Aulani June 15 - 24

[ramkam]

June 15: We flew Alaska Airlines fro California. We arrived at 12:00PM. Alaska pre clears all passengers for COVID requirements, this allowed us to walk right through Honolulu Airport. The Alamo bus took awhile to get us to our rental car. We checked in ahead of time so we were able to walk right out to our car. We arrived at Aulani around 2:30PM. Our rooms were ready. We had check in online, check in at Aulani was quick and painless.

Our rooms are on the 6th floor of Ewa. Under normal circumstances this would be a negative as many of the "Ocean View" rooms on the 6th floor have their ocean views blocked by plants which have grown taller since Aulani opened. However, with elevator distancing it was nice to have a room on a lower floor so we could use the stairs. Masks are still required inside even if you are fully vaccinated.

June 16: We got up early and went to Turtle Beach on the North shore. We arrived early and parked easily. Many turtles visited during our stay. We had lunch at Seven Brothers at the Mill. AN afternoon of swimming at Aulani. It seems like there are fewer chairs on the deck at Aulani. No drink cups yet. The new Sonic Hedgehog movie was filming at Mimi's Fish House. The Aulani staff I spoke to were not sure if Ama Ama would open again or if the space will be reimaged.

June17: Up early for a drive to Kualoa Ranch. We took the Jurassic Valley Tour. The tour is in open air vehicles and is fun if you are a movie fan. We made it back to Aulani at a reasonable time for some pool time.

June 18: Up really early for a drive to Pearl Harbor. We booked a tour to insure we got tickets to see the Arizona. Tour included a drive through the Punch Bowl Cemetary and a stop at the King Kamehameha statue. We ended the day with a sunset cruise on the Makani catamaran.

Questions?

 

[Cliffside]

June 15: We flew Alaska Airlines fro California. We arrived at 12:00PM. Alaska pre clears all passengers for COVID requirements, this allowed us to walk right through Honolulu Airport. The Alamo bus took awhile to get us to our rental car. We checked in ahead of time so we were able to walk right out to our car. We arrived at Aulani around 2:30PM. Our rooms were ready. We had check in online, check in at Aulani was quick and painless.

Our rooms are on the 6th floor of Ewa. Under normal circumstances this would be a negative as many of the "Ocean View" rooms on the 6th floor have their ocean views blocked by plants which have grown taller since Aulani opened. However, with elevator distancing it was nice to have a room on a lower floor so we could use the stairs. Masks are still required inside even if you are fully vaccinated.

June 16: We got up early and went to Turtle Beach on the North shore. We arrived early and parked easily. Many turtles visited during our stay. We had lunch at Seven Brothers at the Mill. AN afternoon of swimming at Aulani. It seems like there are fewer chairs on the deck at Aulani. No drink cups yet. The new Sonic Hedgehog movie was filming at Mimi's Fish House. The Aulani staff I spoke to were not sure if Ama Ama would open again or if the space will be reimaged.

June17: Up early for a drive to Kualoa Ranch. We took the Jurassic Valley Tour. The tour is in open air vehicles and is fun if you are a movie fan. We made it back to Aulani at a reasonable time for some pool time.

June 18: Up really early for a drive to Pearl Harbor. We booked a tour to insure we got tickets to see the Arizona. Tour included a drive through the Punch Bowl Cemetary and a stop at the King Kamehameha statue. We ended the day with a sunset cruise on the Makani catamaran.

Questions?

Thanks for the info..we are heading there in September…

What time was your tour at Kualoa Ranch? How long did it take you to get there?
When you came back to Aulani was it easy to find a chair by the pool?
Who did you book the Pearl Harbor tour through?

thanks again

 

[Diasmom]

How was your catamaran sailing? I’d like to try it but not sure how interested my husband and teenage daughter are. Thank you for sharing your trip.

 

[ramkam]

June 19: Out of Aulani by 8:00 and off to Kailua Beach.This is a great swimming beach. Soft sand, no rocks to step on while swimming. Kailua Beach park has rest rooms, restaurants nearby and you can rent Kayaks on the beach. We have found it is best to get to the beach early to beat the crowds and get a parking spot. We like to leave by beach by 1:00 and spend the rest of the day at Aulani. This afternoon we had settled in to a late lunch and Dole Whip by the pool when it started raining. It looks like it will not last long.

Answers:
1. We left for Kuala Ranch at 7:30am. It took us about 50 minutes to get to the ranch. We did not need to check in until 9:30 am so we stopped at the McDonalds down the road from the ranch and had breakfast. We then spent time wondering the Ranch visitor center and gift shop before our tour. After you finish there is a Macadamia Nut farm just up the road. They have samples and local artists/crafts people also have their wares for sale.
2. Chairs at Aulani are still a challenge. There are still folks getting out there before 8:00 am to grab the best locations. When we checked in we were told that all chairs taken before 8:00 am must be actively occupied or your stuff would be removed. After 8:00 am staff will sweep the area throughout the day for chairs that seem unused and hang towels on them to see if anyone comes back. My observation is by mid day it seems like every chair has something on it, however, most chairs do not have humans on them. During the week we could usually find chairs on the pool deck and/or the beach. Today we could not find a chair at the pool. I let the first cast member I saw know all the chairs appeared full. She immediately escorted us to chairs she had been watching for use.
3. We booked Pearl Harbor through alohapearlharbor.com It was $65 plus tax per ticket. I know Pearl Harbor tickets are free, if you can get them. For us it was worth knowing we had the ticket. I had a friend call right before we left for Hawaii who told me she could not get tickets from the .gov. When we arrived at the memorial it was hard not to notice the long line of people waiting in the standby line. We had to leave Aulani early to get to Honolulu where we were able to park and meet the bus. We were picked up in a very nice large air conditioned tour bus at 7:00 am. We were given our tickets and taken to the Arizona memorial. Our ticket had us taken over to the memorial at 8:30 AM. We had about 3 hours to spend in the museums and exhibits. We then loaded up and visited the Veterans cemetery at Punch Bowl (drive through only) and then we went to see the civic center area where we could walk around and take pictures for about 20 minutes. The driver was fun and informative. He shared many stories about his life and the lives of his family members. As I recall his grandfather went to Pearl Harbor after the attack to help people. We were dropped off back were we started about 12:30PM. Overall a nice stress free adventure.
4. Our family enjoys sailing on the catamaran. We have gone out on the Makani Catamaran on 3 other occasions. It is a nice boat. Due to COVID they could not offer us dinner on the sunset cruise. You could buy an open bar if you wanted (many did). You can wonder around the boat. It is fun to sit on the net across the bow (splash zone!) or go out on the bow to get a Jack/Rose type shot like you are on the Titanic. It is a two hour sail. Great views of the city and Diamond Head. We have seen turtles and flying fish. It is a fun way to meet other people from many far away places too. They often have groupons available. Last nights sunset from the catamaran below.

Tomorrow we are spending the day at Aulani.

 

[ramkam]

June 20: Spent the day in the Executive Lanai. Diner at Makahiki

June 21: Went on Captain Bob's Picnic Sail and Snorkel Tour. A great adventure in Kaneohe Bay. They are you out to a he sand bar in the bay where they set up a volley Ball net for water volley ball and then lunch on the boats.Next they took use into the bay for turtle watching. The last stop was a reef in the bay for snorkeling. On the way in the crew pointed out locations various movies and television shows were filmed around the bay including the island from Glligan's Island. My family deemed this the best snorkel cruise they have been on.

June 22 - June 24: We spent our last two night at the Moana Surfrider in Waikiki. Great hotel. Our room made the room at Aulani look bad. Aulani is in need of a refresh.