Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Just down the road are some of the fabled shrines of surfing— Waimea Beach,
Banzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach —where some of the world's largest waves, reach-
ing 20 feet and more, rise between November and January. They draw profes-
sional surfers as well as reckless daredevils and hordes of onlookers, who jump
into their cars and head north when word goes out that “Surf 's up.” Don't forget
your binoculars. For more details on North Shore beaches, see “Beaches,” below.
If there are surfers in your tribe, don't miss the North Shore Surf & Cultural
Museum, North Shore Marketplace, 66-250 Kamehameha Hwy., behind KFC
( & 808/637-8888 ). Even if you've never set foot on a surfboard, you'll want to
visit Oahu's only surf museum to learn the history of this Hawaiian sport of
kings. And it's free.
6 Beaches
THE WAIKIKI COAST
ALA MOANA BEACH PARK
Quite possibly America's best urban beach, gold-sand Ala Moana (“by the sea”),
on sunny Mamala Bay, is a great family beach. It's big, stretching more than a
mile along Honolulu's coast between downtown and Waikiki and encom-
passes76-acres in midtown, with spreading lawns shaded by banyans and palms.
The water is calm almost year-round, protected by black lava rocks set offshore.
Other facilities include a yacht harbor, tennis courts, music pavilion, bathhouses,
picnic tables, and enough wide-open green spaces to accommodate 4 million
visitors a year. There's a large parking lot as well as metered street parking.
WAIKIKI BEACH
No beach anywhere is so widely known or so universally sought after as this nar-
row, 1 1 2 -mile-long crescent of imported sand (from Molokai) at the foot of a
string of high-rise hotels. Home to the world's longest-running beach party,
Waikiki attracts nearly 5 million visitors a year from every corner of the planet.
First-timers are always amazed to discover how small Waikiki Beach actually is,
but there's always a place for them under the tropical sun here.
Waikiki is actually a string of beaches that extends between Sans Souci State
Recreational Area, near Diamond Head to the east; and Duke Kahanamoku
Beach, in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, to the west. Great stretches
along Waikiki include Kuhio Beach, next to the Sheraton Moana Surfrider,
which provides the quickest access to the Waikiki shoreline; the stretch in front
of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel known as Grey's Beach, which is canted so it
catches the rays perfectly; and Sans Souci, the small, popular beach in front of
the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel that's locally known as “Dig Me” Beach
because of all the gorgeous bods who strut their stuff here.
Your family will find plenty to do here: swimming, board- and bodysurfing,
outrigger canoeing, diving, sailing, snorkeling, and pole fishing. Every imagina-
ble type of marine equipment is available for rent. Facilities include showers,
lifeguards, restrooms, grills, picnic tables, and pavilions at the Queen's Surf end
of the beach (at Kapiolani Park, between the zoo and the aquarium). The best
place to park is at Kapiolani Park, near Sans Souci.
EAST OAHU
HANAUMA BAY
Do not miss Oahu's most popular snorkeling spot, this volcanic crater with a bro-
ken sea wall. The curved, 2,000-foot gold-sand beach is packed elbow-to-elbow
with people year-round because of the bay's shallow shoreline water and abundant
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