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Page 1 of 3  The islands of Hawaii, with their fearsome volcanoes, glorious rainbows, scenic sunsets, sandy beaches, lush verdant valleys, and awesome cliffs, hold some of the most spectacularly beautiful scenery on earth. However, despite their isolation, two thousand miles out in the Pacific, they belong very definitely to the United States. If you expect your South Seas idyll to be completely unspoiled, forget it; the fantasy of a dream holiday in Paradise remains firmly rooted in the creature comforts of home. With seven million tourists per year, including honeymooners from all over the world and almost two million Japanese, the islands can seem like a gigantic factory for tourism.
 | | Honolulu Waikiki beach |
Oahu is the most known and most popular of the Hawaiian Islands. Ultra-modern Honolulu is located on south-coast and with its resort on Waikiki beach is the main tourist center on Oahu. Who was three-time Olympic gold medalist, movie star, and nicknamed "ambassador of surfing"?  | | Waimea surfers |
It was the legendary Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. The beach behind the Duke Kahanamoku Statue happens to be one of the best surfing spots in Waikiki. Pearl Harbor, originally a river, is Hawaiian largest harbor today and the nation's only naval base designated as a National Historic Landmark with three significant memorials: the USS Arizona Memorial, honoring the 1,100 men of the Pearl Harbor attack; the Battleship Missouri Memorial, a living museum of the most celebrated and last-built battleship; and the USS Bowfin Museum, featuring a World War II submarine, a Japanese mini submarine and extensive submarine history. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Park is the sunken volcanic crater and snorkel’s paradise, with thousands of tropical fish and other marine animals,  a few turtles, and a pristine coral reef in fairly shallow water. The bay, ringed with a gently sloping, golden-sand beach, is a Marine Life Conservation District. Drive into the crater Diamond Head, the extinct volcano, and hike nearly a mile to a spectacular lookout with a 360-degree view of Oahu's leeward side and sweeping view of Waikiki Recognized worldwide, this tuff crater is perhaps Hawaii’s best known landmark. Thousands of visitors a year hike to the crater's highest point, Le'ahi Peak (761 feet). The Diamond Head trail  | | Lanikai Beach |
takes you up the inside slopes of the crater, past and through military bunkers that were built as watchtowers during the War of the Pacific. Diamond Head was so named by a band of English sailors who found calcite crystals in the rocks and thought they were diamonds. The surfer’s favorite area in winter is the North Shore from Kaena Point in the west to Turtle Bay where the foamy waves reach up 30 feet at Waimea Bay. In summer the shore is usually calm and good for snorkeling or swimming. Lanikai Beach is considered to be the best beach for sunrises on Oahu. The shore is protected by a coral reef, which keeps the surf relatively calm, and always good for swim. Here is possible to rent kayak and visit the nearby twin islands of Mokumanu and Mokulua.
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a few turtles, and a pristine coral reef in fairly shallow water. The bay, ringed with a gently sloping, golden-sand beach, is a Marine Life Conservation District. Drive into the crater Diamond Head, the extinct volcano, and hike nearly a mile to a spectacular lookout with a 360-degree view of Oahu's leeward side and sweeping view of Waikiki Recognized worldwide, this tuff crater is perhaps Hawaii’s best known landmark. Thousands of visitors a year hike to the crater's highest point, Le'ahi Peak (761 feet). The Diamond Head trail ;)
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