Honolulu Travel
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Honolulu Transportation
ARRIVAL
The runways of Honolulu’s International Airport , just west of downtown, extend out to sea on a coral reef. Car rental outlets abound, but a car is not especially desirable in Honolulu, what with city traffic and hefty parking fees in Waikiki. The Waikiki Airport Express (one-way $8, round-trip $13; tel 808/566-7333) is typical of the many shuttle services that run on request to any Waikiki hotel. Regular buses #19 and #20 connect Waikiki with the airport, but don’t allow large bags, cases or backpacks (there are left-luggage lockers at the airport). A taxi will cost around $20. The nine-mile - not at all scenic - drive to Waikiki can take anywhere from 25 to 75 minutes.
GETTING AROUND
A network of over sixty bus routes, collectively named TheBus, covers the whole of Oahu. All journeys, however long, cost $1.50, with free transfers onto any connecting route if you ask as you board (enquiries tel 808/848-5555, ). The most popular routes with Waikiki-based tourists are #2 to downtown, #8 to Ala Moana Shopping Center, #20 to Pearl Harbor, #22 to Hanauma Bay, and the bargain †Circle Island †buses ( #52 clockwise and #55 counterclockwise), which take four hours to loop around the central valley and the east coast, passing the legendary North Shore surf spots.
In Waikiki, Aloha Funway (tel 808/942-9696) offers bicycle rental at seven locations, charging $20 for 24 hours. Among companies running city and island bus tours from around $25 for a full day, as well as off-island packages, are Polynesian Adventure Tours (tel 808/833-3000, ) and Roberts (tel 808/539-9400, ). Honolulu TimeWalks (tel 808/943-0371) runs a changing program of themed walking tours of the city.