A labyrinthine sprawl of stalls and shops selling all manner of tourist souvenirs, the International Market Place really is the beating heart of Hawai’ian kitsch and tackiness – but don’t let that put you off as there are plenty of gems in there to tempt even the most hard bitten traveler and, let’s face it, if you truly wanted to avoid the rampant commercialism of Waikiki you wouldn’t be there in the first place!

For a start it is a great place to shop for t-Shirts and the ubiquitous Hawai’ian Shirt, as well as souvenir presents for friends and family back home such as Hawai’i license plates, shell bracelets and lei – but watch out if you’re looking for genuine merchandise as like it or not, your ‘authentic’ Hawai’ian shirt will most likely have been made in SE Asia! Bargaining is expected here, and you should be able walk away with plenty of good deals.

The market place is also a great place for kids as there are plenty of activities ranging from having your picture taken in a grass skirt or with a parrot to watching various stage shows, including music and dance and excellent drumming displays. Other activities around include watching local sculptors at work on various native materials, getting one’s fingernails painted with tropical scenes, or getting your palm read.

A good central meeting point is the Koi Carp pool by the huge Banyan tree in the center of the market, or if you get really lost there is a yellow tramline on the floor that you can follow to get you back onto the street.

Finally, we found the food court in the market to sell good quality Hawai’ian style food at some of the most reasonable prices in Waikiki – this reason alone had us coming back to the International Market Place time and again as well priced food was at a premium here. For those whose appetites are of a more liquid variety, there are several decent bars there, including a ‘treehouse’ bar with live music.

This place is bound to have something for everyone.