How much planning is required

[DVCisME]

For Aulani?

We leave in less than two weeks and I feel completely unprepared. We have the resort, a rental call, and the kids surfing lessons planned. We have never been to Hawaii. Can you wing it?

We want to do a luau, but which one? I keep reading the threads but just feel like I'm getting more confused.

It will be me, DH, DS9 and DS7. We are flying in on a direct flight from NY. Would it be too ambitious to think we could do anything that day?

Thanks for any and all help.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

It's not like a WDW vacation but I would definitely do some booking/planning.

If you are doing pearl harbor you need to try to reserve tickets on line. If they are booked you need to arrive very early, think it's 7:00 am and wait to try to get tickets.

I would reserve the luau. You'll get better seats and won't be sold out. Paradise Cove and Fia Fia are both walking distance from Aulani and all get great reviews. We are doing Fia Fia because I can use a Marriott gift card.

I also would book your dinners now both at Aulani and if you are doing Roy's or Monkey Pod.

I also like to have at least a loose schedule of what we are doing each day, ie, drive to waikiki, drive to north shore, veg at hotel, etc. And, I would maybe do every other day so you have a lot of down time at the resort. I have been to Hawaii many times, but not to Aulani.

Hope I was of some help!

 

[kittyab]

I wanted to do whale watching & helicopter ride when we go.

 

[abdgeek]

I agree with the OP, definitely make a loose plan of what you want to do everyday so that you don't waste your time in Hawaii trying to figure it out. As a start, you can go to the Aulani website and look at the excursions that they offer. That will give you an idea of the major things to do on the island. Then you can find independent operators or call the one's listed to see what the price is if you don't do it through Aulani. Tripadvisor has reviews of most of the activities. Look there to see what people have enjoyed doing.

If you plan to do TS at Aulani or the restaurants, as the OP said, book them now. If you wait until you get there, especially with Aulani, you may find that their is no availability. How much you do this trip in Hawaii will largely depend on whether you think you will return. Take time to relax, but also see what you plan to see.

 

[DVCisME]

We have since planned Fia Fia. I looked into tickets for Pearl Harbor and the government site says they are sold out.

I think we might go to Dole on the way to North Shore.

Any other must sees? I was thinking of Diamand Head, but not sure if it will be too much for the kids.

 

[kkmcan]

We leave in 4 weeks and have a loose plan of what we want to do each day. Might give you an idea of stuff you might want to see. We are doing 2 nights in a Wyndham timeshare and 4 nights at Aulani.

Day 1: Fly Phx to Honolulu arriving at noon, get rental car, check into hotel.
Head out to eat, get some snorkel gear and hit a store for a few items.

Day 2: Pearl Harbor, then some dinner somewhere and maybe a walk on the beach.

Day3: Check out of timeshare, Hanauma Bay snorkeling, hike Diamond Head, head to Aulani. Grab some groceries and check in. Spend evening at the resort swimming, relaxing.

Day 4: Sleep in late, Spend day at Aulani. After 3 early mornings in a row we will need this! Monkeypod dinner or?

Day 5: Head to North Shore to do the hike at Waimea. Shrimp truck, turtle beach and stop at Dole Plantation on the way back for Dole Whips. Dinner at Ama Ama.

Day 6: Possible surf lessons for dh and ds. Don't have a reservation yet. Spend rest of day at Aulani. Dinner across the street.

Day 7: Check out of Aulani, spend day at pool and lagoon. Late afternoon-Shower, get ready for dinner and then head into Waikiki to catch our flight which leaves at 9:15 pm.

That's what I have planned. Trying to get a good mix of doing stuff and relaxation at the resort.

We are only dealing with a 3 hour time difference so it probably won't affect us as much as your family. Take that into consideration when planning.

Hope this helps you! Write a trip report so we can read what you did! Aloha!

 

[lovetotraveltx]

We have since planned Fia Fia. I looked into tickets for Pearl Harbor and the government site says they are sold out.

I think we might go to Dole on the way to North Shore.

Any other must sees? I was thinking of Diamand Head, but not sure if it will be too much for the kids.

If Pearl Harbor is important you can show up early day of and get tickets.

 

[Anal Annie]

We typically keep pretty busy on our vacations and on a cruise will often plan something for everyday (or at least in every port). We have had trips to Hawaii in the past that we filled with activities every day but this next trip I am trying to leave room for a fair amount of resort time and I have to keep to a lower budget this time too. Everybody says how wonderful Aulani is so I don't want to short-change ourselves on the resort although I think the spa and cabanas are out of our budget range. We will spend that kind of money on all day activities that will fit the bill for the whole family but I am having a hard time swallowing Aulani's prices for those ammenities. So we shall see if we really enjoy having "that much" resort time if we can't afford the onsite ammenities.

This will be my 5th trip to Hawaii this summer and I ALWAYS feel that I HAVE to go to Pearl Harbor. I would not miss out on that experience if I were you. It is somber and beautiful to see. The gov't.rec website often sells out months in advance for the Arizona Memorial but you could go early on your own and try for walk-up tix (arrive there by 7:00 am) or you could probably still book it thru the resort (although at a premium vs doing it for free on your own). There are also other tour groups that you could book it with. I suspect that is part of the reason why the tix are gone so fast on the website - groups often snag large chunks of them for re-sale on their tours. Even tho the memorial itself is actually free they sell you a seat on their shuttle bus and let you think the fee you're paying includes your admission. Anyway, my point is that there are still ways to see Pearl Harbor and I would recommend trying to fit it in. We have planned to include the USS Missouri for our next trip as well. After we're done there we will probably drive on into Waikiki for the rest of the afternoon. Our DS16 collects Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts so we'll probably try to hit that for lunch then just walk around a little bit and shop at the International Marketplace or whatever.

