Excursions at aulani

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

I was looking at the ABD excursions on Aulani's website. I noticed some of the pricing is very high for some of the excursions. For example it is over a hundred dollars to go on a three mile hike. Additionally it is 150 dollars to go on a boatride. Have any of you done these and if so what did you think?

 

[mdsd8700]

We didn't do any of the excursions booked through the hotel because of the cost. Not sure if you are planning on renting car, but since we did rent one I booked all of excursions on our on and we drove to them in the rental. I found a great price on a rental car (especially as the date got closer). We used the car for other reasons as well.

I am sure Disney does a nice job on the excursions but if you can do it on your own, you will save some money.

Hopefully those who have done the excusions with Disney will be able to give you some better advice.

Enjoy your trip, Aulani is amazing. We loved it.

 

[haredi]

I was looking at the ABD excursions on Aulani's website. I noticed some of the pricing is very high for some of the excursions. For example it is over a hundred dollars to go on a three mile hike. Additionally it is 150 dollars to go on a boatride. Have any of you done these and if so what did you think?

We also rented a car. We rented directly through Budget at the beginning of June and were able to get an SUV for $200 total. It was the best decision we made. You may need to as the concierge for information, or look on the internet yourself as we did, but it was so much less expensive doing it on our own.

We made reservations for Pearl Harbor ahead of time, and were able to do that, Diamond Head and Waikiki all in the same day. Granted Waikiki was more shopping and dinner, but we enjoyed the quietness of Aulani so we were not interested in spending a lot of time in Waikiki.

We also did the Dole Plantation and the North Shore the same day. We were soooo thankful we had the car. Aulani is about 30 minutes from Honolulu in a quiet part of the island. We would have been lost without a car. If you do your research on the internet for things to do in O'ahu, you can plan out your own things to do. Just remember to bring a car charger for your phone. Especially if you have an iPhone. We used our phones for directions, pictures, etc. and it really ate up the battery. We ended up having to buy a charger at the Apple store in Waikiki.

Have a great time! The resort is wonderful and service was overall very good. We had a fabulous week there.

 

[Disneypapa]

IMHO - a car rental is a necessity. We really enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center on the north side of Oahu. There is enough to see and do to take up an entire day.

The pineapple plantation is ok, nothing special. Nice small floral gardens, train ride to see the pineapple fields and a gift shop.

You could also climb up to the top of Diamond Head to the observation point, but be fore warned, it is a long steep hike to the top. You'll be rewarded with memorable views.

Another touristy thing to do, is the submarine dive.

 

[dsneygirl]

We didn't do any excursions. We only spend 1 full day away from the resort which was a drive up along the north shore which we really enjoyed. Not sure the make up of your family but for us with little kids staying at the resort was the easiest and we wanted to enjoy all the activities they offered.

I agree with the comments about cheap rental cars. We had an SUV for 8 days for about $200. All the tourist spots are well marked and easy to find we had no problem navigating on our own.

 

[belle26]

We did the excursions to the Polynesian cultural Center and Pearl Harbor. WE took a car service to and from the airport, but rented a car for several of the days to go off on our on, and also to go out to eat. We enjoyed the excursions, and liked leaving the driving to others, plus the guides offered a lot of information and tips. Just something we enjoyed. You will definetly need a car.