Fast Facts

Area Code -- All the Hawaiian Islands are in the 808 area code. Note that if you're calling one island from another, you'll have to dial 1-808 first.

Business Hours -- Most offices are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. Bank hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:30am to 3pm and Friday from 8:30am to 6pm; some banks are open on Saturday as well. Shopping centers are open Monday through Friday 10am to 9pm, Saturday 10am to 5:30pm, and Sunday noon to 5 or 6pm.

Doctors -- If you get sick in Oahu, you can get medical attention in Waikiki from Doctors on Call (tel. 808/971-6000; www.ohwy.com/hi/d/doconcal.htm). They are located at the following hotels in Waikiki: Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach (open 24 hr.), 2335 Kalakaua Ave.; Hilton Hawaiian Village, 2005 Kalia Rd.; and Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 2259 Kalakaua Ave.

If you suffer from a chronic illness, consult your doctor before your departure. Pack prescription medications in your carry-on luggage, and carry them in their original containers, with pharmacy labels -- otherwise, they won't make it through airport security. Visitors from outside the U.S. should carry generic names of prescription drugs. For U.S. travelers, most reliable health-care plans provide coverage if you get sick away from home. Foreign visitors may have to pay all medical costs up front and be reimbursed later.

Drinking Laws -- The legal drinking age in Hawaii is 21. Bars are allowed to stay open daily until 2am; places with cabaret licenses are able to keep the booze flowing until 4am. Grocery and convenience stores are allowed to sell beer, wine, and liquor 7 days a week. Proof of age is required and often requested at bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, so bring ID when you go out.

Do not carry open containers of alcohol in your car or any public area that isn't zoned for alcohol consumption. The police can fine you on the spot. And nothing will ruin your trip faster than getting a citation for DUI ("driving under the influence"), so don't even think about driving while intoxicated.

Electricity -- Like Canada, the United States uses 110 to 120 volts AC (60 cycles), compared with 220 to 240 volts AC (50 cycles) in most of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Downward converters that change 220 to 240 volts to 110 to 120 volts are difficult to find in the United States, so bring one with you.

Embassies & Consulates -- All embassies are located in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Some consulates are located in major U.S. cities, and most nations have a mission to the United Nations in New York City. If your country isn't listed below, call for directory information in Washington, D.C. (tel. 202/555-1212) or log on to www.embassy.org/embassies.

The embassy of Australia is at 1601 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202/797-3000; www.usa.embassy.gov/au). There are consulates in New York, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

The embassy of Canada is at 501 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001 (tel. 202/682-1740; www.canadianembassy.org). Other Canadian consulates are in Buffalo (New York), Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle.

The embassy of Ireland is at 2234 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202/462-3939; www.embassyofireland.org). Irish consulates are in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and other cities. See website for complete listing.

The embassy of New Zealand is at 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202/328-4800; www.nzembassy.com). New Zealand consulates are in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Seattle.

The United Kingdom's embassy is at 3100 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202/588-6500; www.britainusa.com). Other British consulates are in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Emergencies -- Dial tel. 911 for police, fire, or ambulance. The Poison Control Center is tel. 800/222-1222.

Gasoline (Petrol) -- At press time, the cost of gasoline in Hawaii was abnormally high. Taxes are already included in the printed price. One U.S. gallon equals 3.8 liters or .85 imperial gallons. Fill-up locations are known as gas stations or service stations. As we went to press, "regular" gas was averaging $4.15 a gallon and premium gas was $4.95.

Hospitals -- Hospitals offering 24-hour emergency care include Queens Medical Center, 1301 Punchbowl St. (tel. 808/538-9011); Kuakini Medical Center, 347 Kuakini St. (tel. 808/536-2236); Straub Clinic and Hospital, 888 S. King St. (tel. 808/522-4000); Kaiser Moanalua, 3288 Moanalua Rd. (tel. 808/432-0000); Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, 1319 Punahou St. (tel. 808/983-8633); and Kapiolani Medical Center, at Pali Momi, 98-1079 Moanalua Rd. (tel. 808/486-6000). Central Oahu has Wahiawa General Hospital, 128 Lehua St. (tel. 808/621-8411). On the windward side is Castle Medical Center, 640 Ulukahiki St., Kailua (tel. 808/263-5500).

Insurance -- If you think your travel plans may change, you might want to look into travel insurance. For information on traveler's insurance, trip-cancellation insurance, and medical insurance while traveling, please visit www.frommers.com/planning.

Legal Aid -- If you are "pulled over" for a minor infraction (such as speeding), never attempt to pay the fine directly to a police officer; this could be construed as attempted bribery, a much more serious crime. Pay fines by mail, or directly into the hands of the clerk of the court. If accused of a more serious offense, say and do nothing before consulting a lawyer. Here the burden is on the state to prove a person's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and everyone has the right to remain silent, whether he or she is suspected of a crime or actually arrested. Once arrested, a person can make one telephone call to a party of his or her choice. International visitors should call your embassy or consulate. Call the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, 924 Bethel St., Honolulu, HI 96813 (tel. 808/536-4302).

