Waikiki Beach is the highlight for any first trip to Hawaii, with its white sandy surfing beach, turquoise blue waters, and numerous water activities. Lined with luxury hotels with Diamond Head as a backdrop, this is what you see in movies and TV series such as Magnum PI and Hawaii 5-0. We went to Duke’s on Waikiki Beach today for lunch, which is one of the iconic restaurants with an ocean view. They have live music playing mid-day (above, in 60 sec video clip). The restaurant is named after Duke Kahanamoku, the father of modern surfing, aka “The Duke” and “The Big Kahuna“. Duke was one of the pioneers who earned his living teaching visitors how to surf and canoe at Waikiki. Hula Grill is another restaurant located on the second floor, sharing the same music and views, and serves the best loco moco on the island we’ve tasted.
Today is Halloween, so many of the staff were dressed up in costumes. As we approached the restaurant, The Ghost Bus (bottom-left) drove by.
Waikiki Beach is less than a 10 minute drive from our condo. We have been mostly avoiding the tourist scene since moving here a few months ago due to crowds, but thought it was time to explore this neighborhood which is probably the most renown beach on Oahu for tourists.
Fortunately, Waikiki Beach was not nearly as crowded as we expected. Yes, there are tourists here, but there were ample empty beach chairs, and plenty of room between families on the sand. Ige, the Hawaiian governor, asked tourists to stay away last month, due to increases in COVID overwhelming hospitals. It was pretty obvious here that many people took that request to heart.
Most people on the beach enjoyed being with small, private family groups. A few set up their own canopies on the beach (upper-left), while others ate at outdoor restaurants or mini-cabanas (right column). All the hotels also had pools for their guests, where many congregated (bottom-left).
The weather was perfect today, with small waves ideal for beginner surfers to learn the sport. While a few parents watched from the shore (top-right), dozens of younger souls practiced with their boards (bottom and top-left).
As you walk to the beach, you pass an alley where people chain and lock their surf boards (center). The boards come from a variety of manufacturers, some of which are small shops custom made for each surfer. The logos on the boards are an interesting collection (all except center).
Along the sand were periodic signs, enticing visitors to eat at beach restaurants, to relax under rented umbrellas (bottom-middle), take surfing lessons or to learn other water sports (right column), catamaran tours, dinner cruises.
The Apple store is nearby at the Royal Hawaiian, and we stopped in to visit the Genius Bar (this is the ONLY Apple store I know of where you can walk in and talk to a Genius with only a few minutes wait!). Inside was a new Apple fan, exploring an iPad (lower-left). Outside was a family dressed as the Ghost Busters for Halloween (top), who posed for me. Evelyn also stopped into one of the ubiquitous ABC stores to buy a couple of Hawaiian coffee mugs (lower-right). Kalakaua Ave in Waikiki and Ala Moana is the premier retail corridor in Honolulu, and is a major attraction for the tourist industry.
Most tourist guides say you Just Gotta Try Shaved Ice when in Hawaii. There are multiple locations to get these, but one near the Apple Store on Kalakaua Ave always has long lines waiting to get their treats. This woman agreed to let me show her treasure (shaved ice with ice cream) before she dug in.
Watch here for 60 seconds of people playing in the waves. In that short time, you see several surfers catch their waves, a paddle boarder heading out to deeper water, and a wave-boarder shoot from left to right, and then a bit later back right-to-left.