Honolulu

Waikīkī — where royalty came to rest

Long before the hotels, Waikīkī was a beach where Hawaiian royalty came to stay and unwind. Its first hotel, the Moana Surfrider, went up on this shore in 1901. Duke Kahanamoku grew up surfing Waikīkī's waves and went on to share the sport, and its values, with the world. His statue on the beach has become a symbol of Waikīkī's surf culture. The waves offshore are gentle, which makes this a good place for your first surf lesson. West of Waikīkī, Ala Moana Center gathers more than 350 shops and restaurants and bills itself as the world's largest open-air shopping center.

Diamond Head — a crater turned fortress

Rising at the east end of Waikīkī, Diamond Head is a crater formed in a single explosive eruption about 300,000 years ago. Its Hawaiian name, Lēʻahi, means "brow of the tuna." The English name is said to come from 19th-century British sailors who took the glittering stones on its slopes for diamonds, but those stones were worthless calcite crystals. The summit trail was built in 1908 as part of Oʻahu's coastal defense system. You'll pass through dark tunnels that call for a flashlight and old military bunkers, climb 175 stairs, and step inside a fire control station completed in 1911. From the crater floor to the summit, it's about 1.3 km (0.8 mi) one way with about 170 m (560 ft) of steep climbing. At the top, Waikīkī and Oʻahu's south shore lie below you.

ʻIolani Palace — a kingdom's last chapter

Downtown, ʻIolani Palace was built in 1882 by King Kalākaua and was home to Hawaiʻi's last monarchs. It's the only official royal residence in the United States. Queen Liliʻuokalani succeeded her brother in 1891. In 1895, after the monarchy had already fallen, royalists tried and failed to restore her to the throne, and she was arrested. She then spent nearly eight months confined to an upstairs bedroom of this palace. Across the street stands a bronze statue of Kamehameha I, the ruler who unified the Hawaiian Islands. On the Friday closest to Kamehameha Day (June 11), dozens of fresh flower lei, each about 9 m (30 ft) long, are draped over it.

Pearl Harbor — a memorial over a sunken ship

West of Honolulu, Pearl Harbor remembers the attack of December 7, 1941. At the heart of Pearl Harbor National Memorial is the memorial built over the sunken battleship USS Arizona, where more than 900 sailors and Marines still rest. Oil seeping from the hull pools on the surface, and it's been described as black tears. You reach the memorial by boat. The first program starts at 8 a.m., and the last boat leaves at 3:30 p.m. On Ford Island in the same harbor, the battleship USS Missouri, where Japan formally surrendered in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, is moored as a memorial, so in one day you can stand where the attack drew the US into World War II and where that war ended.

Hanauma Bay — the video comes first

On Oʻahu's southeast coast, Hanauma Bay was formed by two of the many craters that built Koko Head. Waves wore away the craters' seaward rims, and the sea flowed in. In 1967 it became Hawaiʻi's first Marine Life Conservation District. Schooling fish gather along the reef edges, and turtles are fairly common. Every time you visit, you'll watch an educational video in the theater first. Feeding the fish and taking sand or coral are both prohibited. Entry closes at 1:30 p.m., so it's best to go in the morning.

North Shore — a sea that changes with the seasons

About an hour's drive north of Waikīkī is the North Shore. November through February is the time to watch big-wave surfing, when waves sometimes top 9 m (30 ft). The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing runs in November and December, and this coast is home to Banzai Pipeline, for experts only, and Waimea Bay, a stage for the early days of big-wave surfing in the 1950s. From May through September the waves settle, and the water gets easier for swimming and surfing. In the surf town of Haleʻiwa, cool off with a rainbow shave ice. On the way back, follow the east coast down past Byodo-In, a replica of a Japanese Buddhist temple, and the Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout to close a loop around the island.

Lunch on a plate — plate lunch and malasadas

The plate lunch is a staple of local food in Hawaiʻi: two scoops of rice and macaroni salad with a main such as kālua pork or Korean barbecue. Loco moco, hamburger steak and egg over rice covered in gravy, is said to have gotten its name at Café 100 in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island. For something sweet, go for a malasada, a Portuguese doughnut. Leonard's Bakery on Kapahulu Avenue opened in 1952. Not long after, the founder's mother suggested making malasadas for Shrove Tuesday, a Portuguese tradition, and they've since become the bakery's signature. It opens daily at 5:30 a.m.

What to eat

• Plate lunch (two scoops of rice, mac salad)
• Loco moco (hamburger steak and egg on rice)
• Malasada (Leonard's Bakery)
• Shave ice (Haleʻiwa, North Shore)

Handy tips

• If you're not a Hawaiʻi resident, Diamond Head requires entry and parking reservations, and the entry fee is card only. Hanauma Bay is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and bookings open two days ahead at 7 a.m. Hawaiʻi time. A small number of walk-in tickets go first come, first served.
• Pearl Harbor National Memorial is free to enter, but you book the USS Arizona Memorial program on Recreation.gov for a $1 fee. Bags aren't allowed in the memorial or the visitor center, so plan to leave yours at the paid bag storage near the entrance.
• Ride TheBus and Skyline with a HOLO card ($2 to issue) and you won't pay more than $7.50 in a day. Cash is $3.25 per boarding, exact fare only. On the bus you can bring one medium suitcase and one carry-on, and from Skyline's airport station, a transfer to the W Line gets you to Waikīkī quickly.