Aulani ???

[PinMan]

Has anybody been to Alulani yet ? can i have some feedback on how you liked it and what you did ? and what you wished you had done . any tips that could be helpful , and where did you rent your car from ? was it a good deal ?


thanks

 

[MamaDrama]

The resort doesn't open for another two weeks!

 

[PinMan]

i'm going in 5 weeks and need any & all information i can get ... thanks

 

[rparmfamily]

We are going over Labor Day, I'll come back and fill you in! We also live on O'ahu, so if you have O'ahu related questions, feel free to ask. We go out to Ko'olina to the beach quite often. The island is pretty small! (and heavily populated LOL)

 

[wink13]

We are going over Labor Day, I'll come back and fill you in! We also live on O'ahu, so if you have O'ahu related questions, feel free to ask. We go out to Ko'olina to the beach quite often. The island is pretty small! (and heavily populated LOL)

I have a few questions if you don't mind. We are visiting Aulani in mid-Oct.

The DS's 17 & 12 would like to take surfing lessons can you recommend anyone?

Can you do Pearl Harbor on your own or do you need to book a tour? If you need a tour recommendation would be great.

DS 17 would like to hike Diamond Head. Looks like we can just drive there and do it on our own is this correct.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[dtauer]

I have a few questions if you don't mind. We are visiting Aulani in mid-Oct.

The DS's 17 & 12 would like to take surfing lessons can you recommend anyone?

Can you do Pearl Harbor on your own or do you need to book a tour? If you need a tour recommendation would be great.

DS 17 would like to hike Diamond Head. Looks like we can just drive there and do it on our own is this correct.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I can help with some of these.

We took surfing lessons and thought Hawaiian Fire did a great job. You can walk down Waikiki Beach and do it right there, but there are a lot of people in the area to contend with. When we used Hawaiian Fire they brought us to a more isolated beach and did a nice job of teaching us the basics and then helping us time the waves. I think it would be very difficult to learn on Waikiki Beach with all of the other beach visitors in the area. Also, the staff is off-duty firefighters so I believe they were all certified in life saving techniques.

The key to Pearl Harbor is to get there early and get your time slot for the USS Arizona memorial. For the rest of the exhibits, we did the self guided tours. We also rented players for the submarine tour as it guides you through the sub and explains as you walk.

Diamond Head is a little tricky as it has limited parking. If there are no available spots you are either turned away, or put into a parking queue. We only spent about 10 minutes in the parking queue before a spot opened. A word of warning about Diamond Head, it's not a stroll down Main Street at Disney. There is a significant grade to hike, at the end there is a very tight area to crawl through to get to the observation platform, and I'm somewhat afraid of heights so areas of the observation platform bothered me. I run, and consider myself in good shape, and the walk was not difficult. My wife, though, can walk all day at Disney without issue, but she struggled walking to the top of Diamond Head. Lastly, bring some cash if you want a t-shirt. A vendor had some nice "I hiked Diamond Head" shirts right on the trail, but of course he couldn't take a charge or debit card on the trail, only cash. I was a little concerned about giving $60 cash to some guy on the trail, but as promised, the shirts were all delivered to our hotel by the end of the day and my kids still enjoy wearing them.

For your 17 year old, I would also suggest Manoa Falls. It's amazing to me that you can be in downtown Honolulu and 15 minutes later you are at the entrance to a rain forest that seems extremely isolated. It can be a messy hike if it's rained, but we thought the hike was beautiful, and although the waterfall is not as dramatic as you see in the movies, it's still a nice end to the hike.

 

[wink13]

Thanks for the info.

I believe Firefighters is who Disney is using for their surf lessons but they want to charge more than if you go direct. I assume for transportation but we'll have a car.

Thanks again.

I can help with some of these.

We took surfing lessons and thought Hawaiian Fire did a great job. You can walk down Waikiki Beach and do it right there, but there are a lot of people in the area to contend with. When we used Hawaiian Fire they brought us to a more isolated beach and did a nice job of teaching us the basics and then helping us time the waves. I think it would be very difficult to learn on Waikiki Beach with all of the other beach visitors in the area. Also, the staff is off-duty firefighters so I believe they were all certified in life saving techniques.

The key to Pearl Harbor is to get there early and get your time slot for the USS Arizona memorial. For the rest of the exhibits, we did the self guided tours. We also rented players for the submarine tour as it guides you through the sub and explains as you walk.

