With so many places to explore, things to do, and sights to see in Oahu, where do you start? That's where we come in. We'll help you plan your ideal trip, providing information on airlines, seasons, a calendar of events, how to make camping reservations . . . even how to tie the knot.
Oahu is a relatively small island, measuring 26 miles long and some 44 miles across at its widest, totaling 608 square miles of land, with 112 miles of coastline. From outer space, Oahu looks somewhat like a frayed Indian arrowhead with two mountain ridges shoring up each side: the 4,000-foot Waianae Mountains on the leeward (western) coast and the 3,000-foot Koolau Mountains on the windward (eastern) side. At night you can see the lights of suburban Oahu pouring down the mountain valleys and reaching toward the shoreline.
To many, Oahu and its most famous city, Honolulu, are synonymous. In fact, some people think the name of the island is Honolulu, a misnomer further compounded by the island-wide county calling itself the "City and County of Honolulu." Honolulu's best-known neighborhood, Waikiki, is actually quite small, but its spectacular beach and array of resort hotels are what originally put Hawaii on the tourist map.
