Aloha Swap Meet?

[Disneybridewifemama]

We leave in one month (YAYYYYY!) for our first Aulani trip! I'm trying to decide if we are going to take a day to explore the island at all. My husband and I have been before and done all of the touristy stuff but this is our DD-6 first trip. I'm debating on if its worth the rental car fee and losing a resort day since I don't think our daughter would be interested in any of the tourist stuff. I am bummed though because I wanted to stop by the aloha swap meet. I've heard its the best place to get souvenirs like local coffee to take home, sarongs and they even have american girl hawaiian dresses ( A HUGE perk for my DD ) but I don't want to rent a car just to shop there.

Are there any places close to the resort to get those types of things?

Or should I consider just renting a car, shopping and grabbing some lunch somewhere and/or shaved ice? Are the good shaved ice and/or food trucks anywhere near the swap meet? The swap meet is apparently next to pearl harbor. We originally planned to do pearl harbor but I just don't think my DD is old enough to appreciate and understand it all without getting scared, she scares easily and I don't want to ruin the trip that way. My husband and I have already been when we were younger so we decided to skip it this trip.

 

[Gorechick]

The Island Country Market ABC store in the shopping center across the street has sarongs, t shirts, jewelry, and other souvenirs at reasonable prices.

 

[wanderlust7]

Do you have to pay for parking? If not, you might want to cost out the rental car vs the roundtrip shuttle cost. If it's not that much more, it might be worth it for the flexibility. Not just for the Swap Meet, but also for Target/Costco runs and nearby restaurants in Kapolei.

 

[alohamom]

I think there are sooo many beautiful beaches on Oahu that it is worth it to get off property for one day and check them out with a 6 year old. The lagoons at Ko Olina are man made and feel really artificial to me but I am very much a beach person. Another thought is to do the swap meet like you said and then head up to the North Shore area to the Dole Plantation. I think that place would be heaven for a 6 year old. They have Dole Whip, a train ride, a giant hedge maze, etc. The swap meet is just past Pearl City so from there the drive to Dole is maybe half an hour.

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

We do have to pay for parking, so we would just do a day rental so we didn't have to pay for overnight parking. We plan on doing target/costco on our way into aulani. We have a car that day, so that is why it's hard to justify another day of car rental fees. We have the shuttle booked for the return trip to the airport since the aulani alamo won't let you do one way rentals.

does the and store sell authentic island souvenirs or just the generic made in china type souvenirs? that's the main reason i was leaning towards going to the swap meet is that I've heard it's the best place to get the local stuff.

thanks so much for all of the replies so far

 

[alohamom]

Most of the stuff at Island Markets/ABC stores (same parent company) is imported but you can get Hawaiian grown and packaged macadamia nuts, coffee etc Here is a link for the made in Hawaii products they will sometimes carry http://www.abcstores.com/made-in-hawaii/

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

Most of the stuff at Island Markets/ABC stores (same parent company) is imported but you can get Hawaiian grown and packaged macadamia nuts, coffee etc Here is a link for the made in Hawaii products they will sometimes carry http://www.abcstores.com/made-in-hawaii/

This is super helpful. THANK YOU!!!!

 

[Gorechick]

ABC/Island Market also has an online store and catalog that you can order from.

 

[cgattis]

Does anyone know what the usual hours for the swap meet are? Those kinds if things don't usually run on "official" hours. Someone had mentioned that it usually wraps up by noon on Sunday.

 

[Love Hawaii!!]

Does anyone know what the usual hours for the swap meet are? Those kinds if things don't usually run on "official" hours. Someone had mentioned that it usually wraps up by noon on Sunday.

The swap meet has a website where you can get lots of information including their hours. It is definitely worth visiting but allow time because it's huge!! www.alohastadiumswapmeet.net

 

[southerngirl528]

You have to really watch at the swap meet as well as much of what you will is imported. If "Hawaii made" is important to you, be sure to ask. It can get quite warm in the stadium and the best buys are usually found early so my advice is to do just that....go early if you are headed to the swap meet.

Personally I much prefer to find small arts/crafts fairs for locally made items. But even at those you have to watch to check if items are locally made. These kind of events can make for a fun couple of hours.

 

[living20057]

Does anyone know what the usual hours for the swap meet are? Those kinds if things don't usually run on "official" hours. Someone had mentioned that it usually wraps up by noon on Sunday.

