How many resort days!?

[Vernie822]

Hello!

We are currently planning our Aulani itinerary. We will be in Maui for 3 days beforehand. We have a crater tour planned one morning (some beach time in the afternoon), exploring at Ka'anapali & ziplining (so a little beach time at Ka'anapali) and a beach morning before we leave for Oahu.

In Oahu, we'll have 5 full days at Aulani, plus our arrival evening. We know we want to do Pearl Harbor, which should take up at least a full morning or afternoon. We also know we want to do Diamondhead/Waikiki which will probably be a full morning into the afternoon. We will have 2 full resort days. We are trying to decide if we should do one more full resort day, or take the time to go up to the North Shore. I'm sure we could get some beach time in while we're there, but do you think it's worth it to do a 3rd full resort day, or another day of activity?!

We want to see lots of stuff and have a good balance of resort time and offsite activities, but I don't want to leave Aulani feeling like we hardly spent any time there. We want to relax and lay by the pool or on the beach. It's our honeymoon, after all. Any input is appreciated!

 

[Regan117]

That sounds really busy. It all depends on how you prefer to vacation and where you're traveling from. If you're east coast you should allow some time to adjust to the time change.

 

[nkereina]

We'll be in Hawaii for our honeymoon in September. We're coming from the east, so we've decided to spend our first 3 nights in Waikiki to take care of Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head. From everything I've read, we'll be up early due to the time change and both Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head are best to do as early as possible. We then will have 7 days at Aulani and will be doing stuff every other day with resort days on our "off" day. We did plan a day to drive up to the North Shore and a different day to visit Kualoa Ranch. Not counting our arrival/departure days, we'll have 3 full days at the resort which I felt was a good mix.

One thing you could do is combine your Diamond Head/Waikiki/Pearl Harbor day into one since they are all in the same area. That would give you an extra resort day and a day to drive up to the North Shore. It would be a long day, but I'd start very early with Pearl Harbor first. It's closer to Aulani and from what I've read, tours can get cancelled during the day if the wind picks up. After, I'd visit Waikiki area and grab lunch. I'd end with Diamond Head. I believe it's open til 6pm and it will be warmer than if you went in the morning, but it would be a way to do it all in one shot. Maybe someone who's experienced this can chime in to tell me if this doesn't sound feasible

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Vernie822]

We'll be in Hawaii for our honeymoon in September. We're coming from the east, so we've decided to spend our first 3 nights in Waikiki to take care of Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head. From everything I've read, we'll be up early due to the time change and both Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head are best to do as early as possible. We then will have 7 days at Aulani and will be doing stuff every other day with resort days on our "off" day. We did plan a day to drive up to the North Shore and a different day to visit Kualoa Ranch. Not counting our arrival/departure days, we'll have 3 full days at the resort which I felt was a good mix.

One thing you could do is combine your Diamond Head/Waikiki/Pearl Harbor day into one since they are all in the same area. That would give you an extra resort day and a day to drive up to the North Shore. It would be a long day, but I'd start very early with Pearl Harbor first. It's closer to Aulani and from what I've read, tours can get cancelled during the day if the wind picks up. After, I'd visit Waikiki area and grab lunch. I'd end with Diamond Head. I believe it's open til 6pm and it will be warmer than if you went in the morning, but it would be a way to do it all in one shot. Maybe someone who's experienced this can chime in to tell me if this doesn't sound feasible

Enjoy your trip!

Brilliant! I was contemplating combining the two. Congratulations on your honeymoon! We'll be at Aulani for ours the 8-13th!

I am thinking that could be a really good idea. If anything, we were contemplating eliminating the North Shore - we'll see. I was thinking we can come up with a plan and if we decide we want to go, we will, and if we decide we want to skip it and hang by the pool, we will!

 

[todd222222]

We were there for 7 nights so 6 full days. We stayed very busy and only had 2 resort days. This was not enough, especially as our last day it was very windy and we couldn't really enjoy the pools and beach. But 4 days running around wasn't enough either.....should have made the trip longer.

 

[Vernie822]

We were there for 7 nights so 6 full days. We stayed very busy and only had 2 resort days. This was not enough, especially as our last day it was very windy and we couldn't really enjoy the pools and beach. But 4 days running around wasn't enough either.....should have made the trip longer.

Haha, I wish! That is my thought too, no matter what we do we will probably wish we could have seen and done more at the resort and outside of it!

 

[Rubygoose]

I think you will enjoy the North Shore. To me, it seemed like "real" Hawaii, compared to the concrete jungle that is Waikiki/Honolulu. Since you are not traveling with children, you will probably have enough time in the evenings to enjoy the resort on the days you go about the island.

 

[jengine]

We are trying to decide if we should do one more full resort day, or take the time to go up to the North Shore. I'm sure we could get some beach time in while we're there, but do you think it's worth it to do a 3rd full resort day, or another day of activity?!

We want to see lots of stuff and have a good balance of resort time and offsite activities, but I don't want to leave Aulani feeling like we hardly spent any time there. We want to relax and lay by the pool or on the beach. It's our honeymoon, after all. Any input is appreciated!

Congratulations on your wedding/honeymoon! My hubby and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon and it was AMAZING. We later returned to Aulani with my whole family and LOVED it too!

I don't know if you would need a fully day for Pearl Harbor or for Diamondhead. We've done both. I'd say a half day for either is plenty. Waikiki has some amazing places for dinner, the Roy's there is better than the Roy's at the golf course by Aulani. The other thing to keep in mind is the traffic on Oahu. It can get pretty nasty around rush hour!! The North Shore was a lot of fun - you have to eat at a Shrimp Truck!

My vote would be to try and consolidate some of your sight-seeing into fewer days. Aulani (especially the Adult's only area!) is the nicest resort I've stayed at and is worth really hanging around and enjoying it. The spa is pretty insane if you're looking for a pricey change of pace, but a wonderful way to pamper yourselves and spend some quiet time relaxing together.

But at the end of the day - you will have an amazing trip no matter what you decide!