Tourist Attractions in Honolulu

Because Hawai'i, the island of O'ahu, and the city of Honolulu are all major tourist areas, tours and places to visit abound. A tourist could stay within the district of Waikiki, explore the most highly trafficked areas of Central Honolulu, or spend time hiking the hills, woods and beaches of the Windward Coast or the North Shore. Tour One—Downtown History

There is no better way to begin a tour of Honolulu than with a look at the famous Iolani Palace, a carefully restored 19th-century edifice that was home to Hawaii's last king and queen. The palace is located on King Street, and is a place that is full of mana (spirit). An interesting fact: the palace had electric lights before the White House.

Close to the Iolani Palace on King Street, you will find some of Hawaii's oldest structures, the original Mission Houses Museum. The cluster of buildings includes the Frame House, prefabricated and shipped from Boston in 1821. The grounds are well kept, and descendants of the original missionaries conduct tours on certain days.

After lunch in one of the many downtown restaurants, head to the Bishop Museum. Located on Bernice Street, this interesting place contains more than 20 million artifacts of Pacific history, making it the largest collection of its kind in the world. The museum also has a planetarium that features daily shows produced mostly by the Big Island of Hawaii's Keck Observatory.

Tour Two—Downtown Shopping Honolulu's Chinatown district provides the perfect foil to its nostalgic downtown neighbor. While the historic buildings and museums are only blocks away, this part of town is a distinctly modern melange of cultures and lifestyles. You can start your tour of Chinatown with a quest for lunch. On Maunakea Street sits one of the best Vietnamese dining establishments in town, A Little Bit of Saigon. Other options include Legend Seafood and upscale Indigo. Afterward, browse the jewelry and craft shops around the Chinese Cultural Plaza and find some of the best bargains in Waikiki.

There are a couple of temples that are worthy of a visit: the Izumo Taishakyo Mission Cultural Hall on Nu'uanu Street and the Kuan Yin Temple on Vinyard Street. For a formal tour of Honolulu's Chinatown, choose between the Hawai'i Heritage Center or the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Just three blocks away from Chinatown is the lovely Aloha Tower. Built in 1926 to welcome Hawaii's burgeoning tourist industry, it has a 10-story spire meant to convey the Hawaiian tradition of "Aloha," meaning love, welcome, a fond good-bye, and a plea to come back. The observation tower at the top has fantastic views of Honolulu's harbor and waterfront. The Marketplace behind the tower has numerous fine restaurants, boutiques and gift shops.

Tour Three—Pearl Harbor Memorials Home to the United States Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor is rich with sights and history. The main tour attractions are the Arizona Memorial, the Battleship Missouri Memorial and the Bowfin Memorial. All three memorials are a proud tribute to the US Navy and other armed forces that gave so much to protect the freedom of the Pacific during the middle of the 20th century.

You need to plan a full day to take in all three sights and a short tour of the Pearl Harbor base itself. See the Arizona Memorial first; the lines in the morning are shorter than the ones later in the day.

Tour Four—Waikiki Start at the "First Lady" of Waikiki, the graceful Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel. Operating since 1901, this grand old structure has aged beautifully. Continuing north on Kalakaua Avenue, Waikiki's main street, you can visit dozens of other hotels and shopping areas among them the International Marketplace and King's Village. Finally, you'll come to the other great lady of the strand, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Shoppers won't want to miss the adjacent Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, a three-block paradise complete with every designer boutique and specialty retailer imaginable.

When the commercial bustle of Waikiki becomes altogether too overwhelming, make a trip to The Honolulu Zoo. Relax on a bench while listening to the huge variety of tropical birds and watching the antics of chimps in their large home. If you are traveling with children, this is the place to bring them if they tired of the beach. Close to the Zoo and opposite Kapiolani Park is the Waikiki Aquarium situated on a living reef. Founded in 1904, it is one of the three oldest aquariums in the United States. It's not large by mainland standards, but it is home to more than 2,000 sea dwellers representing 350 different species. As one might expect, the heaviest concentration of species is Pacific tropical fish.

Tour Five—A Visit to Punchbowl Crater Above downtown Honolulu sits dramatic Punchbowl Crater, home to the National Cemetery of the Pacific. Native Hawaiians call this place Puowaina, which translates to "hill of sacrifice." The view from the rim of the crater is dramatic. Outward, you can take in a vista from Diamond Head on the right all the way to Barbers Point on the left. In between, you can see Waikiki, Ala Moana, the skyscrapers of downtown, the airport, Pearl Harbor and the beaches of the Ewa and Kapolei area of leeward O'ahu. In the crater is a verdant resting place for more than 25,000 victims of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Most of the military personnel that perished in the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 are buried here. The Court of the Missing is dedicated to those whose remains were never recovered from World War II. There is also a monument to Ellison Onizuka, the Hawaiian astronaut who perished in the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986. A visit to this impeccably maintained memorial is a moving experience.

Tour Six—Around the Island Hawaiian Escapades offers small activity-focused tours of various locations on the island. It is known for its LOST tours, which show locations used in the ABC television series. However, Hawaiian Escapades also provides several other tours, fitting anyone who wants to see more of the island.