Oahu

Hawaii, as travel agents and Hollywood like to remind us, is "paradise". Mark Twain himself described it as "the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean". When we think of Hawaii we imagine beautiful beaches bordered by palm trees, hula dancers swaying gracefully in the sun and richly colourful tropical sunsets, but if you push past the hype what do you actually find? Well, turns out they are pretty much right and this is paradise - or at least as close to it as I ever expect to find. Hawaii is spending days hiking through rainforests and up extinct volcanoes to savour dramatic views, before enjoying evenings sipping mai tais to the ...  Read the complete review

After a week of running around North America on Honeymoon, I spent my second week on the Hawaiian island of Oah'u. While it is very nice with crystal clear waters, sunny skies and picturesque mountain ranges and volcanoes, I felt it was more like Majorca with palm trees than a tropical paradise. Dont get me wrong, I had a good time and it is a nice place, I just think its a long way to go when you are expecting something like they portray on the TV. Getting there will take you a little over 16 hours of flying. You normally have to stop on the West coast of USA to refuelor change planes which normally means is takes up a day of your holiday ...  Read the complete review

Oahu is known as the gathering place. If you go to Hawaii more than likely your fight will take you here. Oahu is the first stop to all the islands. From here you go on to Maui, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai or the big island Hawaii. That is why it is a few hundred dollars cheaper to stay on Oahu, less air flight. I have made two trips here in September 1988 and October 1999. I loved it both times and hope to go back again. The traffic is bad on Oahu, so if you are a first time traveler, my advice is take guided bus tours. If you rent a car you have to plan everything and you will miss a lot. The guided bus tours are nice, the bus driver will let you know what you are ...  Read the complete review

What a fantastic place this is - a pity that it takes so long to get there - but wel worth all the effort when you arrive. Waikiki is typically American but cleaner, slower and on the beach !! And what a beach. Busy yet so enjoyable. Day trips around Oahu to the Polynesian Culture Centre, Waikele Outlet Shops, the North Shore - all worthwhile and the beauty of the place is that 1. it is beautiful everywhere and 2. your never more than a couple of hours from the other coast - all destinations in easy reach. The weather was fantastic - not stifling hot but warm and pleasant and the hotels are great. We stayed at Outrigger Reef On The Beach - top ...  Read the complete review

It's a five hour flight from Los Angeles to Oahu. Since it is classified as an internal flight (5 hours over ocean -unbelievable) there were two cats and a parrot on the plane (they had a seat each). The parrot was very noisy, until we took off then I guess the air pressure affected it somehow because it stayed silent until we landed. As the plane came into land, we were treated to a clear view along Waikiki beach, and it looks just like Benidorm. A long line of towering hotels on a sandy beach. I seriously doubted my choice of destination! We were met at the airport by a mountain of a man, at least 6ft 6, this exotic stranger bestowed the traditional ...  Read the complete review