Mail -- At press time, domestic postage rates were 28¢ for a postcard and 44¢ for a letter. For international mail, a first-class letter of up to 1 ounce costs 75¢ to 98¢ (depending on the destination); a first-class postcard costs 98¢ (75¢ to Canada and 79¢ to Mexico). For more information, go to www.usps.com.

If you aren't sure what your address will be in the United States, mail can be sent to you, in your name, c/o General Delivery at the main post office of the city or region where you expect to be. The downtown Honolulu Post Office is at 335 Merchant St., Honolulu, HI 96813-9998. (Or call tel. 800/275-8777 for information on the nearest post office.) The addressee must pick up mail in person and must produce proof of identity (driver's license, passport, and so on). Most post offices will hold mail for up to 1 month, and are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, and Saturday from 9am to 3pm. Always include zip codes when mailing items in the U.S.

Newspapers and Magazines -- The Honolulu Star Advertiser is Oahu's daily newspaper, it can be found at newspaper racks all over the island. Midweek, Pacific Business News, and Honolulu Weekly are weekly papers. Honolulu Weekly, available free at restaurants, clubs, shops, bookstores, and newspaper racks around Oahu, is the best source for what's going on around town. It features discriminating restaurant reviews and an informed critique of the nightclub scene, plus a weekly Calendar of Events.

Police -- Call tel. 911 for police, fire, or ambulance.

Smoking -- Hawaii has one of the toughest laws against smoking in the U.S. It's against the law to smoke in public buildings, including airports, shopping malls, grocery stores, retail shops, buses, movie theaters, banks, convention facilities, and all government buildings and facilities. There is no smoking in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Most bed-and-breakfasts prohibit smoking indoors; more and more hotels and resorts are becoming nonsmoking, even in public areas. If you want to smoke outside, you must not be within 20 feet of a doorway, window, or ventilation intake. (No hanging around outside a bar to smoke; you must go 20 ft. away.) Even some beaches have no-smoking policies (and on those that allow smoking, you'd better pick up your butts and not use the sand as your own private ashtray -- or face stiff fines). In Hawaii, breathing fresh clean air is "in" and smoking is "out."

Taxes -- The United States has no value-added tax (VAT) or other indirect tax at the national level. Every state, county, and city may levy its own local tax on all purchases, including hotel and restaurant checks and airline tickets. These taxes will not appear on price tags. Hawaii's sales tax on Oahu is 4.17%, which will be added to every purchase. You hotel bill will have the sales tax, plus hotel-occupancy tax of 9.25%, and hoteliers are allowed by the state to tack on an additional .51% excise tax. Thus, expect taxes of about 13.93% to be added to your hotel bill.

Time -- The continental United States is divided into four time zones: Eastern Standard Time (EST), Central Standard Time (CST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), and Pacific Standard Time (PST). Alaska and Hawaii have their own zones. Hawaii is 2 hours behind Pacific Standard Time and 5 hours behind Eastern Standard Time. In other words, when it's noon in Hawaii, it's 2pm in California and 5pm in New York during Standard Time on the mainland.

Daylight saving time takes effect at 2am the second Sunday in March until 2am the first Sunday in November, except in Arizona, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Daylight saving moves the clock 1 hour ahead of standard time. When daylight saving time is in effect on the mainland, Hawaii is 3 hours behind the West Coast and 6 hours behind the East Coast; when it's noon in Hawaii, it's 3pm in California and 6pm in New York.

Hawaii is east of the International Date Line, putting it on the same day as the U.S. mainland and Canada, and a day behind Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

For help with time translations, and more, download our convenient Travel Tools app for your mobile device. Go to www.frommers.com/go/mobile and click on the Travel Tools icon.

Tipping -- Tips are a very important part of certain workers' income, and gratuities are the standard way of showing appreciation for services provided. (Tipping is certainly not compulsory if the service is poor!) In hotels, tip bellhops at least $1 per bag ($2-$3 per bag if you have a lot of luggage) and tip the chamber staff $1 to $2 per day (more if you've left a disaster area for him or her to clean up). Tip the doorman or concierge only if he or she has provided you with some specific service (for example, calling a cab for you or obtaining difficult-to-get theater tickets). Tip the valet-parking attendant $1 to $2 every time you get your car.

In restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, tip service staff 15% to 20% of the check, tip bartenders 10% to 15%, and tip valet-parking attendants $1 to $2 per vehicle.

As for other service personnel, tip cab drivers 15% of the fare; tip skycaps at airports at least $1 per bag ($2-$3 if you have a lot of luggage); and tip hairdressers and barbers 15% to 20%.

Toilets -- You won't find public toilets or "restrooms" on the streets in most U.S. cities but they can be found in hotel lobbies, bars, restaurants, museums, department stores, railway and bus stations, and service stations. Large hotels and fast-food restaurants are often the best bets for clean facilities. If possible, avoid the toilets at parks and beaches, which tend to be dirty; some may be unsafe. Restaurants and bars in resorts or heavily visited areas may reserve their restrooms for patrons.

Water -- The water is safe to drink on the island of Oahu, as well as the rest of the state.