Honolulu, Hawaii — Activities
Honolulu Culture
Neal S Blaisdell Center, 777 Ward Avenue (tel: (808) 591 2211; website: www.blaisdellcenter.com), is Honolulu’s primary special-event venue. It encompasses a multi-purpose Arena, Exhibition Hall, Galleria and Concert Hall that can accommodate a wide range of events, from concerts and plays to sports competitions and trade shows. Resting in the shadow of Diamond Head across from famed Waikiki Beach, the Waikiki Shell (tel: (808) 591 2211; website: www.blaisdellcenter.com/venues/waikikishell.html) is a beautiful outdoor amphitheater for concerts and dance presentations that are most dramatic in the evening, when the moon and stars shine overhead. It seats 2,400 people, with room for an additional 6,000 on the lawn.
When it opened its doors in 1922, the Hawaii Theater, 1130 Bethel Street (tel: (808) 528 0506; website: www.hawaiitheater.com) was the most elegant venue in Honolulu for plays, variety shows, musicals and silent films. Over the years, it fell into disrepair, but a spirited community effort saved it from the wrecking ball in 1986. Listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places, it reopened a decade later as a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose performance center.
The Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau’s website, www.gohawaii.com, includes a current, comprehensive calendar of major cultural events.
Honolulu Tours
Walking Tours
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce (tel: (808) 533 3181; www.chinesechamber.com) organizes guided walking tours of Chinatown. So does the Hawaii Heritage Center (tel: (808) 521 2749; www.hawaiimuseums.org/mc/isoahu_Hheritage.htm). Clean Air Team (tel: (808) 948 3299) and the Hawaii Geographic Society (tel: (808) 538 3952) organize various walking tours in and around Honolulu, with some focusing on historic buildings and architecture and places of worship among other themes.
Bus Tours
Roberts Hawaii (tel: (808) 954 8652 or 1 866 898 2519; www.robertshawaii.com) and Polynesian Adventure Tours (tel: (808) 833 3000 or 1 800 622 3011; www.polyad.com) are Honolulu's largest land tour operators. Most of their tours utilize 50- to 65-passenger coaches. Discover Hawaii Tours (tel: (808) 737 3700 or 1 800 946 4432; www.discoverhawaiitours.com) and E Noa Tours (tel: (808) 591 2561 or 1 800 824 8804; www.enoa.com) also offer tours to the major scenic sights and visitor attractions on Oahu, but use smaller mini-vans.
Boat Tours
The following all organize ocean tours from Honolulu: Alii Kai Catamaran (tel: (808) 954 8652 or 1 866 898 2519; www.robertshawaii.com); Atlantis Navatek Cruises and Atlantis Submarines (tel: (808) 973 9811 or 1 800 548 6262; www.goatlantis.com); Duck Tours (tel: (808) 988 3825 or 1 800 254 4046; www.hawaiiducktours.com) and Star of Honolulu (tel: (808) 983 7827 or 1 800 334 6191; www.starofhonolulu.com).