I love the swap meet. It's definitely worth the stop. Yes the shop across the street offers items but the variety at the swap meet is awesome. Not sure if it's worth a rental car if your not planning to other things.

http://www.alohastadiumswapmeet.net/content/home.aspx

 

[alyssa810]

The swap meet was absolutely worth it IMO; we did a lot of exploring around the island too, so it was just one of our day trips. Have you looked into a cab or uber (do they have uber there?) if you didn't want to rent a car?

 

[Rubygoose]

I think your 6 year old will enjoy going out and about for at least one day. We just got back from our trip with our 6yo and 8yo. We went to the market at Aloha Stadium on Saturday (the actual flee market/swap meet is on Sunday, but the market vendors are there on certain days.) I think it was $3 to park there. We had a free car rental as part of our package at Aulani, and then we rented a car for another 2 days using Air Miles. We only had to pay parking for one night, because we dropped off the one day car rental that evening, and then had the 2 day car rental overnight. My kids enjoyed looking at all of the trinkets at the market and they found some souvenirs for themselves and for their teachers. We spent a little over an hour there and didn't see all of the vendors.

We also did a pirate cruise that day in Waikiki and then we went to Gemki Sushi, which has Sushi on a conveyor belt, and we had shave ice at Uncle Clay's Pure Aloha (in the same shopping centre - I can't remember what the centre is called.) Then we drove around the lower part of the island and stopped to see the blow hole and then played in some waves. On our other 2 days, we used the Go Oahu card and went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation, ate at food trucks in the North Shore (where the kids drank from a pineapple!), saw sea turtles from a respectful distance on the beach, went to the Polynesian Cultural Centre, Kualoa Ranch, Byodo-In temple, at Sea Life Park. My kids enjoyed their stay at the resort and our "out and about" days just as much. It was nice to have all of the experiences mixed in together.

 

[mommy2eee]

I think your 6 year old will enjoy going out and about for at least one day. We just got back from our trip with our 6yo and 8yo. We went to the market at Aloha Stadium on Saturday (the actual flee market/swap meet is on Sunday, but the market vendors are there on certain days.) I think it was $3 to park there. We had a free car rental as part of our package at Aulani, and then we rented a car for another 2 days using Air Miles. We only had to pay parking for one night, because we dropped off the one day car rental that evening, and then had the 2 day car rental overnight. My kids enjoyed looking at all of the trinkets at the market and they found some souvenirs for themselves and for their teachers. We spent a little over an hour there and didn't see all of the vendors.

We also did a pirate cruise that day in Waikiki and then we went to Gemki Sushi, which has Sushi on a conveyor belt, and we had shave ice at Uncle Clay's Pure Aloha (in the same shopping centre - I can't remember what the centre is called.) Then we drove around the lower part of the island and stopped to see the blow hole and then played in some waves. On our other 2 days, we used the Go Oahu card and went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation, ate at food trucks in the North Shore (where the kids drank from a pineapple!), saw sea turtles from a respectful distance on the beach, went to the Polynesian Cultural Centre, Kualoa Ranch, Byodo-In temple, at Sea Life Park. My kids enjoyed their stay at the resort and our "out and about" days just as much. It was nice to have all of the experiences mixed in together.

Can I ask @Rubygoose what did you think of Kualoa Ranch? Did you do a tour there? We book the movie tour as my DH and I are Lost fans. Thanks for posting. My DD9 will love the swap meet too!

 

[Rubygoose]

We did the Jungle Expedition - I'm a lost fan too, but I didn't want to do the movie tour because I didn't want to ride on the big bus. We were able to see a lot more from the Jungle vehicles, I think. There was a family on our tour that did the movie tour the day before, and they enjoyed this one more. They said the other tour was on the other side of the property. Once you're at the ranch, you see the big mountains, and you can tell that you're in "Lost" land. The tour guide/driver showed us two locations from Jurassic World and a covered up set from an upcoming movie (she didn't tell us what it is, but the family who did the other tour said that it's King Kong.) We drove up to a lookout point and were able to get out and hike a little bit, and the view was breathtaking! Bring a light jacket or sweater, as the weather on that side of the island will be cooler than in Ko'Olina.

On the way to Kualoa, we stopped at the Boydo-In temple, mainly because this is also a Lost filming location (It's Sun's Father's house.) I'm so glad that we stopped there, because it's a beautiful, very special place. My kids enjoyed feeding the koi and they liked the little gift shop. You can remove your shoes and go inside to see the Buddha statue.

When we drove through the North Shore, I asked a lady where we could find turtles and she let me know which beach to go to. Seeing turtles and seeing Lost sights were on my 'to-do" list. Well, it turns out that the beach where we saw the turtles was just steps from the private property where the beach scenes from Lost were filmed! We also saw the lighthouse across from Sea Life Park, which is in several scenes of Lost.

