Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With so many places to explore, things to do, and sights to see in Oahu, where do you start?
That's where we come in. In the pages that follow, we'll help you plan your ideal trip, providing
information on airlines, seasons, a calendar of events, how to make camping reservations . .
. even how to tie the knot.
Oahu is a relatively small island, measuring 26 miles long and some 44 miles across at its
widest, totaling 608 square miles of land, with 112 miles of coastline. From outer space, Oahu
looks somewhat like a frayed Indian arrowhead with two mountain ridges shoring up each
side: the 4,000-foot Waianae Mountains on the leeward (western) coast and the 3,000-foot
Koolau Mountains on the windward (eastern) side. At night you can see the lights of suburban
Oahu pouring down the mountain valleys and reaching toward the shoreline.
To many, Oahu and its most famous city, Honolulu, are synonymous. In fact, some people
think the name of the island is Honolulu, a misnomer further compounded by the island-wide
county calling itself the “City and County of Honolulu.” Honolulu's best-known neighbor-
hood, Waikiki, is actually quite small, but its spectacular beach and array of resort hotels are
what originally put Hawaii on the tourist map.
GETTING THERE
By Plane
Most major U.S. and many international carriers fly to Honolulu International Airport.
Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, and St. Louis to Honolulu.
Continent-
nonstop from the West Coast and one-stop itineraries from Houston and Cincinnati.
Hawaii-
several West Coast cities (including new service from San Diego).
Alaska Airlines
(
&
800/
252-7522;
www.alaskaair.com
)
has direct flights to Honolulu from Seattle and Anchorage.
Airlines serving Hawaii from places other than the U.S. mainland include
Air Canada
379-5200 in Christchurch, 800/926-7255 in the U.S.;
www.airnewzealand.com
);
Qantas
(
&
008/177-767
in Australia, 800/227-4500 in the U.S.;
www.qantas.com.au
)
;
JapanAirLines
(
&
03/5489-1111
in Tokyo, 800/525-3663 in the U.S.;
www.japanair.com
)
;
All Nippon Airways
800/227-4446;
www.airpaciic.com
), serving Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pa-
cific;
KoreanAir
(
&
02/656-2000
in Seoul, 800/223-1155 on the U.S. East Coast, 800/421-8200
on the U.S. West Coast, 800/438-5000 from Hawaii;
www.koreanair.com
)
; and
PhilippineAir-
