Aulani in January?

[eeyoresmom]

Looking for some advice about visiting Aulani in late January. It would just be DH and myself. We are in our early 50s . We are on the earliest stages of planning and are looking for tips and advice regarding weather in January, flying from the east coast, anything really. TIA.

 

[Elima2015]

We visited a couple years ago the last week of Jan/first week of Feb. I thought it was a great time to be there. Not too crowded, plenty to do. We had some windy days and one day of rain. Otherwise the weather was fine. The wind did make it just cool enough that we wrapped in towels right away when we got out of the pools and wore light sweatshirts out to dinner in the evening. I would definitely go again at that time of year.

 

[DVCjj]

We visited a couple years ago the last week of Jan/first week of Feb. I thought it was a great time to be there. Not too crowded, plenty to do. We had some windy days and one day of rain. Otherwise the weather was fine. The wind did make it just cool enough that we wrapped in towels right away when we got out of the pools and wore light sweatshirts out to dinner in the evening. I would definitely go again at that time of year.

We went the exact same time this year and everything sounded identical. Definitely windy days (one day was VERY windy) and rain one day but would definitely go back the exact same time. Spent 5 nights in Aulani and 5 nights in Maui. Aulani seemed less windy but it could have just been the actual days. The first time trip was wonderful.

 

[jujubiee4]

We went the exact same time this year and everything sounded identical. Definitely windy days (one day was VERY windy) and rain one day but would definitely go back the exact same time. Spent 5 nights in Aulani and 5 nights in Maui. Aulani seemed less windy but it could have just been the actual days. The first time trip was wonderful.

If you had to pick which had the better weather in January would you choose Aulani/Maui? I have gone back and forth
which one to do or waiting until May. It is so expensive I'm trying to go a time to maximize weather but not
in Summer. Also to accommodate school schedules. Thanks

 

[DVCjj]

If you had to pick which had the better weather in January would you choose Aulani/Maui? I have gone back and forth
which one to do or waiting until May. It is so expensive I'm trying to go a time to maximize weather but not
in Summer. Also to accommodate school schedules. Thanks

Difficult to say but I honestly think they were very similar. Both had a very rainy day and both had a day of very strong wind (so much so, on Aulani, the Swap Meet (LOVED IT....not a real swap meet) had to close early as the tents were collapsing but on Maui we could not go Whale Watching when we wanted because of the wind. (First time I ever saw a Beach Chair 100% fly to another location while sand was burning our eyes).

Our dates were:
1/21 - 25 Aulani
1/25 - 30 Maui Westin Ocean Villas, K'aanapali
1/30 - 1/31 Maui Four Seasons Wailea (actual 52nd anniversary- could only afford 1 night)

As I checked my iPhone on the way to the airport, it looked like the following 2 weeks did not seem to have wind and the weather was 80's +. We did have 80 days but also had about 70.....cooler at night.

We are not limited to when we can go. We went with a grown daughter who has been in Hawaii 13 times. (at least)
She always goes end of November or end of January. Just likes it at that time. She would love to go for Xmas but more expensive. As I said previously, I would definitely go back when we did. The resorts were not crowded. It was so easy to get on the Lazy River, slides, pools, restaurants, etc. at Aulani. I'm sure it's positively nuts when kids out of school.

PS: January/Feb are known for rainy season but it sure doesn't stop me from Disney in their rainy/hurricane season.

You NEVER know what anywhere will be. I've stayed at the Grand Floridian when it was 85 the first week in December and I've stayed there, same exact days, when it was 28. Yes, I said 28. Chicago was 31.
Still hasn't prevented me from going that week.

I'm sorry if I haven't been of much help. I loved both Aulani and Maui. I recently asked my husband if/when we go back and could only stay in one location which would he choose, he said Aulani. We are old but a very young old.

 

[Gorechick]

We went Jan. 26-30, 2016 and really enjoyed our stay. It was our first time there and the resort was not crowded and weather was beautiful.

 

[nkereina]

I believe January is peak season, at least coming from east coast (winter time!), so not sure how that may impact prices. But it's also whale season, so if you do Maui, definitely do a whale watching excursion!

We went in September which is the tail end of summer, and we thought the weather was much better at Aulani. Not sure if its always like this, but Maui was a touch cooler and VERY windy. Our driver said Maui is usually pretty windy, so he didn't think anything of it. We weren't able to lay on the beach in Maui because sand kept blowing in our faces. And even though we were in the sun on the pool deck, there were times we'd get goosebumps if we were wet and the wind blew. Aulani was much warmer and less windy.

 

[b2k1121]

We did the last week of January last year, first day was incredibly windy, but perfect weather the rest of the week. To break up the flights we did a couple hour layover at LAX on the way there, then on the way back stayed at Disneyland for a couple days, really helps with the west to east jet lag.

 

[blondietink]

January can be quite changeable weather wise. It can be hot and dry, or windy and rainy. If you want to see whales, go to Maui in January or February. They are everywhere it seems like. When I went in January we had just fine weather. Our April trip was pretty windy the whole time with more rain than usual. September is our favorite month so far. Weather was hot and not much rain at all. The sunsets on Maui in September were beautiful. If you don't like crowds, I will say that the fall months are the least crowded. Many times we were the only people on some of the beaches in September.

 

[happymommy]

I lived on Oahu for a few years, and there is marginal difference in the temperature on the Leeward side of the island. January can be rainy, but more on the Windward side. I've been to Ko Olina every other summer the last 10 years, and it's usually warm/hot during the day, but a few years ago we had one or two rainy days.

Always bring a light jacket/sweater. When the sun sets, it does cool down (at least to me) by the water.

Maui - this depends on where you're looking. We spent Thanksgiving week in Kapalua at the Ritz, and it was very cool and windy the whole week. The only water we got in was the hot tub, but we enjoyed it as we were living on Oahu. The change was nice to us, but the hotel staff said that it's often very cool and windy at Kapalua, and some guests check out and book a hotel in Kaanapali, where it is always much nicer weather.

Like the others have said, you just don't know. It will be nicer than at home, though!

We fly from the East Coast (DC/Baltimore area) as well. I always book flights with one stop (and we always use airline miles). Our next trip, I lucked out and got the flight in first class on American that stops in Dallas, so we have lie flat seats for the long, 8 1/2 hour flight to and from Dallas (which is nice as the return departs at 8pm).