Honolulu

Stretching along the sunny southeastern shore of the island of O'ahu ('The Gathering Place') between the emerald fluted cliffs of the Ko'olau Mountain Range and the turquoise Pacific Ocean, Honolulu is the only place on Earth where a lively Pacific capital city meets ancient volcanic craters, royal Hawaiian palaces and coral-reef lagoons within fifteen minutes of one another. Established as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii by King Kamehameha III in 1845, Honolulu blends native Kanaka Maoli heritage with deep Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese and Polynesian culinary and cultural roots.

Along the world-famous 3-kilometre shoreline of Waikiki Beach, gentle longboard rollers break beneath the profile of 232-metre Diamond Head State Monument (Le'ahi). Twenty minutes west lies the solemn harbour of Pearl Harbor (the USS Arizona Memorial, Battleship Missouri & Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum), passing through Royal Downtown Honolulu's 1882 'Iolani Palace and historic Chinatown. Just around the eastern volcanic headland of Koko Head curves the flooded crater of Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve and the turquoise Windward waters of Makapu'u Lighthouse, Kailua and Lanikai Beach, leading north past the fluted movie valleys of Kualoa Ranch and the Byodo-In Temple to the legendary surf beaches of O'ahu's North Shore (Waimea Bay, Banzai Pipeline & Hale'iwa). Start with our before-you-go briefing and top things to do in Honolulu.

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) sits just 14 kilometres (20 to 25 minutes by Uber or Lyft, flat-rate Charley's Taxi, or public TheBus Route 20 and W Line) west of Waikiki. Unlike Maui or the Big Island, you do not need a rental car for your entire stay in Honolulu. Overnight hotel parking in Waikiki carries steep nightly fees. Instead, use Honolulu's award-winning public bus system (TheBus, with an affordable daily fare cap on a HOLO card), Biki bikeshare and the Waikiki Trolley for Waikiki, Diamond Head, Ala Moana, Downtown and Pearl Harbor, and simply rent a car for 1 or 2 days from a neighbourhood desk inside Waikiki to drive the Windward Coast and North Shore loop. See getting to Honolulu and how to use TheBus and avoid steep hotel parking fees.

Over 85 percent of O'ahu's hotel rooms sit along the 2.5-kilometre strip of Waikiki, which is divided into three distinct zones: stay in Central Waikiki (Kalakaua Avenue around the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Surfrider) to step directly from your pool onto the sand; stay at the quiet eastern Diamond Head End (near Kapi'olani Park and Kaimana Beach) or western Hilton Hawaiian Village and Ala Moana End (with its calm saltwater lagoon and Friday night fireworks) for family space and quieter evenings; or base yourself outside the city at the four-lagoon resort oasis of Ko Olina (West O'ahu, home to Disney's Aulani and Four Seasons) or Turtle Bay on the North Shore. Compare all areas in where to stay in Honolulu.

Climb the WWII bunkers inside Diamond Head Crater (Le'ahi) and graze the Saturday KCC Farmers' Market, take a gentle longboard surf lesson or sunset catamaran sail off Waikiki Beach, pay respects at the USS Arizona Memorial and walk the surrender deck of the Battleship USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor, snorkel among parrotfish and green sea turtles inside Hanauma Bay, tour America's only royal residence at 1882 'Iolani Palace and Bishop Museum, walk the paved cliff path to Makapu'u Point Lighthouse and swim at Lanikai Beach, tour the movie valleys of Kualoa Ranch and ring the sacred bell at the Byodo-In Temple, drive up to Waimea Bay, Banzai Pipeline and Hale'iwa on the North Shore, and hike to 150-foot Manoa Falls and Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden. Full list in things to do in Honolulu.

Honolulu is the culinary crossroads of the Pacific: piping-hot Portuguese Malasadas (sugar-rolled doughnuts stuffed with custard, guava or haupia coconut cream) at 1952 Leonard's Bakery, fresh-cut Ahi Poke at Ono Seafood and Off The Hook Poke Market, hand-pulled Sanuki udon noodles at Marukame Udon, sizzling scampi plates at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck on the North Shore, Hawaiian Plate Lunch (Loco Moco, Kalbi ribs and Chicken Katsu with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad) at Rainbow Drive-In, and Matsumoto Shave Ice in Hale'iwa. Read more in our Honolulu food and local eats guide.

From Duke Paoa Kahanamoku (the Olympic gold-medallist 'Father of Modern Surfing' whose bronze statue welcomes visitors with outstretched arms on Kuhio Beach) to Queen Lili'uokalani and the Polynesian Cultural Center, Honolulu celebrates a living heritage of Hawaiian royalty and Pacific resilience.