Until the Europeans came, HONOLULU was insignificant; soon so many foreign ships were frequenting its waters that it had become Kamehameha's capital, and it remains the economic center of the island.

The city covers a long (if narrow) strip of southern Oahu, but downtown is a manageable size, and a lot quieter than its glamorous image might suggest.

The tourist hotels, and most of Honolulu's hustle, are concentrated among the skyscrapers of very distinct WAIKIKI , a couple of miles east.

The setting is beautiful, right on the Pacific and backed by dramatic cliffs and the extinct volcanoes of Punchbowl (a military cemetery) and Diamond Head; but then beauty is not so rare a commodity on Hawaii, and you can see this sort of scenery in plenty of other places without a city in the middle of it.

What attracts most visitors to stay in Honolulu, and especially Waikiki, is the sheer hedonism of shopping, eating and generally hanging out in the sun. It's also the center of an exemplary public transportation system, facilitating exploration of the whole island.

Explore Honolulu
Bishop Museum
Chinatown
Diamond Head volcano
Hanauma Bay
Pearl Harbor Memorial
Nat'l Cemetery of the Pacific

  Waikiki beach
   Maui
   Kapalua

  Hawaii
  Hawaii Volcanoes        
     National Park
  Pearl Harbor brief
     history
  Kapiolani Park
  Hawaiian Island