How many nights at Aulani?

[amystevekai&bump]

Hi all

I'm planning our trip to Hawaii for next year and I wondered - for those of you that have been - how many nights is the ideal stay at the resort?

Would that include sightseeing trips outside of Aulani? If so, how many days did you devote to just spending at the resort?

We are currently planning a 7 night stay, which would include two days of sightseeing (kualoa ranch one day and the north shore on the other) - is this about right?

 

[Aurora1959]

So - We usually stay at least 7 days. However, it's up to you.

I met one women there who was only staying 4 nights and thought it was too long. Her idea of vacation though was high rise buildings, and lots of retail shops. (in other words, Waikiki). I live/work in that environment, so it's not a vacation for me.

Our first trip we spent the first 4 days going to different parts of the island. Like Waimea Valley & Kualoa ranch. The last 3 days we did nothing but hang out in the lazy river. The resort was only 1/2 open at the time and we felt the last 3 days were the best part of the trip.

This last June, we spent 7 days either at the pool, the spa or on the beach. For us, it was perfect. Next June is 11 days, taking more family with us. I expect this trip to be busier. Pearl Harbor, etc.

If you have little ones, there is plenty for them to do. On those days when they are just pooped, the villas are spacious enough that even if you just want to kick it and watch a movie with some popcorn or something you can.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Thank you for your reply

We're currently planning 5 nights in Waikiki beforehand to use as a base for the rest of our touring and to visit many of our fav US restaurants/shops.

We've just returned from a trip to WDW, and our best couple of days were those chilling at the AKV pool and going out for a nice dinner - I guess I'm expecting the Aulani pool to be a huge draw for our family (we have two boys aged 8 and 11)

Perhaps I should plan on not leaving Aulani at all for the whole week?!

 

[BillPA]

We spend 4 nights on Oahu then 8 on the Big Island. We did 5 on Maui after the Big Island on one trip. That was a great trip, we didn't want to come home. IMHO it's too far to go for any less than 12nights, more if you have extra time.

 

[happymommy]

We own at the Marriott (Ko Olina Beach Club) next door, and we go (from Maryland, so not as far as you) for two weeks always.

We used to live on Oahu, so know what we like to see and do. We spend a lot of time just enjoying the beauty of the resort! We eat in a lot, and it's so convenient to have Super Target, Super Walmart (both have a fairly decent grocery department) as well as Costco and Safeway literally ten minutes away. We enjoy grilling for dinner, and if we eat out it's more often lunch while we're driving around.

For us, the amount of airline miles it takes to get tickets there keeps going up (we've never actually paid for a ticket, and often prefer first class if we can get it, especially going home on the red eye), so it would be way too short of a trip to go for less than 2 weeks.

We really like to unpack and settle in, and it feels like home then! With the washer/dryer we don't need to bring much clothing. One suitcase is usually filled with pantry items, such as spices and storage containers, maybe some side dish items, and condiments. That being said, we've gone two weeks and only brought carry on bags before! That trip, I just went to Target later in the afternoon after we checked in, and I bought toiletries and a starting supply of groceries. Of course after traveling all day, I was beyond exhausted!

My friend who owns DVC just went this summer for 2 weeks at Aulani. She asked me if that was too much time, and I said no. After her trip, she said two weeks was perfect.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have been to aulani three times. Going back in may 2015. We never leave the resort except to go to church on Sunday...cute little Cstholic church just a few miles away...and for grocery shopping or to visit a friend in Honolulu. If we do any sightseeing at all we save for last day since we usually can't get a plane back home until late afternoon. We stay from 7 to 10 nites. Never tire of it. Lay by pool, play tennis next door at marriott, walk along the ocean and read. Workout every day in fitness center. Eat out or cook in. Obviously this works for us. My sister in law wants to come sometime but she would go crazy after 3 or 4 days.

 

[slowly]

Thank you for your reply

We're currently planning 5 nights in Waikiki beforehand to use as a base for the rest of our touring and to visit many of our fav US restaurants/shops.

We've just returned from a trip to WDW, and our best couple of days were those chilling at the AKV pool and going out for a nice dinner - I guess I'm expecting the Aulani pool to be a huge draw for our family (we have two boys aged 8 and 11)

Perhaps I should plan on not leaving Aulani at all for the whole week?!

Living very close to Aulani we still love going there but if its your first time 7 nights with a couple of days sightseeing would be ideal IMO. We just stayed at AKV Kidani in June and it reminded us of Aulani minus the safari. The rooms are very similar in the decor. We stayed only 3 nights and the slight disappointment was that we didn't get to enjoy the resort as much as we wanted to. At Aulani the pool areas are the best I have seen compared to other DVC properties.

