Description: Waikiki Beach is definitely where it's at on Oahu - this is the quintessential Hawai'ian experience for most visitors to Hawai'i, and many never leave its environs!
It's amazing to think that this stretch of beach once was a swampy marshland and that much of Waikiki is on land reclaimed only at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Tourism began from 1901 with the building of the spectacular colonial style Moana Hotel, the 'First Lady of Waikiki' which was the area's first luxury hotel. Things accelerated in the '20's with the opening of the coral-pink Royal Hawai'ian Hotel, which entertained a steady stream of the rich and famous.
Today this thin strip of sand is the magnet that attracts millions of tourists to the Hawai'ian islands and, given the sheer numbers that visit its shores, it is a surprisingly beautiful and pleasant beach with its soft golden sands sweeping around the shallow bay towards the imposing bulk of the extinct Diamond Head Volcano.
with some of the safest waters in Hawai'i it is not difficult to see why this is such a prime location, which can often get crowded nearer to the famous hotels.
One of the major attractions here are the surfing 'schools', where you can learn to follow in the footsteps of 'The Duke', Duke Kahanamoku, who first popularized the Hawai'ian pastime of he'e nalu, or 'wave sliding', by giving demonstrations around the World and becoming the father of modern surfing. A statue of the Duke commemorates his achievements along the Kuhio beach foreshore.
As well as the obvious attractions of sand, sea, and surf, the Waikiki beachfront takes on a romantic air with the spectacular sunsets giving way to a waterfront lit up by the flickering flames of the many torches that illuminate the promenade. It is at this time that a stroll along the waterfront is best enjoyed.
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