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We have friends that are asking our family to take a vacation with their family to Aulani. Both families are DVC. What is a good amount of time to stay for a visit to Hawaii? What excursions would anyone recommend? I would love to hear experiences from those who have been there.. Thank you for any input.
Oahu, the island on which Aulani is located, has everything: city life, beautiful beaches, rainforests, mountains, historical attractions, natural tours, etc. Aulani itself has plenty to do at the resort.
How long are you thinking of staying and what are the ages in your group? You could easily fill a couple of weeks touring, sightseeing and relaxing at Aulani.
Here are some highlights:
Polynesian Village -- A wonderful, interactive place to learn about the Pacific Islands and the people who live here. I highly recommend an excursion.
Dole Pineapple Plantation -- a half-day trip with tours through the pineapple fields and a nice gift shop.
Pearl Harbor -- Take the boat to the USS Arizona memorial and the USS Missouri battleship. Very moving and relevant today. Being there makes the history feel like it happened last week.
Aloha Stadium Flea Market -- Held on Wednesdays and the weekend, you can get all your Hawaii souvenirs here, including quality clothing and sarongs, for just dollars. Don't be afraid to bargain.
Hike up to the top of Diamond Head, the extinct volcano at the far end of Waikiki.
Many hiking trails, some through rainforests and to waterfalls.
Shopping along Waikiki Beach is like being on Rodeo Drive. At night, lit torches line the streets. It's luxurious.
The geography of Oahu gives the various beaches around the coast their own flavor, and the waves change with the seasons. Some are urban beaches, near Honolulu, some are great for surfing and scuba, and some are totally unpopulated. Beach exploring is wonderful.
Waimea Beach Park and Waterfall, lovely.
I haven't even talked about all there is to do just at Aulani. I'll try to save that for another post.
Oahu, despite its being an island, takes time to navigate by car. That's because there are mountain ridges east and west and few or no ways through. And believe it or not, because of Honolulu, there are rush hours and traffic jams on the island's expressways near the city, so plan accordingly.
Thanks for the reply. The descriptions you gave sound breathtaking. We are a family of 3. Our daughter would be 11 yrs old when we go. We were thinking of going for 7-9 nights. I would love to learn more about what people have experieced at Aulani as well.
We visited for 6 nights in June 2012 and will be back this July for another 6 nights. I would say the longer the stay, the better. At least 6 nights/7 days or more. We flew to Disney land for 2 nights before moving on to Hawaii.
We are a family of 4 and my boys are 14 and almost 16. Last year was our first trip to Oahu and Aulani, but we had visited the Big Island in 2008.
It is very beautiful and the resort is laid back. My kids enjoyed the beach more than anything else. We did rent a car and I would recommend doing that. It gave us the freedom to go offsite for food, supplies and also to sight see. There's a few things close by, but the car was a must. It took about 45 min- an hour to get from Aulani to the North Shore, and the traffic to Honolulu is usually heavy.
We did a helicopter tour of the island which was AH-MAZ-ING despite my fear of flying. However I would do it again in a heartbeat. The boys loved that, and we got to see everything! We also did an excursion to the North Shore and did a shark cage swim. That was also an experience we all enjoyed. Can you tell we are thrill seekers?
We missed Pearl Harbor and plan to do that this time. The tickets are free but run out so it is suggested you arrive very early. We arrived around 10:30 am and they were already out. In fact, this trip we plan to take a tour bus trip there so we are ensured tickets and entrance. Parking there was alo limited and we must have circled the lots for 30 minutes looking for a space.
We passed the Dole Planation but did not tour.
We did the Paradise Cove Luau, which is right down the block from Aulani. It was pretty good but you are going for the show, not the food. Prices were steep for that.
I enjoy shopping so if you do, the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu is a mega mall with every store you could want. It's very high end but there were also your typical mall stores. Fun Mai Tai bar on the top floor, great for apps and drinks as well as people watching.
This summer, we will be booking a horse riding excursion to the ranch on the north side of the island. You are able to ride through the valley where they filmed several movies, including Jurrassic Park. We saw via heliopter last time but this time we'll see it up close. We may also book a catamaran/sea turtle snorkel but haven't decided yet. I would sort of like to do the shark encounter again but we will likely try something new.
I shopped online for tours and the best prices. I find the Disney tours are priced higher. It depends on what you are looing for. I saw Disney has added much to the offered excursions. Last year there was only a handful and all were $$$.
Please feel free to ask any specifics and I will be happy to answer.
I'm so jealous! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Hawaii! My sister lives in Honolulu, and I've been about 10 times. We are hoping to go again this fall. On my last trip, we had brunch at Makahiki at Aulani, and I was blown away. It is gorgeous on that side of the island, and although it is definitely a drive from the airport and the city, it is just breathktakingly gorgeous!
Some of our favorite things to do are hiking, Diamond Head is the super touristy place to go, its definitely worth a visit; Manoa Falls, close to UH Manoa is beautiful and alot more remote than DH. Waimea Botanical Gardens on the way to North Shore is spectacular. We have gone every single trip. It is rather secluded, but the trails and foliage are amazing.
Shangri-La, the Honolulu estate of Doris Duke, is one of our favorite places to go. I believe admission to the museum is also included if you buy tickets to the home tour.
