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Aku Bone Lounge
This is down-home Hawaii - a low-key bar with a tasty pupu menu, cold Bud Light and a rubber-slippers crowd. Most nights are for karaoke, which are sung by patrons from the comfort of their own tables, but live Hawaiian music takes over four nights a week.
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Angles Waikiki
A fave gay & lesbian spot, Angles Waikiki is a bar by day and a nightclub after dark.
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Anna Bannanas
There's nothing like lying on a beach all day to make you feel like dancing all night. Near the university, Anna Bannanas is a good weekend dance spot with rock and reggae bands. This place has been here for around 30 years so they must be doing something right.
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Doris Duke Theatre
At the Honolulu Academy of Arts in the Sheridan Park area, this theatre is the place for film buffs to get their fix. It showcases a range of American independent cinema, foreign films and avant-garde shorts. Live performances at the venue include Chinese Opera and Japanese koto music.
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Duke's Canoe Club
This beachside courtyard is Waikiki's most popular venue for contemporary Hawaiian music. There's entertainment featuring the biggest names - including Kapena and Henry Kapono. It's a great scene with lots of drunken souvenir photo-taking and vacationland camaraderie. The food ain't bad either.
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Fusion Waikiki
Gay & lesbian bar Fusion Waikiki features karaoke and female-impersonator shows.
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Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant
It isn't the most original choice, but the San Francisco-based brewpub has a relaxed waterfront perch near enough to Honolulu sightseeing areas that you can reward culture-spotting with hops-chasings. Live rhythm and blues and contemporary Hawaiian rock get a weekend billing.
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Hanks Cafe Honolulu
You can't get more low-key than at this neighborhood bar on the edge of Chinatown. Owner Hank Taufaasau is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to the barfly business: the walls are decorated with Polynesian-themed art, live music rolls in nightly and regulars have made it home.
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Hawaii Theatre
In a beautifully restored historic building on the edge of Chinatown, this is a major venue for dance, music and theater. Performances range from top contemporary Hawaiian musicians, to modern dance and film festivals. It also hosts the Ka Himeni Ana competition in which famous Hawaii musicians play in the falsetto style.
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Hideaway
You don't really know a city until you've visited a few dive bars and The Hideaway is Honolulu's most beloved drinking hole. It is also oddly close to Waikiki but only shows up in a very few drunken vacation snapshots. The crowd is mainly a steady supply of regulars who feel at home with cheap beer and an eclectic jukebox.
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House Without a Key
From within the confines of the Halekulani Hotel, House Without a Key attracts a nostalgic crowd who gather at its open-air bar for sunset cocktails, Hawaiian music and hula dancing by two former Miss Hawaii winners.
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Hula's Bar & Lei Stand
Waikiki's top gay venue, Hula's Bar & Lei Stand is a cheery open-air bar and the place to meet.
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Indigo
This popular nouveau restaurant and its affiliated nightclub put the 'life' back into Honolulu's nights. Divided into different theme lounges, Indigo mixes cocktails in the Opium Den & Champagne Bar and spins tunes in the Green Room. Jazz and live music are featured during the week, and electronica is slotted for the weekend.
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Kapahulu Kafe
Why rot your guts with the fermented juices when you can chill-out with Hawaii's homegrown stimulant, kava? Between the University and Waikiki, this kava bar is a mellow introduction to the herbal drink, plus an arty venue for a weekly calendar of local acoustic acts.
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Kuhio Beach Torch Lighting & Hula Show
Some of O'ahu's best hula troupes perform at the sacred hula mound near the Duke Kahanamoku Statue on the Waikiki strip. Other performances include traditional torch lighting and conch shell ceremony, and Hawaiian music. The shows are sponsored by the Mayor's Office of Culture & Arts (www.honolulu.gov/moca).
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Lewers Lounge
Waikiki as an aristocratic playground is still alive in this sophisticated lounge. Cocktails are made from scratch using fresh (not canned) juices, including exotic tropical flavors like lychee and ginger. And the famed jazz bassist Bruce Hamada and his trio provide a smooth jazz serenade most nights.
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Mai Tai Bar
A happening bar in the middle of a shopping center? We don't make the trends, we just report them, and during Friday happy hours this suburban-style bar is packed with a see-and-flirt crowd. It has consistently won people's choice awards in various bar surveys, thanks to easy parking and access to retail therapy.
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Movie Museum
This Kaimuki gem is a fun place to watch classic oldies, such a s Citizen Kane and Casablanca, in a theater with just 20 comfy chairs. Movies are shown Thursday to Monday evenings and weekend afternoons. Reservations are recommended.
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Neal S Blaisdell Center
The center presents concerts, Broadway shows and family events, such as the Honolulu Symphony and the American Ballet Theatre, and occasional big-name rock musicians, such as Sting.
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Opium Den & Champagne Bar
This bar at the Indigo restaurant is best known for its small army of martinis. Try the amazing lemon-drop martini if you dare. Being on the edge of Chinatown and near the Hawaii Theatre, it attracts both theatergoers and a downtown after-work crowd for well-priced drink specials.
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Paradise Lounge
On Friday or Saturday nights, head to the Hilton Hawaiian Village to catch Jerry Santos and Olomana, one of the classic Hawaiian groups performing today.
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Royal Hawaiian Hotel Luau
Yup, this luau is touristy, but the pretty oceanfront setting is scenically ideal, it's in the heart of Waikiki, the food is decent and the performances are professional.
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Rumours
At Rumours, there's dancing and DJs aplenty. The music varies from night to night, with Latin music featured on Thursday nights, Top 40 on Fridays, and hip-hop and R&B on Saturdays. We dare you to request the Hawaii Five-0 soundtrack!
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Sand Bar
This cabana-like bar has views of Diamond Head and live Hawaiian music nightly, including ' keiki hula', when a children's hula group displays its stuff.
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Side Street Inn
High hopes might be dashed upon arrival at this back-alley bar and restaurant, but the industrial location is part of the charm. Basically a sports bar for a local crowd, Side Street has muscled its way on to night-hoppers agenda with its pan-fried pork chops, mellow atmosphere and late-night following.
