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Information on Hawaii
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| Hawaii - the Aloha State - welcomes and seduces visitors with its frangipani-scented sea breezes and tropical warmth. This is where East merges with West in a blur of hula and disco, soap operas and creation myths, junk food and Japanese tea ceremonies, and Shinto shrines and surf clubs. Mark Twain declared Hawaii to be 'the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean', and not even thirty years of mass tourism have managed to prove him wrong. |
Hawaii Hotels
:: Hilo Hotels :: Honolulu Hotels :: Kapalua Hotels :: Kona Hotels Hawaii Travel Guide :: Hawaii Info. for Traveler :: Weather in Hawaii :: Hawaii Events :: Hawaii Getting There :: Hawaii Getting Around :: Attractions in Hawaii :: Activities in Hawaii :: View Hawaii Photo |
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Area:
6470 sq miles (16,757 sq km)
Population: 1.2 million State capital: Honolulu (pop 400,000) People: 32% mixed ethnicity, 22% Caucasian, 22% Japanese, 12% Filipino, 5% Chinese, 1% Hawaiian Language: English, pidgin & Hawaiian, brah Religion: Predominantly Catholic, but also Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, Jewish and Muslim Major industries: Tourism (nearly 7 million visitors per year) accounts for more than one-third of the state's income. The US military pumps $3 billion a year into the economy. Agriculture comes in a distant third. |
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Info for the Traveler Visas: Conditions of entry are the same as those for the USA. Most visitors require a visa. However, Canadians need only proof of citizenship and citizens of the UK, New Zealand, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland can stay up to 90 days without a visa. Health Risks: Leptospirosis, sunburn, jellyfish Time: UTC minus 10 hours Electricity: 110/120V, 60Hz Weights & measures: Imperial Tourism: 6.5 million visitors per year [ Top ] Weather Although Hawaii's busiest tourist season is during winter (December to February), this has more to do with the weather elsewhere, since many visitors are snowbirds escaping cold winters back home. Average temperatures differ very little from winter to summer. June through October is the hottest period, while rainfall is heaviest between December and March - neither extreme is worth worrying over. Hotel prices are lowest between April and mid-December. If you're a surfer, you won't want to miss the Christmas-time action around Oahu's North Shore, but if windsurfing or diving is more your thing, you'll find the waters at their calmest at the height of summer (July and August). [ Top ] Events With its multitude of cultures and permanently good weather, Hawaii always has something to celebrate. Some of the events to look out for include: the Merrie Monarch Festival (Hawaii's biggest hula competition, April); Lei Day (lei-making competitions, May); King Kamehameha Day (state holiday with parades, June); Aloha Week (celebration with parades, cultural events, canoe races and Hawaiian music, September); and the Quicksilver/Eddie Aikau Memorial Big Wave Classic (surf event held when wave heights exceed 20ft/6m, December). [ Top ] Getting There & Away Honolulu International Airport (HNL), on the island of Oahu, is a major Pacific hub and an intermediate stop on many flights between the US mainland and Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. There's a US$6 departure tax on all international flights. If you insist on arriving by sea, the QE II stops in Hawaii in January on its annual world cruise. [ Top ] Getting Around Inter-island flights are plentiful between Honolulu (Oahu) and airports at Lihue (Kauai), Kahului (Maui), Kona and Hilo (Big Island). The main carriers are Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines; commuter services are run by Island Air and Air Molokai. There are inter-island ferries between Lahaina (Maui) and Manele (Lanai), and Lahaina and Kaunakakai (Molokai). Oahu has a comprehensive bus system, making it easy to explore by public transport. It will be necessary to hire a car to fully explore the other main islands. Folks in Hawaii drive on the right-hand side of the road and consider horn honking extremely rude unless required for safety. Cycling is a legitimate way of getting around but be prepared for hefty climbs and narrow, traffic-clogged roads. [ Top ] Attractions Oahu Oahu, nicknamed 'The Gathering Place', is the most populous, most developed and most well known of the Hawaiian Islands. The names and images most commonly conjured up by the mention of Hawaii are all here: Honolulu, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor and Sunset Beach. The state capital, Honolulu, is the major exit/entry point for travelers. Honolulu and Waikiki form a relentless urban area of freeways and high rises that resembles a hybrid of Miami Beach and downtown Tokyo. The vast majority of the island's tourist infrastructure is located in this area. Outside the urban perimeter are all the beaches you could wish for, aqua-blue bays, fluted mountains and valleys carpeted with pineapple fields. The island's surf beaches (try Banzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach, Makaha) are legendary, but there is also great bodysurfing (Makapuu Beach, Waimea Bay), windsurfing (Kailua Bay), snorkeling (Hanauma Bay) and diving (Three Tables and nearby Shark's Cove). [ Top ] Waikiki Many visitors are dismayed by Waikiki, a high-density beachside extension of Honolulu which is crowded with package tourists, shoppers, restaurants and nightclubs. It's not exactly picture-book Hawaii, but it has a rhythm and pace that will attract nightowls and singles who like to recover from their hangovers on a decent city beach. The Moorish, pink-turreted Royal Hawaiian Hotel is a survivor from the days when Rudolph Valentino was a romantic idol and people came to Hawaii by luxury liner. South-east of the city is Diamond Head, a tuff cone and crater formed by a violent steam explosion. Its 760-ft (228m) high summit forms the backdrop to Waikiki, and is one of the best-known landmarks in the Pacific. It has a good hiking trail and there are fantastic panoramic views from the top. [ Top ] Honolulu Sure, it's got wide beaches, waving palms and balmy weather, but Honolulu isn't just the tropical splendor you used to see on Hawaii 5-0. As the only US city located in the tropics, the only one with a royal palace and the only one that can claim an equal blend of Western, Asian and Polynesian influences, Honolulu offers visitors a cornucopia of cross-cultural attractions. You'll find yourself disappointed if you've come to Honolulu to 'get away from it all' - it's among the world's most visited locales - but with a little perseverance and a fair amount of planning, you'll find there's plenty of elbow room for all. The valleys above the city have lush forest reserves and often-empty hiking trails. And within an hour's drive of the capital, you can find tranquil coves for swimming and snorkeling, quiet gardens and towns so small and peaceful that you'll almost forget the throngs on the beaches. [ Top ] Other Oahu Attractions Hanauma Bay in southeastern Oahu, is a wide, sheltered bay of sapphire-and-turquoise waters set in a rugged volcanic ring. It has fantastic coral and marine life and wonderful snorkeling, but it's under environmental pressure from the sheer number of visitors coming to feed and view the fish. The Nuuanu Pali Lookout, in the southern Koolau Range, has brilliant views of the windward coast from its 1200-ft (360m) elevation. This is where Kamehameha the Great routed Oahu's warriors during his invasion of the island in 1795. Hawaii's most visited attraction is the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, north-west of Honolulu, where 1.5 million visitors come each year to learn about the surprise Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and to pay their respects to the 2335 dead US servicemen. [ Top ] Maui Maui is known as 'The Valley Island' because it comprises two large extinct volcanoes (Haleakala and Puu Kukui) divided by a central valley. It's the second-largest of the Hawaiian islands and the most developed of the Neighbor Islands. It's renowned for its abundant supply of fine beaches and some of the world's best windsurfing and surf spots. Fortunately, the high-rise resorts are confined to the beach areas of West Maui, so it's easy to escape to the uplands or east coast where you'll find rainforests, eucalyptus groves and cattle ranches. Most of the tourist infrastructure is in Lahaina, Kaanapali and Kihei. Head to Haiku, Kula or Hana to escape the tourist scene. Great beaches are a dime a dozen, but it's hard to resist the wonderfully named Slaughterhouse Beach - a hot summer bodysurfing spot on Honolua Bay in northwestern Maui. It has great snorkeling, and you may be fortunate to see turtles and reef fish. Hookipa Beach, near Paia, is one of the world's premier windsurfing spots. The strong currents, a dangerous shorebreak and razor-sharp coral mean it's for experts only, but you're bound to learn a few tricks just by watching. East Maui is dominated by the 10,000 ft (3000m) Haleakala (literally 'House of the Sun'), the largest dormant volcano in the world. There are incredible hiking trails across the moonscape crater floor and the crater rim is an awesome place to watch the sun rise. The windward side of Haleakala is beautifully lush, wet and rugged. It's skirted by the justly famous, coastal Hana Highway which passes tropical jungle, roadside waterfalls and sedate country towns. The highland area on the western slopes of Haleakala has some of Maui's finest countryside, with cloud forests, rolling hills, green pastures, landscaped gardens and wineries. There are fine hikes in the Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area in the Kula Forest Reserve. [ Top ] Kauai If you're looking for lush scenery, Kauai is a great choice. Kauai's central volcanic peak, Mt Waialeale, is allegedly the wettest place on earth, and the island is so richly green that it's nicknamed 'The Garden Island'. Movie makers looking for lush scenery bordering on the fantastic came to Kauai to film parts of South Pacific, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park. The island is just 33 miles (53km) east to west, 25 miles (40km) north to south and shaped like