Throughout the Islands, residents and visitors alike are looking forward to the return of Hawaiʻi’s most beloved summer events. Over the years, many of these festivals have become community traditions. And for the last two years, summers haven’t felt quite the same—for many reasons—one being the absent festivals. Fortunately, many of these festivals are making […]
After a two-year hiatus, Waikīkī’s spectacular Friday night firework show relaunches on June 3. The fireworks show, presented by the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikīkī Beach Resort, has lit up Waikīkī’s night sky nearly every week since 1988. It was paused in March 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The popular—and free!—firework show is a tradition
Oʻahu is home to many things—wonderful beaches, exhilarating hikes, mouthwatering eateries—and it has always been the epicenter of Hawaiʻi’s festivals and events. Earning its nickname as the Gathering Isle, Oʻahu is known for hosting some of the grandest gatherings in the state. But that all changed with COVID-19. Numerous festivals had to cancel their annual
We get it, you can’t go wrong with the classics. Having your first surf lesson at Waikīkī Beach will always be an everlasting memory, and touring the KCC Farmers Market is a great way to get a look at local produce and to support small businesses. But if you’re tired of hitting up the same
Oʻahu has it all—stunning beaches, picturesque hiking trails, award-winning restaurants, museums and cultural sites, and bustling city life. It’s hard to just spend a single day on this island, the third largest of all the Hawaiian Islands and easily the most populated. (Oʻahu is home to roughly 1 million people—or two-thirds of the state’s population.)
Kaʻena Point, situated at the westernmost part of Oʻahu, lures all kinds of life, from nesting Laysan albatross to hikers who follow an old railroad bed to the remote and scenic protected area. But it’s a sacred place for the dead. too. Named for a relative of the god Pele, the point is known as
Kekoa means “warrior” in Hawaiian. And this warrior—an endangered Hawaiian monk seal known as KE18—lived for about a decade at the Long Marine Laboratory at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Now he’s back—and living at Sea Life Park in Waimānalo on Oʻahu. Kekoa, a 9-foot-long male, was removed from the wild years ago
Driving up to Sweet Land Farm in the sleepy community of Waialua, with shining blue skies overhead, my 4-year-old son was glued to his Kindle. It was the only way I could keep him occupied during the 45-minute drive from our home in Honolulu to the farm, tucked away between a massive, Mainland-owned egg farm
Just in time for National Trails Day on June 5, the popular Mānoa Falls Trail will reopen on Saturday after being closed for nearly two years for safety improvements. The 0.8-mile trail in lush Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu was closed in July 2019 for the installation of a fence next to the waterfall to prevent
Oʻahu is considered by many as the surfing mecca of the world. From the heavy-duty breaks located on the North Shore—which has even been given the flashy nickname of the “Seven Mile Miracle”—to the pristine fun-sized surf on Oʻahu’s southern shoreline, there’s plenty of surf to go around. And while there are hundreds of surf spots on
Eric Dill had in mind a specific kind of whiskey that would work in the Islands. His criteria? It had to taste right while sitting on Kailua Beach or on the sandbar in Kāneʻohe Bay or on a humid evening on your lānai (balcony). “It had to be light, approachable, made for the Hawaiʻi environment,”
Creating a list of Oʻahu’s Top 5 beaches when there are so many out there just as blue and beautiful as the next is a difficult task—to say the least. Fortunately, nominations for the best Oʻahu beaches for our 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards poured in from our readers around the world. So, while every beach
