US Democratic candidate Barack Obama left Hawaii on Friday and hoped to return the next time as president of the United States.

Obama departed his tropical former home state after a busy weeklong vacation. Relaxation for the fit 47-year-old did not include much time on the beach.

Obama spent two multi-hour stints on golf courses, worked out at a local gym, went bodysurfing, visited Pearl Harbor, and took his children out for the Hawaiian version of a snow cone known locally as "shave ice".