We are making our list of fun things to do on our first trip to Hawaii and Aulani (family of four, mom, dad, boys 12 and 17). We will be at Aulani 9 nights and are thinking about doing something each day for 1/2 a day and enjoying the hotel the other 1/2 of the day! We have a list of fun things we are interested in possibly doing:
- Catamaran Experience (wild Side Hawaii)
- Snorkeling with sharks excursion
- ATV Tour at Kualoa ranch to see Jurassic park
- Pearl Harbor
- Diamond Head hike
- Swap meet
- Driving around island, seeing North Shore
- Hanauma Bay Snorkeling
- A Luau - probably Fia Fia
- Parasailing
I am interested in getting your feedback and experiences on what you enjoyed with your family from this list or other fun things you'd suggest-
And did you book through Disney, another company or do it on your own? We will have a rental car!
Thanks!! Amy
We just returned (we were in HI June 6 through June 19) and we did several of those things.
I would DEFINITELY recommend a tour with Wild Side Specialty Tours. We did the Deluxe Wildlife Charter that takes a maximum of 10 people (we had a group of 8 so we couldn't do the other). That was one of the top 2 experiences of the trip for me. Would definitely do it again with the same company. They were fantastic!
We had snorkeling with the sharks booked with North Shore Shark Adventures. Unfortunately it was cancelled 3 different days due to "weather", so I'm not sure I can recommend that company. We didn't have any problems with weather our entire trip, but I know ocean conditions on the other side of the island may have been different.
We did Pearl Harbor. We ONLY did the Arizona memorial, which we reserved tickets to 60 days out. Glad we did, because tickets that day were sold out by 8 a.m. We didn't do any other activities there (Bowfin, etc.) because my kids were already bored enough with the Arizona (they are 6, 9, and 11, and didn't really understand the significance).
The second top experience of my trip was a helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters over the active volcano and waterfalls on the Big Island. We took a two day trip to the big island, but I believe there are day tours that will take you to the Big Island to see the sites and then back that night. I couldn't go to HI, not knowing if I would ever return, and not see lava from a volcano that is currently erupting. Not sure if an off-island trip is something that you would consider, but it was amazing!
We also did a fishing excursion with boomboomsportfishing.com. We only stayed out for 1/2 of the time we paid for because a couple of us weren't feeling well. We still managed to hook a blue marlin that eventually broke the line as well as a yellowfin tuna that we reeled in! We were able to take some of the fish back to the room with us (2 bedroom) and cook it for dinner. They gave us enough fish for 3 meals.
Another activity they might enjoy is surfing. We used North Shore Surf Girls. I only got up to my knees, but my husband was able to stand up. They were very helpful (though your older kids might not need as much help as my younger ones!). Either way, I think its cool to be able to tell people we went surfing on the North Shore of HI.
