Aulani suggestions?

[O'MalleytheAlleyCat]

In celebration of my husband's 60th birthday in February of 2017, we are taking a trip over a long weekend with our young adult kids to Disneyland, then just the 2 of us are going on to Aulani for a week. I've only been to Oahu once, and it was over 25 years ago. My husband has never been. I'd love to hear any suggestions you have about places to see, or eat (we LOVE to eat!). We will have a car and do plan to see the USS Arizona and the Pearl Harbor Memorial. We'd also like to drive up to the north shore to see the botanical gardens and hopefully watch some good surfing. We're not huge water people, so don't intend to spend a lot of time in the ocean or pools, but will find time to visit them and relax, I'm sure. We'll be staying in a 1BR garden view room at the resort. A couple of specific questions I had:

1. We've done food tours in other cities we've visited and enjoyed them very much. Has anyone done any of the food tours on Oahu and do you have an opinion on them?

2. We plan to do a luau while we're there. I see the resort has one. Is that the best, or are there other specific ones you would recommend as being better? Maybe at the Polynesian Cultural Center?

3. My husband has a neurodegenerative disease and has begun experiencing some movement issues. Bike riding is out for us, but some hiking would be OK, if there are specific places you might suggest.

Thanks, everyone!!

[lawgirl]

My sister lives in Honolulu, and we usually go once a year. I LOVE Aulani. Its spectacular. I have not done any of the food tours yet. Which one are you looking at doing? The Aulani luau seems really overpriced to me. It used to be free- well the nightly show was free. We were lucky enough to stay in a 1 bedroom overlooking the Halawai Lawn and got to see the show from our patio every night. Its a shame they decided to start charging for it. Definitely do not go next door to the Paradise Cove. My friends said it was ridiculous. But funny. I would go with the Cultural Center, or sometimes local chefs will host a gourmet luau.

We love touring the Dole Plantation, Bishop Museum, Waimea Botanic Gardens has a gorgeous hike to a waterfall. We finally visited Pearl Harbor for the first time this July and loved it. I will definitely be going back. We toured the Bowfin submarine which was amazing. There is a nice hike at Manoa Falls near the University. We took a train ride through the Hawaiian Railway Society. It starts out not too far from Aulani, and actually goes past Aulani. The scenery is just amazing, and if you like trains at all, it really is a great experience. My whole family loved it. I would definitely plan on spending a good part of the day at Waimea Botanical Gardens. It is one of our favorite places!

Check out the restaurants across the street from Aulani- Monkey Pod is a nice alternative to Aulani. There is also a nice Target, Starbucks, TJ Maxx shopping center not too far from Aulani that is convenient for getting groceries and souveniers.

Always check local traffic before you head out...when we were there the highway was backed up for about 5 hours due to construction and also Biden was visiting. Traffic can be crazy!

Enjoy Aulani. It is truly a magical place!

[baldburke]

The Aulani luau seems really overpriced to me. It used to be free- well the nightly show was free. We were lucky enough to stay in a 1 bedroom overlooking the Halawai Lawn and got to see the show from our patio every night. Its a shame they decided to start charging for it. Definitely do not go next door to the Paradise Cove. My friends said it was ridiculous. But funny. I would go with the Cultural Center, or sometimes local chefs will host a gourmet luau.

Aulani just announced a new luau called KA WA'A that opens at the beginning of November so the show you are referencing may be older? Friends have told us that the Paradise Cove show was very good. Either way they sounds like fun. Enjoy!

[O'MalleytheAlleyCat]

I have not done any of the food tours yet. Which one are you looking at doing?

We were looking at some of the "eat like a local" tours. Of course, we'd have to find out way into Honolulu to go on those, but we've had such good experiences in the past, I think we might try it. Thanks for the suggestions!!

[azcavalier]

How much is the luau?

[baldburke]

How much is the luau?

Adults are $159/$119 for VIP or general admission. The keiki are $109/$79 for the same breakdown. VIP gets you up front seating and alcohol included. Otherwise it's cash bar. If you go for the general admission then it's first come, first served. If you send one in your party down 30 to 60 minutes ahead of time then you should be very close to the front. However there really isn't a bad seat in the house as it is a relatively small audience. Enjoy!