First-time visitors to Hawaii usually come to the world-famous beach at Waikiki in Honolulu on the island of Oahu. This is where surfing on long boards was invented by Hawaii's kings and first witnessed by European sailors. Over five million people visit this area yearly as Waikiki is the center of the hotel and convention district for the Hawaiian Islands. Originally, Waikiki was a barrier beach backed by swamps, but the wetlands were filled during the construction of the Ala Wai Canal in 1922, making the area dry and livable. Today, the two-mile beach is lined with landmark, historic hotels as well as modern high rises, offering round-the-clock activities in this heartbeat beach of Hawaii.

Waikiki Beach is protected by an offshore, fringing coral reef. Breakers on the reef provide for good surfing and knock down the big waves, making the nearshore water safe year-round for swimming. The scenery is spectacular; the most often photographed view in Hawaii is of Waikiki Beach and the Diamond Head crater in the background. Beach erosion has been a continuing problem, and sand has been imported from Molokai Island and elsewhere. This white, fine coral sand beach needs another fill as waves now hit seawalls at high tide, and the beach is no longer continuous. More problematic for swimmers are coral heads and rock outcrops on the underwater beach face which can result in stubbed toes.

One of the favorite activities is to watch the sun set over the water - nature's most gorgeous curtain call. The fishing pier near the Honolulu yacht harbor is a good place to meet up with a friendly crowd of observers. Looking westward over the ocean horizon on a cloudless night, you might be fortunate enough to see the "green flash." I saw it once, just for a few seconds; I even tried to take a picture of this unique phenomenon, but the color slide just didn't capture the moment. The green flash is related to the scattering of sunlight by the atmosphere. When the sun is directly overhead on a cloudless day, the sky is blue because this short wavelength light is the most scattered by the earth's atmosphere. When the sun sets, the rays of light must pass through a thicker atmosphere to reach the same point on the ground. The green light should next be seen, but red is so overpowering that this color is rarely displayed in the atmosphere. Even if you don't see the elusive green flash, it is always enjoyable to experience the sunset's golden afterglow in a tropical environment.

Ala Moana is best known as the shopping mall of Hawaii, but this mile-long beach in downtown Honolulu is also one of the best in Oahu for swimming. It might be tempting to drop your kids off at the beach while you shop at the adjacent mall, but children should never be left alone on any beach. The calm waters of this swimming area were originally carved out of the coral reef rock for a boat basin so that the shallow water suddenly drops off into a deep channel. The sand was imported from nearby Yokohama Bay to create the beach. This 76-acre beach park is a good place to take a swim or cool your heels under the shade of banyan and palm trees.

Hanauma Bay Beach Park provides the best snorkeling in Hawaii in the safe, calm waters protected by an offshore reef. Tropical fish and other sea critters are plentiful in these protected waters of the first marine life conservation area in Hawaii. The small, palm-studded beach is situated in the crater of a ocean-breached volcano, making for an idyllic place to spend the day sunbathing, swimming, snorkeling, or scuba diving. The white coral sand is accentuated by the azure blue water and underwater coral in the nearshore area. Occasionally there is a strong rip current running through the central gap in the coral reef, but the close-in waters are always calm and safe. Walking on the ledges around the volcanic rim can be dangerous as people are sometimes surprised by an unexpected big rogue or "sleeper" wave (see Beach Safety). Come early in order to avoid the crowds; the parking lot fills up by mid-morning.

One of the dangerous beach conditions for swimming is caused by shorebreaks, when big waves reach close to shore and then break into shallow water right on the beach face. Such wave conditions have the capacity to pick you up and drive you head first into the beach; the violent action can cause many injuries, including death due to a broken neck. A good place to see shorebreaks so that you can recognize these dangerous conditions is at Sandy Beach Park. Local youths have learned how to body surf in these steep, hard-hitting waves that pound the beach, but even experts have been hurt here. Many saves by lifeguards have been made because children and elderly swimmers get caught off guard playing at the water's edge; the strong backwash of the big waves then sweeps them seaward into the wall of crashing water known as a shorebreak. My best advise is to look but don't touch; this is not a beach for trying your luck.

