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O'ahu offers a bustling metropolis, along with pockets of tranquillity and pristine nature. Honolulu, the state's capital and largest city, is the center for politics, tourism, military defense, international commerce, and advanced education. From there, concrete yields to greenery along the rural windward coast, with verdant valleys, pastures, ranches, and farms leading to the Banzai Pipeline, Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach, and other famous North Shore surfing spots.
- By AAA Contributors
- September 26, 2018
The Hawai'i Collection
Hawai'i's allure lies in its diversity. Each of the six main islands—O'ahu, Hawai'i Island, Kaua'i, Maui, Moloka'i, and Lāna'i—has its own unique characteristics. Here's your guide to exploring the Aloha State.
O'ahu
The Gathering Place
Hawai'i Island
The youngest and biggest in the Hawaiian archipelago, Hawai'i Island is also home to the world's biggest (Mauna Loa spans half of the island) and tallest (Mauna Kea, when measured from its submarine base) mountains. In the winter, visitors can lounge on a sunny beach in the morning and make a snowball atop Maunakea in the afternoon. Landscapes run the gamut, from emerald meadows dotted with wildflowers to barren lava fields left by the Kīlauea volcano's eruptions.
Kaua'i
At 5 million years old, Kaua'i is the oldest of the inhabited Hawaiian islands. To the north, the Nā Pali cliffs, accessible only by foot or boat, rise 3,000 feet above the blue Pacific. In the east is Fern Grotto, a foliage-draped lava rock amphitheater along the 20-mile Wailua River, one of Hawai'i's few navigable rivers. South Kaua'i is best known for its beaches and Spouting Horn, a lava tube through which seawater shoots as high as 50 feet in the air. Waimea Canyon, on the west side, has been dubbed the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Carved over eons by the Waimea River, it measures 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and more than 3,600 feet deep.
The Garden Isle
Maui
In Maui, tourists and locals bundle up to head to the 10,023-foot-high dormant volcano Haleakalā volcano for a breathtaking view of the sunrise and sunset. Many visitors opt to rent a car for the 52-mile drive along the scenic Road to Hana. While fraught with some 600 hairpin turns and 50 narrow bridges, the route reveals views of rain forests, waterfalls, coves, and sheer cliffs. The historic coastal town of Lahaina retains much of its charm from its heyday as an important whaling port from the early to mid-1800s. November through May is prime time to see humpback whales return to the Hawaiian waters to breed and nurse their young.
The Valley Isle
Moloka'i + Lāna'i
The heart of Moloka'i's main town, Kaunakakai, is just a block long, and its big draw is Kanemitsu Bakery, beloved for its taro doughnuts and 12 kinds of breads. Other attractions include Kalaupapa, the peninsula isolated by sheer 1,700-foot cliffs where Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients were exiled for more than 100 years beginning in 1866; the Kamakou Preserve, with more than 200 species of native plants; Hālawa, the only one of the island's five valleys that can be accessed on foot; and dozens of fishponds along the southern coast dating back 700 to 800 years.
Laid-back Lāna'i features four-wheel-drive tours of rugged back roads; hiking and horseback riding trails; and wildlife including axis deer, mouflon sheep, wild turkeys, and spinner dolphins. Shops, art galleries, and eateries in Lāna'i City surround Dole Park, the town square where the community gathers for concerts, festivals, and other events beneath towering Cook pines.
Kaua'i
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