Text & Photos By Diane Redfern

Oahu has an excellent public transport system called "The Bus.". Several routes stop on Kuhio Avenue within a block or two of all Waikiki hotels, and the main onward connecting point is at Ala Moana Center, Honolulu's biggest shopping center. Sometimes I opted for the added convenience of a day tour that provided hotel pick-up and drop-off, group camaraderie, and a knowledgeable driver/guide. However, the added expense was significant. For example, a full day, circle-island tour cost me $75 plus tip whereas a round-trip fare on The Bus would have cost only $4.

Bus Number 2 – Honolulu

Bus 2 runs between Waikiki and the Capitol District in downtown Honolulu where history buffs will find numerous state and historic buildings on a self- guided walking tour, including these must-see museums:

• Iolani Palace, 364 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96804-9983. Tel. 1-808-538-1471. Open: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm. Completed in 1882, Iolani Palace was the residence of King David Kalakaua and his successor Queen Liliuokalani who was overthrown in 1893, tried for treason, and imprisoned here for nine months. The Royal Hawaiian Band presents a free outdoor concert every Friday at noon, weather permitting. Three different guided and self-guided tour options are offered starting at US$6. The ticket office is located at the unmistakable fortress-like Iolani Barracks.

• Mission Houses, 553 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813-3002. Tel. 1-808-531-0481. Open: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm. It's always good to get different perspectives on history. Here, you learn something about 19th century Hawaii from the missionaries' point of view. Admission: $10.

• Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 South Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI 96814-1495. A museum holds over 50,000 art works. Concerts and lectures are scheduled in the Doris Duke Theater. Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-4:30pm; Sunday 1-5pm. Admission: $7.

• The Blaisdell Center, 777 Ward Avenue at King Street, Honolulu, HI 96814. Tel. 1-808-591-2211 Situated on the historic Ward Estate formerly known as the "Old Plantation," the Blaisdell complex includes a multi-purpose arena, exhibition and concert halls for trade shows, sporting events, and touring entertainers.

Chinatown

Bus 2 runs through Honolulu's Chinatown with stops at Maunakea or Hotel Streets. Chinese immigrants started arriving in Oahu in 1852 and gradually established a distinctive presence in downtown Honolulu. You can download a map for a self-guided walking tour showing art galleries, open-air markets, restaurants, and traditional noodle shops.

• Hawaii Theatre Center, 1130 Bethel Street, Honolulu, HI 96813-2201. Tel. 1-808-528-0506. First opened in 1922, this venue was rescued from the wrecker's ball in the 1980s by a group of concerned citizens. All sorts of live revues and concerts now fill the hall with applause.

Greater Honolulu

• Punchbowl: An extinct volcanic crater is the site of The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, the resting place of more than 30,000 American servicemen (and their families) from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Tel. 1-808-532-3720 Open: Daily, 8am to 5:30pm.
  Take Bus 2 to Beretania and Alapai Streets. Walk one block toward the ocean to the bus stop on Alapai Street and transfer to Bus 15 Pacific Heights. Ride to the stop at Puowaina and Hookui Streets. The walk into the cemetery and memorial takes about 15 minutes.

• Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI 96817-0916. Tel. 1-808-847-3511. It's a 45-minute ride on Bus 2 to School Road and Kapalama Avenue with a two-block walk to the museum. Founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop as a memorial to his wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi, the museum provides a full-day of scheduled interactive activities covering Hawaiian perspectives to astronomy, ecology, oceanography, and volcanology. Visitors may take a hula lesson, listen to Hawaiian legends, take a guided tour of galleries filled with spectacular feather- covered masks, capes, and other Hawaiian art works, learn about stars and constellations in the museum's planetarium, and see a working display of a volcano in action. Admission: $14.95.

Pearl Harbor

• USS Arizona Memorial. Tel. 1-808-422-0561. Bus 42 Ewa Beach stops right at the Visitor Center. Thousands line up here daily in respect of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Visitors attend interpretive audio and film displays while waiting for a shuttle boat to take them out to the site of the sunken battleship, which is covered by the floating USS Arizona Memorial. Plans are underway to develop another memorial for the USS Oklahoma. Open: 7:30am to 5pm, daily. Admission: Free on a first-come-first-served basis.
• TheUSS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park is adjacent the USS Arizona Visitor Center, and from there shuttles regularly operate to the Battleship Missouri Memorial (Tel. 1-877-MIGHTYMO), celebrated for its "Surrender Deck." On board the Missouri, General Douglas MacArthur and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, along with other American and Allied officers, accepted the unconditional surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II. Open: 8am to 5pm. Admission: Several options available for viewing either or both museums.

