Aulani- Day Trips

flinkerfrosch

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
I need some help from all you Aulani/Hawaii experts, please and thank you!
My family is coming to Aulani in Nov for 11 days. We have a few day trips planned, but I'm confused as how to plan it out because from what I have read and goggle mapped, some things are one way and others, another....

Here is what we have planned so far..

*Day trip to North Shore (any suggestions/stops appreciated)

*Laniakea Beach (Turtle Beach) ••• I believe this is one of the stops we can make while exploring the North Shore??

*Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve (Snorkelling) •••Is this something we should do as a separate day trip or is this one on the way to North Shore? I have read you need to arrive very early ie: 7:30am

*Dole Plantation •••I believe this is a stop we can make while on our way to the North Shore??

*Pearl Harbour••• Would this be a separate day trip? Anything else you suggest we could add?

*North Shore Shark Encounters••• My plan was to possibly do this first thing in the am, and then continue on the journey to North Shore, not sure?

*Day trip to Waikiki Beach

I'm trying to figure out how many things we can do in 1 day and others we should do as a separate day trip. We will have a rental car the entire 11 days.

One more question...is North Shore a 'place' or is it just stops along the way around the Island? Can you go all the way around the Island or do you start in one place and end in another?

Sorry so many questions, but any help would be appreciated!

Thanks so much! :)
 
You are correct in assuming many of those can be done the same day.

Waikiki should be a separate trip or could be combined with an early morning climb of Diamond Head or a visit to the Halona Blowhole or could be combined with your early morning snorkel at Hanauma Bay.

Pearl Harbor is a day by itself when combined with visiting the Missouri and Pacific Aviation Museum.

Hanauma Bay is not on the way to the North Shore.

The North Shore is the town of Haleiwa and a lot of stops nearby.

You can definitely drive around the island. We have driven from Aulani to the North Shore, continued to Turtle Bay Resort to look around, kept going by the Kualoa Ranch, then to the Byodo-In Temple, when hitting the H3 we have taken it back to Aulani and other times continued past to Kaionas a small beach park that provides access to the Magnum PI tidepool, next stop the Makai Pier where TC kept his helicopter, park for a bit and hike to the Makapu'u Tidepools, next stop would be Sandy Beach, then on to the Halona Blowhole, stop by Hanauma Bay, then a drive through suburbs of Honolulu, stopping at Leonards to get up the energy to complete the drive, a stop to stretch our legs at Waikiki, past the airport and home to Aulani.

I found it best to just explore maps.google.com looking for interesting places and getting my bearings for what is close together and what is on opposite sides of the island.

I try not to plan more than 2 or 3 things to do on the same trip. With as many days as you have, you can afford to take multiple days to explore the rest of the island and still have plenty of time to just hang around Aulani.
 
You are correct in assuming many of those can be done the same day.

Waikiki should be a separate trip or could be combined with an early morning climb of Diamond Head or a visit to the Halona Blowhole or could be combined with your early morning snorkel at Hanauma Bay.

Pearl Harbor is a day by itself when combined with visiting the Missouri and Pacific Aviation Museum.

Hanauma Bay is not on the way to the North Shore.

The North Shore is the town of Haleiwa and a lot of stops nearby.

You can definitely drive around the island. We have driven from Aulani to the North Shore, continued to Turtle Bay Resort to look around, kept going by the Kualoa Ranch, then to the Byodo-In Temple, when hitting the H3 we have taken it back to Aulani and other times continued past to Kaionas a small beach park that provides access to the Magnum PI tidepool, next stop the Makai Pier where TC kept his helicopter, park for a bit and hike to the Makapu'u Tidepools, next stop would be Sandy Beach, then on to the Halona Blowhole, stop by Hanauma Bay, then a drive through suburbs of Honolulu, stopping at Leonards to get up the energy to complete the drive, a stop to stretch our legs at Waikiki, past the airport and home to Aulani.

I found it best to just explore maps.google.com looking for interesting places and getting my bearings for what is close together and what is on opposite sides of the island.

I try not to plan more than 2 or 3 things to do on the same trip. With as many days as you have, you can afford to take multiple days to explore the rest of the island and still have plenty of time to just hang around Aulani.


Wow! I'm tired reading all that lol! So much to do in Hawaii!

I love the idea of doing Hanauma Bay with Waikiki for a day trip. I also loved the other 2 ideas you had and will need to do some research on those ie: Diamond Head & the Halona Blowhole.

The message you wrote about what you did in one day was, well, wow! Sounds like you got a ton accomplished in one day.

We certainly want to make the best of our trip, and want some down time at Aulani, but also some great, funfilled, action packed day trips!

We're also doing 10 days in Maui pre Aulani, so I'm so excited as to what we will get to do and see at both islands.

Thanks so much for the tips and info:)
 
I would highly recommend the Oahu Revealed guidebook. Lots of good overview maps will help you know what's where in general. Plus I enjoy the fun writing style. I know some love these books and some don't, but it's hard to argue it's packed full of info, whether you agree with the individual reviews of things or not. They have a website too (hawaiirevealed dot com), but I haven't checked it out yet.
 


