Aulani... On the "cheap". Tips?

[nkereina]

Well huh. I better look into that!

Definitely! A broker like David's is the best way to go if you're not familiar with renting points. Some big things to keep in mind when renting points - you will not receive daily housekeeping, the DVC owner "owns" the reservation so if you need to make changes or requests you will have to go through David's who will pass it onto the owner to do for you, and its also non-refundable. Once you book, you'll need to pay in full and you typically can't cancel or change your dates. If none of those things are concerning to you, renting points is a great way to go!

 

[KBinCO]

Definitely! A broker like David's is the best way to go if you're not familiar with renting points. Some big things to keep in mind when renting points - you will not receive daily housekeeping, the DVC owner "owns" the reservation so if you need to make changes or requests you will have to go through David's who will pass it onto the owner to do for you, and its also non-refundable. Once you book, you'll need to pay in full and you typically can't cancel or change your dates. If none of those things are concerning to you, renting points is a great way to go!

I mean, I guess my biggest concern is that coming from Colorado in January, I have no idea if weather will be a factor in getting there. I probably need something with more insurance.

 

[nkereina]

I mean, I guess my biggest concern is that coming from Colorado in January, I have no idea if weather will be a factor in getting there. I probably need something with more insurance.

There are other DVC brokers who do offer insurance. I believe it's the DVC Rental Store. I can't speak to the cost or terms of it, but it might be an option. For the cost savings, I'd be inclined to roll the dice. And I live in Buffalo, so I understand weather concerns

 

[KBinCO]

There are other DVC brokers who do offer insurance. I believe it's the DVC Rental Store. I can't speak to the cost or terms of it, but it might be an option. For the cost savings, I'd be inclined to roll the dice. And I live in Buffalo, so I understand weather concerns

Ah yes, I'm from Rochester and my brother is in buffalo- a far greater weather risk from there than here!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Great advice on this thread, thank you to all that have posted! We have been looking at doing an Aulani trip in the near future and this is all good to know!

 

[adamak]

Book your rental car asap. Then use Autoslash.com or just keep monitoring for price drop. HNL is one of those places that prices can really shot up with no advance warning.

I wouldn't pay for Luau if you're on budget. Mostly overpriced. The free show in Aulani is good enough esp with younger kids.

Consider driving to Waikiki for a day. It's a beautiful beach and calm for kids. You can park at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping center and get a few parking hours validated. The Farmland grocery store just opened in the nearby Ala Moana Shopping mall. Great selection of poke and better prices than Safeway in Aulani area. If you're there, check out the Japanese food court (Shiroyaki?). Cheap authentic Japanese food.

There are plenty to do for free in Oahu. No need to pay for tours or boat rides if you want to save money.

And I agree with all the tips above. Rent DVC points, get the lowest category 1 bedroom. The washer / dryer will free up your luggage for groceries. Bring snacks / food / drinks to the pool. Use the kid's club for free...etc.

 

[ihearthawaii]

Right now a standard room or studio villa is $2600 for six nights including the free meal. We aren't terribly choosy when it comes to hotel rooms and never spend a ton of time in the room, so I figure that's a decent deal and we'll stick with that. Perhaps with the savings, having a rental car for the week and paying for the parking is worth it for exploring purposes.

We got 6 nights oceanview studio villa for $1700 through DVC rental store. We are going in October during off peak season. I booked it at the 7 month mark and was matched with an owner within 24 hours.

 

[dsnydaddy]

Last time in Hawaii, we got a two bedroom and will be repeating that this coming trip. But at least a one bedroom will give you a full kitchen. A stop at Costco or Target and you've got groceries for a week for a decent price. One meal for four set me back $200 at the Aulani. I won't do that again. We also did some google searches on what locals eat in Oahu. The median income in Oahu is lower than the national average, so finding out where they like to eat will usually net you some savings. We discovered some great places that way. And, I found that the shrimp trucks are not only economical but they served some of the best food we ate on our vacation.

 

[wfgamble]

I booked through an individual using their DVC points and purchased my own insurance since once paid, the DVC purchase is nonrefundable and so are my airline tickets

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I wouldn't pay for Luau if you're on budget. Mostly overpriced. The free show in Aulani is good enough esp with younger kids.

I understand the free show is ending this month and will be replaced with a paid luau, including food. I doubt that will be cheap.

 

[happymommy]

Lived on Oahu for 3 years, agree NO luau. It's mediocre food, LONG show (if you do Paradise Cove, done it a few times). I got so tired, and we lived there, but in Kailua which with no traffic is a good hour away. Show is just "meh" and just drags on and on.

Shop Costco! Daily if necessary! Make your own drinks, get a little soft sided cooler (got my favorite ever at Walmart in Kapolei) to bring to the pool or beach (yes, the "official" rule is no drinks on the beach - never seen that enforced long as you're discreet).

If we eat out, it's lunch at a local spot. If you like sushi, Sushi Bay in Kapolei is super generous with portions and super ono! Cheap too. It's worth the wait.

Dinner for us is always in. Tired, hungry, kids don't want to go out. Grill or get something easy from Costco! I often get chicken and Yoshida's sauce there, marinate it a couple days and have chicken teri with rice! We had a party of 12 a couple years ago, so did a huge batch and shared.

Now is the time to check out clearance aisles at Walmart and Target for pool floaties. Nice to have your pool floaty in the ocean, and leave it for someone else when you leave! I usually get a good one for like 3 dollars! Not sure if Aulani has pumps but the Marriott has two for free to blow them up.

