How much time to stay at Aulani vs. site seeing the island?

WolfpackFan · Sep 23, 2016

DW and I have been discussing this. We will be at Aulani next April for a week. Typically I am the kind that always has to be on the go while DW would like nothing better than to lay out on the beach all day reading. This trip though, I am more into just relaxing at the resort. We've been to Oahu before and have seen Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, etc. I would like to go back to Pearl Harbor and DW wants to do the movie tour. She has also talked about doing a zip line tour, which I'm not real excited about (don't like heights). I'd also like to go to the North Shore and get some shrimp tacos. I guess I am leaning towards doing two days of site seeing and spend the rest of the time at the resort and DW agrees with that. What has been your experience? Do you wish you had spent more time at the resort than you did? Or more time site seeing the island?

Soccerluvinmama · Sep 23, 2016

We do 10 days every year, and I never plan more than 3-4 days off property. We do Oahu one day (always time it around the swap meet schedule), one day on the north shore, and then another day or two left open for another excursion that comes up. I don't count the first or last day as "resort days" because they are always abbreviated. So that gives us 4 "resort days" which is good for me. Gotta have some time to lay around and work on my tan

cmph · Sep 23, 2016

That's a loaded question! It sounds like you've done a lot on Oahu already. We made a point of going all over the island this summer, b/c it was 3/4 of the family's first time there. We had an 8 night stay and did off-site activities 3 and 1/2 days. I thought that was fine, and I wouldn't have done it another way - b/c there was so much the kids and I had never seen. The kids probably would say they wished we had stayed at the resort for some of those excursions though (I'm sure DD would have preferred the resort to Pearl Harbor, but that wasn't an option!). And I won't feel the need to repeat most of the things we did, so there is no way we'd spend that much time off-site again. There are a lot of activities at the resort, if you need a break from laying on the beach but want something to do. There are a couple different tours of Aulani, animation classes, fitness classes, etc that would appeal to adults. I feel like we missed out on some things b/c we focused on what the kids wanted to do when we had resort days, and since each kid wanted to do different things - that meant we grown-ups really never got to pick what we wanted to do. I am still bummed I didn't do one of the tours. Oh, and the spa, don't forget the spa! Now that we made sure to do!!

Dis_Yoda · Sep 25, 2016

We spent 7 Nights there and I felt it was a good mix for us of relaxation and doing things each days. We did something everything day but we still got to enjoy the resort a fair amount.

What we ended up doing:

Arrival Day:
Dinner At Monkeypod
Settled In

Day 2:
Early Morning Sunrise @ Beach
Dole Plantation + Train Tour
North Shore Soap Company
Shaved Ice
Beet Box Cafe Lunch
Relaxed At Resort (Swimming)
Paradise Cove Luau

Day 3:
Kuala Ranch Movie Tour
Botanical Garden
Blowhole
Morimoto Waikiki Lunch
Relaxed at Resort
Pizza Corner Dinner

Day 4:
Sunrise Yoga
Adult Area Cabana at Resort
'Ama 'Ama Dinner

Day 5:
Pearl Harbor
USS Missouri Heart of Missouri Tour
Cajun King Lunch
Relaxed at Hotel
Noe Dinner (At Four Seasons)

Day 6:
Diamondhead Hike
Waikiki Aquarium
Kona Brewing Company Lunch
Comic Book Store Shopping
Spa Afternoon for Dis_Yoda (Gym/relaxation for husband)
Alan Wong's Dinner

Day 7:
Iolani Palace
Waikiki Brewing Company
Afternoon at Resort
Hoku Dinner

Day 8:
Turtle Beach Attempt
'Ama 'Ama Breakfast
Relaxation
Movies
(Drama of locking keys in truck)
Flying Home

Writing it down like that makes it seem like we did a lot - but at the pace we did things and the afternoons at the hotels - we got to enjoy a lot the hotel had to offer. We left really relaxed and felt we got to experience Aulani. We could have done the luau show at the hotel as we were back in the room in time we just decided not to.

WolfpackFan · Sep 26, 2016

Dis_Yoda said:
We spent 7 Nights there and I felt it was a good mix for us of relaxation and doing things each days. We did something everything day but we still got to enjoy the resort a fair amount.

Thanks loads for this list. It is a good guide of things to do on the island.

85glht · Sep 26, 2016

Dis_Yoda said:
We spent 7 Nights there and I felt it was a good mix for us of relaxation and doing things each days. We did something everything day but we still got to enjoy the resort a fair amount.

