There’s a pleasant surprise in store for you when you land in one of Hawaii’s many airports. Most of them are open air. You’ll feel the rush of humidity invade your plane as you step out into flagrantly warm air with ukelele music playing on the breeze. It’s the first palpable sign that you’ve landed, you’re on vacation and you can leave all your worries behind on the mainland.
Nearly 10 million tourists visit the Hawaiian islands each year, and many of them come for a pleasant tropical climate. You can continue enjoying that climate as you peruse high-end boutiques, shops, and local restaurants inside the Ala Moana Center shopping mall.
The mall is completely open-air and offers Oahu visitors six floors of shopping and eating. The shopping center sits right in the heart of Honolulu which is Hawaii’s economic, political and cultural beating heart. This is Hawaii’s premier shopping experience.
There are more than 100 options for food inside the Ala Moana Center. You’ll find high-end restaurants, bars pouring local beers and an international food court. This is where the food experience gets really interesting.
Hawaii is a true melting pot of cultures. Sitting right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, the islands are home to Asian, Native and American communities. The islands’ history for agricultural work has attracted migrant farmworkers from places like Russia and Portugal through the centuries, and there’s no better way to explore these cultures than through food.
You can experience a free hula show in the heart of the Ala Moana Center. When you get to the center’s massive grounds, simply find a directory to look for “Center Stage.” The hula show takes place daily, lasts 20 minutes and starts at 1:00 p.m.
The center stage also hosts a variety of other entertainment options. You can check the Ala Moana Center’s website to see the list of acts that include live music, holiday appearances by Santa and much more.
There are more than 350 different stores, boutiques and local shops inside the Ala Moana Center. You’ll find familiar high-end shopping mall stores scattered amongst a variety of local boutiques. And you can check the Ala Moana Center’s website for the shopping center’s hottest sales. It’s perhaps the best way to score an affordable souvenir for your unforgettable Hawaiian vacation.
You can find this impressively large shopping center just on the inland side of Ala Moana Park on Honolulu’s southern coast. The center is open from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, and there are a variety of ways you can get to the shopping center.
You can take buses 8, 19, 20, 23, 24 or 42 from Waikiki, bus 55 from Oahu’s north shore or buses 19 and 20 from Honolulu International Airport. They’ll all drop you off at the shopping center’s doorstep.
You can also take Waikiki’s trolley. It only costs $2 and the trolley will drop you off right in front of the Ala Moana Center. There are also plenty of taxi stands in the area, and parking at the center is free for those who have rented a car for their Hawaiian vacation.