DK Travel : Honolulu & O’ahu : Places of interest

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Ahu o Laka Sandbar

At low tide on a weekend, drive slowly on Kamehameha Highway just past He’eia Kea Boat Harbor. A little way offshore, you’ll see watercraft of every description clustered around seemingly nothing at all. In fact, just above sea level is a sandbar, and locals like to fetch up here, light the hibachi and hang out. Rent a canoe or kayak and join them.
Banzai Pipeline

Banzai Beach encompasses the shoreline between Ke Waena and Ke Nui Roads off Kamehameha Highway. Here, broad expanses of sand fringe a rocky shore, over which the surf boils. The most famous of the wild surfing breaks is the tubular Banzai Pipeline, which attracts the greatest risk-taking surfers. Lifeguards are kept very busy here because of the steeply sloping ocean bottom and the irresistible allure of huge winter surf.
Bellows Field Beach County Park

Though located on a military installation that includes an army reserve camp, an area where Marines practice amphibious landings, this sprawling beach and campsite with ample parking is a public facility on weekends and holidays. Many consider it the best of the Waimānalo beaches; bodyboarding, boogieboarding, and surfing are prime. Camping here is by permit only.
Contemporary Museum

A gracious family property on Makiki Heights overlooking Honolulu has become a world-class art center, showcasing cutting-edge work. There are delightful gardens, a quirky gift shop, and an exceptional café.
Damien Museum and Archives

This tiny exhibit on the grounds of St. Augustine’s Church displays treasured artifacts from the life of Blessed Damien de Veuster, the Belgian priest who gave his life to Hansen’s disease sufferers on Moloka’i in the 1870s and ’80s.
Diamond Head Crater

Hawai’i’s most-recognized landmark watches over Waikīkī, its sculpted slopes shadowy green in rainy season, parched brown at other times. In addition to the trail within the crater, a three-mile loop walk allows you to see the changeable peak from a full circle. Start where Monsarrat Avenue meets Diamond Head Road and proceed in either direction. (see Diamond Head Trail).
Dillingham Airfield

This tiny airport is a center for gliding, skydiving, and scenic flights (see Adventures).
Dole Plantation

The gardens and production facilities of this popular attraction introduce 900,000 visitors a year to O’ahu’s modern-day diversified agriculture industry. The pineapple is familiar, but also growing here are coffee, tropical fruit, corn, lei flowers, and exotic bromeliads. The Pineapple Garden maze, officially recognized in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest maze, offers an unusual diversion.
Hale’iwa Ali’i Beach Park & Hale’iwa Beach County Park

These parks flank each other on either side of the Anahulu River, and if they look familiar it’s because they were a primary set for Baywatch Hawai’i. Ali’i Park features a boat ramp and is popular for fishing and surfing. Across the river, Hale’iwa Beach offers safe swimming and is an excellent place for a family party or picnic.
Hale’iwa Town

Plan your day to allow a couple of hours exploring historic Hale’iwa Town – the touristy top layer is built on a genuine base of community, made up of an eclectic mix of surfers, characters, and families who have lived in “the house of the ’iwa bird” for generations. Once a gracious retreat for wealthy summer visitors, the place has a certain timelessness. To get a feel for it, park at either end of town and walk, poking into shops and lingering on the Anahulu River Bridge to watch the water flow by.

Hale’iwa

Hale’iwa Town harbor