Honolulu Information

Honolulu is located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu - the most popular of the Hawaiian islands. Honolulu has a population of over 400,000 people and as a result is Hawaii's largest city by far. Oahu's major airport is located in Honolulu as are the legendary beaches as well as the skyscrapers of Waikiki.

Honolulu provides visitors with their first taste of Hawaii, however the rest of the state is vastly different to the city and should be explored to get a true feel of Hawaii.

Honolulu only exists thanks to the arrival of foreigners. In the early days it was sandalwood and whaling followed by the rise of King Sugar, the arrival of Pearl Harbour to it's latest incarnations as a dream tourist destination.

Honolulu's setting is like no other - located right on the Pacific Ocean with the dramatic Ko'olau mountain cliffs (pali) as it's backdrop. The administrative buildings in Downtown Honolulu date back to the last monarchy. A military cemetery lies at the foot of the Punchbowl volcano. The airport is located about four of five miles west of Honolulu, just before Pearl Harbour. The lively Chinatown area is situated between the airport and downtown Honolulu.

The main freeway, H-1, runs along the south shore through Honolulu, connecting it to the airport and all other freeways on the island. Notably the H-1 is a US Interstate freeway - not bad considering it's on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!

Hawaii's busiest tourist season is during the winter (December to February), although this probably has more to do with people escaping cold weather back home. Average temperatures vary very little from summer to winter with daily temperatures in Honolulu reaching an average high of 84°F (29°C) in the summer months (June to October) and a low of 70°F (22°C) in winter. Rainfall is heaviest between December and March.

Hawaii became the 50th state of the USA on August 21st, 1959. Hawaii was due to be admitted before Alaska, which was admitted in January the same year, and caused some confusion over which was admitted first, in fact there are still some businesses in Hawaii with 49th in their name.