Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach, Pearl Harbor - these names evoke feeling of magic, mystery, drama and history, and they are all located in Honolulu. The capital of Hawaii, this city not only offers some of the best beaches along side big-city skyscrapers, there are also parks, fabulous shopping, the only royal palace in America, the Arizona Memorial in the harbor at Pearl City, the Polynesian Cultural Center and more.
Historic Lahaina was once a rough-and-tumble whaling town in days gone by. Today visitors come to watch, not hunt, the humpbacks in Lanai Channel. Ascend through waving sugar cane fields to the summit of Haleakala for sweeping views over its vast dormant crater and of this beautiful island. Or, ride a tram through the Tropical Plantation on its slopes.
This quaint port was named for the wiliwili trees that grow here in profusion. Known as the Garden Isle, Kauai claims the wettest spot on earth - Mount Waialeale, with 486 inches of rain per year. All this rain makes lush vegetation, taro, pineapple and sugar plantations, famous Fern Grotto and a huge variety of native flora. You may also visit Waimea, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and Sprouting Hole, a blowhole that sends a geyser 50 feet into the air. Or, enjoy a swim at the very beach where the movie South Pacific was filmed!
In Vancouver, you're never out of sight of towering peaks--or of the sea. It is a prosperous city adorned with flowers lining the streets and lush greenery like Stanley Park. Museums offer fine collections of the dramatic Northwest native arts. Vancouver's Chinatown is the second-largest in the world. The waterfront Gastown district recalls the city's colorful past as a premier Pacific port since the days of the Clipper ships.