O'ahu - Hawai'i's Big City Island

We decided to spend the last two days of our Hawaiian vacation on O'ahu to see the city of Honolulu and take in urban Hawai'i. We hotwired a hotel a block from the beach in Waikiki .

O'ahu is by far the most populated of the Hawaiian islands, with 70% of the state's people. It's also the most visited of the islands - 63% of all tourists spend time on O'ahu. By comparison, Kaua'i is home to less than 5% of the state's population, and just 14% of tourists visit the island. While we're throwing out statistics, here's another one: the Waikiki area of Honolulu apparently has 30,000 hotel rooms. It was definitely a change of pace from all the hiking and nature of the big island and Kaua'i.

Honolulu is a dense, large city. It's clear the city bloomed in the 1960s and 70s, as most of the architecture is large beige concrete skyscrapers. There are a few new developments, and a bit of a mini building boom, with 31 skyscrapers under construction or proposed and a new rail transit system being built.

The first thing we noticed when we reached our hotel was the huge amount of Japanese tourists in Waikiki. According to the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, Japan is the leading source of visitors to O'ahu, with 1.46 million visitors per year, beating out the "US West" with 1.43 million visitors per year. The number of Japanese tourists really shapes the atmosphere of Waikiki. Many of the restaurants are Japanese and most people who work retail are at least bilingual. For us, this was a bit of a welcome surprise... we got to relive our trip to Japan for two days in Hawai'i. Next stop, Japanese food!

Ramen for late night dinner! The first place we tried had a huge line out the door.

For our first day in O'ahu, we planned a full day in Honolulu, taking in history, culture, and the beach. Our first stop was the Bishop Museum (the Hawaiʻi State Museum of Natural and Cultural History). This is one of the best museums we've been to. It opened in 1889 in an exceptional Romanesque building, and has been expanded several times since. The main exhibit, the 3-story Hawaiian Hall, takes visitors on a journey through Hawaiian geologic, natural, and cultural history. We spent over 90 minutes in this one room alone. Our favorites were a neat grass house that was moved to the Hawaiian Hall from Kaua'i over 100 years ago, a series of comprehensive exhibits on Hawaiian statehood, and displays on various Hawaiian gods. Other parts of the museum included a really impressive Polynesian hall and a science center with a dramatic volcano complete with a lava demonstration. If you're in Honolulu, take a break from the beach and be sure to check out this excellent museum!

View from our hotel in Waikiki

The impressive Hawaiian Hall of the Bishop Museum

The majority of native Hawaiians were wiped out by smallpox and other diseases in the 1800s.

The Polynesian hall of the Bishop Museum

Creepy stone idol

A neat exhibit on the shifting demographics of Hawai'i. Today, less than 5% of the population is native Hawaiian.

There was a weird black light tunnel representing Hawaiian creation mythology

Lava demonstration in the heart of the "volcano"

After the museum, we spent some time exploring downtown Honolulu. It was a weekend, so the streets were a bit quiet. Downtown offers an interesting contrast between 1970s skyscrapers and some older pre-statehood architecture. Right in the center of downtown the Hawaii state capitol building was finished in 1969, and is the second newest state capitol building (only Florida's is newer). It's very unique among capitols, designed in an adapted Bauhaus/International style with an open-air rotunda. The senate and house chambers represent volcanoes, and the reflecting pool represents the Pacific Ocean. It's certainly an interesting building. Across the street is Iolani palace, the only royal palace in the US. Unfortunately we weren't able to go inside either building, but we spent some time admiring the architecture from the outside.

Obviously we tried some more ramen

The streets near Honolulu's Chinatown

Statue of King Kamehameha in front of Aliiolani Hale (the former seat of government for the Kingdom of Hawaii)

Iolani Palace

The state capitol building

The interesting roofless rotunda of the capitol

The exterior of a chamber - reminiscent of a volcano rising from the ocean

Some 80s-tastic architecture in Honolulu's business district

We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sand and surf. Waikiki is a crowded beach. It's not nearly as scenic as some of the beaches we saw elsewhere in Hawaii (like Hanalei), but it's clear why it's so popular - it's hugely convenient and has really gentle surf. There was a constant procession of people swimming, tanning, and taking surfing lessons. Our trip also happened to line up with the yearly Aloha Festival events in Honolulu. The main street through Waikiki was closed to traffic and opened up to pedestrians with music, shopping, and food. It was packed with people.