In all of our previous trips to Hawaii we have always stayed in Waikiki for our Oahu portion and have never rented a car (which I feel is necessary to have for Aulani). I am very much looking forward to driving up to the North Shore one day. We will likely plan for surf lessons up there for like 9:00 then will have the remainder of the day to explore that area and hit the famous shrimp trucks.

We are not hikers so have no plans to hike Diamond Head and we have snorkeled at Hanauma Bay a couple of times before so don't feel compelled to do that again either - but both of those are very popular options on Oahu. I went to the PCC on my first ever visit to Oahu and have zero desire to return so that's another popular thing that we'll skip. (It is far away and pricey.) FWIW I think the better luau's are on the other islands so I wouldn't stress over planning one on Oahu….everybody seems to like the Starlit Hui at Aulani which isn't really a luau because it doesn't include dinner but it's a polynesian show. You should probably plan to try to see that while you're at Aulani.

I don't think Hawaii requires a TON of pre-planning but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead a little bit for a couple of things so that you're not disappointed in not getting to do something that may be sold out by the time you arrive.

(Oh and you will be pretty jet lagged on your first day so don't plan much more than grocery shopping and pool time. To get your sleep cycled tho you need to try to stay up and go to bed at a normal time for Hawaii. Don't try to stay up TOOOO late but don't nap, as tempting as it may be.)

 

[kyton]

Anal Annie did you know that the International Markets are no more? They were closed down on New Years Eve. There are a few shops still on the main drag opposite Moana Surfrider but you can no longer go "inside" the markets. A new hotel / shopping centre / car park station will be constructed on the old site.

 

[Anal Annie]

Anal Annie did you know that the International Markets are no more? They were closed down on New Years Eve. There are a few shops still on the main drag opposite Moana Surfrider but you can no longer go "inside" the markets. A new hotel / shopping centre / car park station will be constructed on the old site.

No, not until you just now told me! I always enjoyed looking through all the junk for souvies & doing a little haggling. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[shortypots]

How often does Aulani put on the night time show? And I saw somewhere that they offer a shopping shuttle, it is just once there and once back, or is it various times during the day? I would hate to take it in the morning then get stuck there. Do they drop you off close to the beach area? Or strictly shopping areas?

 

[CailinFig]

How often does Aulani put on the night time show?

In general it's Monday and Thursday nights. If there's a special event it might get moved +/- a day. We were there for Halloween and it got moved a day.

 

[SuperRob]

For Aulani?

We leave in less than two weeks and I feel completely unprepared. We have the resort, a rental call, and the kids surfing lessons planned. We have never been to Hawaii. Can you wing it?

We want to do a luau, but which one? I keep reading the threads but just feel like I'm getting more confused.

It will be me, DH, DS9 and DS7. We are flying in on a direct flight from NY. Would it be too ambitious to think we could do anything that day?

Thanks for any and all help.

You can absolutely wing it. Everything is on "island time" there, so people tend to be pretty laid back (almost annoyingly so ).

Disney's "Starlit Hui" is a luau-type show, but with no food. It's fantastic entertainment, but if you want a more "traditional" luau experience, you can walk to Paradise Cove and do that one. Germaine's is also popular, but will require a car or shuttle. I put "traditional" in quotes because I'm not really sure how traditional any of those luaus really are.

Flying non-stop from New York is going to be a good 12 hours or so. You'll probably be pretty wiped. Depending on what time you get in (you have the time difference working in your favor) you can check in, change into swimsuits, and go down to the Waikolohe Valley (the pool). It'll feel good to just laze around the pool after such a long flight. I probably wouldn't try to do more than that.

Have a great trip!

 

[DVCisME]

Thanks for all the tips.

 

[georgiasmom]

kkmcan sounds like we will be there at the same time. We arrive on the 14th and are staying that first night at the Outrigger Wakkiki then heading to Aulani in the afternoon on the 15th through the 25th. We have 14 and 11 year old girls.


We have a few things planned, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Fire surf lessons, North Shore Day, Hike Diamond Head and Paradise Cove Luau. General plan is to hang at resort every other day. Also want to kayak at some point and considering a day excursion to the big island to see the volcanoes

Amy (less than 4 weeks!)

 

[shortypots]

do you need to bring your own tubes for the lazy river?

I am about 7 months away from going and I cannot wait! I think I am more excited about this trip than my Italy trip in May! Don't tell my husband though

 

[shortypots]

Also, anyone know how much the cabanas are? And how about the cost of the self service laundry?

 

[Anal Annie]

Also, anyone know how much the cabanas are? And how about the cost of the self service laundry?

I think the cabanas are $325 and DVC members can get a 10% discount off of that.

 

[frank808]

Tubes are provided for the slide and lazy river.
If you have a room larger than a studio there is a washer and dryer in your room.
Laundry is free dvc members staying on points in a studio. For reference a washing machine and dryer cost $3 each for a load. Though you might need to dry twice if it is a large wash.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I wanted to do whale watching & helicopter ride when we go.

When is your trip? Oahu does not have the best whale watching. For that you would want to plan on either Maui or the Big Island of Hawaii. Time of year is important, since the whales are only there from about January through April.