Hawaii 2: The Rough Guide 2nd Edition (Hawaii (Rough Guides), 2nd ed) [Taschenbuch]

The islands of Hawaii poke from the Pacific more than two thousand miles off the west coast of America. In total, there are well over a hundred of them, the weather-beaten summits of a chain of submarine volcanoes that stretches almost to Japan. Most, however, are no more than tiny atolls. Only the seven largest, at the southeast end of the archipelago, are inhabited, and only six - Oahu, Hawaii itself, Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kauai - welcome visitors.

With its majestic volcanoes, palm-fringed beaches, verdant valleys, and stupendous sea cliffs, Hawaii holds some of the most superb scenery on earth. Firmly established among the world's greatest vacation playgrounds, it combines top-quality hotels and restaurants with almost unlimited opportunities not only for sheer self-indulgence but also for activities such as surfing, diving, golf and hiking. Visiting Hawaii does not, however, have to be expensive; budget facilities on all the islands are listed throughout this book, together with advice on making the most of your money.

Despite the crowds, the islands have not been ruined by tourism. Resort development is concentrated into surprisingly small regions - Waikiki is the classic example, holding half the state's hotel rooms in just two square miles - and it's always possible to venture off into pristine wilderness, or to camp on the seashore or mountainside.

The people of Hawaii

Humans have been in Hawaii for less than two thousand years. Its original Polynesian settlers finally forged a united Hawaiian kingdom just two hundred years ago, as the first Europeans arrived to destroy it. Only since 1898 has Hawaii belonged to the US, and it became the fiftieth state as recently as 1959. Of its 1.2 million people, almost 900,000 live on Oahu, site of the state capital Honolulu and its resort annexe of Waikiki. The largest island, Hawaii - more commonly known as the Big Island in a vain attempt to avoid confusion, and formerly the most powerful island of all - holds barely 140,000. The two other major islands are Maui, which has a population of 115,000, and Kauai with just over 50,000. Lesser Molokai has around 7000, and Lanai not even 3000, while Niihau is home to a mere 250 citizens.

Thanks to massive immigration, Hawaii has the most ethnically diverse population on earth. Roughly equal proportions - something over twenty percent each - are of Caucasian, Japanese, and Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian descent, while around ten percent are Filipino, and the remainder includes citizens of Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese ancestry. Over half of all marriages are classified as inter-racial, so such statistics grow ever more meaningless. Almost everyone speaks English, and as a rule the Hawaiian language is only encountered in the few words - such as aloha or "love", the all-purpose island greeting - that have passed into general local usage.

Visiting the islands

Ever since statehood, tourism has been the mainstay of the Hawaiian economy, worth almost $20 billion dollars per year. Construction of new resorts and hotels has slowed down since the Gulf War, but visitor levels have climbed back to reach an annual total of just under seven million visitors, of whom just over two million are Japanese. By far the most popular island remains Oahu, with 4.5 million tourists a year. Maui comes second, welcoming 2.2 million people, while 1.3 million spend time on the Big Island, and around one million on Kauai. Fewer than 100,000 visit either Molokai or Lanai each year, and Niihau is barred to outsiders altogether.

All the Hawaiian islands share a similar topography, having been formed in the same way and exposed to the same winds and rains. Each is much wetter on its north and east - windward - coasts, which are characterized by steep sea cliffs, inaccessible stream-cut valleys, and dense tropical vegetation. The south and west - leeward or "Kona" - coasts are much drier, often virtually barren, and make ideal locations for big resorts. The key decision in any Hawaiian itinerary is whether to go to Oahu, and specifically Waikiki, which holds virtually all its accommodation. If you enjoy cities, and prefer nightlife and crowds to deserted beaches - or simply if you don't want to drive - then it's worth staying for three or four days in Waikiki. Otherwise, unless you're a surfer heading for the legendary North Shore, you may end up regretting any time you choose to spend on Oahu.

Each of the other islands - referred to as the Neighbor Islands - has its own strengths and weaknesses. Maui, Kauai and the Big Island all offer accommodation for every budget, and all cost the same to reach from Oahu (it's also possible to fly direct to Maui and the Big Island from the US West Coast). The best for beaches is probably Maui, followed by Kauai and then the Big Island; for scenery, and also hiking, Kauai beats the Big Island, with Maui well behind. The Big Island boasts the awesome spectacle of the world's most active volcano - Kilauea, which has been erupting ever since 1982 - although dormant Haleakal^ on Maui is also impressive.

Among more specialized interests, Maui offers the best conditions for windsurfing and whale watching; Maui and the Big Island are equally well equipped for diving, snorkeling and golf; and the Big Island has great deep-sea fishing, as well as being the best suited for a touring vacation. The appeal of the lesser islands rests largely on their sense of seclusion; Molokai is a down-home, inexpensive, and very traditional Hawaiian island, while Lanai has become a haven for the mega-rich.

Visitors in search of the ancient Hawaii may be disappointed by the few vestiges that remain. The Hawaiians themselves destroyed many of their heiaus (temples) following the collapse of the traditional religion, and traces of the pre-contact way of life tend to survive only in out-of-the-way places (notably on the Big Island). Otherwise, what is presented as "historic" usually post-dates the missionary impact. The former plantation villages often have an appealing air of the nineteenth-century West about them, with their false-front stores and wooden boardwalks, but of the larger towns only Honolulu, Lahaina on Maui, and Kailua on the Big Island offer much sense of history.

If you have one week or less, it makes sense to concentrate on just one island. Five days on either Kauai or the Big Island, combined with two days in Waikiki, makes a good introduction to the state, while if you fly direct to Maui you can explore that island in depth and still have time to cross over to Molokai or Lanai. With two weeks, you could spend four or five days each on three of the major islands - though it would be easy to fill a week or more on the Big Island - and it's worth considering a couple of days on Molokai as well. Any more than two weeks, and you can consider seeing all the major islands.