Where the heck is Mr. Jones-Güngör?

Route: The Honolulu and Waikiki area is a good way to explore the urban O'Ahu and also use as a base for daily excursions around the island.

View on Google Maps.

Transportation: Getting to Hawaii is not easy. From West coast of the US, it is good five hours of flight. It is almost as close to Japan. There are many domestic flights from mainland USA, but international flights are not as much.

Car rentals are available at the airport.

Accommmodations: Hotels in Honolulu and Waikiki usually cater to the affluent. Nevertheless, hostels and cheaper options are also available. If you are traveling with a group, booking apartments can also be a reasonable option, like we did for this trip:

• Waikiki: The Royal Aloha: This property owner has good options on one of the main boulevards in Waikiki. It becomes very affordable if your party is four or more people. If you mind the noise in the morning, maybe the rush hour traffic will work as an alarm clock for you to get up and explore the island. However, it is hard to escape the noise if you prefer to be in Waikiki.

Food: Hawaii has many local and imported food. Check these out:

• Boots & Kimo's: The home of the famous macadamia nut sauce pancakes, this diner also has local interpretations of breakfast food. It is worth the half an hour drive to Kailua.
• Giovanni's shrimp truck: Located off of the main road circling the island at the northern tip of O'Ahu, Giovanni's shrimp varieties are absolutely finger licking good. The garlic sauce kind is our favorite.
• Waiola Shave Ice: This street sweet of some kind of a flavored snow cone is commonly available around the island. However, Waiola shaves the ice to the just perfect fineness that it is smooth enough, but yet crunch. Go wild with flavors!

For more: See Lonely Planet's Oahu section.

• Chile
• Vietnam

View all destinations