This historic hotel first opened in 1928, and over the decades it has hosted presidents, royalty, celebrities, and other members of the jet-setting elite.



While on the island of Oahu, there are a few must-do activities for visitors, no matter how touristy. And yes, that includes a traditional luau complete with roasted pigs, fire dancers and a hula performance.

You ll also want to check out a torch-lighting ceremony with hula dancers. And for an amazing view of the famous Hawaiian sunsets, get off the beach and into the water on a dinner cruise. Several ships are docked at Aloha Tower and Kewalo Basin including the Ali I Kai, the world s largest Polynesian catamaran. Once the sun has set, you get to enjoy you guessed it a hula dance.

But we wanted to look beyond hula and checked in with a crew of locals including Hawaii native Lianne Thompson, associate editor of Modern Luxury Hawai i magazine, surf legend Hawaiian Mike Goodrich, local historian Bill Souza and more to find out some of their top picks for island activities.

In the hula department, a great time to visit Honolulu is for the annual World Invitational Hula Festival. Every November, this unique World Invitational Hula Festival invites people from all over the world to experience and celebrate Hawaiian culture through performance of the hula.

Another can t-miss cultural experience is the Aloha Festivals, which is Hawaii s oldest and largest statewide celebration featuring food, music, hula performances, ukulele contests, and live entertainment. It was originally created in 1946 to mimic the Makahiki celebration season (Hawaiian New Year), which honored the Hawaiian god Lono.

BEACHING WITH THE LOCALS

Most visitors are attracted to Waikiki Beach, but Lianne Thompson grew up going to Kailua. In fact, this secluded beach town located about 15 miles northeast of Honolulu is such a favorite among locals that they d probably prefer to keep it a secret.

DINING OUT

Drive up the coast from Kailua toward the North Shore for a real treat: Hawaiian shrimp trucks! They re sort of like the Hawaiian version of taco trucks.

REAL SOUVENIR SHOPPING

Don t get stuck buying aloha shirts or dancing hula girl dolls. Instead, you can pick up items that combine Hawaii s ancient traditions with fashion-forward trends: The family-run Muumuu Heaven is an island favourite, where vintage muumuus are deconstructed and refashioned into one-of-a-kind dresses and tops in modern silhouettes.