North Shore Oahu

• Dole Plantation, 64-1550 Kameha- meha Highway, Wahiawa, HI 96786. Tel. 1-808-621-8408. At the agricultural heart of Oahu, barbed pineapple stalks fill the fields for miles around. But by all accounts, the industry is waning in Hawaii due to overseas competition, and the company that brought the pineapple to Hawaii is doing better marketing tourism these days. At the Dole Plantation, tourists may ride the Pineapple Express train around the fields, take a guided tour to learn a bit about pineapple farming, and/or spend a couple of hours finding secret spots within the "World's Largest Maze." And of course there are many pineapple flavored goodies to buy in the shop along with other Hawaiian souvenirs. It's all good fun if a bit kitzy. Open: 9am to 5:30pm. Admission: $15.50 for all attractions, or each can be purchased individually.
  From Waikiki, take any bus to Ala Moana Center and transfer to Bus 52 Wahiawa-Circle Isle. The trip takes about one hour and forty-five minutes and stops right in front.

• Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Highway, Laie, HI 96762. Tel. 1-808-293-3333. Located in Laie on Oahu's North Shore, this 42-acre park showcases the Polynesian lifestyles of Hawaii, Samoa, the Marquesas, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand, each in its own village setting. A full program of demonstrations of traditional ceremonies and crafts culminates in a spirited evening show featuring songs and dances from each country. Open: 11am to 9pm. Admission: $55 including evening show. Numerous other packages priced up to $205 include hotel pick-up and drop-off plus a variety of dining options.
  From Waikiki, take any bus to the Ala Moana Shopping Center and transfer to Bus 55 Kaneohe-Circle Isle to the town of Laie. NOTE: The last two buses from the Polynesian Cultural Center to Honolulu leave after the show at 9:19pm and 10:14pm, daily. Travel time is 2 hours.

North Shore Beaches

In the winter, the big waves roll in on Oahu's North Shore and world-class surfing events are held at famous Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay Beach Park, and Ehukai Beach, home of the Banzai Pipeline. From Waikiki, take any bus to Ala Moana Center and transfer to Bus 52 Wahiawa-Circle Isle to Haleiwa (a 2 hour trip) or Bus 55 Kaneohe-Circle Isle to Haleiwa (3 hours).

South Shore Beaches

• Ala Moana Beach Park. This lovely green space is just 15 minutes from Waikiki by Bus 8, 19, 20, 42, or 58 heading away from Diamond Head. Here you may combine a picnic and beach break with shopping at the Ala Moana Center.

• Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. Tel. 1-808-396-4229. From Waikiki heading to Diamond Head, it's a 40-minute ride to the best snorkeling on Oahu going eastbound on Bus 22 Hawaii Kai-Sea Life Park. This beach and educational facility is uniquely located in the crater of an extinct volcano. Equipment rental is available. Open: Daily, except Tuesdays. Admission: $5.

• Bellows Field Beach Park and Sandy Beach Park are about 15 minutes further east from Hanauma Bay on either Bus 22 or 58. Of the two, Sandy Beach is notorious for treacherous riptides.

Windward Oahu

• Kailua Beach Park. Located on the outskirts of residential Kailua town, this two-mile stretch of beach approaches picture perfection with its palm-shaded, gently sloping white-sand shoreline. Consistent trade winds make Kailua Bay notable for windsurfing. From Waikiki, the park is about an hour's ride plus a 10-minute walk. Take any bus to Ala Moana Center and transfer to Bus 57.

Walking, Hiking, Biking

• Diamond Head Crater. Steep 30-minute hike to the summit of Oahu's most photographed landmark. It's just minutes from Waikiki to the trail head by Bus 3 or 58.

• Lyon Arboretum, University of Hawaii. 3860 Manoa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822. Tel. 1-808-988-0456. Over 8,000 plant species in 194 acres of rain forest. Extensive hiking trails – nearby Manoa Falls trail takes about 45 minutes one way. Open: Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm. Admission: by donation. Take Bus 5 to Manoa Valley end of the line.

DR

Waikiki On My Own – A Solo Travel Report
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