First Hawaii Trip Planning

[gdrj]

Trying to plan a trip for just 2 adults to Oahu. We want to do the tourist things luau, Pearl Harbor. We thought a split stay might be best. Any suggestions on Travel Agents that specialize on Hawaii? Our trip may or may not include Aulani.

All suggestions are welcome. We definitely want to spend some time just on the beach but do want to explore/sightsee a bit.

 

[xlxo]

For your first trip to Hawaii....

• how many days are you there?
• have you selected a hotel? Waikiki? Aulani?
• are you only interested in visiting only ONE island? Have you considered a multi-island cruise?
  https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-ship/pride-of-america
• have you considered cruising to or from the Pacific Coast (Canada? California?)?

A first time Oahu visitor may enjoy the Polynesian Cultural Centre. I did.

 

[nkereina]

Any national travel agency will have specialists that have received destination training on Hawaii. We used one to help plan our honeymoon but honestly, I did most of the research myself. She just handled the logistics and booking of it for me, and essentially validated everything I was considering.

We spent a total of 9 nights on Oahu with 3 nights at the Waikiki Beach Marriott. It was a nice hotel and a good location for walking Waikiki, with lots of dining options in the vicinity as well. The other 6 nights were spent at Aulani. I'd also consider Turtle Bay in the North Shore for a future visit because as two adults, we really loved the North Shore area.

 

[gdrj]

For your first trip to Hawaii....

• how many days are you there?
• have you selected a hotel? Waikiki? Aulani?
• are you only interested in visiting only ONE island? Have you considered a multi-island cruise?
  https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-ship/pride-of-america
• have you considered cruising to or from the Pacific Coast (Canada? California?)?

A first time Oahu visitor may enjoy the Polynesian Cultural Centre. I did.

Not including travel we are looking 7 to 10 days. Yesterday someone had mention a Multi island cruise which is intriguing. I was looking at NCL before I saw your posts. Thanks!

 

[gdrj]

Any national travel agency will have specialists that have received destination training on Hawaii. We used one to help plan our honeymoon but honestly, I did most of the research myself. She just handled the logistics and booking of it for me, and essentially validated everything I was considering.

We spent a total of 9 nights on Oahu with 3 nights at the Waikiki Beach Marriott. It was a nice hotel and a good location for walking Waikiki, with lots of dining options in the vicinity as well. The other 6 nights were spent at Aulani. I'd also consider Turtle Bay in the North Shore for a future visit because as two adults, we really loved the North Shore area.

We were looking at Turtle Bay with a split stay. Thanks!

 

[xlxo]

Not including travel we are looking 7 to 10 days. Yesterday someone had mention a Multi island cruise which is intriguing. I was looking at NCL before I saw your posts. Thanks!

The Pride of America will not be DCL.... but with your possible plans of a Aulani split stay... it works out perfectly with the POA.... while enjoy more than one island.

 

[alohamom]

Regarding your question about travel agents:
I have always just booked my own travel on line so I have never actually used them but I know that Pleasant Holidays are very knowledgeable regarding Hawaii and the South Pacific
http://www.pleasantholidays.com/

 

[nkereina]

Regarding your question about travel agents:
I have always just booked my own travel on line so I have never actually used them but I know that Pleasant Holidays are very knowledgeable regarding Hawaii and the South Pacific
http://www.pleasantholidays.com/

I'll second this. I know that AAA books most of their Hawaii travel through Pleasant Holidays as well. They are especially good if you're island hopping, because their booking tools are user friendly for allowing multiple stops.

 

[gdrj]

Regarding your question about travel agents:
I have always just booked my own travel on line so I have never actually used them but I know that Pleasant Holidays are very knowledgeable regarding Hawaii and the South Pacific
http://www.pleasantholidays.com/

I cant remember last time I used a T/A but thought it would be wise for this trip. Thanks !

 

[Nikodemos]

We did a Turtle Bay/Aulani split stay in Dec 2015. We just booked a condo at the Turtle Bay resort through AirBnB. From there we could walk 150yds to the cove beach. We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the tours, buffet and show and on another day just visited the beaches and had great eats from the many food trucks on that side of the island. On the day we checked out, we drove from the North Island to Aulani and stopped at the Dole Plantation. We haven't ever needed a T/A.

 

[Donalyn]

Haven't used a TA (other than for work trips, since they make me) since our trip to London/Paris in 2000. You can totally plan Hawaii on-line.

 

[CT15]

For your first trip to Hawaii....

• how many days are you there?
• have you selected a hotel? Waikiki? Aulani?
• are you only interested in visiting only ONE island? Have you considered a multi-island cruise?
  https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-ship/pride-of-america
• have you considered cruising to or from the Pacific Coast (Canada? California?)?

A first time Oahu visitor may enjoy the Polynesian Cultural Center. I did.

Hi- will be a first time visitor to Oahu with the DH., can you tell me what the cultural center is like.. is it like a museum?

 

[xlxo]

Well.... not quite. In addition to static displays.... the cultural center has live action activities. I have a much better understanding of the history.

Thoughts....

• you want to budget a day, possibly include the evening to enjoy the show
• It's located on the far side of the island. 90 minutes from Aulani or an hour from Waikiki
• I'll let others comment on the Luau and Buffet experience
• http://www.polynesia.com/
• check out these video links for activity ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/user/polynesiancultural/videos

 

[NancyDVC]

We did the NCL POA seven day cruise followed by 8 nights at Aulani last October. it was wonderful. The cruise is a great way to see the other islands. The itinerary is emabark n Honolulu onm Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Maui, Tuesday and Wednesday in Hawaii (the Big Island) and Thursday and Friday in Kauai. If the lava is flowing they sail past the lava flow on Tuesday night as they go from Hilo to Kona. The only tender port is Kona. Remember the pors are all commercial ones because nearly everything on the islands is imported. The only 'tourist' port is Kona where you have to tender. We took 2 excursions through NCL on Laui, 2 through a great small private tour operator on the Big Island and 1 through a small vendor on Kauai. The ship was wonderful with great staff. Not DCL but definitely a great trip. We booked the cruise, airline and rental car through AAA. As DVC membes we stayed on ponts at Aulani. As a DVC member for over 25 years (yes we joined in the first few months of sales) I can say that this resort is fabulous! Because we stayed before the new luau was showing we did the Fia Fia luau at teh MArriott Beach Club in Ko Olina. It was great. We saw Pearl HArbor and did the Swap Meet at the Aloha Stadium, Dole Plantation, North Shore. it was a wonderful week!

My tips are: Ask the CMs for suggestions as to where to go and what to see. (That's how we found Foodland for groceries-good prices for Hawaii)
They have pre-printed directions to and from all the points of interest at the Valet desk by the main entrance. Great resource. Remember traffic can be a nightmare especially to and from Honolulu during the week at rush hour which seems to start about 5:00 AM.
Take the tours of the resort. They are free and give lots of information.
The CMs are also a great resource for local shopping and dining beyond the usual tourist places.
If someone in your party has mobility issues and you are a DVC member staying on points you get free valet parking. The valet parking CMs helped me load/unload, assemble and disassemble my friend's ECV/scooter all the time. They are great! (Yes we tipped them every time. It was worth it.)

Enjoy, relax and have fun