马克·吐温说：夏威夷是大洋中最美的岛屿，是停泊在海洋中最可爱的岛屿舰队。夏威夷吸引观光游客的，并非名胜古迹，而是它得天独厚的美丽环境，以及夏威夷人传统的热情、友善、诚挚。夏威夷风光明媚，海滩迷人，日月星云变幻出五彩风光：晴空下，美丽的威基基（Waikiki）海滩，阳伞如花；晚霞中，岸边蕉林椰树为情侣们轻吟低唱；月光下，波利尼西亚人在草席上载歌载舞。夏威夷的花之音，海之韵，为游客们奏出一支优美的浪漫曲。
夏威夷州名称来自波里尼西亚语，意为“原始的家” Originalhome。
一千多年前波里尼西亚人向本州各岛殖民。一九○○年并入美国。一九五九年八月二十一日成为美国第五十州。以芙蓉花Hibiscus为州花；本州别名叫做 “阿罗哈之州” Aloha State (夏威夷人向人问候或离别之时，常说：“阿罗哈”。其意义为爱)；本州箴言：“守正义则存” The Life Of The Land Is Perpetuated In Righteousness。
夏威夷州位於北太平洋，全是火山岛，是美国唯一的一个全由岛屿构成的州。它有132个岛屿，这是太平洋海底上一座高大的火山锥，露出海面的部分。太平洋底部发生大裂缝，熔岩外流，形成高大的火山，其上有许多火山口，形成许多山峰。有些山峰露出海面，即成为海岛。在太平洋延伸长达1500英里（约2400千米）。这些岛屿有很久很久以前的火山形成，大多数岛屿被海洋长期冲刷变得很小，只有8个大岛残留下来。
这些岛屿距离加利福尼亚2000多英里（约3200千米）远。该群岛由西北延伸到东南，约长两千四百五十一公里。
夏威夷的八个主要的岛屿是：你好岛（Niihau）、可爱岛（Kauai）、欧胡岛（Oahu）、莫洛凯岛（Molokai）、拉奈岛（Lanai）、茂宜岛（Maui）、卡胡拉威岛（Kahoolawe）以及夏威夷大岛（the Big Island）。这八个岛屿的总面积约为一万六千七百六十平方公里。其中你好岛（Niihau）是夏威夷群岛中唯一拒绝加入美国的岛屿，全岛为罗宾逊家族私人所有，禁止游客进入。卡胡拉威岛（Kahoolawe）上无水源，又被称为“死亡之岛”，无人居住，也不可以参观访问。
由于火山活动的转移，最古老的夏威夷岛屿是西北部的可爱岛（Kauai），而东南部的夏威夷大岛（the Big Island）则是最年轻的一个岛屿。只需比较这两个岛屿的地形您就会觉察到这个差异：可爱岛上遍布着葱郁的雨林，还有纳帕利海岸（Napali Coast）一带饱经岁月磨砺的海岸悬崖。夏威夷大岛的特色则为崎岖的熔岩地貌以及在夏威夷火山国家公园至今仍活跃的基拉韦厄火山（Kilauea Volcano)。
该州其他一百二十四个岛屿，都是无人居住的小环礁。夏威夷群岛是由火山运动所形成的，事实上，该群岛是一个地处深海中的大型山脉之顶端。所有岛屿的内部都是高山，而沿岸地区的地形都是崎岖的峭壁或沙滩。莫纳罗亚山和吉拉巍峨山是活火山，他们都坐落在夏威夷岛上。从这些火山喷发的熔岩倾注于大海中。熔岩在海水之中冷却，熔岩变得坚硬，岛屿逐渐增大。 夏威夷玻利尼西亚文化由七个不同的文化地域组成：萨摩亚（Samoa）、新西兰（New Zealand)）、斐济（Fiji）、夏威夷（Hawaii）、玛贵斯（Marquesas）、大溪地（Tahiti）和汤加（Tonga）。以大地母亲帕帕（Papa）和天空父亲哇凯阿（Wakea）生下了一大批有分工的神灵，统管世界万物。而在夏威夷最为推崇的是火山爆发女神–裴蕾，因为玻利尼西亚是太平洋中的群岛，都是由火山爆发形成，而还在活跃的活火山是在夏威夷群岛，斐蕾是真正属于夏威夷本土文化的神灵。
Hawaii, pronounced ha-va-lee by locals, was the last state to join the United States of America. It is located pretty much right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and it is the northeastern corner of Polynesia. In its early age, it was a hub for pineapples, whaling and sugar cane. Current Hawaii pretty much relies on tourism as its main industry. Honolulu is the states capital and largest city, and its natural beauty is its strongest asset.
History
Before the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778, Polynesians from neighboring Tahiti occupied the islands. At that time, each island was a separate kingdom until King Kamehameha united them in 1810. After Captain Cook discovered the island, a group of missionaries began descending onto the island to spread the ideals and word of Christianity.
It was the children of these early missionaries that gained a footing in the island with industries and some of the same families still own much of the islands today. During the establishment of pineapple and sugar canes that many of the current day inhabitants came of the island from Japan, Korea, China and the Philippines.
1893 saw the fall of the Hawaiian monarchy by a group of Americans. Initially, the US government refused to annex the nation, but eventually in 1898 the Hawaiian islands became a territory. 59 years later it became the last state of the United States.
The Islands
Hawaii is actually a group of volcanic islands located over a hot spot in the Central Pacific Ocean. The Pacific plate moves northwest, so the older islands are further south east and actually are smaller due to erosion. The youngest, the island of Hawaii, is the newest and largest of the islands. There are eight islands of which six is open to tourist.
Oahu
The island of Oahu is the most populous and is the cultural and government hub of all the islands. It is where industry and people meet and has been dubbed the gathering island by locals.
Oahu is home to Waikiki, a large white sandy cover dotted with skyscrapers that is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world. Miles away lie rainforest and rising mountains as well as suburbs filled with universities, hospitals and other trappings of a city. In the north, lies North Shore, a slow and remote area of Oahu where big waves crash in the winter and time slows to an idyllic pace.
Weather
Hawaii is normally warm and sunny, when you first land on the islands you notice the air is warm and humid, but the tradewinds provide a soft and pleasant breeze that never makes you feel too hot.
There are two seasons, summer, where the highs are in the 80s *29 Celsius) and the winter, where temperatures hover around 77 (25 degrees Celsius). The ocean stays around the same temperature as the air year round, and although the nights get a bit cooler, it does not fluctuate too much between day and night. Think sandals and shorts year round.