Honolulu - Hawaii is a dream destination for many: white sandy beaches and clear blue waters, palms swaying in a gentle breeze and year-round temperatures of 28º.
The islands in the Pacific are above all seen as a place for the physically active vacationer – hiking, mountain climbing, scuba diving and surfing are among those things that draw people from around the globe.
But what about families? Is Hawaii a destination for visiting with children? It’s not exactly a cheap holiday. Rooms for below $100 (about R1 573) a night are virtually non-existent, and travellers must realistically think more along the lines of $200 a night. For families, the answer is to rent a holiday apartment.
But the satisfaction is evident: tasty cuisine, fascinating nature, different climate zones, a rich history, and beaches like something straight from a travel brochure.
Waikiki beach is always filled with people but never overcrowded. Narrow lanes among the sunbathers are there for surfers making their way to and from the ocean, and surfing schools are plenty for those who want to learn the sport.
This includes children, who must wear swim vests and be at least 10 years old.
Away from the beach, the biggest single tourism attraction is Pearl Harbour. On December 7, 1941, a Japanese air attack not only destroyed the US Navy fleet there, but also dragged the US into World War II.
Visitors to the site first watch a documentary film, one that gives a fair picture of the attackers. But the film is not suited to small children. After the film, boats take visitors to the spot where the battleship USS Arizona lies on the seabed, just below the surface.
One of Honolulu’s favourite attractions for families is the aquarium. Children can run through the glass-walled passageways and then might suddenly be stopped in their tracks by the sight of a huge squid facing them from the other side of the glass.
Hawaii itself, the main landmass, is locally called Big Island.
From the air, it looks as if it has been freshly ploughed. However, the black furrows are not dark soil but lava formations.
The chain of islands was created by volcanic activity. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is, logically, one of the most important tourist attractions. The park was established exactly 100 years ago, its geological sites being millions of years old.
One rarely sees any eruptions of lava, but there are gigantic craters, frozen lava formations and caves and fields where thermal steam is rising up, evidence that Hawaii is still very much volcanically active.
Children love running among the lava caverns, and, in the process, learning a bit about geology.
Big Island offers nearly every type of climate zone on the planet. There is even snow atop Mauna Kea, the tallest peak at 4 205m above sea level.
The eastern region of the island is Kona, a name that is music to the ears of coffee drinkers. Kona coffee is regarded as one of the best – and most expensive – in the world. There are about 800 coffee plantations in the region, and they are a perfect destination for families travelling with children.
“Coffee is part of our culture, and we want to show children how it is produced and how people here once lived,” says Ku’ulani Auld of the Kona Historical Society. “Our small plantation continues to grow coffee. We also keep animals here. Above all, each child can see how our great-grandparents lived without electricity and running water.”
Children can also bake bread and learn why the legs of the cupboards are standing inside tin cans filled with oil. The answer: A simple method to protect against cockroaches.
Seeing only one of the group would be a shame. Planes, both large and small, regularly fly from island to island.
Maui is for many the epitome of the dream island. In fact, it does offer the longest beaches in all of Hawaii as well as the most rainfall by far. Large portions of Maui are covered by rainforest.
Baldwin Beach is so beautiful as to make you think it is unreal, boasting wide, white sands, and it is never overcrowded. The surf is powerful, and even bigger children should never go beyond the marked-off zones where life guards are on duty. But even these are never overcrowded.
Although every week dozens of cruise ships drop anchor, and every day tens of thousands of people arrive by plane, one still finds white sandy beaches and turquoise-coloured waters in the group where hardly any people are to be seen.
This is one secret of why Hawaii is a dream destination – including for families.
Chris Melzer, DPA