Three-quarters of Hawaii's
population live on
OAHU,
which has monopolized the islands'
trade and tourism since the first
European sailors realized that
Honolulu
offered the safest in-shore
anchorage in thousands of miles of
ocean. Over eighty percent of
visitors to Hawaii still arrive in
Honolulu
- albeit by air now, rather than by
sea - and most remain for their
entire vacation. Oahu effectively
confines tourists to the tower-block
enclave of
Waikiki, just
east of downtown Honolulu; there are
few rooms anywhere else. In much the
same way, the
military are
closeted away in relatively
inconspicuous camps. On any one day,
the numbers of military personnel
and tourists on Oahu are roughly the
same.
Overcrowding and rampant
development mean Oahu can't be
recommended over the Neighbor
Islands (as the other Hawaiian
islands are known), but it can still
give a real flavor of Hawaii. There
are some excellent beaches,
with those on the north shore a
haven for surfers and
campers, and the cliffs of
the windward side are awesome.
