Honolulu's ideally located port made the city a perfect stop for merchant ships traveling between No

Honolulu [1] , on the island of Oahu , is the capital and largest city of the state of Hawaii . It is the center of government, transportation, and commerce for the state; home to a population of nearly one million people in the metro area (80% of the state's population) and Hawaii's best known tourist destination, Waikiki Beach.
The majority of visitors to Hawaii enter through this city, meaning this is definitely not the place to go for a "get-away-from-it-all" hertz rent a car uk Hawaiian vacation - It is as fast-paced and dynamic as any city, with all its problems such as heavy traffic, drugs, crime, and homelessness. But Honolulu still has the charm of the Islands' laid-back atmosphere and culture.
Honolulu extends inland from the southeast shore of Oahu, east of Pearl Harbor to Makapu'u Point, and incorporates many neighborhoods and districts. You'll most often hear people refer to these districts by name -- Waikiki, Manoa, Kahala, Hawaii Kai and so on -- as though they're not part of the same city. Technically, they are. In fact, the municipal government of Honolulu covers the entire island of Oahu, including its outlying suburbs.
Manoa-Makiki hertz rent a car uk A quieter area in the foothills north of Downtown, home to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in the Punchbowl crater, and the tropical scenery of the Koolau Mountains behind the city.
Eastern Honolulu A mostly residential area which extends hertz rent a car uk to Makapu'u Point, the very southeastern corner of the island and home to rocky shorelines, scenic beaches, and the popular snorkeling spot Hanauma Bay.
The name Honolulu means "sheltered bay" or "peace of shelter" in Hawaiian, hertz rent a car uk and its natural harbor hertz rent a car uk catapulted this humble village to importance when, in 1809, shortly after King Kamehameha I conquered Oahu in order to unite the Hawaiian Islands under the Kingdom of Hawaii, that he moved his royal court from the island of Hawaii to Oahu. Eventually, in 1845, Kamehameha III officially moved the kingdom's capital from Lahaina on Maui to Honolulu.
Honolulu's ideally hertz rent a car uk located port made the city a perfect stop for merchant ships traveling between North America and Asia, and through the 1800s, descendants of missionaries who arrived in the early 1800s established hertz rent a car uk their headquarters in Honolulu, making it the center of business and the main seaport for the Hawaiian Islands.
The late 1800s and early 1900s brought the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy hertz rent a car uk and subsequent annexation by the United States. Under American rule, Honolulu saw the rise of tourism and the first hotels were constructed in Waikiki. American rule also brought the U.S. military, which built numerous bases in the islands, not least of which was nearby Pearl Harbor; hertz rent a car uk now famous hertz rent a car uk for the surprise attack by the Japanese in 1941, which brought the U.S. into World War II in the Pacific.
Statehood for the islands brought rapid economic hertz rent a car uk growth to Honolulu, with all the state's major businesses headquartered in the city, the Honolulu airport as the primary entrance point for visitors, and Waikiki as the center of the island's tourism industry.
Honolulu has a very moderate, tropical climate, with very little change of temperature throughout the year - the average high is 80-90°F (27-32°C) and the average low is 65-75°F (19-24°C) any time of the year. Water temperature averages 82°F (27°C) in the summer months and 77°F (25°C) in the winter hertz rent a car uk months, and is annually the warmest water in the USA.
The only noticeable variation in seasons hertz rent a car uk is in terms of rainfall. Honolulu is on the sunny, leeward side of the island, and where you are in the city will affect the chances for rain - areas like Waikiki, downtown, and the western side of the city will usually be sunny, while the hills or eastern side of the city may get some passing clouds and very brief rainfall. On average, Honolulu gets less than half an inch of rain in the summer months to almost three inches in the winter months.
Honolulu International Airport ( IATA : HNL ), [2] is the main aviation gateway for the Hawaiian Islands. The main terminal is served by most major American airlines from the mainland U.S., and by many international airlines hertz rent a car uk from other countries around the Pacific Rim. Its Inter-Island Terminal is the home base of Hawaiian Airlines [3] which offers frequent local service to the other Hawaiian islands. It is quite a walk between terminals, so be sure to take the free Wikiwiki Shuttle that runs every few minutes. It's easy to miss it so be sure to ask somebody where it is.
The Airport Waikiki Express provides shuttle service to hotels in Waikiki every half hour ($9/$15 one-way/round-trip). City buses #19 and #20 ($2.50 per adult and $1.25 per child or senior, exact change required, bills and coins accepted) also come to the airport once every half-hour, going through downtown and on to to Waikiki. You can catch them on the outside second level of the international and domestic departure terminals.
