Editor’s note: While it holds a majority of the state’s population, it seems so many visitors to Hawaii view Oahu as a last choice for an island to stay on. That is truly a shame, and in this piece, Jackie Gish explains why Oahu deserves a visit. I happen to agree! For more of Jackie’s writing, click here to visit her index page.
My husband and I accumulated enough Hawaiian Airlines miles (from our Hawaiian Airlines credit card) for two free round trip flights to Hawaii. When we were deciding where to go, we chose Oahu because we had been to the Big Island and Kauai together, and I had been to Maui (and Maui had the big fires just a few years ago). Many people (and even I) asked why, and I found myself explaining my rationale. I had been to Oahu twice – once many decades ago for a conference and once three decades ago for one night. The latter was not an altogether positive experience due to the very noisy location in Waikiki. But I knew my husband had not seen Pearl Harbor, and I had not fully explored the island either.
We decided to stay in Waikiki (with some reservations on my part due to the noisy location before) and not to rent a car. It worked out really well. It was not noisy and we were within easy walking distance of the public bus, the pick-up locations for the two tours we signed up for, and the beach. We spent part of one day at the Iolani Palace (now a museum), another day on a bus trip to Pearl Harbor and around the island, and a third going to the Polynesian Cultural Center. One day was pure R&R at the beach.
Iolani Palace and vicinity
We purchased timed tickets for the palace in advance. I successfully navigated us by public bus (with the help of the lady sitting behind us on the bus), with only one minor glitch as they had slightly moved the bus stop! The cost was $3 for adults per ride and $1.25 for seniors!
King Kamehameha III had a residence on the property where the Iolani Palace is now and
subsequent rulers lived there until it was demolished due to disrepair in 1874. The Iolani Palace was built by King Kalākaua in 1882 and was his residence until his death in 1891. He was succeeded by his sister, Queen Liliʻuokalani, but she was imprisoned and overthrown (with the help of the US) in 1893. She was the last royal leader of Hawaii. The palace then served as the Capitol for 80 years and was restored in the 1970s. It is now open to the public as a museum, with many original items. Many rooms are open to the public and the audio guide (included in admission) is helpful to provide information on each room.
The Throne Room was for formal gatherings, with the two thrones for King Kalākaua and his wife Queen Kapiʻolani. The trial for Queen Liliʻuokalani was also in this room. After the trial she was imprisoned in an upstairs room.
The State Dining Room is another gorgeous room, and one can imagine the royalty entertaining leaders from around the world.
An interesting fact is that the Palace had electrical lights, indoor plumbing, and a telephone system (within the Palace because no one else had one), which were unusual at that time. The Hawaiian royalty traveled extensively and were very knowledgeable about the world.
The lady from the bus (see the advantage of taking public transportation!) told us about a concert outside the palace which takes place every Friday at noon, which was the time we finished our tour. The concert was put on by the Royal Hawaiian Band and featured musicians, singers, and a hula practitioner. The music featured a range of Hawaiian music, including a song (Hawai’i Pono’ī) with words written by King Kalākaua with music by Henry Berger, which became Hawaii’s national anthem from 1876 to 1893 and is now the state song. Another song had words and music by Queen Liliʻuokalani (Aloha ‘Oe – Song of Farewell). The royalty sure had a lot of talent!
There is also a beautiful YWCA building across the street from the palace. This building was designed by Julia Morgan, the first woman architect licensed in California, who had also designed Hearst Castle and hundreds of other buildings. We had a delicious lunch in the lovely Café Julia restaurant inside the building.
Pearl Harbor and Oahu Circle Island Tour
We booked an all-day tour with E Noa Tours that went first to Pearl Harbor and then around most of the island. It was a long day (approximately ten hours), but was definitely worth the time. Other tour companies do similar tours.
Pearl Harbor was definitely a highlight. We spent a short time in the museum and then were ushered into an auditorium to prepare us for what we would soon see. The National Park person who talked to us was amazing – turning a group of noisy tourists into respectful visitors to this sacred place in a matter of a few minutes. We were then loaded onto a Navy boat and taken to the USS Arizona Memorial, which sits over the sunken ship.
One wall of the memorial has the names of all the men who lost their lives that day on the USS Arizona. There are also some added names on different plaques of people who survived the day, but have chosen to be buried with their shipmates after their deaths, in some cases many decades after Pearl Harbor. The reverence of all the tourists carried over as we all looked at the plaques and the pieces of the ship which were visible over the side rails and through a cutout in the bottom of the memorial.
After Pearl Harbor we started our Circle Island tour, which stopped at many places. Highlights included the Dole Plantation (delicious soft serve pineapple sorbet topped with fresh pineapple), a macadamia nut farm, and many overlooks and stops along the gorgeous coast. We saw sea turtles (very large!), the Chinaman’s Hat rock formation, and a blowhole, as well as the cliffs. The whole coast was stunning!
Polynesian Cultural Center
I had heard about the Polynesian Cultural Center from a friend who had been a missionary there (it is owned by the Mormon Church), and she gave me some tips for what to book and what to see. We booked the full day at the Center, including the Gateway Buffet and the Ha Breath of Life evening show. We also booked the bus round trip from Waikiki. It was another long day, with pick-up around 10:00 am and drop-off around 10:00 pm. (Note that the Polynesian Cultural Center is 35 miles or so from Waikiki, and it takes more than an hour to get there.)
The Polynesian Cultural Center is built around a “river” with beautifully landscaped vegetation. The Center has 6 “lands” – Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fuji, Hawaii, Tonga, and Tahiti, as well as a Mission Settlement.
At the beginning of the afternoon (the Center opens around noon) there was a show with performers from the various lands dancing on canoes on the river.
Each of the lands had one or more cultural presentations as well as hands-on activities at various times from 1 to 5:30 or so. These included ceremonies, stories, food, dances, chants, craft projects, games, and more. One can clearly not do everything in one day, so we picked and chose various presentations and activities that interested us. (Note that we could have come back for free for two additional days, but we did not have the time and felt that one day covered most of it.) Many of the presenters, guides, and employees are students from Brigham Young University in Hawaii and came from these various places.
We had dinner at the Gateway Buffet, which is housed in an enormous room. The buffet has all kinds of food including various salads, fruit, main dishes grouped by type (chicken, pork, vegetables, and more), and dessert. Following dinner was the lovely Ha Breath of Life show in the big theater. It again featured the various nationalities in a circle of life story. Pictures were not allowed.
R&R
We spent parts of two days at the beach, a ten minute or so walk from our hotel. My husband loved the warm water and, of course, we both enjoyed the lovely view of Diamond Head.
We had a lovely five-night, four-day trip to Oahu. If you are thinking of going to Hawaii, I urge you to consider spending some time in Oahu – meaningful places (Iolani Palace, Pearl Harbor), beautiful coastline, interesting and educational Polynesian Cultural Center, and, of course, the warm water! And take a moment to think about the monarchy that was there and what was lost when it was overthrown.
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