a slightly compressed ball. Most of the island's interior is mountainous forest reserve, which offers great hiking; the southern and western coasts are dry, sunny and fringed with beautiful beaches. Accommodation and eateries can be found in the small towns of Lihue, Kapaa, Princeville and Poipu. Places of interest include the 22-mile (35km) stretch of sharply fluted coastal cliffs along Na Pali Coast. This is the locale of Hawaii's most spectacular hiking trail, with sheer, green cliffs dropping into brilliant turquoise waters. Waimea Canyon - predictably dubbed the 'Grand Canyon of the Pacific' - is smaller and a mere 200 million years younger than its Arizona cousin, but otherwise not at all dissimilar. The canyon's colorful river-cut gorge is 2785 ft (835m) deep and it seems incredible that such an immense canyon could be tucked away in such a small island. [ Top ] Lumahai Beach There's a beautiful, endless sandy beach at Polihale on the western coast, just a few miles from the brilliantly named US naval base, Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range. The area is almost a desert, so when it's raining everywhere else, beachgoers head this way. Lumahai Beach, in the north, is the gorgeous mile-long stretch of beach where Mitzi Gaynor promised to wash that man right out of her hair in the 1958 musical South Pacific. It's a broad beach sandwiched between lush jungle on one side and tempestuous ocean on the other. A trip up the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto in a tourist cattle barge is a must for anthropologists, absurdists and those who love to holiday to the sounds of Elvis' Hawaiian Wedding Song. [ Top ] Hawai'i - The Big Island The island of Hawai'i, commonly called the Big Island, is nearly twice the size of all the other Hawaiian islands combined. Geographically it's the most diverse island of the archipelago, with deserts, rainforests, volcanoes and, surprisingly, snow-capped mountains. The mountains create a huge barrier that blocks the north-easterly trade winds and makes the leeward, western side of the island the driest region in the archipelago. This coast has the best beaches and water conditions. The windward, eastern coast is predominantly rugged, with pounding surf, plenty of rain, tropical rainforests, deep ravines and majestic waterfalls. Kona, Waikoloa and Hilo are the main centers for accommodation and restaurants. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is hands down the most unique park in the US National Parks system. It covers a huge area and encompasses two active volcanoes, a still-steaming sunken crater and geologically awesome landscapes of cinder cones, pumice pillars and hardened rivers of lava. Its terrain ranges from tropical beaches to the subarctic summit of Mauna Loa, and includes lovely rainforests and fern groves. This is one of the best areas in Hawaii for camping and hiking. The lush, coastal Waipio Valley is the largest and most spectacular of the series of amphitheater valleys on the windward side of the Kohala Mountains. It is enclosed by near-vertical 2000-ft (600m) high cliffs and is accessible only by a narrow, excessively-steep 4WD track, making hiking in the best option. The valley is a fecund tangle of jungle, flowering plants, taro patches and waterfalls, and a magical place to experience the spirit of the 'old' Hawaii. The valley has one rustic hotel, some 50 residents, a number of wild horses and a few aggressively territorial farm dogs. [ Top ] Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park encompasses ancient temples, royal grounds, burial sites and a place of refuge (or puuhonua). It's worth spending some time exploring to check out the carved-wood representations of ancient gods; the stone board for playing konane, an ancient form of checkers played with black lava and white coral; and the wonderful snorkeling found off the natural lava steps just north of the place of refuge. The beautiful stretch of white sand at Hapuna Beach is the island's most popular beach. It has good snorkeling, swimming, diving and bodysurfing. Avoid the winter surf which can pound the shoreline and get unsuspecting swimmers in trouble. [ Top ] Activities Hawaii is a fantastic place to enjoy watersports and recreational activities. Surfing is the king of sports, and Hawaii is deservedly renowned for its great waves. Beginners can learn the basics at Waikiki, then watch the professionals on Oahu's North Shore. Maui has become a windsurfing mecca, with the top international windsurfers heading for Hookipa Beach. Diving is good year-round and there are plenty of underwater caves, canyons, lava tubes, vertical walls and sunken ships to explore. Lanai, the sunken volcanic crater of Molokini, and Oahu and Kauai's northern coasts are all great diving areas. The Big Island's Kona Coast offers some of the world's best deep-sea fishing for Pacific blue marlin, yellowfin tuna and spearfish. And for those who want to keep their feet on solid ground, hiking opportunities include trails in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Haleakala National Park and Hawaii's premier hike along Kauai's Na Pali Coast. [ Top ] |
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