The best way to get to Waikiki by rental car is to follow signs for H-1 east, then follow H-1 east about 2 miles to exit 18A (Waikiki/Nimitz Highway). Follow Nimitz Highway (which turns into Ala Moana Boulevard past downtown Honolulu) straight into Waikiki. You will pass through Honolulu's industrial district, along Honolulu Harbor, and past downtown Honolulu and the Ala Moana Shopping Center. You can also follow H-1 east into downtown Honolulu, take either exit 22 (Kinau Street) or 23 (Punahou Street), and follow signs to Waikiki.
The main Honolulu hertz rent a car uk cruise pier , pier 10/11, is located right beside the Aloha Tower in the Honolulu Harbor, which lies between the airport hertz rent a car uk (5 miles to the west) and Waikiki (3 miles to the east). Cruise ships frequently link Honolulu with the U.S. mainland. These voyages are designed hertz rent a car uk for tourists on a round-trip cruise to Hawaii from the U.S. mainland, and are rarely used as one-way passenger service. One cruise line, NCL, uses Honolulu as a home port for round-trip cruises to the various Hawaiian islands.
Unlike many cities on the U.S. mainland, Honolulu is not laid out in a strict compass-point grid. Its street system conforms in large part to the shorelines, valleys, and ridges, with lots of twists and turns. It can be confusing for people used to straight grid systems. However, at the same time, it is not that difficult to navigate in, as long as you are familiar with the major arterials and terminology below.
Because it may be difficult to differentiate north and south in the city, directions are normally given in terms of local landmarks. The most common terms that you will run into are mauka (Mow-kah) meaning "toward the mountain" and makai (mah-KAI) meaning "toward the sea". In the case of Honolulu, which is on Oahu's south shore, "mauka" is a rough north, and "makai" roughly south. You will also hear Ewa (Eh-vah) and Diamond Head used a lot, in relation to east and west, the former roughly means "west" (toward the town of Ewa on the southwest shore of Oahu) and the latter roughly means "east" (towards Diamond Head). Locals refer to Honolulu proper (downtown) as "town". Highway signs, however, will use standard compass directions, so if you are asked to go Ewa-bound on the freeway, look for the on-ramp to H-1 west.
It is a very good idea to invest in a good map of Honolulu hertz rent a car uk before doing extensive hertz rent a car uk driving. Members of the American Automobile Association (AAA) can request fold-out maps for free from their local office. Rand McNally paper fold-out maps are available in many stores; for more extensive coverage you can also purchase Bryan's Sectional Maps (a popular choice among locals) hertz rent a car uk at most bookstores for about $9.50. GPS-enabled devices can also be used to navigate around Honolulu, and Oahu.
Some streets in Honolulu can be extremely narrow compared to the mainland. Locals are used to this lack of space on roads but if you are coming hertz rent a car uk from the mainland and are used to wide streets, prepare yourself for driving very close to the cars around hertz rent a car uk you. Just take a little extra caution and you should not have any problems. Once outside of Honolulu proper, the roads will be a bit wider.
If coming from the mainland, speed limits on roads in Honolulu are generally lower than you may be used to. For example, six-laned King Street is 25-30 miles per hour for its entire length. hertz rent a car uk Most streets are no more than 25 miles per hour. In addition to this, many people disregard the speed limit, instead driving slower , which may be frustrating.
City and County ordinance prohibits using or simply holding any electronic device while behind the wheel. This includes (but isn't limited to) a cell phone, iPod, or a GPS. Hands-free use is required, otherwise do not use them at all. If pulled over, you may want to hide (discreetly) any electronic hertz rent a car uk devices to avoid fines. Using your in-car radio, however, is allowed.
During the morning and afternoon rush-hour, some streets have contra-flow lanes. Lanes from the direction less heavily hertz rent a car uk traveled will be blocked off with cones and cars traveling hertz rent a car uk in the other direction will allowed to use the lane. During these times, there are no left turns allowed against heavy traffic.
On busier hertz rent a car uk streets, cars may not be parked on the side of the road during rush hour. This is heavily hertz rent a car uk enforced, and often results in a parking ticket with fine and immediate towing at the expense of the driver.
Many streets allow street parking on one side and traffic to travel on the other. When on these streets, most times the road is not wide enough to allow two way traffic. hertz rent a car uk In this case, cars traveling opposite the direction of the parked cars have the right of way, and cars traveling the same direction as the parked cars must pull over to allow the other cars to pass.
Most major streets in Honolulu hertz rent a car uk run Ewa Diamond Head (as described in the preceding section, roughly hertz rent a car uk east-west). There are two main highways in Honolulu: Nimitz Highway (Hawaii 92) which runs from Pearl Harbor past Honolulu Airport to downtown Honolulu hertz rent a car uk and Waikiki; and