kuhio Beach. Named after Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole. Kuhio was a nephew to King Kalākaua and Queen Liliu’okalani and also served asHawaii’s second territorial delegate to the United States Congress.

Queens Beach. The beach was named for Queen Liliu’okalani who had a beach house in the area. This land was at one time privately owned as was much of the land fronting the shore at Kapi’olani Park. In the 1930’s, Christopher R. Holmes purchased the land and built his home on the site. He sold the home in 1946 and it was converted into a restaurant. This restaurant, “Queen’s Surf,” was very popular with visitors and locals. The restaurant was torn down in 1970 to create more open beach space by the city.

Waikiki Beach Summary

This is the beginning of our series of articles on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. This has been Waikiki Beach and I hope you’ll have a chance to read more articles – the next will be Diamond Head Crater.

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Maui Hawaii

Maui Hawaii – The Valley Isle

The Valley Isle is the nick name for Maui Hawaii, but it also has The Magic Isle as another nick name. The Valley Isle comes from the beautiful valleys that you’ll find on MauiHawaii, but they say it only takes one visit and you’ll call it The Magic Isle. A bit larger than Oahu, Maui Hawaii is the second largest of the Hawaiian Island chain and has a population of 131,531. Besides being the second largest, Maui Hawaii is also the second youngest of all the islands with The Big Island being the youngest at less than one million years old.

Maui Hawaii– History

In the early 15^th century King Piilani united all of the island under one ruler. It was in 1790 that the Hawaiian Chief Kamehameha battled and overthrew King Kahekili, the last ruler of Maui Hawaii. Kamehameha went on to unit all of the Hawaiian Islands and became the first King of what had become The Kingdom of Hawaii. Lahaina, Maui was the first capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

With the first sugar mill in 1828, the island turned to commercialized agriculture. This led to the immigration of farm workers from China, Japan, Puerto Rico, Korea, Philippines, and Portugal.

Maui Hawaii – What To Do and See

There are many things to see and do on Maui Hawaii. Probably the most noted aspect on Maui is that it does not the big fast-passed atmosphere like you’d find on Oahu and Honolulu. Most first time visitors to Hawaii will go to Honolulu and all the tourists occupying Waikiki Beach. But the veteran visitors almost always elect to visit Maui Hawaii to get away from all the people. This does not mean that there are no tourists on Maui, but those who are there have come for the laid back take it easy feeling you get on Maui.

Just a few of the things to do and see on Maui Hawaii are Haleaka National Park, Iao Valley State Park, Lahaina – Lahaina Historic Trail, Lahaina Jodo Mission, and much much more. I have a large set of follow-up articles covering most of the sights you can find on Maui Hawaii, so be sure to check those as I continue to post them here.

Maui Hawaii – Final Words

As stated above, I have a whole series of articles that will be posted here, so I invite you to bookmark this site and come back often to read more. I can also recommend having a look at the Maui Vacation Planner for Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. To read more of my articles, you can go to the nest post Lahaina, Maui. This has been Maui Hawaii.

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Oahu Hawaii

Oahu Hawaii The Gathering Place

Over the years, Oahu Hawaii has been where most of the activities have focused, hence the name “The Gathering Place”. With a population of over 900,000 people, Oahu Hawaii has almost 90% of the States people. Oahu Hawaii is the second oldest and third largest of the major Hawaiian Islands.

Oahu Hawaii – History

Aside from people actually first coming to Oahu Hawaii and the Hawaiian Islands, probably the first significant event was the Battle of Nuuanu which occurred in 1795. It was this battle when Chief Kamehameha won the battle for Oahu in his quest to unite what until then were the individual islands. Although not the final island in his unification quest, it was the final battle. The only remaining island was Kauai, which peaceably joined the union. It was in 1893 that the Royal family and Hawaiian Kingdom fell and in 1893 became a Territory of the United States. Hawaii remained a territory until becoming the fiftieth state in 1959.

Going back a bit, it was the 19^th century that saw agriculture take off spurring the immigration of laborers from Japan, China, Korea, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Russia, and the Philippines. In the early 1900’s is when the economy started to shift from agriculture to the visitor industry. Today, tourism is by far the greatest money generator, followed by military dollars being spent, and now at a distant third is agriculture.

Oahu Hawaii – What To Do

If you’ve spent any amount of time sitting in front of a television, you’ve almost certainly seen some of the most popular sites already. The most obvious landmark is most likely the silhouette of Diamond Head Crater as seen from Waikiki Beach. If you think of activities, you are going to be thinking of water activities and from that thought you are automatically going to have a vision of Waikiki Beach. If it’s history you are thinking of, no it’s not going to be that Battle of Nuuanu that comes to mind. It’s going to be the Battle of December 7^th 1941. Yes, the “date that will live in infamy” – the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. With that said, a visit to Pearl Harbor, specifically the Battleship Arizona Memorial is going to be you first stop.

Oahu Hawaii – What Else

There are so many things to do on Oahu Hawaii that I have a set of about one hundred separate articles we are working on to be published here. Just a few of the topics for upcoming articles are, Nuuanu Pali Lookout, Iolani Palace, Kawaiahao Church, Pearl Harbor, Aloha Tower, Bishop Museum, the North Shore, Chinatown, Waikiki, and from there I’ll get into some of the many activities there are for you to enjoy.

Oahu Hawaii – Final Words

Actually, not the final words! This isn’t even a beginning yet. Over the next days, weeks, months we will be publishing our articles on Oahu Hawaii as well as articles on the other Hawaiian Islands of Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island of Hawaii. Another nice resource for additional information is this Oahu Guide. Bookmark our site and come back often. The next in this series of articles on Oahu Hawaii is going to be a look at the beaches of Waikiki Beach.

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