What we ended up doing:

Arrival Day:
Dinner At Monkeypod
Settled In

Day 2:
Early Morning Sunrise @ Beach
Dole Plantation + Train Tour
North Shore Soap Company
Shaved Ice
Beet Box Cafe Lunch
Relaxed At Resort (Swimming)
Paradise Cove Luau

Day 3:
Kuala Ranch Movie Tour
Botanical Garden
Blowhole
Morimoto Waikiki Lunch
Relaxed at Resort
Pizza Corner Dinner

Day 4:
Sunrise Yoga
Adult Area Cabana at Resort
'Ama 'Ama Dinner

Day 5:
Pearl Harbor
USS Missouri Heart of Missouri Tour
Cajun King Lunch
Relaxed at Hotel
Noe Dinner (At Four Seasons)

Day 6:
Diamondhead Hike
Waikiki Aquarium
Kona Brewing Company Lunch
Comic Book Store Shopping
Spa Afternoon for Dis_Yoda (Gym/relaxation for husband)
Alan Wong's Dinner

Day 7:
Iolani Palace
Waikiki Brewing Company
Afternoon at Resort
Hoku Dinner

Day 8:
Turtle Beach Attempt
'Ama 'Ama Breakfast
Relaxation
Movies
(Drama of locking keys in truck)
Flying Home

Writing it down like that makes it seem like we did a lot - but at the pace we did things and the afternoons at the hotels - we got to enjoy a lot the hotel had to offer. We left really relaxed and felt we got to experience Aulani. We could have done the luau show at the hotel as we were back in the room in time we just decided not to.

Exactly what we did.... Mornings we were on the run around the island and made our way back to the resort by early afternoon to enjoy the amenities ...... Especially the lazy river.

ehrawn · Sep 26, 2016

WolfpackFan said:
DW and I have been discussing this. We will be at Aulani next April for a week. Typically I am the kind that always has to be on the go while DW would like nothing better than to lay out on the beach all day reading. This trip though, I am more into just relaxing at the resort. We've been to Oahu before and have seen Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, etc. I would like to go back to Pearl Harbor and DW wants to do the movie tour. She has also talked about doing a zip line tour, which I'm not real excited about (don't like heights). I'd also like to go to the North Shore and get some shrimp tacos. I guess I am leaning towards doing two days of site seeing and spend the rest of the time at the resort and DW agrees with that. What has been your experience? Do you wish you had spent more time at the resort than you did? Or more time site seeing the island?

Our family can spend all day/every day at the Resort...as long as I can break away for breakfast & coffee at Island Vintage. The kids never want to leave the pool, and DW and I are happy to have a moment to sit and read. The general advice to visitors I give is that if this is the first and only time you are likely to come to Oahu, then go see the Island. Otherwise, enjoy the amenities that you are paying for and relax. Since you've already seen the absolute essential thing (the Valor in the Pacific Monument), then let it go and don't feel bad about staying on property.

Mackenzie Click-Mickelson · Sep 26, 2016

My husband and I just got back from Hawaii a week ago-we stayed in Makaha (our condo was about 12miles north along the coast from Aulani). While we did not stay at Aulani we did visit there for a few hours (had lunch at Ama Ama) as well as ended up in Ko Olina 2 or 3 times total. Mainly we were in Oahu for relaxation but we did do a few things.

We went to the Pearl Harbor Historical Sites area where there is the USS Arizona, USS Battleship Missouri, USS Bowfin and the Pacific Aviation Museum. We got there about 7:30am and didn't leave until about 3pm and we didn't even do the Aviation Museum. It honestly was a really good thing to see.

We took about half a day and drove around the island. Hawaii has some really good scenic look out points and if you weren't able to do that on your last trip you may consider doing that.

If you're going to North Shore I also would recommend Beachhouse..we actually went there twice (once for lunch one day and the other time for dinner and got beautiful sunset). We did a Sunset Catamaran Dinner cruise.

Personally speaking I think Hawaii is a place to do some site seeing but not a go go go type trip. However, you may consider looking into a Go Oahu card (just google Go Oahu). We decided against an X-day pass and just did a build-your-own-pass for the USS Bowfin, USS Battleship Missouri and the Catamaran cruise because we really just wanted to relax instead of feeling like we needed to do all sorts of stuff.

Having visited Aulani I could see where you would only need to spend a few days out and about. I myself absolutely loved reading on the beach but I still wanted to be able to go and do things as well.

WolfpackFan · Sep 27, 2016

I think we've about narrowed down what we want to do. 2 1/2 days of site seeing and 3 1/2 days of resort. One day we would do the Kualoa Ranch movie tour in the morning and the PCC in the afternoon. The other day we'd do Pearl Harbor in morning. I would like to see the Bowfin again, but don't care about seeing the Missouri. In the afternoon, we'd probably head to Waikiki Beach stopping by the Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace on the way (we've seen them both, but would like to see them again). I would like to have dinner at Dukes. On the half day we'd drive up to have lunch at a shrimp truck on the North Shore with a stop at Dole Plantation (just to get a tee shirt, been there before and love the tee shirt I got but it is worn out).

