About Honolulu

The warm blue water, oceanfront hotels, and crowded beaches of Honolulu have been attracting visitors for as long as bikinis have been in fashion. But Hawaii's capital is known for more than just sun and surf. Museums, attractions, and historic monuments provide alternatives to the beach, and opportunities for outdoor adventure and nightlife keep things lively. Honolulu, including Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head, may only be one of the reasons to visit Oahu, but it offers visitors who come to Hawaii's most popular island plenty of reasons to stay.

Popular or not, finding information about Honolulu online can still be a challenge. While it's easy to find general summaries to help you decide on a particular Hawaiian island, Honolulu-specific information is more difficult to come by. Luckily, accommodations and dining details are fairly robust, but when it comes to general destination and activities information, the selection isn't quite as wide.

The two sites that deliver the best city information about Honolulu are run by tourism bureaus. Go Hawaii, the state tourism board website, has neighborhood information, accommodations listings by type, activity details, and more. The O'ahu Visitors Bureau, the island-specific tourism organization, has basic information plus itineraries in Honolulu and around Oahu. And though there's plenty to do (or not do, if you prefer to stay on the beach) in Honolulu, most websites, as well as people who have visited, suggest getting out of Honolulu at least once to explore the beautiful coast and beaches of Oahu. Visit-Oahu's island itinerary suggestions can be a handy tool for planning just these sorts of excursions.

A few more sites for information

• Fodor's: In addition to basic guidebook information about Honolulu, Fodor's also features insider advice such as where to go for good takeout and a primer on beaches.
• Hawaii Tourism Authority: The Tourism Authority has a whole website dedicated to Hawaii travel. Included are suggestions about what to bring, information on getting to and from the airport, and tips about interisland flights.
• Yahoo Honolulu: Yahoo's Honolulu page is particularly useful because it lists some of the main attractions in the city and provides links for more information where they're available.
• TheBus: The Honolulu Transit Services website includes information on routes to popular attractions and four-day visitor passes.
• WaikikiTrolley.com: Since there's not a one-size-fits-all solution to transportation in Honolulu and around Oahu, visitors will have to decide whether they want to rent a car or opt for alternative means of transportation based on their itineraries. Travelers who choose not to rent a car and who plan on sticking around Waikiki should consider the Waikiki Trolley as a way of seeing the sites of Honolulu.
• Hawaii Superferry: The Superferry site provides information about the interisland superferry, which will begin service out of Honolulu starting in July 2007.