Explore The Islands: Oahu

Big Island (Hawaii) | Kauai | Maui | Oahu (Honolulu) | Lanai

Hawaii's third largest, yet most populated island, with over 900,000 of the state's 1.2 million residents, is NOT the Big Island, as many incorrectly assume. Oahu IS the "gathering place"-Hawaii's center of business, culture, politics and tourism. It IS home to Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center, the "Banzai" Pipeline, and a virtual rainbow of attractions befitting such a dynamic and diverse destination.

Waikiki, with the majestic Diamond Head crater hovering in the background, is the hub of Hawaii's tourist activity and home to 97% of Oahu's accommodations. Notably, since the dawn of the new millennium, there are few places in the world that have refurbished so dramatically. From its magnificent beach to virtually every hotel, park and boulevard, Waikiki has re-invented itself and its unique mile-long, seaside cacophony of hotels, shops and eateries.

Consistent with any metropolitan area, Honolulu has much to do and explore, but unlike most urban centers, the Island of Oahu offers an array of bucolic settings with pristine beaches and lushly verdant mountains boasting spectacular vistas. And in few places in the world can a one-day journey include sights as breathtaking as Hanauma Bay, Sandy and Makapuu Beaches, Nuuanu Pali Lookout, the spectacular H-3 Freeway slicing through the Ko'olau Mountain Range and the coastal meanderings of the Kamehameha Highway along the North Shore.