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Oahu Hawaii

Honolulu and the Waikiki? are the areas known for night life; you can find clubs, local bars, shopping, and luaus.

During the day, there are many beaches to explore around the island. Two beautiful beaches to visit are Waimea Bay? (North Shore) and Bellows? (east side of the island). In the summer, Waimea Bay is great for swimming and snorkeling. This beach is beautiful, the sand is smooth, and beaches are not rocky. From the surface of the water, you can see turtles swimming underneath you. In the winter, Waimea is a surf beach, but the waves are too high for an amatuer surfer to handle; however, it is awesome to see the pros in action here.

On the east side of the island is a hidden beach that is close to Bellows Air Force Base?. This beach is perfect for body surfing and boogie boarding. Although white and sandy, this beach is located on the "windward" side of the Island, and is always windy. A beach known as Sandy's is located here, easily accessible from Kamehameha Highway, the only main road that goes through this town, called Waimanalo. Sandy's is divided into three beaches: "full point" in the middle located by a large rock and heavy waves, "half point," located to the left of the rock that juts out of the water- and a boogie-boarding only area to the far right. In the boogie boarding area the waves are heavy and pound on the sand. The current is very strong at Sandy's and is best attempted by experienced surfers. The same goes for this entire side of the island, much of which is rocky, restricted to boogie boarders, and best observed from the road.

Along this stretch of beautiful costal Kamehameha Highway with clear blue waters right on the edge of the road, there is a place known as "the blowhole", which has a turn-off and many people watching the water. Here, the water from a rising tide will cause it to splash up and appear as if it is emerging from the blowhole of a whale. Be careful not to venture too closely, however, as drowning is a constant concern and accidents happen every so often.

If you are on Oahu, the Pali Lookout is a must see. While traveling down the Pali Highway, take a turnoff for the Pali Lookout and venture to the point. Located midway up a very tall mountain, this place is historic to Hawaiians, as King Kamehameha pushed thousands of his opposers from the cliff as he was conquering and uniting the islands, and most of them fell to their deaths. Because of this, the area is often said to be haunted with spirits, particularly on an area known as "Old Pali Road," also located off of the Pali Highway. Because of the way the mountain faces, Pali Lookout is often so windy that if you were to free fall towards the ground, the wind would hold you up. For this reason, it can be very entertaining. It also provides a beautiful view of the windward side of the island and has a trail great for morning hikes.

Other things to see: Check out Haunama Bay, on the east side of the island, off of Kamehameha Highway (after passing through Waimanalo and Sandy's, you can't miss it!). Diamond Head is also great for surfing, bodyboarding and windsurfing, with a beach that stretches on for miles and the waves have many breaking points. The Polynesian Cultural Center on the North side of the island provides a great look at the life and culture of many Pacific islands, including Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti and Fiji, to name a few. They also host countless shows that include hula, fire spinning and other forms of island entertainment.