Our best memories in Oahu include our visit to Polynesian Cultural Center on the north shore, walking along Waikiki beach at dawn, and hiking up the Diamond Head Crater.

Quick Tips:

Diamond Head is an old volcano crater. At the top of the crater lookout you can have a panaromic view of the entire Waikiki area. It is worth the effort to hike up to the lookou from where you park. It takes about 45-mintues to 1hr to hike. I would suggest a comfortable pair of shoes but not a sandle as most parts of the trails are unpaved. There are steep steps and a dark tunnel so a flashlight is also good to have.

Best Way To Get Around:

Make sure to get tje brochure This week in Waikiki from any hotel lobby--it has lot of discount coupons and you may even find coupons for taxi rides from the hotel to the airport--that's less than half what you would normally have to pay.

We stayed on the 15th-floor. The room had 2 double beds, a generous sitting area, a big bathroom, and a balcony where we can see the Waikiki beach from a distance. The room was very clean and well-appointed.

This hotel was probably the only one in Waikiki area that offers free breakfast. Surprisingly, the buffet type breakfast was very good with many selections. It had a typical American choices like bacon, eggs, sausages, and pancakes to Asian choices like noodles, rice, and congees. It also had lot of different variety of pastries and fresh fruits.

We strongly recommended anyone to this hotel.

Visiting the center was a whole day excursion. It is open from noon to 9pm. There were 7 villages to visit. Each village had a daily scheduled show, spread throughout the afternoon. There was a spectacle "Canoe Pageant" in the midday. The Ali'i Luau dinner was at 5:30pm, then we attended the Horizons show at 7pm.

The coach pick-up location was right in front of our hotel. There was a driver and a guide. The trip to the center from Waikiki took about 45 mintues. Our guide, David, introduced us Hawaiian cultures and pointed us to some scenic sights along the road to the center. He made lot of jokes and even showed us some Hula dances. Most of the passengers including us gave him $10/person for him to guide us to visit the center. We strongly recommended you to do that instead of taking the more expensive package which including guiding tour.

Having David being our guide was worth it as we were ensured to visit the most interesting places and yet were on time to other shows. This was a big center with lot of things to see. It was impossible to see everything thing in one day. The ticket was also good for next 3 consecutive days, so one could come back to explore what they have missed.

Each village had its unique show ranging from native songs, dances to villager daily activities. The best two shows were in Samoa and Tahiti villages. The Canoe Pageant was an entertaining performance, where villagers dressed in their native attires and performed dance on a canoe through the waterway in the park center.

The Ali'i Luau dinner was held in an outdoor Polynesian-style hut. All guests were greeted and presented a beautiful flower lei on their way in. Before the dinner began we saw a roast pig being lifted off from the underground overfilled with steaming rocks. Music, dances, and Hawaiian shows were performed through out the dinner. The dinner was a buffet serving authentic Hawaiian food.

The drama of the day had to be the night show, Horizons. We had a great seat about 10 rows from the stage and right in the middle of the theatre. All performers were dressed in their native attire to perform the Polynesian tradition, culture, and spirit through their wonderful music and dances. There were also awesome fire walkers.

To get more information about the Polynesian Culture Center you may want to check out its website at Polynesia .