Honolulu Travel Information
Hawaii's capital and the island chain's biggest city is home to some
of America's best-looking beaches and infamous for adjacent Pearl
Harbor. Green mountains, the Koloau, flank Honolulu to the east,
while the white sands of Waikiki and luminescent blue water running
along two-miles to the southeast have long lured visitors to the area.
With a skyline that properly distinguishes the downtown as a bustling
metropolis, there are plenty of cultural offerings to be found in
Honolulu between forays into the jungle and hard days on the beach.
Walk the city center to get a feel for the place—wander
through Chinatown, stop for a look at 'Iolani Palace (the only royal
palace in America), pass an afternoon perusing the Hawaii Art Museum
and Honolulu Academy of Arts before collapsing into Waikiki's warm
surf for a swim. An obvious not-to-miss is a trip to Pearl Harbor and
the memorials commemorating those who died when the Japanese attacked
on 7 December, 1941. Visit the Arizona Memorial just off-shore before
paying respects at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park
nearby commemorating the submariners who lost their lives during the
war that followed. Round off your trip through history with a guided
tour of 'Mighty Mo', the Missouri, the site of Japanese
surrender in 1945. Book a trip out to sea with one of the 'big game'
fishing charters leaving from Honolulu Harbor. Reel in an assortment
of the fish these waters are famous for if you're lucky and go home
full of marlin and mahimahi. Take a short hike up Diamond Head
Trail for views out over the island; for more exercise and less
crowded routes, traverse one of the paths that meander through the
Koloau Mountains above Honolulu. Guided hikes are also available
around the island, with several in the Honolulu vicinity if you are
not overly keen on wandering around alone in the jungle with Hawaiian
honeycreepers. Honolulu is located on the southwest tip of Oahu, a
five-hour flight from San Francisco.
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