Diamond Head is a little tricky as it has limited parking. If there are no available spots you are either turned away, or put into a parking queue. We only spent about 10 minutes in the parking queue before a spot opened. A word of warning about Diamond Head, it's not a stroll down Main Street at Disney. There is a significant grade to hike, at the end there is a very tight area to crawl through to get to the observation platform, and I'm somewhat afraid of heights so areas of the observation platform bothered me. I run, and consider myself in good shape, and the walk was not difficult. My wife, though, can walk all day at Disney without issue, but she struggled walking to the top of Diamond Head. Lastly, bring some cash if you want a t-shirt. A vendor had some nice "I hiked Diamond Head" shirts right on the trail, but of course he couldn't take a charge or debit card on the trail, only cash. I was a little concerned about giving $60 cash to some guy on the trail, but as promised, the shirts were all delivered to our hotel by the end of the day and my kids still enjoy wearing them.

For your 17 year old, I would also suggest Manoa Falls. It's amazing to me that you can be in downtown Honolulu and 15 minutes later you are at the entrance to a rain forest that seems extremely isolated. It can be a messy hike if it's rained, but we thought the hike was beautiful, and although the waterfall is not as dramatic as you see in the movies, it's still a nice end to the hike.

 

[rparmfamily]

You got great advice from dtauer!

The Arizona Memorial area is totally remodeled now and amazing. I haven't gone thru it since the remodel but it looks gorgeous and huge, much more spread out. Most of that area is free still. Bowfin and USS Missouri are money though.

For Diamond Head, I'd go early, we always plan to get there by 8 at the latest. It's HOT in the crater and the hike (really a walk/stairclimbing adventure LOL) can be tedious towards the end as the other poster commented about. Great views and worth it!

You asked about rental cars, we've always rented thru Priceline. I think all the rental car agencies are off airport property but there are plenty of shuttles. We usually end up with Alamo as the cheapest when we rent. (mostly on other islands.)

 

[wink13]

Thanks. Great advise can't wait til Oct.

You got great advice from dtauer!

The Arizona Memorial area is totally remodeled now and amazing. I haven't gone thru it since the remodel but it looks gorgeous and huge, much more spread out. Most of that area is free still. Bowfin and USS Missouri are money though.

For Diamond Head, I'd go early, we always plan to get there by 8 at the latest. It's HOT in the crater and the hike (really a walk/stairclimbing adventure LOL) can be tedious towards the end as the other poster commented about. Great views and worth it!

You asked about rental cars, we've always rented thru Priceline. I think all the rental car agencies are off airport property but there are plenty of shuttles. We usually end up with Alamo as the cheapest when we rent. (mostly on other islands.)

 

[TEK224]

Two years ago I took my, then 16 year old, nephew to Hawaii with me. We scheduled surfing lessons in Haleiwa. The instructor was one of the women who was in the movie Blue Crush. I can't remeber her name though.

She had my nephew up on the board in no time. He had never surfed before and looked like he had been doing it forever. I think I found her on Hawaii.com site. IIRC it was about $100 per session.

 

[rparmfamily]

http://northshoresurfgirls.com/ These are the girls from the movie. It looks great!! They taught lessons at the YMCA camp a friend's child went to here (Camp Erdman/Dharma Camp for LOST fans) and she said he raved about the lessons.

also, www.girlswhosurf.com have paddleboarding, which is SO fun and quite easy!! I just started doing it (called SUP here) and it's awesome!

I'm not sure who Aulani is partnering with. But I bet they are cheaper to book yourself than thru Disney LOL.

 

[wink13]

http://northshoresurfgirls.com/ These are the girls from the movie. It looks great!! They taught lessons at the YMCA camp a friend's child went to here (Camp Erdman/Dharma Camp for LOST fans) and she said he raved about the lessons.

also, www.girlswhosurf.com have paddleboarding, which is SO fun and quite easy!! I just started doing it (called SUP here) and it's awesome!

I'm not sure who Aulani is partnering with. But I bet they are cheaper to book yourself than thru Disney LOL.

We were looking at Northshore. I know Disney is using the firefighters but charging about $50 more per person than if you book on your own. It does include transportation and drinks through Dinsey. We have a rental car lined up so transportation is not going to be an issue.

 

[rparmfamily]

Oh yeah I did see where they are using the firefighters (which is neat!) I'm sure all of them are good. I really recommend trying to SUP if you get a chance!