Kailua, Hawaii

Best Hawaii Outdoor Adventures,
Trips and Tours in Kailua, Hawaii

Hawaii Outdoors Adventures Photography Tour of Kailua Beach in Oahu, Hawaii

Oahu’s “Kailua” in Hawaii, means “two seas” or “two currents,” and is named after either the two lagoons located on the island or the two currents that run through Kailua Bay. Steady trade winds make Kailua Beach a great windsurfing and kite-flying destination. Kailua Beach Park features pristine white sand and views of the offshore island known as Moko nui or “two islands.”

Hawaii Outdoor Adventures Watching the Sunset in Kailua, Hawaii

Places of note in Kailua include Kailua Beach Park, Lanikai Beach, Kawai Nui Marsh, Maunawili Falls, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii. It was home to Obamas winter white house and also of the famous South African businessman Ridwan Karrim. Many ancient temple ruins, such as those at Ulupo Heiau State Historic Site, are in the area.

Kailua’s Beach is crescent-shaped, about 2.5 miles long, and ranges between 50 and 150 feet wide. The ocean bottom fronting the beach slopes gently to overhead depths without any coral heads.

Light to medium waves support surfing and bodysurfing. The steady trade winds make Kailua Beach a top windsurfing and kitesurfing destination. Robby Naish, first World Champion of windsurfing and Professional Windsurfers Association Hall of Fame inductee, grew up in Kailua.

Kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) to the protected seabird sanctuaries Flat Island and the Nā Mokulua, popularly known as “the Mokes,”have become increasingly popular water activities at the beach.

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Waipahu, Hawaii

Best Hawaii Outdoor Adventures,
Trips and Tours in Waipahu, Hawaii

Hawaii Outdoor Adventures, Tours and Trips in Waipahu, Hawaii

Waipahu is the name of an artesian spring. In Hawaiian, Waipahu is derived from wai, meaning water, and pahū, meaning “burst or explode”; combined, Waipahu means “water forced up (as out of a spring).”

The early Native Hawaiians took pleasure in the cool and clear water gushing from the ground and named this spring Waipahu. Before the Western civilization set foot in Hawaii, the Hawaiians considered Waipahu to be the capital of Oahu. Royalty in the Kingdom of Hawaii would often gather and enjoy the fresh water from the spring Waipahu.

In 1897, Oahu Sugar Company was incorporated, and its board of directors located the sugar mill in Waipahu, but was forced to shut down plantation operations after the 1995 harvest.

In 1973, the City and County of Honolulu and the State of Hawai’i purchased 40 acres opposite the Waipahu sugar mill to establish the Waipahu Cultural and Garden Park. The park is known today as the Hawai’i Plantation Village, which is a living history museum located in Waipahu.

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Kapolei, Hawaii

Best Hawaii Outdoor Adventures,
Trips and Tours Near Kapolei, Hawaii

Hawaii Outdoor Adventures, Tours and Trips in Kapolei, Hawaii

Kapolei is a master-planned community in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is colloquially known as the “second city” of Oahu, in relation to Honolulu.

The community takes its name from a volcanic cone, Puʻu o Kapolei. In the Hawaiian language, puʻu means “hill” and Kapo lei means “beloved Kapo”. According to legend, Kapo, Goddess of Fertility was sister to Pele, Goddess of Fire and Nāmaka, Goddess of the Sea.

Much of the land is part of the estate of industrialist, James Campbell. Kapolei’s major developer is Kapolei Property Development, a subsidiary of James Campbell Company. Kapolei sits primarily upon former sugarcane and pineapple fields.

Kapolei is quickly becoming the second urban center of Oahu, Hawaii’s most densely populated island. Much of Oahu’s future population growth is projected for the Kapolei area, ʻEwa Plain, and southern slopes of the island’s central valley, between Waipahu near Pearl Harbor and Wahiawa near the island’s center.

Kapolei is located at the southern end of the slopes of the Waiʻanae mountain near the neighborhood of Makakilo. It is located on the ʻEwa Plain approximately 25 miles (40 km) from Honolulu. The Interstate H-1 freeway divides more recently developed Kapolei from Makakilo, and traveling eastward on H-1 connects to Waipahu. In the other direction, the freeway ends about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Kapolei, merging into Farrington Highway (State Route 93) to Kahe and then to Nānākuli on the Wai‘anae Coast. Traveling eastward on Farrington Highway connects to Honouliuli. Exit 1 on H-1 is Kalaeloa Boulevard, the entrance to Barbers Point and Campbell Industrial Park. Less than 1 mile beyond (west of) the merge of H-1 and Farrington Highway is an off ramp and overcrossing to the West Oahu resort area of Ko Olina.

To the south, Renton Road connects Kapolei to Kalaeloa and, further east, to ‘Ewa Villages.

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Kahuku, Hawaii

Best Hawaii Outdoor Adventures,
Trips and Tours in Kahuku, Hawaii

Turtle Bay Resort, Kahuku, Hawaii on Oahu Island

Kahuku ( is a small town on Oahu’s northeastern coast, between Laie and Turtle Bay. Even though you can hardly find it on a map, there are still things to do here.

Like shrimp? Then Kahuku is the place to go. Here you’ll find numerous shrimp trucks parked alongside the main street (Kamehameha Highway) that runs through the town. There are several shrimp farms that raise the shrimp right there.

One of the most popular is Giovanni’s. You can’t miss the old white truck right next to the road. Their shrimp tastes great and you can choose from three different flavors – scampi (with garlic), with lemon and butter, or spicy.

In the Hawaiian language, Kahuku means “the projection,” which most probably refers to nearby Kahuku Point, the northernmost point of the island of Oahu. Kahuku Beach is popular among fishermen, but not a good swimming beach because of a long limestone shelf and rocky ocean bottom that makes entering the ocean difficult. The beach is backed by the Kahuku Golf Course.

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Hawaii Outdoor Adventures at Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, HI

Hawaii Outdoor Adventures at Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Oahu, in Hawaii

Waikiki Beach in Honolulu Hawaii at Night with City Lights on the Beach

Waikīkī or Waikiki Beach is a beachfront neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oʻahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The name Waikīkī means “spouting fresh water” in the Hawaiian language, for springs and streams that fed wetlands that once separated Waikīkī from the island’s interior.

Waikiki Beach in Honolulu Looking Towards Diamond Head in Oahu, Hawaii

Waikiki is most famous for Waikīkī Beach, but it is just one of six beaches in the district, the other popular beaches in the area include Queen’s Beach, Kuhio Beach, Gray’s Beach, Fort DeRussy Beach and Kahanamoku Beach.

The area is also home home to other tourism spots such as Kapiʻolani Park, Fort DeRussy, Kahanamoku Lagoon, Kūhiō Beach Park, and Ala Wai Harbor.

One of the most popular vacation spots in Hawaii, Waikiki Beach is the home to many large international resort hotels, such as the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Halekulani, Hyatt Regency Waikīkī, Marriott Waikiki, Sheraton Waikīkī, and historic hotels dating back to the early 20th century such as the Moana Surfrider Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Each year tourists from all over the world flock here to attend surf competitions, outdoor performances, hula dancing and outrigger canoe races.

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