Hoomaluhia Botanical Gardens -- This relatively unknown windward-side camping area, outside Kaneohe, is a real find. Hoomaluhia means "peace and tranquility," an apt description for this 400-acre botanical garden. In the lush garden setting with rare plants and craggy cliffs in the background, it's hard to believe you're just a half-hour from downtown Honolulu. The gardens are laid out with areas devoted to the plants specific to tropical America, native Hawaii, Polynesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Africa. A 32-acre lake sits in the middle of the scenic park (no swimming or boating allowed, though), and there are numerous hiking trails. The Visitors Center can suggest a host of activities, ranging from guided walks to demonstrations of ancient Hawaiian plant use. The facilities for this tent-camp area include restrooms, cold showers, dishwashing stations, picnic tables, grills, and water. A public phone is available at the Visitors Center, and shopping and gas are available in Kaneohe, 1 mile away.

Permits are free, but you have to get here on a Friday no later than 3pm, as the office is not open on weekends. Stays are limited to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights only. For information, contact Hoomaluhia Botanical Gardens, 45-680 Luluku Rd. (at Kamehameha Hwy.), Kaneohe, HI 96744 (tel. 808/233-7323). The gate is locked at 4pm; it is open again from 5:30 to 6:30pm, and then closed for the night after that until 9am the next morning. TheBus no. 55 (Circle Island) stops 4 miles from the park entrance.

From Waikiki, take H-1 to the Pali Highway (Hwy. 61) and turn left on Kamehameha Highway (Hwy. 83); at the fourth light, turn left on Luluku Road.

Kualoa Regional Park -- This park has a spectacular setting on a peninsula on Kaneohe Bay. The gold-sand beach is excellent for snorkeling, and fishing can be rewarding. Two campgrounds are available: Campground A -- in a wooded area with a sandy beach and palm, ironwood, kamani, and monkeypod trees -- is mainly used for groups, but has a few sites for families, except during the summer, when the Department of Parks and Recreation conducts a children's camping program here. Campground B is on the main beach; it has fewer shade trees, but a great view of Mokolii Island. Facilities at both sites include restrooms, showers, picnic tables, drinking fountains, and public phone. Campground A also has sinks for dishwashing, a volleyball court, and a kitchen building. Gas and groceries are available in Kaaawa, 2 1/2 miles away. Gate hours are 7am to 8pm; if you're not back by then, you're locked out for the night.

Permits are free but limited to 5 days (no camping Wed-Thurs). Contact the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation, 650 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96713 (tel. 808/523-4525; www.co.honolulu.hi.us), for information and permits. Kualoa Regional Park is in the 49-600 area of Kamehameha Highway, across from Mokolii Island. Take the Likelike Highway (Hwy. 63); after the Wilson Tunnel, get in the right lane and turn off on Kahakili Highway (Hwy. 83). Or take TheBus no. 55.

Kahana Bay Beach Park -- Under Tahiti-like cliffs, with a beautiful, gold-sand crescent beach framed by pine-needle casuarina trees, Kahana Bay Beach Park is a place of serene beauty. You can swim, bodysurf, fish, hike, and picnic, or just sit and listen to the trade winds whistle through the beach pines.

Both tent and vehicle camping are allowed at this oceanside oasis. Facilities include restrooms, picnic tables, drinking water, public phones, and a boat-launching ramp. Note that the restrooms are at the north end of the beach, far away from the camping area, and there are no showers. You'll need a permit; the fee is $5 per campsite per night. There's a 5-night limit, and no camping at all on Wednesday or Thursday nights. You can get a permit from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, State Parks Division, P.O. Box 621, Honolulu, HI 96809 (tel. 808/587-0300; www.state.hi.us/dlnr).

Kahana Bay Beach Park is in the 52-222 block of Kamehameha Highway (Hwy. 83) in Kahana. From Waikiki, take the H-1 west to the Likelike Highway (Hwy. 63). Continue north on the Likelike, through the Wilson Tunnel, turning left on Highway 83; Kahana Bay is 13 miles down the road on the right. You can also get there via TheBus no. 55.

Waimanalo Bay State Recreation Area -- Just outside the town of Waimanalo is one of the most beautiful beachfront camping grounds on Oahu: Steep verdant cliffs in the background, a view of Rabbit Island off shore, and miles of white-sand beach complete the picture of Waimanalo Bay State Recreation Area. This campground is close to Sea Life Park and relatively close to Hanauma Bay, Makapuu, and Sandy Beach.

Ocean activities abound: great swimming offshore, good surfing for beginners, and plentiful fishing grounds. There is tent camping only at the 12 sites, which ensures plenty of privacy. The campsites (in numbered slots) are all in the open grassy lawn between the ironwood trees and the shoreline. Each campsite has its own picnic table, barbecue grill, and garbage can. Other facilities in the area include a central restroom with showers, water fountains, and a dishwashing sink. A public telephone is by the caretaker's house.

Permits are free but limited to 5 nights (no camping on Wed or Thurs nights). Contact the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation, 650 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96713 (tel. 808/523-4525; www.co.honolulu.hi.us), for information and permits. Permits are not issued until 2 weeks before your camping dates.

TheBus no. 57 stops on Kalanianaole Highway (Hwy. 72), about a mile's walking distance to the park entrance. From Honolulu, take the H-1 Freeway east until it ends. Continue on Highway 72 into Waimanalo. Turn right on Whiteman Road and then right again on Walker Road, which leads to the park entrance.