Top 10 Amazing Facts about Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach By Cristo Vlahos
-Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Waikiki Beach

Waikiki is situated in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii and the largest city at 352,000 people. Honolulu is on the island of Oahu, the most populated Hawaiian island with 1-million people.

Waikiki is the most popular destination in Hawaii for beach-bumming, shopping, dining, entertainment, and activities, and is packed with luxury resorts and hotels.

Being so remote doesn’t stop people from visiting the famous Waikiki. Within this small enclave of a city, the area generates $2 billion in tourism revenue every year. That is 42% of all tourist dollars spent in Hawaii. In 1.5-square-miles.

1. Accounts for approximately 42 percent of the state’s tourist industry revenue

The world-famous Waikiki Beach draws millions of tourists to its white sands and turquoise waters each year. Waikiki attracts 72,000 visitors on any given day, accounting for nearly half of all tourists across the state of Hawaii.

Waikiki, through its tourism-related activity, accounted for an estimated 8% of Hawaii’s Gross State Product in 2002. This amounted to roughly $3.6 billion. In addition, 10% of all civilian jobs statewide and 12% of all state and county tax revenues can be credited to Waikiki’s attraction to visitors.

2. First introduced to the world in 1901 when the Moana Surfrider was built on its shores

The Moana Hotel opened on March 11, 1901, as Waikiki’s first hotel. It is known as the “First Lady of Waikiki.” In the late 1890s, Waikiki was a swampy backwater area surrounded by duck ponds and taro fields.

The beautiful beach was the site of homes of Hawaiian royalty and the wealthy kamaainas including the Honolulu landowner Walter Chamberlain Peacock. In 1896, Peacock incorporated the Moana Hotel Company and hired architect Oliver G. Traphagen to design it. The Moana had the first electric-powered elevator in Hawaii which is still in use today

However, tragedy struck when Jane Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University died in a Moana Hotel room of poisoning. A few years later The Moana Hotel became a favorite stomping ground for Duke Kahanamoku’s famed group, dubbed the Waikiki Beach Boys. The Moana grew along with the popularity of Hawaiian tourism

3. Modern surfing grew Waikiki’s popularity

What began as wave riding centuries ago in Polynesia has evolved into an international obsession. although there is no consensus on which Polynesian island first invented surfing, most people can agree that the sport’s international journey began in Hawai’i, on one of the world’s most famous beaches, Waikiki.

The beach boys of Waikiki were the first ambassadors of surfing, with the Olympian and three-time gold medalist swimmer Duke Kahanamoku at their forefront. He taught modern surfing all over the world and put Waikiki on the map as a surf destination. Waikiki has since been a postcard destination for Hawai’i and surfing, and despite its many evolutions, that surf history and culture remain the heartbeat of the area.

4. The Waikiki Aquarium is home to a working marine biology laboratory

is a favorite location for visitors and residents. Located along the beach in Waikiki, the Aquarium is part of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Aquarium is home to thousands of organisms and hundreds of marine plants and animals.

 Each year thousands visit including schoolchildren participating in the Aquarium’s educational programs that are partnered with universities across the world. is a favorite location for visitors and residents. Located along the beach in Waikiki.

5. Waikiki Beach is partially engineered

The beach has been filled with imported sand for decades. Unfortunately, Waikiki is in danger of being lost entirely. The beach has faced erosion problems since the late-1800s when hotels and homes were built too close to the natural shoreline.

6. The beach is made up of a series of five beaches.

Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA By Daderot – Wikimedia Commons

From Ewa to Diamond Head, these beaches include Duke Kahanamoku, Fort DeRussy, Gray’s, Waikiki, and Kuhio. This is largely a result of shoreline development. With the many different sections that make up this two-mile stretch of white sand. 

Together, these beach sections make what everyone refers to as Waikiki Beach, one of the busiest and most cosmopolitan spots in Oahu where a plethora of activities geared toward tourists seem to go on all day and most of the night

7. It’s the most toured area in Hawaii

Waikiki Beach By Kkmd –Wikimedia Commons

From surfing, canoe paddling, snorkeling, swimming, boogie boarding, sand combing, catching a golden tan, and watching sunsets, Waikiki is buzzing with activities.

8. Waikiki practices a torch-lighting ceremony

Every evening around 6:30 P.M., you’ll find a local Hawaiian running down your hotel’s street with a large torch in hand. To those unaware, this sight can be bizarre (as he is often only wearing board shorts), but don’t fret! His job is to light the torches that line the neighborhood near the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. This marks the beginning of the nightly hula pageant at Kuhio Beach Park.

9. The beach wasn’t always glamourous

Waikiki Beach Sunset By photo by Alan Light
–Wikimedia Commons

Waikiki was a much more expansive area than what exists today. Much of the environment has changed to turn it into the luxury beach town it is today. Waikiki translates to ‘spouting freshwater’, which is fitting as most of the area was formerly swampland.

Rivers and springs were plentiful in Old Waikiki. In the 1400’s local leaders capitalized on this and designed irrigation systems to begin agricultural endeavors. Chief Kalamakua ordered that fishponds be built and taro fields are created. This set the stage for one of Hawaii’s most habitable regions.

10. Celebrities made it famous

Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of both ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, stayed at this resort later that year and his fame made sure the area became very well-known. Soon, tourists started wanting to visit the writing haven for the man behind ‘Treasure Island’. Hotels began to be more commonplace in the coming years as tourism increased relentlessly. Though, the two resorts with the most historical significance for the Hawaiian community are ‘Royal Hawaiian Hotel’ and ‘Moana Surfrider Hotel’.

In the 1930s, in search of Treasure Island’s inspiration, celebrities started to flock to the region. Groucho Marx, Frank Sinatra, Amelia Earhart, Bing Crosby, Joe DiMaggio, and Shirley Temple were all among the first wave of famous tourists to see the region. Unfortunately, due to the 1942 bombing of Pearl Harbor tourism halted. The Moana Hotel even opened its doors to soldiers in the years shortly after. When the war ended and regularly scheduled air travel became available

There you have it, the top 10 Amazing Facts about Waikiki Beach