Anyone stay at Aulani and never leave the resort?

[amystevekai&bump]

Hi,

We are planning a special 40th birthday trip to Hawaii in 2015 and are hoping to spend 5 days at Aulani. Having seen the beautiful new photos of the pool areas, I can imagine us not wanting to ever leave!

We will also have 2 nights on Waikiki Beach before a 7 night cruise of the islands (The big island, Maui and Kauai) - so my question is....

Are there things in Oahu I should attempt to see while we are at Aulani - or do you find yourselves never wanting to leave the resort once you're there?

We are planning to climb Diamond Head and spend some time on Waikiki beach during the two nights earlier in the trip - but should we venture further in Oahu or just make the most of our time in Disney's paradise 'bubble'?!

Many thanks for any opinions

 

[surfer_ed]

I had a hard time getting my wife and kids to leave. We left to do the Dophione watching and they liked that. Left one other time to go see a surfing contest...I am an ex surfer so I loved it and so did my wife. My kids complained the whole time they wanted to go back to the pool.

 

[Anal Annie]

We haven't stayed at Aulani (yet) but personally I can't imagine spending all that time and money flying all that way and NOT going out to enjoy the island(s) some. I have been to Hawaii 4x before and there is so much beauty all around you - we have not ventured to the north shore before and I can't wait to take surf lessons and see the turtles etc. We hope to spend 7 nights there when we go and I am going to plan 2 "resort only days" that don't involve other sightseeing. I think we would be bored if we didn't do Pearl Harbor & some adventurous excursions. Even on the days that we DO go out to do stuff I would imagine we'll be back to the resort in mid-afternoon and will still have several hours to enjoy the beach or pools. If all I wanted to do was plop myself at a resort all day I wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on airfare to do it. I would go to an all inclusive somewhere in the Caribbean instead. JM2C.

 

[OKWJan]

There is so much to see all over the island, for me it would be a waste to just stay at Aulani. We went to the Dole plantation, north shore, Pali Lookout, Diamond Head, Peal Harbor, and all over (my husband loves to explore and drive). That being said, I have no desire to stay at Wikiki Beach...it was like driving in New York City. Aulani is beautiful peaceful, and wonderful. We spent at lot of time there too. We have friends that stayed two weeks and only left for 3 of those days. Everyone had their own way to vacation. You will love it there though

 

[TagsMissy]

We mixed it up. We had 10 days there our last trip and had a car so we could at our own leisure scoot around the island but we had days we just stayed at the resort and relaxed, leaving only to make a little run for groceries.

 

[dsneygirl]

We only left 1 day and then maybe 3 or 4 runs to the store. We took one day to drive the north shore, see the turtles etc. Nothing we had to pay for (other than the shrimp trucks) but we had two young children and we found it really easy to just sit and do nothing all day long. I loved it and could have done 2 or 3 more days of it.

I think the opposite of many I can't imagine spending all those points to NOT use the resort. If I was going to tour every day I would just priceline in Waikiki or something like that.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We actually spent far more time at the resort than we originally planned on. But DH and I have both been to the Hawaiian Islands multiple times and he even lived on Oahu for a short period. If it were our first visit I'd guess we would have gone out and about more but then again we just really enjoyed the resort.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

There is something sooo welcoming and relaxing about Aulani! You wil love it there! We stayed for three nights and did not venture out. I would play it by ear. It is night and day compared to Waikiki.

 

[Meemoo]

Aulani certainly makes you feel like you never want to leave, I could stay there and not step out of the resort, there is one reason that I would though - food! If you're staying more than a few nights the dining options feel limited and are quite expensive. On our last trip, we had 2 nights in Waikiki, I did a Circle Island Tour, and this I felt covered the most of it for us. We have previously been to Oahu though and have already visited Pearl Harbor. Next trip we will base ourselves at Aulani (no interest in Waikiki anymore!) and hire a car to visit the places we liked most at our own leisure. I must admit though I was telling DH not to hire the car for so many days, because I didn't want to feel like I needed to leave Aulani

 

[jerseygal]

Planning a May trip to Aulani, can't wait!

Have been doing a ton of research, but I am not familiar with the Circle Island tour? What are the details?

THANKS MUCH!!!!!!

 

[sissy_ib]

I have not been but my plans for most days will be to do site seeing in the morning and have the afternoon and evening to relax at the resort. This will be our first time to Hawaii and I cant imagine spending it all at the resort. We could go somewhere just as nice and much closer if we wanted to do that.

 

[Meemoo]

Planning a May trip to Aulani, can't wait!

Have been doing a ton of research, but I am not familiar with the Circle Island tour? What are the details?

THANKS MUCH!!!!!!

We did our Circle Island Tour with Roberts Hawaii, they run numerous tours across the islands. It was a pretty good deal too, I'm sure it was around or under $50, fully a/c modern tour bus. It was a full day, took us to all the places of interest around Oahu, it is perfect if you have not seen the whole island. They also do a tour that includes Pearl Harbor. Google them!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Thanks everyone

I must admit I like the idea of going out for half days and then having either the morning or afternoon at the resort. My husband and I visited Hawaii about 15 years ago and aside from Pearl Harbor (which was unforgettable) my memory is very hazy.

I will investigate the tours mentioned above to get a better understanding of what else there is to see - thanks ever so much

 

[boiseflyfisher]

We stayed for 10 days and our only outings were a drive to the North Shore and a trip to Diamond Head. The rest of the time we spent enjoying the resort. It was the most relaxing vacation ever.

 

[DenLo]

We went to the North Shore and Pearl Harbor during our 7 days at Aulani. Both ended up being half day trips. We didn't spend that much time on the North Shore as we didn't snorkel.

I could easily just stay at Aulani. There are additional dining options nearby within walking distance and an ABC market that you could buy some expensive groceries for the room. If you are renting a car, I would still take one morning and go to Pearl Harbor, everyone should see it once.