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Travel: Get Lei'd in Hawaii

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Travel: Get Lei'd in Hawaii

Hawaii! So much more than cursed tiki dolls and tarantulas. (That Brady Bunch episode haunted us, too.) It’s tropical perfection and you don’t even need a passport (though it’ll take more to get invited to the privately owned Niihau. Poor Kohoolawe is recovering from life as a military-training site). The best place to start? The capital island, Oahu, and legendary Waikiki Beach. The rest? Yet to come.

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Halekulani (2199 Kalia Road; 808-923-2311) is the swank — dig the Vera Wang suites. Funky Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel (2570 Kalakaua Avenue; 808-922-2511) is the value — the kitschy decor is for sale.

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Hip Japanese retailer 88 Tees Too (2310 Kuhio Avenue; 808-922-8822) is the island’s cutest boutique. The best (and toughest) score: limited-edition tees inspired by Burberry, Gucci, and Starbucks logos. Hawaiian heirloom jewelry at Philip Rickard Honolulu (2301 Kalakaua Avenue, inside the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center; 808-924-7972) has kept locals sparkling since the days of the monarchy.

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Duke’s (2335 Kalakaua Avenue, inside the Outrigger Waikiki Beach; 808-922-2268) is the hangout for surfers, local celebs, and tourists. For a taste of Mark Twain’s Hawaii, take high tea at the Banyan Veranda at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider (2365 Kalakaua Avenue; 808-931-8383).

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No one should miss the Dean Martin of Aloha: the Don Ho Show at the Beachcomber Hotel (2300 Kalakaua Avenue; 877-693-6646). PYT’s gather Saturdays at Feng Shui, an indoor-outdoor poolside nightclub inside the Hyatt Regency Waikiki (2424 Kalakaua Avenue; 808-923-1234;). Head to Chinatown late night for cheap eats and at ThirtyNineHotel (39 North Hotel Street; 808-599-2552), a club and lounge so hip your favorite L.A. and NYC DJs just might be spinning there.

Ready for more? Take highway 72 (stop at the pretty white-sand beaches on the way) to the mecca for surfing, the North Shore.

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FOXTV shoots North Shore at the gorgeous Turtle Bay Resort (57-091 Kamehameha Highway; 808-293-6000). Hey, you might get discovered. Spend a week at the Kelea Surf Spafor yoga, surf lessons, and treatments.

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Locals stock up at Foodland Supermarket (59-720 Kamehameha Highway; 808-638-8081). That’s pro surfer Kelly Slater in aisle two.

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Matsumoto’s Shave Ice (66-087 Kamehameha Highway; 808-637-4827) serves giant snow cones drenched in tropical syrup with a side of general-store curios.

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The hot surfers. ‘Nuff said.



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