For centuries Waikīkī was the playground of the aliʻi, who rode its long, gentle waves on koa-wood longboards — heʻe nalu, the sport of kings, born on these very shoulders of surf. It was a seat of power, too. In 1794 Kamehameha landed his war canoes on this beach in the campaign that would unite the islands, and after his victory Waikīkī served as the young Kingdom's first capital, in 1795 and 1796. He built a home at Helumoa and, in 1809, moved his court here — to the same grove where the Pink Palace stands today.
The resort era grew out of that royal ground. In the 1880s King Kalākaua cut the first real road to Waikīkī, opening it to recreation; by 1893 the little Sans Souci had become one of Hawaiʻi's first beach resorts, and Robert Louis Stevenson lingered there. The Moana Hotel — the “First Lady of Waikīkī” — opened in 1901, and in 1927 the Matson Line raised the Royal Hawaiian, the Pink Palace itself, on the Helumoa grove. Elegant ships carried mainland visitors to its doors, and Waikīkī began its second life as the most famous beach in the Pacific.
Why People Visit Waikīkī
Waikīkī offers a whole world in two miles of sand: the birthplace of modern surfing, royal history beneath the hotels, Diamond Head at the end of the beach, and the easy warmth of Hawaiian hospitality. It is the most famous beach in the Pacific — and for the surfers, paddlers, and families who live and gather here, simply home.