Waikiki Beach

The calm waters at Waikiki. Plus some pirates.

The court of the Aloha Festival

Statue of Duke Kahanamoku, probably the most famous surfer. We saw his actual board in the Bishop Museum.

Japanese for dinner, of course! Katsu this time. Yummy.

View of Waikiki at night from our hotel

On our last day in Hawai'i, we visited some of the World War II historic sites at Pearl Harbor in the morning. These are actually the most visited attractions in Hawai'i, so we made sure to book in advance. The museum (at the "World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument") is small but well done, with exhibits on life in Honolulu at the time of the attack, the attack itself, and the experience of Japanese-Americans. We then boarded a US Navy boat to the USS Arizona memorial. The memorial is very understated and appropriate - a stark yet delicate architectural tribute to those that lost their lives. It's a very odd experience to be standing above a sunken battleship.

The USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor - where the US was drawn in to World War II

The USS Missouri - where World War II ended with the surrender of Japan

Memorial Hall at the USS Arizona monument

USS Arizona visible below the waters of Pearl Harbor

The monument is gracefully perched above the sunken ship

The Arizona still leaks oil into the harbor, creating rainbow swirls

In the afternoon we took a quick driving tour around the island of O'ahu. Along the way to the north shore we visited the Dole Plantation tourist trap. This place was filled to the brim with Japanese tourists buying pineapple themed goods. We spent approximately 4 minutes there. Afterwards, we drove to the the top rated north shore shave ice spot, Matsumoto's. The line was 20 minutes long, but Paul braved it for another frozen treat. David bailed and got a smoothie instead. We regret to inform you that Matsumoto's is good but vastly over-rated. Tege Tege on Kaua'i is leaps and bounds better!

The rest of the afternoon was spent meandering across the north shore of O'ahu back around to Honolulu from the east. We saw a number of small beaches that were popular with surfers. The area is a lot less developed than Honolulu, with no big resorts or hotels to be seen. Before heading back into town we rode up Tantalus Road/Round Top Drive to take in the vistas of the cityscape. It's a really pretty drive through the mountainous forests north of town and we recommend it if you have some extra time in Honolulu. Just go slow around the hairpin corners!

Multiple Japanese tourists posing for photos

Matsumoto's shave ice

A sea arch on the north shore of O'ahu

North shore scenery

Despite the urban nautre, O'ahu is still a really pretty place.

We saw some tide pools and watched the fishermen

Just seconds after Paul noted that no one ever caught any fish, this guy caught this monster!

Heading back into Honolulu. Diamond Head crater in the background.

Diamond Head and Waikiki

Honolulu from Tantalus Road

Our last stop in Hawaii - a Kona beer at the airport

Hawai'i is a beautiful state. From the dense urbanity of Honolulu to the dramatic green cliffs of Kaua'i, there were surprises around every corner. It's an expensive trip, but offers an incredibly diverse set of attractions - we hope to return some day!

Kaua'i - Of Canyons and Coastlines

After recovering from our 8 mile hike on the Kalalau trail with a good night's sleep, we spent some more time exploring the north shore of Kaua'i. First, we went to look for some beaches recommended by our guide books in the Princeville area, just to the east of Hanalei Bay. On the way it sprinkled lightly and we saw a pretty double rainbow. The beach we went down to was called the Sealodge Beach. We had to hike about a quarter of a mile down a muddy little trail to get down to the beach, which was secluded and quiet.

First (and only) rainbow of the trip besides the one on every Hawaiian License Plate

Sealodge Beach has some nice shade trees, and reefs just offshore

There were some large rays in the water near the beach

After relaxing at the beach for a while, we went on a boat tour of the Na Pali coast. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful afternoon. We had seen the Na Pali coast from the Kalalau Trail the day before, but we wanted to experience it from a distance on the water. The Na Pali coast is epic and an absolute must for anyone visiting Hawai'i. The trip also included about an hour of snorkeling. The usual snorkeling spot was murky from high surf the last few days, so the guides brought us to a backup (Tunnels Reef). Overall, the snorkeling was just so-so, but we did see a sea turtle! The highlight of the boat ride was the striking views of the amazing Na Pali coast.