Does this sound reasonable?

cedricandsophie · Sep 27, 2016

We go for ten days every year for last 4 years. We have been all around Oahu. And we never leave resort any more except for some meals. Stay at pool all day. We love it!

alohamom · Sep 27, 2016

WolfpackFan said:
I think we've about narrowed down what we want to do. 2 1/2 days of site seeing and 3 1/2 days of resort. One day we would do the Kualoa Ranch movie tour in the morning and the PCC in the afternoon. The other day we'd do Pearl Harbor in morning. I would like to see the Bowfin again, but don't care about seeing the Missouri. In the afternoon, we'd probably head to Waikiki Beach stopping by the Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace on the way (we've seen them both, but would like to see them again). I would like to have dinner at Dukes. On the half day we'd drive up to have lunch at a shrimp truck on the North Shore with a stop at Dole Plantation (just to get a tee shirt, been there before and love the tee shirt I got but it is worn out).

Does this sound reasonable?

I think this is well balanced. The only thing I would make sure you factor in is traffic, especially on the Pearl Harbor/Waikiki day but this is all do-able imo.

NanMar · Sep 28, 2016

we are going for 7 nights. We book our flights so we arrive at 11am and depart at 8 pm so we can just about enjoy the full day there and tire the kids out for the flight. So far this is what we have planned. Oh and don't forget to read about Pele's curse.

Arrival Day

Day 1: Makahiki Breakfast
Halloween Day - waiting to see if any activities are planned at the hotel

Day 2: Sunset yoga
Pearl Harbor
Surf Lesson

Day 3: Dolphin experience at Sea Life
Shark treck
New Ka Wa'a Luau

Day 4: Resort
Menehune Dinner

Day 5: Dole Plantation
Dinner at Ama Ama

Day 6: Swap meet

Departure day

aulanidreamer · Oct 1, 2016

We always do a split stay because Oahu traffic is terrible and it is a hassle to get most anywhere from Aulani (northshore and Pearl Harbor are ok). Why pay the high rates at Aulani if you won't even be there to enjoy it. We rent a house/condo for 3 nights on another part of the island (often Waimanalo) to get the touristy stuff done before we relax all day by the pool/ cove. The beaches on the east side are so beautiful and very different from Aulani.

CampbellzSoup · Oct 2, 2016

70/30

Aulani is the main event.

nkereina · Oct 3, 2016

We just returned from 7 days/6 nights at Aulani. We explored and did activities 2 of the 7 days and did it kind of every other day. It worked great for us. Here's what we did:

Saturday - Arrival day around 4pm, just ate & hung out at the resort
Sunday - Pool day at Aulani
Monday - North Shore day
Tuesday - Pool day at Aulani & Spa
Wednesday - Kualoa Ranch day
Thursday - Pool day at Aulani
Friday - Morning at Aulani, left around noon

We're two adults, no kids, so there were times we'd get slightly bored with lounging at the pool so we thought this was a good mix of activities and enjoying the resort.

Donalyn · Oct 4, 2016

We are also planning to split our stay. Three nights at Aulani - to relax and experience the resort. Don't plan to leave, other than maybe for meals. The other three night in town and we will be sightseeing demons. Don't know if we will get back to Hawaii any time soon.

Captain Canada · Dec 31, 2017

We are planning a trip for August. We’ve done a Hawaiian Cruise for a honeymoon where we got a taste of each island. We are returning years later with our seven year old son. I’m planning on staying in the North Shore at Turtle Bay Resort then going to Aulani. I’m on the fence whether to spend four nights at Turtle Bay then five nights at Aulani or five nights at Turtle Bay and four at Aulani. I am interested in almost all the tours available at the ranch but I’m thinking my husband will be reluctant to keep returning to the same location. My husband would prefer to spend most of the time enjoying the resort with the occasional scenic drive. If we get to Aulani and really want another day in the North Shore, how hectic would the drive to the North Shore be? Definitely not interested in being stuck in traffic. Thanks!

cgattis · Dec 31, 2017

Captain Canada said:
We are planning a trip for August. We’ve done a Hawaiian Cruise for a honeymoon where we got a taste of each island. We are returning years later with our seven year old son. I’m planning on staying in the North Shore at Turtle Bay Resort then going to Aulani. I’m on the fence whether to spend four nights at Turtle Bay then five nights at Aulani or five nights at Turtle Bay and four at Aulani. I am interested in almost all the tours available at the ranch but I’m thinking my husband will be reluctant to keep returning to the same location. My husband would prefer to spend most of the time enjoying the resort with the occasional scenic drive. If we get to Aulani and really want another day in the North Shore, how hectic would the drive to the North Shore be? Definitely not interested in being stuck in traffic. Thanks!

We left for the north shore from Aulani around 9, returned around 4, on a weekday, and had no traffic to speak of.

OKW Lover · Dec 31, 2017

After a very short (3-night) first stay at Aulani we have lengthened our stays to a week and then to ~12 nights. We usually spend maybe half (or more) days driving around the island to various sites/shops/restaurants. The other days we just camp out at the (adult) pool, do the spa or just enjoy our veranda.

How much time to stay at Aulani vs. site seeing the island?

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