Dream Destinations – Hawaii

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For many people, the hardest of the US states to visit is Hawaii simple because of it’s location in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. But for those that have been fortunate enough to have visited these Hawaiian islands, they know that they have had a real treat because of the beautiful landscape and near perfect climate there.

I would urge anyone that has never visited Hawaii to add this to your bucket list, just like we have because when you see some of the following attractions and locations on offer, you will soon realize this is a place you have to visit!

Here are our top 5 reasons for visiting the appropriately name ‘Islands of Aloha’.

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Located on the island of Oahu, Pearl Harbor is a world-recognized attraction that was once host to the tragic events of the bombings that took place during World War II. This site is also the location of the USS Arizona Memorial and I am convinced that touring this site would be a sombre yet extremely rewarding experience. While the actual harbor is fairly large in size and can, the Visitor’s Center and USS Memorial are the real tourist hubs. Both places are free to enter, and of course because of this both draw large volumes of visitors!

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

volcano

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is home to two of the world’s most renowned volcanoes – Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Today, the national park displays the results of active eruptions from these volcanoes and how they have formed the beautiful landscape that they reside on. The true character of this national park is best discovered on foot, as with over 150 miles of trails in the park, exploration by walking and hiking is both a beautiful and enjoyable experience.

Haiku Stairs

stairway-to-heaven

Commonly known as the ‘Stairway to Heaven’, the Haiku Stairs are located on the island of Oahu and is a steep hiking trail that challenges even the most serious of hikers. The stairs are made up of a series of galvanized-steel ship ladders that run from the Hawaiian valley floor to the top of Puu Keahiakahoe providing stunning scenery and views of the surrounding Hawaiian islands.

Hawaiian Beaches

Lanikai_Beach_Hawaii

It wouldn’t be a trip to Hawaii without experiencing the beautiful, golden sandy beaches that represent the islands as we know them. Of course, I am sure we are all aware of the world famous Waikiki Beach on Oahu but there are others that equally as aesthetically appealing to the eye such as Ho’okipa Beach on Maui, North Shore and Lanika on Oahu and Poipu Beach on Kauai.

Waimea Canyon State Park

Waimea_Canyon

Described as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”, Waimea Canyon State Park is a geological masterpiece 10 miles long and an area with stunning views everywhere. Known for its reddish lava beds, Waimea clearly has the Arizona feel to it but with a Hawaiian twist due to the earthquake activity that has taken place within the region producing the channels and streams that flow out of the canyon and into the Pacific Ocean.

***This post is part of the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge (#DreamDestinations #AtoZChallenge)***

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Chris Boothmanhttps://abritandasoutherner.com
Chris Boothman is the co-founder of A Brit and A Southerner. Born near Manchester, England, Chris moved to USA in 2006 where he soon after met his wife and travel partner in crime, Heather. They have since embarked on an amazing journey of travel as they challenge others to follow in their paths of working full-time but also being able to travel frequently! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Chris at [email protected]

20 COMMENTS

  1. I have a cousin who lives in Hawaii… I should visit him.

    I never would have expected a site like those canyons, though. Really cool.

    • There are a lot of amazing natural landscapes in Hawaii that would be awesome to explore, but for me it has to be those volcanoes that are top of the list!

  2. We love hiking so think we would have to challenge ourselves to the Haiku stairs. I think this destination is one many people’s list it’s another thing actually getting there though…definitely not the cheapest destinAtion! 🙂

  3. I can’t get enough of Hawaii, there’s so much to see and explore there. I just recently wrote a post about hiking in Hawaii Valcanoes National Park, it’s fantastic! I think my next visit though is to spend some time on Oahu. Not only does my cousin live there but the Haiku Stairs are calling my name. I’m not an experienced hiker but the challenge would be fun and something tells me the views would be worth it. Fun Post!

  4. A surprise for H – at least I was surprised when I saw it 🙂

    I’ve never really given Hawaii much thought – besides the fact that it’s where my parents’ honeymooned and a few friends have escaped the cold there for a week or two in the winter. I guess I just always thought it was like the rest of the US, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

    I’m digging myself into a bit of a hole here so I’ll just say the photos look amazing and I’m considering giving Hawaii a second look. 🙂

    • Always like to throw a few surprises in there Calli! I have to admit that much of the continental United States is much the same in some respects, at least throughout the central plains (states such as Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee etc.) and I can vouch for that from personal experience of living in several of them.

      However, there is also so much beauty in some states around USA, Hawaii being one of them. I have the goal of visiting all 50 states and am assuming that Hawaii will likely be one of the latter ones to visit given the accessibility issues.

      I would certainly give Hawaii a second chance because you may just be surprised that it is very different than many US states that we all commonly know about!

  5. I’d really like to visit Hawaï one day! When you tell people about Hawaï here in Europe, they always think it’s just about the beaches but it seems there’s a lot to see.

    • I completely agree with you. Before I came to the States, I was under that exact same impression with the stereotype of Hawaii just being about beaches. You know even here in the States many folks are very gullible and don’t realize that Hawaii has so much more to offer than just pristine, golden white beaches (of course they are an attraction as well).

  6. You need to get to Hawaii soon! I went with my husband last summer and it was absolutely breathtaking! We decided to go to Maui and Kauai, but already want to go back to explore more of the islands! There is just SO much to do its ridiculous! Now we want to retire on Maui!

    • I recall seeing all of your great photos and experiences in Hawaii and was particularly envious at the time and I think it gave me a little more inspiration to try and get over there sooner rather than later. I have a goal of hitting all 50 states so of course Hawaii is going to be one of the more difficult ones to achieve but we will get there for sure!

  7. Those stairs made me dizzy…even though it was just a picture. Goodness you must have a very expensive camera to get some of those shots. I have a quick aim and shoot. Small easy to hold or put in my purse etc. I’ve never wanted to go to Hawaii, hubby does though; so it’s on our list. Had a really hard time finding your blog. After about 5 clicks I made it. Google plus pages are a maize. Please leave the url to your actual blog post not the google plus page. I kept hitting all the blogs you’ve left comments on before, through process of elimination I actual got to your blog. You can use the name and url drop down feature easily or leave a hyperlink. In either case though, people are able to find you easier (most won’t keep at it like I did) if you leave the actual url to your blog post it’s only 1 click away, instead of 5 or 6.

    • Thanks so much for pointing that out Sandy about our comments on your site! I actually realized after I had posted a few that they were redirecting to my Google+ page which I guess gives hits to that but we all want traffic to our website rather than just social media networks.

  8. Po’ipu beach on Kauai is fabulous, as was Ke’e beach. Hawaii was an amazing place. It is like a foreign country one moment due to it’s exotic climate, but then you come across a Costco.

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