(Sunset) -- Hawaii may seem a world away, but there are plenty of big waves, tiny bubbles and tiki-style spots closer to home. Here are some San Diego-based ways to catch the Hawaiian spirit.





Paradise Point Resort and Spa is a waterfront oasis with a Balinese-style spa and five swimming pools.





Make your own lei





If a luau is on your tropical to-do list, the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa offers a demo and the materials to design a floral garland for the event. A needle and thread, a pile of seasonal flowers such as plumerias, orchids, mini carnations and tuberose, and the rest is up to you. The resort's resident tropical macaw and cockatoo birds might make an appearance while you're at work. Leis stay fragrant and can last more than a week if you refrigerate them and mist with water periodically.





A sunset luau





It's TGIF, Hawaiian-style. The Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa throws a Friday-night luau on the lawn by Mission Bay -- and that means hula dancers in grass skirts, fire knife dancing, piña coladas, tiki torches, a ceremonial roast pig on parade and Polynesian drumbeats from a live band. Dances and costumes come from different parts of Polynesia (Tahiti, Samoa and even New Zealand, as well as Hawaii). It's faux Hawaii, of course, but the festivities are enough to spark your island imagination.





An ocean adventure





Bright orange Garibaldi fish, leopard sharks, giant sea turtles, sea lions and seven sea caves to explore -- it's not Kauai, it's La Jolla Shores. The caves are just a half-mile from shore via kayak, and OEX Dive & Kayak Center offers two-hour tours that include guided trips inside the Clam -- one of just two caves you can enter (at high tide, you can go all the way through). Sunset.com: Discover the West's top 10 beaches





August is a prime month to be out on the water with the warm temps and calm swells. About those silhouettes gliding underneath the boats: Hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of leopard sharks swim below the kayaks, and they're most abundant in summer. Thankfully, leopard sharks have small teeth (they use suction to eat). For the daring, snorkeling is another option. Sunset.com: Take the teens to Kauai





Tiki-style





Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge -- the name alone promises tropical cocktails and Polynesian kitsch. The giant tiki masks on the walls, tableside lava lamps and handblown glass blowfish on the ceilings add to the tropical flavor of this spot in downtown's Gaslamp Quarter. The drinks are pure tiki -- try the lilikoi mojitos with white rum, passion fruit, fresh mint and lime, or a coconut kiss martini with coconut rum, pineapple and coconut cream (with an orchid floating on top). The happy hour (5-7 p.m.; $5) includes sushi rolls and pupus (Hawaiian appetizers) like shiitake-goat cheese wontons.





Hang 10





Surfing isn't just the sport of beach bums. These days anyone can ride a wave, and La Jolla Shores Beach is great for beginners, with its sandy-bottom shoreline and small waves. Surf Diva, a surf school started by twin-sister surfers in 1996, gives private or group surf lessons (wetsuit and board included). Lessons start on the sand, where you'll learn how to paddle, pop up and master the surf stance before you hit the water. Sunset.com: Blue Hawaii





48 hours of aloha in San Diego





Friday: Two tropical-themed spots to stay are Paradise Point Resort & Spa, a waterfront oasis with a Balinese-style spa and five swimming pools (from $259), or the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa (from $249) with koi ponds, gardens, and a beach on Mission Bay. Hit the Catamaran Resort first for lei-making (3:30 Fri through Sep 4; $10), then stay for the weekly Friday-night luau with Hawaiian music, fire dancing, and hula (6 p.m. Fri through Sep
Where in Mission Bay throws a Friday night luau? Try a guided kayak trip to explore the caves where? Where is it held Who throws the party The Catamaran Resort Hotel throws a what on a Friday-night?
The Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa inside the Clam The Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa The Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa luau
question: Where in Mission Bay throws a Friday night luau?, answer: The Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa | question: Try a guided kayak trip to explore the caves where?, answer: inside the Clam | question: Where is it held, answer: The Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa | question: Who throws the party, answer: The Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa | question: The Catamaran Resort Hotel throws a what on a Friday-night?, answer: luau