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Waikiki beach on Oahu is considered the wild party place in the Hawaiian Islands. It has more all-night bars and night clubs than any other place in Hawaii and people go there for serious partying. It is also a favorite spot for tourists from Asia and retail stores and hotels cater to their shopping desires. It is reported that Waikiki is the second largest market for designer clothes behind Paris, France. After 9PM designer shops are packed with customers with arms full of packages of designer clothes and shoes.
What we like to do most in Waikiki is walk along the white sand beaches and watch all the people. Our favorite walk starts at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and follows along the beach in front of the Waikiki hotels to the ponds at Kuhio. We stop along the way to sit on the benchs, play in the sand, have a drink in a beachside bar, and enjoy the scenery.
Here is a photo tour of our favorite Waikiki walk.
We start our walks at the Hilton Hawaiian Village which has a beautiful white sand beach and a great walking path.
The walking path goes from the Hilton past a military hotel, a park, and toward the Outrigger Reef hotel.
If you look back you can see the Hilton Hotel at the end of the path.
Along the beach there are activity rentals available like kayaks. We really enjoyed these ocean tricycles when our kid was younger.
In front of the Outrigger hotel, there is a jetty where you can walk out to the ocean and look down to see the fish.
As you continue down the beach towards Diamond Head, the beach disappears. At that point there is narrow walkway where you can get over to where the beach starts again.
Passing in front of numerous hotels, the beach approaches the Kuhio ponds, protected by concrete barriers from high waves. The ponds are a great place to swim. It tends to be warmer and there are no surfers or high waves to contend with. In the morning they are often empty.
In the afternoon, the ponds can be packed.
There is always lots of activity on the beach to watch. Here is a surfing lesson. The instructors teach students surfing positions on the sand.
Then the class heads out to the surf.
And they wait for the waves.
Success! A wave surfed.
One of our favorite parts of the walk is enjoying the ocean view from one of the many beachside bars and cafes.
And watching the sunset is always a treat.
We walk in Waikiki in the mornings when it is cooler and less crowded. We stay out of the sun during the hot part of the day and walk again in the late afternoon to catch the evening hustle and bustle. Every evening is different and on Fridays, the hotels put on a fireworks display. Waikiki loves parades, so in addition to happy families, partying, sunbathing couples, waves crashing on the white sand, sunsets and fireworks, you might see a parade on your walk in Waikiki.
Copyright 2008, 2009
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