I agree to pack a suitcase of snacks. I used to coupon a lot, so one trip had one full of pantry items. I always bring things like plastic storage containers, Reynolds Wrap, spices, pancake mix, etc.... Except the one trip when we just brought carry on bags (for two weeks) and bought it all at Target.

 

[NanMar]

Thanks for all the advice. I have worked out a few scenarios to save us money on flights. Our initial flights were $3300 but through a little playing around, I have some that save us up to $1200 from that. We only have SW points but if we fly to LAX with those points, our flights out of LAX are considerably cheaper - by nearly $300 per person (nonstops from here are $830 a pop).

So I can rent a car from the airport and return it to the car rental at aulani? What about vice versa? If we check out in the morning on our last day, but have a 10pm flight, can we rent a car at aulani and return it to the airport to use for the day?


We aren't huge Disney people. We've gone to wdw for a day at a time when in FL, have done a Disney cruise and a couple Disneyland trips but I am unfamiliar with DVC and what it entails to "rent" points. Anyone care to explain?

I just purchased plane tickets out of texas 2 weeks ago. After searching for a few weeks, I noticed that the tickets are considerably ($250-$300 cheaper) Wednesday evening. I also am driving an extra hour to save an additional $125 per ticket (4 tickets) shop around but usually late evenings and midweek are when the ticket prices go down. I am flying out sunday and returning sunday.

 

[JCornell]

I just purchased plane tickets out of texas 2 weeks ago. After searching for a few weeks, I noticed that the tickets are considerably ($250-$300 cheaper) Wednesday evening. I also am driving an extra hour to save an additional $125 per ticket (4 tickets) shop around but usually late evenings and midweek are when the ticket prices go down. I am flying out sunday and returning sunday.

I'm also from Rochester and just an fyi, you might want to check out flights from Toronto. We're planning a trip next summer and the price is a fraction of that from Rochester or Buffalo. Enough to make the drive worth it.

For example, looking quickly at this December, I'm seeing ROC->HNL for $450-$600 one way. For YYZ->HNL it's $250-$275.

 

[happymommy]

Flyertalk members seem to LOVE YYZ. Definitely worth mentioning!

 

[Terapin]

We went up to the North Shore and went to a few beaches looking for sea turtles - and found them. Free! Got Shave Ice at Matsumoto- not expensive. We ate lunch along the way at a shrimp truck - yum! Shopped and browsed in the North Shore area.

We also did a day at Hanauma Bay snorkelling. We bought snorkelling equipment at Costco prior to going and it was just a bit more than renting. Snorkelling was hugely fun. We also visited Diamond Head Crater for hiking - but only went a little ways as the smallest was only 5. It was still a nice area!

We did the reef snorkelling at the resort one day. It was fun - not cheap but we only needed one day and everyone really enjoyed it.

We didn't go to any additional luaus, just did the one at the resort (Starlit Hui) and it was good. I can't imagine that the more expensive ones would have been *that* much better.

We did family surf lessons. Not cheap, but sooooo fun. For the little ones they go one on one. It took the whole morning and so the money was worth it, as that was our primary activity for the day.

We walked across the street and got cheap souvenirs at the plaza - mugs and t-shirts.

We skipped the Dole Plantation and the Cultural Centre. We skipped the cultural centre because we don't support the LDS church and it is owned by the Church of Latter Day Saints (no offence intended to those who do). We skipped the Dole Plantation as it just didn't interest us.

Hope that helps!

 

[alohamom]

I'm also from Rochester and just an fyi, you might want to check out flights from Toronto. We're planning a trip next summer and the price is a fraction of that from Rochester or Buffalo. Enough to make the drive worth it.

For example, looking quickly at this December, I'm seeing ROC->HNL for $450-$600 one way. For YYZ->HNL it's $250-$275.

Right now it is seriously a steal for American folks to head up here to Toronto because of the exchange rate. I got fantastic fares for this last summer on Black Friday. ($570 Canadian/$430 USD round trip) Our stores and services industries have jumped on that marketing bandwagon and have some decent online sales. If any of you are looking to fly out of Toronto to HNL I would strongly suggest signing up for the Air Canada and WestJet emails and watch around Black Friday. Both are partnered with some of the big American airlines so you can get points on United/Delta etc (if that is an issue) You do have to consider your gas to get here, Toronto traffic, an overnight hotel if you are using one and parking but many of the airport hotels have park and fly options.

It seems to be happening out of Vancouver too, my cousin went last Feb for $260/CND return.

I am not sure if it is competition driven, the low oil price or what but the prices have been really really low to Hawaii for a couple of years now. We used to fly out of Buffalo on a regular basis but it has been a while now. Actually, Delta and WestJet have crazy low prices from Toronto to San Diego and San Fran right now too, like $270CND round trip right into March. It is so tempting to do a Disneyland/Hawaii combo but it isnt in the cards for us right now. Anyway, if you are near the border, flying out of YYZ can be very cost effective, especially for a family of 4 or a large group.

 

[TinkFan74]

Check sites like Groupon or Living Social, when we went last year we found a Groupon for Germaine's Luau for $35 dollars and a tour to snorkel with dolphins for 50% off. As a single mother I am always factoring price into every decision, I pick up groceries and prepare meals in the room, use coupons, and continually watch car rental rates as I know that I will likely be able to find a rate that ends up being less expensive than a shuttle. There are also activities on Oahu that can be done for next to nothing, such as going to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbour if you go on your own and don't go as part of a tour, snorkeling at Hanuama Bay, and doing the circle tour of the island in a rental car.