Queen Emma's Summer Palace is a really neat place to visit. We usually do the Bishop Museum every time as well.
The beach at Kailua is one of our favorites...its post card material. Its not as touristy as Waikiki.
We also love the Mac Nut Farm. Its a mom and pop working farm, with a great gift shop.
Depending on how "touristy" you want to go, I've heard the Polynesian Center is top notch, and it does take up a whole day. Also, the Hilton Hawaiian Village does fireworks every Friday, for free. It's really neat to walk around (it's a large property on Waikiki). And the Atlantis submarine tours that take off from the Hilton are really amazing.
There is so much to see and do, it's almost unbelievable. I always encourage people to get away from Waikiki and enjoy the non-touristy things that Oahu has to offer. It's a spectacular place, and I would move there in a heartbeat. I hope you have an awesome time! If you have any specific questions, I can try to answer them.
Oh and if you are staying at Aulani, you must rent a car! It is pretty removed from everything, and is quite a drive from the airport. Also, there are not alot of food choices in that area (well, reasonably priced food choices) so I would highly stress that you get a car.
Also, I forgot to mention Ala Moana. It's an open air mall that has every designer store you'd ever want! And there is also a great designer outlet mall closer to where Aulani is. It's called Waikele Premium Outlets. We always go there.
And, imho, Walmarts and ABC Stores in Hawaii are awesome! I usually buy most of my souveniers there. They have huge touristy sections, with great deals.
I have a whole huge list of off the beaten path restaurants, if you are interested let me know.
I'm sorry- just realized I didn't address how long to stay. I usually try to stay as long as possible. My longest trip was 3.5 weeks. There is so much to do on Oahu, you could easily stay 2-3 weeks. I would stay as long as you can!
Thank you so much for all the replies and great advice. This gives me more to look into. A car sounds like a definite must.
it is magicccaalllll.
There were 6 of us. My parents, me and my husband and my brother and sister ( 27-23) and we stayed for 13 nights. Being from the "other side of the world" according to the local hawaiians ( Massachusetts) the longer stay was much appreciated just to get use to the time difference!
We hiked Diamond Head, visited Waikiki twice, did a luau, visited Pearl Harbor, drove up to the north shore, went to Dole plantation, went for a drive along the coast and hung out at Aulani Beach, the boys also played gold 2 or 3 times.
I dont think anything you do will be disappointing, but like suggested you definitley need a car to do a lot of the stuff away from Aulani. Loved the Wakiki area but hard to find parking and there were lots of rocks swimming (whereas Aulani is a nice calm cove..perfect for attempting paddle boarding!! ). Waikiki IS where we swam with a sea turtle though! He popped his head up right next to us ( dont touch them though $2500 fine!).
Aulanis beach is perfect for low key. No big waves. Complimentary beach chairs and umbrellas ( but umbrellas do run out) once you leave though you give up your umbrella and they watch to see if people have been gone for a really long time and give it to the next person waiting. i.e. if you go back to the room and leave your stuff for lunch for 2 hours chances are your umbrella will be gone. Kayaks, paddle boards, toys, are available to rent...dvc discounts available for that. They also have a kids raft floating in the ocean that kids jump off or swim out to and lay out on it.
Food was delish. Pricey, but its what we expected for Hawaii. I think as long as you accept that fact that things WILL be more expensive because you are in Hawaii it makes it less of a sticker shock. The thing we found comparable to home prices was sunscreen! thank goodness!
We ate at the character breakfast Makahiki. Yeah were all adults but still love the characters! :) Lots of selection and pretty good food. We also did apps at the Olelo Room and Off the Hook. Off the Hook Korean wings ... AWESOME!!! We traveled for 22 hours and were STARVING and it was about dinner time and we had the BEST apps and drinks from Off the Hook...korean wings, veggie dip, sushi, hawaiian blue drinks. Olelo room was good, but we preferred Off the Hook. I dont think they serve the wings until after 4 though. We did shaved ice and hot dogs and chicken wings at Mamas which was typical disney food. My brother and husband ate breakfast at Ama Ama and said it was awesome. I know some people dont like the food, but we were impressed. We also walked down to the Marriott ( not the one next door) and had a steak dinner and theres a mexican place across the street along with ABC store that had food. We also took the car and ate at some local places as wella s cooked in the room!
We also did a group trip to the spa!! AWESOME!!! you can go and enjoy hot tubs, rain showers, saunas etc before and after your treatments. We all did the lomilomi massage and thought it was awesome!! :cloud9:
We didnt have any kids with us so I cant speak about aunties but the kids seemed to love it!
We also participated in the free crafts some of the days. We made flower leis and we were their fort the fourth of july and they had watermelon eating contests and stickers and prizes. Also you can send a free postcard to your family and friends! And we went to the Starlit Hui which is the nightime show a couple times a week. Basically a luau without food. It was cute and I liked it!
Basically theres tons to do at the resort and around the island. We just stayed on Oahu so im sure there is tons more to do if you island hop.
Originally we thought 'once in a lifetime' trip but now we cannot WAIT to plan and go back! Have so much funn!!
*sorry this was so long. I probably could go on and on and on about Aulani!
Id post a few pictures but I dont think we can/i dont know how to??