Tag: Ohau

Surfing in Hawaii

Because of the swells that roll in from the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii has some great surfing spots. These spots are scattered across hundreds of beaches all over the state of Hawaii. You could literally spend a year surfing these beaches and never have to surf the same spot twice.

The biggest waves in Hawaii are located on the North Shore of the islands. Waves during the winter are typically bigger than the waves during the rest of the year. The island of Oahu is home to some of the world’s largest waves. The north shore of Ohau attracts some of the best surfers in the world and hosts big surfing competitions. Waimea Bay Beach Park draws huge crowds of people there to watch the big wave riders. It’s pretty typical to drive down the main highway and see several photographers just waiting to capture the big one.

These waters have swells that reach to be over thirty feet. Winter winds prevent this from being a swimming beach during these months. The waves pound the beach with a force so hard that it can be heard for miles. The summer months, however, bring a totally different Waimea. The water is usually calm enough for swimmers June through September. Sunset Beach is also another popular winter surfing destination for the same reasons as above… big waves. Lastly, don’t forget about the world famous Banzai Pipeline located at Ehukai Beach. The pipeline attracts world famous surfers to these incredible long tube waves. Be careful, here the water is extremely shallow and these great waves break over top of a coral reef. This can make for treacherous wipeouts. This is not the place for beginners.

Wakiki beach is also another world famous surfing destination, but for much different reasons. Wakiki has long predictable waves that are not nearly as tall or as threatening as their northern counterparts. In fact, Wakiki is a great place for beginner surfers. You can walk up the beach and find tons of different places to take a lesson.

Honolua Bay on Maui is also a popular surfing spot for the experienced surfer. There are lots of great beaches as well as surfing spots in Maui. Lahaina is a great spot for beginners and there are a couple of different surfing schools located here. Because of the strong winds on Maui, it is also a popular destination for wind surfing and kite surfing. Maui even has its very own kite beach. On any given day you can drive by a see the shoreline full of kite boarders, some of whom you’d probably recognize from the magazines.

Hanalei Bay located on the North shore of Kauai also has some great waves. The bay itself is crescent shaped and the waves here are also going to be the biggest during the winter months. The bay makes for some great snorkeling during the summer months.

There are also some great spots to surf and the islands of Hawaii as well as Molokai, they are just not as famous of some of these others. Whatever island you pick you can’t go wrong in Hawaii.

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Hawaii- The Perfect Vacation for Families

Hawaii, translated from the ancient Hawaiian language should mean paradise, because that’s what it is. Hawaii has a climate that varies only several degrees in temperature year round and the sun always shines. The rainy season is in January, but it isn’t so rainy that it deters visitors. In fact, winter is one of the most popular times of year to visit Hawaii. This is probably because it is cold and dreary just about everywhere else in the United States. Hawaii makes for the perfect getaway for Californians because it is only about a three hour flight.

Hawaii makes for a great family vacation because of the wide variety of activities or no activity at all. (if laying on a perfect sandy beach is your thing) All of the islands offer a variety of family friendly activities. Such as swimming or surfing on one of Hawaii’s amazing beaches. Wakiki is a family friendly beach located on the island of Ohau. The waves are long and shallow offering a good family atmosphere. Wakiki is a good place for beginners to learn to surf because the waves or not so treacherous. Because Honolulu is a big city, you can even find fast food to satisfy those hungry youngsters.

While on Ohau, be sure not to miss the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. This memorial is both powerful and sorrowful. After watching a brief movie depicting the horrific attack on Pearl Harbor, visitors will take a short ferry ride out too the memorial. The memorial actually floats on top of the sunken ship. Once you get off the ferry, you can walk back to the wall that lists the name of every person that died that dreaded day in December.

Ohau is also home to the Wakiki Aquarium, the Honolulu zoo, and the Sea life park. The park has a 300,000 gallon tank, where you can see sharks, rays and thousands of reef fish. You can even swim with the dolphins here. The kid’s will love the dolphins.

The island of Maui hosts the Maui Ocean Center, which is the largest tropical aquarium in the United States. Maui is also a good place to windsurf, and has tons of different waterfalls. The resort area of Ka’anapali is located on the western coast of Maui, and is home to the island’s best golf courses. This is where you will find the large high-rise resorts. They have plenty of pools for the kids to swim in. The beach here, however, is not quite as kid friendly as Wakiki Beach. The rip currents can be strong and Maui is much windier that Honolulu. The calmer beach at Kihei, might be a little more kid friendly.

If horsebacking riding is more your style, you should visit either the North Shore of Ohau, or the big island of Hawaii or Kaua’i. Of course, don’t forget the Luau. Luaus make for great family fun and can be found on any of the Hawaiian islands. The fire eaters and beautiful Polynesian dancers are sure to impress kids of all ages. Whatever your idea of family fun, Hawaii is sure to please.

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