A brief tour through history, beaches, landmarks, and areas that are noteworthy.
O'ahu, known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest Hawaiian island and home to about one million people (2 / 3 of the state population). Honolulu is the state capital, and it is located on the southeast coast. Most of the island's population lives in Honolulu.
Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Kaneohe Bay, Kailua Bay, and the North Shore are all significant locations. All are rich in culture and history.
The island was discovered by Polynesian navigators in voyager canoes around 300 A.D. The kingdom was ruled by ancient Hawaiian ali'i (royalty) up until the late 18th Century. In 1795, King Kamehameha the Great conquered the island with the Battle of Nu'uanu. This proved to be key in his conquest to unite the islands under the Kingdom of Hawaii by 1810.
The first European settlers discovered the islands in 1778. Capitain James Cook and his crew landed and interacted with the native population. Eventually, tensions ruptured in a battle that left Cook dead. However, this kick-started a period of European settlement that evolved to religious missions and agricultural plantations by the mid 19th century.
Perhaps the most significant period of Modern Hawaiian history is that of the Sugar Plantation Era. Sugarcane was first commercially cultivated in Hawaii around 1835. Sugar and Pineapple exports to the United States quickly became big business. Reliable steamboat transportation between the islands and the U.S. mainland provided a critical trading artery. Demand for sugar only increased with the 1848 California Gold Rush and 1861 Civil War sugar shortages.
Sugar plantations were largely controlled by the Caucasian descendents of religious missionaries. They developed close ties with the ali'i and invested heavily in cheap land, cheap labor, and global trade. They brokered agreements with the ali'i for private land ownership. The native population would eventually see their control over land slip away with laws like The Great Mahele of 1848. By 1890, 75% of the private land was owned by Caucasian businessmen. As sugar revenues grew, so did business's control over the other aspects of the local economy (banking, warehousing, shipping, etc.). This tight control over the flow of commodities kept the local population toiling for low wages and a suboptimal standard of living. Eventually, even the Kingdom was seen as a barrier to the interests of plantation owners. They overthrew the kingdom at gunpoint in 1893, and Hawaii was eventually annexed as a U.S. Territory in 1898.
Much of the culture in Hawaii today is rooted in the century of sugar cultivation that proceeded it. Over 350,000 immigrants from China, Japan, Korea, The Phillippines, and Portugal arrived to work in the fields. In order to prevent the workers from organizing against the owners, the owners divided the workers into sparse, multi-ethnic groups. From this congregation of multiculturalism emerged Hawaiian Pidgin, a dialect of English built from fragments of other individual languages. The free-exchange of culture and tradition also gave rise to a mixed culinary culture unique to the islands.
Today, the two largest components of Hawaii's economy are tourism and military operations. Agriculture in Hawaii has largely vanished. Exponentially increasing land and labor costs have rendered farms uncompetitive in the global marketplace. As jet travel becomes more accessible to the middle class, tourism to the islands continues to increase. The islands are also a strategic naval location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so the U.S. Military maintains a large presence.
Waikiki (South Shore) is the generic go-to spot for tourists. There are many hotels, resorts, and beaches co-located around a single place. It also has a vibrant nightlife and many stores for luxury shopping.
Kailua (East Shore) is a small town of suburbs and beach houses. The houses and nearby beaches are nicer and less crowded than Waikiki. Also, the local culinary and shopping scenes are more authentic than Waikiki's.
Ko'olina (West Shore) is a resort town with lagoons and fancy hotels. It's the newest development of hotels on the island, so they're much nicer. I've never really explored it, but I'd equate it to hotels on the Las Vegas Strip.
Hale'iwa (North Shore) is a small country town near some of the sickest beaches on the island. This will be the richest cultural experience, and it's a great spot if you're interested in seeing the surf. However, if you're an urbanite city-dweller, the country could be a little too much to put up with. It's also hard to get to if you don't know what you're doing.
If you prefer:
Cities: Rent a hotel room in Waikiki / Ala Moana. This is the safest bet, but also a very generic, artificial Hawaiian vacation. You're in the center of the island's food and shopping scene and steps away from the beach. Kaka'ako nearby is also home to some of the finest new real-estate developments on the island.
Fancy Beach Resorts: Stay at one of the big four resorts in Ko'olina. The beach resort will probably be really fancy. This will be a similar experience that you'd get staying on a neighbor island like Maui / Hawaii Island. I'm going to say it's probably much nicer than Waikiki, even though I've never seen it in person.
Suburban Beach Neighborhoods: Airbnb a room in a Kailua beach house. Personally, if I was a tourist, I'd probably do this. It will feel like you actually live the lifestyle for a few days. The food and shopping is authentic. The neighborhood is peaceful and upper-middle class. It's just that rather than waking up to go to work, you head to the beach. When Former President Obama visits Hawaii, he stays in a Kailua beach house too (minus the Airbnb part).