I would highly recommend the Oahu Revealed guidebook. Lots of good overview maps will help you know what's where in general. Plus I enjoy the fun writing style. I know some love these books and some don't, but it's hard to argue it's packed full of info, whether you agree with the individual reviews of things or not. They have a website too (hawaiirevealed dot com), but I haven't checked it out yet.

Thank you! I will most definitely check this out. I am a HUGE planner so any and all info I will eat right up!
 
Can I add 2 things we very recently just enjoyed a lot?

By Pearl Harbor, we loved the Swap Meet. Bought tons of souvenirs and wish we could have stayed longer (it was insanely windy and the vendors packed up early).

By Turtle Bay Resort, we did a great Segway Tour (I can find the name if you want). We loved Epcot Segways and later Ft. Wilderness Segways but this was the best of all because we were right by the ocean several times. Lovely guide too.
 
we hiked Manoa Falls, went to the swap meet, stopped by the Dole Plantation, and stopped by 5 North Shore beaches all in one day. I wanted to hike Waimea Falls as well but the little ones were pretty pooped since it was our first day there and we'd gotten up early.
 


Can I add 2 things we very recently just enjoyed a lot?

By Pearl Harbor, we loved the Swap Meet. Bought tons of souvenirs and wish we could have stayed longer (it was insanely windy and the vendors packed up early).

By Turtle Bay Resort, we did a great Segway Tour (I can find the name if you want). We loved Epcot Segways and later Ft. Wilderness Segways but this was the best of all because we were right by the ocean several times. Lovely guide too.

Of course you can add 2 things :)

I forgot about the Swap meet, thanks! We will check that out as well. We plan to go to Pearl Harbour on a Sat or Sunday, so we will go after.

Turtle Bay resort looks beautiful as well. Can a 7 and 9 yr old do a Segway Tour?
 
we hiked Manoa Falls, went to the swap meet, stopped by the Dole Plantation, and stopped by 5 North Shore beaches all in one day. I wanted to hike Waimea Falls as well but the little ones were pretty pooped since it was our first day there and we'd gotten up early.

Wow!! That's a busy day!!!

Did you enjoy the falls? I'm going to check both of them out. I love waterfalls.

Thanks:)
 
Wow!! That's a busy day!!!

Did you enjoy the falls? I'm going to check both of them out. I love waterfalls.

Thanks:)
Yes! Manoa falls was a cool hike and not terribly difficult. Easier than I expected based on what I'd read. I was bummed we didn't get to do Waimea falls though!

We only had a car for one day so we jammed as much as we could in to that day!
 
Of course you can add 2 things :)

I forgot about the Swap meet, thanks! We will check that out as well. We plan to go to Pearl Harbour on a Sat or Sunday, so we will go after.

Turtle Bay resort looks beautiful as well. Can a 7 and 9 yr old do a Segway Tour?

I am so sorry that I forgot you have little ones! I would presume they might be too little for Segways but if you ever do a Hawaiian anniversary trip the two of you, this is the name of the tour. HeLe HuLi Adventure Center, Turtle Bay, Oahu. It was terrific and our Guide, Kelsey, was also terrific.

The Turtle Bay Resort has been around a long time but this was my first trip there...in fact, my first trip to Hawaii period. The waves at Turtle Bay Resort were amazing because it juts out. We didn't stay there as we were at Aulani but worth a trip to just look around and eat lunch there.
 
I am so sorry that I forgot you have little ones! I would presume they might be too little for Segways but if you ever do a Hawaiian anniversary trip the two of you, this is the name of the tour. HeLe HuLi Adventure Center, Turtle Bay, Oahu. It was terrific and our Guide, Kelsey, was also terrific.

The Turtle Bay Resort has been around a long time but this was my first trip there...in fact, my first trip to Hawaii period. The waves at Turtle Bay Resort were amazing because it juts out. We didn't stay there as we were at Aulani but worth a trip to just look around and eat lunch there.

No need to be sorry :goodvibes

Thank you for the info though, it does sounds really fun!!

I would like to check out Turtle Bay Resort. I'm always up for checking out new things and new places. I'm a bit more adventurous then my DH, but I never have an issue dragging him along, and I'm sure Hawaii will wow him!

This will be our first trip, so we're all very excited!!! :cheer2:
 
Yes! Manoa falls was a cool hike and not terribly difficult. Easier than I expected based on what I'd read. I was bummed we didn't get to do Waimea falls though!

We only had a car for one day so we jammed as much as we could in to that day!

We will have a car the entire time, so hopefully we will make it there!

I'm a BIG planner and ridiculously organized, but I've learned from many vacations that things don't always work out as planned.

I do love winging it sometimes too!

We do plan on at least 4 days of 'down time' at Aulani, so that leaves us with quite a few days to explore!!!

Thanks for the tips:banana:
 
Thanks for the book idea. I ordered it.

We've got a lot of the same things on our itinerary for this June.
 
I am obsessed with the ocean and waves. Would love to go to Hawaii in winter to see the big waves!!!
Is that a "big wave" ? I have like "point break" monsters in my head:o
Thanks
Kerri
They were much larger the next day, and there were many fewer surfers the next day. I cannot judge the measurements, sorry.
 
They were much larger the next day, and there were many fewer surfers the next day. I cannot judge the measurements, sorry.
Thanks.....I'm sure they look much bigger in person. That wave looked perfect though. I love to watch surfers. :-)
Kerri
 

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