If I were you I would take breaks in between from sightseeing so you can relax. Afterall it is a vacation but like most of us we want to spend so much time doing stuff that we are exhausted when we get home and need a day or two to recoup. Some people are fine with that but to me a vacation is to relax. You will love Aulani and all that it has to offer!

 

[Anal Annie]

We just spent 7 nights there in August....it was a nice amount of time. We planned excursions / day trips on 2 days (this was my 5th trip to Hawaii so didn't need to DO as much). We started our trip with 3 nights at DL / VGC and followed Aulani with 3 nights on Maui. I would definitely plan at least a few nights on another island. It is much too far to go (esp. for you) to not island hop. FWIW I thought we could've used at least 1 more night at VGC just to relax & enjoy the resort.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

We'll be on Oahu for a min 12 nights - the current plan is 3 nights stopover enroute in San Francisco to show boys Alcatraz, ride a cable car and visit the Walt Disney Family museum. Then 12 nights on Oahu (5 nights at Waikiki from which we will visit the south east beaches, diamond head, Pearl Harbor and the malls/ then 7 nights at Aulani which will include just two days of touring - north shore and kualoa ranch), we've then got a week in Anaheim (VGC if we are lucky to get there using dvc points otherwise DLH paying cash) on our way back home (5 days at Disney and a day tour of Hollywood/Warner studios).

There is a possibility that we will extend the oahu stay by two nights (two extra days at Aulani), if flight prices mean its cheaper to fly into LA (we will then have a stop over en route of just two nights and do the Hollywood tour before Hawaii and then just 6 nights in Disney on the way home).

Steve and I have been to the Hawaiian islands before, and we had originally intended to take the boys on the 7 night NCL cruise - but we've since decided that this trip is more about family time at resorts with a little bit of sightseeing, rather than full on touring. Our boys are still only 8 and 11, and pool time takes priority over anything else for them right now! (Plus mom and dad quite like the idea of a little rest!)

 

[amystevekai&bump]

One more question if I may?!

We only have enough points for a studio - would that influence how many nights you would spend at Aulani?

We have a car and are quite happy going out to dinner, and we find the studios plenty big enough (for example the four of us regularly spend 7/8 nights in BLT or AKV studios with no problem at all). So more just wondering whether there are enough different food options around if we aren't able to cook ourselves?

As we are from the UK, we actually like the US chain restaurants (I know there is an outback, chillis and dennys nearby - is there much else? We'll give monkeypod and Makahiki a try - but Roy's and Ama Ama menus seem a bit fancy for my boys tastes! )

 

[SlightlyocdDisneyfan]

We have been to aulani three times. Going back in may 2015. We never leave the resort except to go to church on Sunday...cute little Cstholic church just a few miles away...and for grocery shopping or to visit a friend in Honolulu. If we do any sightseeing at all we save for last day since we usually can't get a plane back home until late afternoon. We stay from 7 to 10 nites. Never tire of it. Lay by pool, play tennis next door at marriott, walk along the ocean and read. Workout every day in fitness center. Eat out or cook in. Obviously this works for us. My sister in law wants to come sometime but she would go crazy after 3 or 4 days.

We're planning a trip and after hearing all of these great responses, I think we may need to add some more time to our vacation! I had no idea that there were tennis courts next door. Is this at the Marriot? Do you have to pay a fee to play and/or make reservations?

 

[dsneygirl]

We did 9 nights and took a red eye home on the 10th day. We only did 1 day of touring. My kids are young and we had no problem filling our days with the pool, kids club, beach and other activities.

We had a 1 bedroom and had 90% of our meals in the villa so a studio would not cut it for us. It was so nice to have a real dining room table , dishwasher etc.

 

[marx]

On our first trip to Hawaii with the kids in 2012 we spent 5 days in Waikiki then 9 at Aulani. We tried to do most if the island touring during our Waikiki portion, but some spilled over to Aulani time. We thought that 7 days dedicated to the resort with short trips to nearby restaurants ideal.

On our last trip this past August we spent 12 days in Oahu all at Aulani (after 14 days on Maui and the Big Island) and did some touring and family visits during those 12 days. We dedicated 8 days to the resort this time. I must say though, that the resort time on our 2014 trip just wasn't as enjoyable as it was in 2012. Although it WAS a great trip, the crowds now take away from the resort time enjoyment. This affects the pool areas, the restaurants, the entertainment and Aunties.