Things to Do in Honolulu

When educator Nicole Kealoha set out to enrich her community, she harnessed the vibrant power of hip-hop and urban culture to captivate young people. Her nonprofit Diverse Art Center, launched in 2008, seeks to foster connections between youths and the community via enriching and engaging instruction from professional artists. The accomplished teachers and artists—including leading local art figure Shaun Castro and award-winning dancer Josh Skittle—strive to instill positive values and self-esteem in their pupils as they shepherd them through the many mediums that comprise hip-hop culture, including dance, music, and the visual arts. No fewer than five area schools participate in the center's fitness-focused Healthy Hip-Hop program, and daily urban art instruction includes tutorials in hip-hop lettering, break dancing, and beatboxing with inner-city kangaroos.

Jon Jepson draws on his experience navigating the seas for 20 years while captaining Makani Catamaran's crew in a 65-foot luxury vessel that he helped build. He strives to combine grand prix sailing with charter boat comfort while capably navigating waters from Seattle to the Panama Canal.

During morning, afternoon, and evening cruises, Captain Jon's staffers sling refreshments as the ship clips through the waves at speeds of up to 30 knots, zipping past paddling sea turtles or schools of dolphins. Inside the $1.8 million catamaran, an LCD television with a Bose surround-sound system immerses viewers in in-depth exposés of Davy Jones's locker. Below two billowing sails, tanners loll on special nets at the ship's stern, and bartenders pour soft drinks or stronger stuff to fortify them.

Friendly drivers steer AlohaBus's fleet of double-decker buses through Honolulu streets, chaperoning tourists and intrigued locals to scenic and historic locations and allowing riders to disembark or climb aboard at any point. Vehicles arrive every 30–45 minutes at each stop, and riders can enjoy fresh ocean breezes from the open-top vehicles. The buses make eight continuous loops from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., including the daytime historic loop that explores Diamondhead, Waikiki, the Pearl Harbor express loop, and the nighttime loop that meanders through shopping and dining destinations. Complimentary earbuds play music and a GPS-activated narrative whispers fun facts in five languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and GPS's native binary. Guests can hop off at stops to get an up-close look at areas of interest or to refill the bus's gas tank with coconut milk.

Acroflight International's FAA–certified pilots grant sightseers a nene's-eye view of the North Shore and verdant landscape of Waimea Valley Adventure Park, which stretches across 1,800 acres of land. Inside blissfully quiet gliders, lush greenery and azure waters pass by underfoot as pilots wend their way toward waterfalls, shorelines, and remote sea cliffs, or hop to a nearby island. In stark contrast to these serene jaunts, aerobatic flights turn Hawaii on its head with flips, spins, and twirls that experienced acrobatic pilots customize to suit each passenger’s adrenaline levels.