David soaking up the sun. Atlanta-based farmer tan beware!

Na Pali Coast. Soaring green mountains above slivers of sandy beach.

Most of the coast is sheer cliff that goes down into the sea

Seas were still a bit rough today, but nothing like they can get in the winter we're told

There are caves along the coast (some from old lava tubes) and our boat backed into several of them. This one had a waterfall through a skylight!

More of the beautiful Na Pali coast

A braided waterfall and a stone arch. There were a lot of interesting formations like this.

The rugged coastline stretches into the distance

Beautiful scenery near the end of the Na Pali coast - where clouds move in over the valleys most afternoons.

The rock formation up the slope is called "the cathedral" for obvious reasons. Bonus waterfall and sandy beach.

After the boat tour we took a scenic drive along the north shore of the island to look at the Kilauea Lighthouse. We passed some taro fields and grabbed some roasted chicken to take back and eat for dinner.

Kaua'i is filled with feral chicken. They start cock-a-doodle-dooing at 4:30 AM. We ate one of his friends for dinner.

Taro fields near Hanalei Bay

Kilauea Lighthouse on the northernmost point of Kaua'i

For our last day on Kaua'i we took a road trip to the Waimea Canyon. The island is really pretty small, but since there is no road through the Na Pali Coast we had to drive about 345 degrees around the island to reach the canyon. The canyon is an unexpected sight in Hawaii - with red dirt walls it's a bit reminiscent of scenery you'd see in the desert southwest. Only dashes of green and a waterfall here and there hint that you're still in the tropics. The views over the canyon are magnificent.

Just north of the canyon is the Koke'e State Park which gives you a glimpse into the Kalalau valley from the top. There is an extensive system of trails on Kaua'i, especially near the canyon and along the road ridge above the Kalalau valley. We were a bit burnt out from the hike a couple days earlier so we only went about 1 mile down the Pihea Trail to get some vantages down into the valley.

Waimea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific"

There is much less rain on this side of the island, in the shadow of one of the wettest spots on Earth (Mount Wai'ale'ale)

Kalalau Valley from the Pihea Trail. Our boat tour looked at this view from the opposite perspective.

Cathedral rocks from above

Yet another well maintained Hawaiian trail. ;)

Kalalau Valley from above. Beautiful!

After checking out the canyon and Koke'e State Parks, we drove back towards civilization to visit some south shore sites before heading to the airport to catch our evening flight to O'ahu. We had some amazing fish and pork tacos at Island Taco in Waimea, visited the small town of Hanapepe (which inspired Disney's Lilo & Stitch), and then visited the resort communities of Poi'pu.

Poi'pu is very different than the north shore beach communities. Poi'pu is on the leeward side of the island so it receives less rain and is less prone to the north shore's winter swells. Poi'pu also has nice sandy beaches and lots of fancy accomdations and restaurants. Unfortunately, Poi'pu lacks the charm and dramatic setting of Hanalei Bay. Despite the beautiful beaches, it feels bland and contrived. We would hands down recommend a stay (even without air conditioning) on the north shore of Kaua'i instead of the south.

Kalua pork tacos with a handmade tortilla at Island Taco in Waimea! Yum!

Hanapepe has seen better days, but there are some new things in downtown and we did visit a cute bookstore!

Swinging bridge across the canal in Hanapepe

Shave Ice in Hanapepe. Paul became really obsessed with this stuff. It was no Tege Tege!

Spouting Horn in Poi'pu. Sea water rushes in and causes it to blow out the top

Poi'pu Beach resort from Makawehi Bluff

People like to jump off the bluff into the ocean and then swim the short distance to shore. David would have considered doing this if we weren't on the way to the airport after this.

Makawehi Bluff. Lots of great erosion features in Hawai'i and Kaua'i especially.

Hi Paul! Don't fall in!

Wailua Falls near the Lihu'e airport. Our last stop in Kaua'i.

While Kaua'i is a less-visited island (it gets fewer visitors per year than Oahu, Maui, or the Big Island - less than 14% of visitors to Hawai'i venture to Kaua'i), we think it's a must-visit destination. The combination of beautiful beaches, soaring green mountains, spectacular rugged trails, giant waterfalls, and a fun laid-back atmosphere combine to make this the Hawaiian island we're most likely to return to.