Kailua Beach Park on the "windward" shore of Oahu is one of the best places to swim in the clear azure waters. Because of the steady onshore wind and shallow waters, Kailua is a great place to learn to windsurf. The beach gradually slopes offshore, and there are no hazardous water conditions. In the typical laid-back Hawaiian fashion, there are no signs to this beach or really to most beaches throughout the island chain. This 30-acre beach park has ample parking, shade trees, and wide, sandy beaches. The fine coral sand makes great sandcastles, and the University of Hawaii's School of Architecture holds their annual sandcastle building contest here. Kailua Beach also hosts a 4K foot race, the only such event run on a Hawaiian beach. There are no food concessions or hotels; most visitors stay at one of the many, top quality B&Bs in the nearby town of Kailua.

Lanikai Beach is one of America's Best Beaches. On sunny days, the clear, emerald-green water is unbelievably beautiful (see cover photo), and I always have to go in for a swim. People are invariably intrigued by the water coloration, caused by the rare combination of white, highly reflective sand and very clean and perfectly clear, shallow water through which the sun shines and is reflected. Lanikai has the perfect combination of sand and water, making it one of the prettiest beaches in the world. The beach scene is framed by two offshore islands, making Lanikai a picture-perfect beach. An advertising agency even used a picture of Lanikai Beach in a commercial for Australia, not that this down-under continent doesn't sport some world-class beaches of its own. This turquoise lagoon is excellent for swimming, and there is good snorkeling further offshore around the coral heads. Past the two, picturesque offshore islands, the water drops off into abyssal depths, where the denizens of the deep lurk, and the sea water turns from green to blue.

Lanikai Beach is nearly a mile long, but the beach width varies from nonexistent in front of seawalls to over 100 feet wide. Parking is permitted on the roadside, and three rights-of-way provide beach access for the public in this otherwise private beachside community. Erosion is a major problem; the public beach is being squeezed out by landowners building seawalls to preserve their private property.

The north shore of Oahu is the surfing capital of the world. Waimea Bay is internationally known for having the largest ridable surfing waves in the world. This U-shaped pocket beach at the mouth of Waimea Bay valley is bounded by hillsides, which makes great viewing of these terrific and terrifying breakers. Using a telephoto lens from this side vantage viewpoint, you can photograph surfers who are completely engulfed in the tube, surrounded by a swirling, rapid forward-moving plunging breaker. During the winter, waves breaking on the offshore reef provide some of the most awesome and dangerous surf imaginable. The opening and closing scenes of the tremendous waves rolling ashore in the once popular TV series "Hawaii Five-O" were filmed at Waimea. Lifeguards use jet skis for rescues, but they must pick their entry time just right between mountainous seas that can tower more than 40 feet high. During the summertime these same waters can be as quiet as a lagoon. The contrast is startling, and it makes you wonder if you are really at the same place. While swimming is a pleasure in the summer, don't even think about getting into the water from approximately September to April.

Other great beaches for surfing along the north shore of Oahu include Sunset Beach and Banzai Pipeline Beach. Two-mile Sunset is the longest beach along this shore, and it is over 200 feet wide during the summer months. The thundering waves that crash ashore in the winter erode much of the beach; the white coral sand moves alongshore by the strong currents and offshore by the killer rip currents. The Banzai Pipeline is actually a part of Sunset Beach, where the waves behave in a particular way to the delight of surfing enthusiasts. When the big winter swell waves come out of the deep ocean water and strike the shallow coral shelf, which here extends just a few hundred feet offshore, the waves incredibly grow within seconds to monstrous size. The waves are so steep that the tops are thrown forward as they break, forming an almost perfect tube or "pipeline" in surfer terminology. This beach stirs the imagination as brave surfers perform death-defying feats. Swimming is unthinkable in the winter, and strong currents can even be encountered during the rest of the year. It is best to leave this beach to the expert surfers.

There are no "proper" beach parks along the north shore, just pull-offs along the main highway. Surf shops and roadside stands, where bananas, mangoes, papayas, coconuts, and pineapples can be purchased, dominate this funky, rural scene. During the summer there is little action, but when the surf is up, this place comes to life. Hopefully, this area will always remain true to its surfing roots and never become commercialized.

Ihilani is Oahu's newest posh beach destination. Three depressions, cut out of the lava rock to form a series of pocket beaches, were filled with imported white coral sand. The opening to the sea for each beach was engineered to allow some gentle wave action and flushing of the water, but the orifice was kept small enough that the water would never be dangerous and hopefully the sand would not be washed away. A top-quality resort and beach oasis have been created along Oahu's otherwise desolate west coast. A special treat is the thalassotherapy (healing by the sea) massage, where hundreds of underwater jets spray salty ocean water at your body.

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