Hawaii the Island of Oahu

The islands of Hawaii are one of my favourite places on earth. Last Christmas instead of going to one island my family and I went on a one week cruise through three of the islands. The cruise departed out of Waikiki, a city on the island of Oahu. During the duration of our cruise we visited Kauai, Kona and Hilo (which are two cities on the big island of Hawaii), and Maui. After experiencing all of the islands I still prefer to stay on the island of Oahu where I have spent many Christmases. The island of Oahu is home to the city of Waikiki located along the shoreline where many of the tourists stay. Although our family stays in the city we prefer to rent a car and travel to different beaches along the island. A wonderful place for snorkelling on Oahu is Hanauma Bay Park. Hanauma Bay, located in the crater of a volcano, is one of the Hawaii's most beautiful bays, with world-class snorkelling and scuba diving. Hawaii is famous for its beautiful beaches from its pounding waves of the North Shore, to the gentle break in Waikiki. On the North Shore, Waimea beach is located in a bay home to at times thirty foot waves. If you are an experienced swimmer it can be a lot of fun. Sunset beach and Banzai beach are also great places for surfing. During December on the North Shore you can catch the Banzai Pipeline surfing competition where you can witness some of the most talented surfers in the world. Besides going to beaches there are many tourist outings you can visit on the island. Sea Life Park and The Honolulu Zoo are wonderful places to take children as they have a wide range of marine and wildlife. If you are interested in history and the culture of Hawaii the Polynesian Cultural Center and Pearl Harbour Memorial Museum are very interesting and education places to visit. Lastly the there is the Dole Pineapple Plantation, Diamond Head Mountain where you can see the beautiful view of Waikiki beach, and Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park which is an awesome waterslide park good for all ages and that you cannot miss. At night in Waikiki there is a wide range of stores to shop at ranging from Gucci to more affordable stores like Billabong and Nine West. As well ABC stores are found on every corner where you can buy almost everything. Along the strip there are many different restaurants including Red Lobster, Cheese Cake Factory and one of my favourites Dukes. I love the island of Oahu and have many memories there; it is a wonderful island to spend Christmas in the south pacific.