For a city beach, Waikiki is the best in the world. Where else is there such great people watching, shopping, eating, sun, surfing, tradewinds, hot beach bathers, quality hotels, etc etc etc?

This is about as perfect as a tourist beach in the middle of a city can possibly be.

There's a glorious beginner surf break that will take you for a 45 second ride. The water is calm with a sandy floor. It gets very crowded, but because the water is shallow until far out, there's plenty of room to find some space.

All that being said, if you've made it all the way to Hawaii, try going just a little farther off the beaten path than Waikiki - you will surely find an even better beach.

A big, beautiful white sand beach frequented by tourists and other happy people. The water is warm (sometimes even after sunset) and transparent. There are plenty of stores and restaurants nearby.

When I was a kid and through my teens I thought Waikiki was the best beach, and I still think it's very nice, however there are many other beaches on Oahu that are as nice or even nicer and more beautiful.  Waikiki is a bit overcrowded, but the surf is good.

Very nice beach, but very crowded. I am not ready to call it 1# in the world as some would say.

I recently returned from my honeymoon where I had the wonderful experience of spending 8 days at Waikiki Beach's Hilton Village- I've never been to a more beautiful place. The beaches (though I was informed by the natives the sand was imported from Australia) were a nice grainy white sand that met perfectly with the turquiose waves of the pacific. The sun was hot, but not oppressive, and set magestically to the northwest. I had the awesome experience of hiking up Diamond Head early one morning to take in the view and to be completely honest nothing I could write here would do it justice- it's something you need to experience yourself. The wife and me also took a 6 hour kaiaking tour that took us along the beach and out to another small island and back. (I'd like to say I enjoyed the view but that would be a lie... I was exhuasted and the wife doesn't exactly paddle like an experienced Inuit! Paddling 3 miles in the pacific ocean in high winds- and dragging the anchor... um... I mean, my wife... isn't exactly relaxing and deviated from our vacation model which was do a lot of nothing) As for the trip and Hawaii in general it was mostly gorgeous from what we saw and an awesome place to vacation. The Hilton Village was phenonmenal: The restaurants were top notch including Bali By The Sea and Sergio's. The shopping was expensive but there were plenty of shops and shopping to do. I frequented the spa a few times and I was treated like the Sultan of Umbabamawawaw! They gave me towels, and robes, massaged me, washed my feet in a little rose pedal bath and everything! VFern insisted they do this for everyone... "suuuure they do!" And conveniently our honeymoon fell on the same week the ProBowl was in town (can you believe that!) and the wife couldn't have gotten better seats- 50 yard line 10th row behind the AFC bench. The stadium was somewhat old but the crowd was fun and the atmosphere was something like Woodstock in the parking lot. We also participated in a luau at Paradise Cove- at like complete pigs- and laid by the pool quite a bit. Hawaii was a ball... I recomend it for everyone- particularly those looking for a nice place to Honeymoon.

I traveled to Waikiki Beach by myself in 1987 and expected to find a tacky-touristy kind of place. I was surprised to find one of the most pleasant places I've ever been to. At one point I took a bus from the beach, around the island to the opposite side of the island (it was a local city bus and cost $1). The beach on the other side was deserted and beautiful, like those you see in travel brochures. At the end of the day, the bus took me back around to the main part of the island. The main, "tourist" portion of the island had outdoor events, with fun shopping and places to eat. And, as I recall, I took a bus to a sunken military ship (is it the Arizona?), where you could walk above the ship and look down on it. Tour guides explained the events leading up to the sinking. This is such a great place to visit! I hope it hasn't changed too drastically in 15 years!

Wakiki Beach is the most beautiful place to visit the water is clear & Blue and the sand feels great