Countryside: You should Airbnb a home / room in Hale'iwa. The culture is richest on the North Shore. You can experience the island's coolest beaches and best nature without the 1-hour drive from town. There are even some tourist attractions and activities in the local town for the light tourism industry. The local food is also really good too, and it's steps away from the beach. Just don't expect to swim / surf the beaches too much in the winter (more on that later).
- Waikīkī Beach Heart and soul of tourism on the island. Large, urban, man-made beach next to loads of hotels / resorts and a giant park. Half of the state's tourism revenue is generated here. Great spot for beginners learning to surf / bodyboard. Duke Kahanamoku grew up surfing here.
- Ala Moana Beach Another classic, artificial beach, but very popular with tourists and locals (4M+ vistors / year) Also right next door to Waikiki and Ala Moana Shopping Center. Fireworks shows every Friday night, and the park is popular for beach barbeques / picnics.
- Lanikai Beach Consistently ranked one of the best beaches in the world. Powdered white sand and warm water, popular with models and photographers. I'm not exaggerating... and there's a sick hike right there too.
- Kailua Beach White sands, calm warm waters, and 5x bigger than Lanikai. A good fallback option if Lanikai's crowded since it's right next door. Located in a fancy, upper-middle class neighborhood with nice beach houses.
- Ko Olina Beach Park A village on the west side with fancy hotel resorts and man-made lagoons. The hotels are extremely modern, nice, and new. Higher-end hotels than Waikiki. In the next decade, this could become a popular destination for Millenials.
- Sandy Beach Popular with bodysurfers and bodyborders. The waves break extremely close to the shore. Extremely dangerous and a nice way to break your neck. Also, Former President Obama loves to bodysurf here. Surf here if you have a death wish.
- Hanauma Bay Best snorkeling and coral reef on the island. You can see sea turtles while snorkeling too. Very crowded, but very popular with tourists.
- Sunset Beach A nice, natural beach on the North Shore. Calm as a lake during the Summer. Gigantic waves during the Winter (30'-40' regularly). International Surfing Competitions are held here (vans triple crown).
- Banzai Pipeline Perhaps the only beach with a more savage surf break than Sunset. The reefs cause the waves to break with gigantic faces. That allows surfers to ride the inner tube. Many competitions are also held here, and famous surfers have died in the break.
- Waimea Bay The most popular and photogenic beach on the North Shore. Waves are gigantic in the Winter, but break further off the shore. This is a very popular spot for swimming with locals and experienced tourists. It's also close to Waimea Valley, a historical place that showcases some of the richest nature and farmlands in Polynesia. Worth checking out at some point if you want to understand how the ancient Hawaiians lived.
- Papailoa Beach An under-the-radar beach on the North Shore. Solid intermediate swimming and surfing spot. Winter waves are tame in comparison to other North Shore beaches. Sea Turtles can be seen nesting on the sand toward the eastern end of the beach. Hard to park and get onto the beach if you don't know what you're doing.
- Hale'iwa Beach Popular tourist beach on the North Shore. Beginner surfing lessons and other ocean activities. Close to Hale'iwa town, the main commerical center on the North Shore. Large waves during the winter.
- Waimānalo Beach A peaceful beach on the east side, similar to Lanikai and Kailua. The longest stretch of beach on the island (5.5mi). Great for photos and swimming, hardly crowded.
When I visit home, this is what I typically do:
My dad, brother, and I book it out to Waianae on the west side. Even though I grew up in town, this is easily my favorite part of the island. The beaches and the landscape are beautiful, sunny, and not very crowded. Makaha Beach is one of my favorite places to surf / swim in shorebreak. Pokahi Bay is also a great swimming / surfing spot. It's on a military base, so you have to show your ID, but that keeps it clean and under-the-radar. The drive out is a little long (45mins one-way from town), but you pass nice places like Māʻili Point that make it enjoyable.
If my mom and I are going to sit on the beach, we're going to Waimānalo Beach. In my opinion, the views are better than Lanikai / Kailua, there's more shade under the palm trees, and it's much less crowded. There are no hotels nearby, so literally zero tourists go there, and there's always parking available. Also, it's a quick drive to Makapu'u beach for cliff hiking / swimming. It's also fun to swim out really far in the ocean and just chill in the deep blue water.
Sometimes, we surf up at Laniakea Beach. It's a dope spot for intermediate surfing, and the waves aren't gigantic / deadly in the winter. This is a nice comprimise for a North Shore beach between Hale'iwa and Pipeline / Sunset.
If I'm not at the beach or chilling at home with my family, I try to catch up with friends around town. Sometimes we'll hike around Nu'uanu or Manoa. Other times, we'll hang out / shop at Ala Moana Center.
Oh yea, and we also feast on all of the local food spots. The food is really... really.... really... good.
Wow good job Ron！I was reading it during my trip to Yellowstone. You are like a tour guide of Hawaii!