 

[mommy2eee]

We did the Jungle Expedition - I'm a lost fan too, but I didn't want to do the movie tour because I didn't want to ride on the big bus. We were able to see a lot more from the Jungle vehicles, I think. There was a family on our tour that did the movie tour the day before, and they enjoyed this one more. They said the other tour was on the other side of the property. Once you're at the ranch, you see the big mountains, and you can tell that you're in "Lost" land. The tour guide/driver showed us two locations from Jurassic World and a covered up set from an upcoming movie (she didn't tell us what it is, but the family who did the other tour said that it's King Kong.) We drove up to a lookout point and were able to get out and hike a little bit, and the view was breathtaking! Bring a light jacket or sweater, as the weather on that side of the island will be cooler than in Ko'Olina.

On the way to Kualoa, we stopped at the Boydo-In temple, mainly because this is also a Lost filming location (It's Sun's Father's house.) I'm so glad that we stopped there, because it's a beautiful, very special place. My kids enjoyed feeding the koi and they liked the little gift shop. You can remove your shoes and go inside to see the Buddha statue.

When we drove through the North Shore, I asked a lady where we could find turtles and she let me know which beach to go to. Seeing turtles and seeing Lost sights were on my 'to-do" list. Well, it turns out that the beach where we saw the turtles was just steps from the private property where the beach scenes from Lost were filmed! We also saw the lighthouse across from Sea Life Park, which is in several scenes of Lost.

@Rubygoose that is fantastic! I just binge watch the entire Lost series (again) in anticipation of our trip and seeing all of these awesome places. My daughters wish is to swim with dolphins so we are going to Sealife park one day...will look for lighthouse!
Did you ever see turtles near Aulani? I hear there are some towards paradise cove.

 

[Rubygoose]

@Rubygoose that is fantastic! I just binge watch the entire Lost series (again) in anticipation of our trip and seeing all of these awesome places. My daughters wish is to swim with dolphins so we are going to Sealife park one day...will look for lighthouse!
Did you ever see turtles near Aulani? I hear there are some towards paradise cove.

We didn't walk around that side because of the construction. We saw the sea turtles on Laniakea Beach in the North Shore, just past Papailoa Rd. It's definitely worth the drive to take a car and explore the island. It's fun to stay at the resort, but you don't really feel like you're in Hawaii unless you drive around. It's also good to have a car to go and get some other food and souvenirs off the resort, since everything is so expensive at Aulani. The kids bought small stuffies at the gift shop that were $25 each and they were pretty small - we could have gotten large ones for that price at DLR or the Disney store. Everything at the gift shop was about $10 more than at DLR. I almost bought a key chain, but it was $15!

 

[nkereina]

@Rubygoose - thanks for sharing your Kualoa Ranch experience! Sorry to hijack the thread, but do you recall how long it took to get there from Aulani? We know we want to go there but are debating between 2 tours versus 3 tours, whether we should eat there, if we should make time to stop in Kailua on the way there or on the way back. How long were you actually at the Ranch? Thanks!

 

[Rubygoose]

@Rubygoose - thanks for sharing your Kualoa Ranch experience! Sorry to hijack the thread, but do you recall how long it took to get there from Aulani? We know we want to go there but are debating between 2 tours versus 3 tours, whether we should eat there, if we should make time to stop in Kailua on the way there or on the way back. How long were you actually at the Ranch? Thanks!

I'll be starting my trip report soon, so keep your eyes peeled .

We did the 2 day Go Oahu card, so we could only do one tour per day, but if you pay out of pocket, you could easily do more than one tour. Our kids were too young to do the zipline, ATV or horseback riding, so we didn't have many other tours to choose from - we're also not good on boats!

We left Aulani at about 8am and stopped at the Byodo-In temple just before 9am (which I would highly recommend!) They opened at 9am, but they let us in before 9. We spent about 45 minutes there, and two big tour buses pulled up right as we were leaving. It only took about 20 minutes to drive from Byodo-In to Kualoa. We checked in for our 11am tour at about 10:15am. Our tour was 90 minutes, and they are pretty much exactly on time. We had lunch there and it was very good, but very busy. Then it was about an hour to drive down to Sealife Park. I'm glad we ate at Kualoa because there didn't look like many places to stop for lunch on the way. We could have easily gone into Kailua, though, as we saw the exit from the highway. Whether you go on the way there or back will depend on what tours you take and what time of day they are offered.