Travel Editor’s Report: A Week in Waikiki

I’ve always liked Waikiki for its combination of city and beach, so this summer, my family and I spent a week on the island of Oahu.

On the way into town from the airport, we chatted with our cab driver about President Obama’s Hawaii roots, and were thrilled to take a short detour to see one of his childhood homes, a highrise apartment in the Punahou area of Honolulu.

Our home for our first three nights, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, is in the heart of the lively Waikiki Beach Walk shopping and dining area, while its backyard is Waikiki Beach itself.  The location turned out to be ideal for vacationing with my 16-year old daughter. The museums of Honolulu were just a short cab ride away, so we could sightsee in the morning, then return to ride the waves and walk the beach during the day, and then walk out our front door to shop and enjoy the street scene in the cooler evenings.

The hotel never lets you forget you’re in Hawaii. The entrance has a Polynesian Canoe Hale (house) with a thatched roof. Suspended from its ceiling is a restored koa wood canoe crafted about 100 years ago.

Behind the sit-down check-in desk are 18 museum quality images by renowned historian/artist Herb Kawainui Kane that depict the seafaring history of the Pacific islands.  More artifacts, including wooden canoe paddles, tools and fishing lures are also on display in public areas and around the hotel, including an award-winning, museum quality exhibit on canoes.

For clients like me with a serious interest in Hawaiian history and culture (mine started decades ago when I read James Michener’s Hawaii), the Bishop Museum in Honolulu is not to be missed.

In its stunning koa wood Hawaiian Hall, Hawaiians provide their personal views in wonderful PBS-quality video vignettes that make the exhibits of traditional Hawaiian village life come alive.

Equally intriguing is the Iolani Palace, the only royal palace on U.S. soil and the official residence of King Kalakaua and then his sister, Queen Lili’uokalanii, who was forced by American businessmen to abdicate her thrown. Tell clients to watch the movie before joining the guided tour of the Palace for a fascinating perspective on the Hawaiian monarchs’ struggle to retain their power and to safeguard the Hawaiian culture.

For a more experiential take on Hawaiian culture, clients can spend a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It’s a great place for anyone, but especially for families as there are plenty of activities for kids to get involved in. Each village illustrates life from a different Polynesian island with performances and hands on activities such as coconut husking, carving and tattoos.

Since my husband is a World War II buff, we visited the USS Arizona Memorial. Note that for security reasons, no handbags, belly packs or backpacks are allowed; lockers can be rented but it’s best to leave these behind and just carry a camera.

Logistics are important here as waits can be long. One visitor in line with us said she’d come the previous day and by the time she arrived at 2 pm, all tickets for the day were sold. The best idea is either to buy tour that includes transportation and timed admission or to arrive early in the morning—especially in summer or holidays. For those without a timed admission ticket, a new visitor’s center, set to open by the end of the year, should make the waiting time and visit more interesting.  Another great solution is to visit the adjacent USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park or the nearby USS Missouri. 

Despite having a timed admission, military maneuvers delayed our visit for several hours. But for us, the timing worked out perfectly. During our “wait” we hopped a free shuttle to the nearby USS Missouri, where an excellent audio tour narrated as we explored the bridge, crews quarters and the room where the treaty ending World War II was signed. Even those with no interest in battleships found the tour fascinating.

We spent our last three nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village at the ewa (away from Diamond Head) end of Waikiki. The self-contained resort village is filled with shops and restaurants, including our favorite ice cream shop, Lappert’s.

It’s also a wonderful hub for sports. While lessons in stand-up paddling are available up and down the beach, the sports center at Hilton Hawaiian Village is one of the best places to learn, as the property includes a large calm lagoon to practice in. 

We reserved one day to drive around the island, past the snorkelers at Hanauma Bay, past Kualoa Park Ranch where Jurassic Park and Lost were filmed, stopping for a shave ice in the funky surfing town of Haleiwa, driving through miles of pineapple fields before stopping at the Dole Pineapple Center, where pineapple everything is sold…

Other highlights of our stay on Oahu included a sunset dinner sail around Diamond Head on the Navatek (the entertainment was a bit hokey for our personal taste, but the food and views were wonderful and we spent most of our time on deck), and one of the most extensive and fresh buffet lunches ever at the Hawaii Prince Hotel (just $25 per person, next door to the Hilton), including pasta and fish specialties as well as separate stations for many types of dim sum, sushi, soba, and tempura.

There’s still so much more we wanted to do around the island.  ATV and horseback tours, hikes through lush rainforest to swim at the base of waterfalls, maybe even getting into a shark cage on the North Shore to see them in their own habitats….well maybe not that! But I guess we’ll just have to return—again.

For more information, visit www.visit-oahu.com or http://oahu.travelagentportal.net/Login.aspx.