Hawaii travel guide

Magic Sands Beach is a gorgeous beach with tall palms. The powerful shore break is very popular with both body surfers and boogie boarders. As the beach is small, it can get packed, particularly at sunset. The real name is La'aloa Beach, but the nickname "magic" refers to the fact that the beach can vanish during high surf in winter. The picture is taken on a day, when it was closed due to dangerous surf.

The Makapu'u Lookout offers some of the most iconic views of O'ahu. Black steep mountains covered in green meeting the ocean's many shades of blue. A strip of golden sand makes out Makapu'u Beach, which is popular with experienced surfers. You can hike to the lighthouse at the top from either the lookout (no marked trail) or along the paved trail from the parking lot at Makapu'u Point.

Away from the tourist zones of Kihei and Wailea with not a resort insight, lies this wild and scenic beach. It's a wide stretch of golden soft sand on a backdrop of thorny Kiawe trees. Though Makena Big Beach is popular, it's never crowded. Be careful if going into the turquoise ocean, as the shore break has a reputation of being extremely strong. There is another "Little Beach" further north.

Secluded Makua Beach is located as far as the road will take you. It has white sand and sets at the foot of the scenic Waianae mountains. The water is known for dolphins, which you might be able to see in the early morning.

Maniniholo Dry Cave is exactly what the name suggests, a dry cave. It's neither big or exciting, but it's worth having a look. The parking lot for Haena Beach Park is across the road.

Manoa Falls is an impressive waterfall which drops 46 meters into a pool in the middle of the jungle. To reach the falls you need to hike 1.3 km (one-way) along a muddy trail, which can get very crowded. It passes through the lush rainforest under the canopy of tall trees, and ends at the pool at the bottom of the falls.

The highest volcano in Hawai'i is Mauna Kea (4207 m) and if measured from its underwater base, it's the tallest mountain in the world. The volcano is dormant and has several observatories at the summit, which can be covered in snow. If you have a true 4x4, you can drive all the way to the summit, else you have to park at the Visitor Information Station (VIS) at 2804 m. The hike to the summit will then take about 10 hours roundtrip. Since you drive from sea level to high altitude in two hours, altitude sickness is a possibility.

The prettiest drive on O'ahu is probably along the stunning northern coastline from Heeia State Park to the surf town of Hale'iwa. From east to west it follows the Kamehameha Highway along the Windward Coast at the foot of the dramatic sheer cliffs of Koolau mountain range. Some sections of the road are so close to the wateredge, that large waves splash the tarmac. The sights along this section include Kualoa (scenic valley used in movies) and Kahana Bay (serene beach). The road wraps around the most northern tip of O'ahu and continues along the North Shore, which is famous for its beaches and surf spots, which include Sunset Beach (big wave surfing), Banzai Pipeline (tube surfing), Shark's Cove (snorkeling and diving), Waimea Bay (surfing), and Laniakea Beach (green sea turtles).

Opaeka'a Falls is a beautiful twin waterfall with a height of 46 meters. The viewpoint right next to the road will offer unobstructed views from a distance.

On December 7th, 1941, just before 8 am, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. More than 2,400 Americans died in that attack and 1,143 were injured. The day after USA declared Japan war and entered WWII officially.
Today Pearl Harbour is still an active US naval base, but there are four historical sites, all accessed from the visitor center. USS Bowfin Submarine Museum (at the visitor center), USS Arizona Memorial (reached by free shuttle ferry), Battleship Missouri Memorial (on Ford Island, take the free shuttle bus from visitor center), Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (also on Ford Island, take the free shuttle bus). The visitor center has several displays and memorials, and is free of charge. So is the USS Arizona Memorial, but you will need to reserve tickets, as there is a daily limit. The last three historical sites all have admission fees.