Is it far too busy and far from the "action" and beach to stay in the area of McCully and Ala Wai?

If you mean the intersection of McCully Avenue and Ala Wai Boulevard, that would be toward one end of Waikiki. Kalakaua Avenue would be a short block away. It would be farther away from the beach but still walkable. It's also closer to the Ala Moana Center. It's not a busy tourist area, but there is traffic since McCully is one of the ways into Waikiki and Ala Wai is one of the ways out.

There is no place in Waikiki that is "too far from the action".

Waikiki is an area about three blocks wide X one and 1/2 miles long.

The area is about 2-3 blocks from Ft. DeRussy and Hilton Hawaiian Village.

As applehi says, there is a lot of traffic there.

thanks. would it be a "safe" area for walking late at night to and from accomodations? Anyone know if there is large grocery store nearby? If you are "car-less" where is best place to stock up on groceries?

Waikiki is generally a safe area and I wouldn't hesitate to go anywhere there at night. That said, one still needs to use caution as Waikiki is part of a large city and there is always some crime.

There is a Food Pantry, ABC stores and other places throughout Waikiki to buy groceries. There are Foodland, Safeways, and other grocery stores throughout Oahu.

As far as groceries, ABC has a store on every block and they carry stuff like microwave entrees, milk, bread, hot dogs etc. Food Pantry on Kuhio Avenue is a large supermarket.

If you're at Ala Moana Center you can do your shopping at Foodland which is a large supermarket.

If you catch the bus on Kuhio Avenue you can get to Holiday Mart. In addition to groceries, they also sell a variety of things,including electronics and drugstore items.

If you're walking in Waikiki at night always be alert. Personally, I wouldn't walk along the canal side of Ala Wai late at night. It can be dark and with the parked cars you might not see someone who might try to accost you. Stick to well lit areas.

Bashful, if you don't have a car, there is no supermarket or large grocery store within walking distance. Actually, there's no supermarket in Waikiki at all. There are tons of ABC stores and other little stores though. I think the closest market is the Foodland at the Ala Moana Mall.

bashful - when I was in Waikiki with a kitchenette, I hopped on the bus to the Ala Moana Center and went shopping in the Foodland - even got a discount card before they rang me up. The bus comes right across the parking lot from Foodland so it's not that big of a deal to carry your shopping bags to the bus. I also took the bus to a Safeway, but couldn't begin to tell you where that was! It was more of a "local" store, though and they have discount cards too.

There is actually a Food Pantry store about a block away at Eaton Square. Its off Ena road on Hobron Lane. You'll find all your grocery needs there.