Just back - ask me anything

Any idea of when they might be bringing back the SNUBA at the reef - supplied air snorkeling? Are they still doing Paint with light and stargazing?
 
Did you do anything outside the resorts?

Any food recommendations in either place?
 
Any idea of when they might be bringing back the SNUBA at the reef - supplied air snorkeling? Are they still doing Paint with light and stargazing?
No specifics but to be honest everything felt very "back to normal" so I wouldn't be surprised if it would be soon
Did you do anything outside the resorts?

Any food recommendations in either place?
We did a day on the north shore and also drove a lap of the island with a few stops. We did all the "usuals". Ted's Bakery, Giovanni's, Matsumoto's, Kono's - we also went to Kualoa and did the ATV tour which was fantastic and went to a place about 15 mins away called "Fresh Catch" for lunch which did poke and plate lunches which was really good too.

One place we tried in Waikiki which i've never seen get a mention but was certainly a food highlight this trip was Quiora for dinner and drinks.
 


Did you have a vehicle for the whole time? If not, how did you get to Waikiki/Aulani/Airport?
 
How did you find the traffic? I have friends that live just outside of Honolulu that seem to complain about it constantly on Facebook, and it makes me worry a little about how much time to budget towards driving to pre-booked activities!
 


Did you have a vehicle for the whole time? If not, how did you get to Waikiki/Aulani/Airport?
We had a vehicle for the first 4 days so we drove to Aulani from the airport and then we dropped off our suitcases at the Waikiki hotel and dropped the car off at Hilton Hawaiian Village. We took an uber to the airport from Waikiki on our departure day.
How did you find the traffic? I have friends that live just outside of Honolulu that seem to complain about it constantly on Facebook, and it makes me worry a little about how much time to budget towards driving to pre-booked activities!
We didn't find it too bad but also planned our outings around traffic - avoiding going into waikiki in the mornings and through/out of it in the evenings with the commuters. We also did our north shore day on a Monday to avoid traffic etc.

Did your kids use Aunty's Beach House? How was it?
I don't have any kids sorry! But I don't believe it was open yet we checked out of Aulani on the 17th of May.
 
No specifics but to be honest everything felt very "back to normal" so I wouldn't be surprised if it would be soon

We did a day on the north shore and also drove a lap of the island with a few stops. We did all the "usuals". Ted's Bakery, Giovanni's, Matsumoto's, Kono's - we also went to Kualoa and did the ATV tour which was fantastic and went to a place about 15 mins away called "Fresh Catch" for lunch which did poke and plate lunches which was really good too.

One place we tried in Waikiki which i've never seen get a mention but was certainly a food highlight this trip was Quiora for dinner and drinks.
Hi!

On the Thursday of our July trip we are considering a lap or road trip around the NE portion of the island - taking the H3 toward Kane ‘ohe Beach Park and driving counterclockwise around the island stopping along the way to see the sights/beaches/etc between and stopping at Haleiwa for food trucks before heading south on 99 or 803. (We are doing Kailua/ Lanikai and the SE area another day)

Is that doable in a day from Aulani based on what you experienced or describe above?
 
How did you find the traffic? I have friends that live just outside of Honolulu that seem to complain about it constantly on Facebook, and it makes me worry a little about how much time to budget towards driving to pre-booked activities!
Everyone thinks that the traffic in their home city is "the worst". We did not find traffic to be worse then any other mid sized city. If you avoid the main rush hour, it is fine. The traffic is nothing like the bigger cities, Chicago, LA, etc. So if you have ever driven in one of those places, you will think that there is hardly any traffic at all on Oahu. Look at what Google maps says for travel time and then add an extra 20-30 minutes to be safe.
 
Hi!

On the Thursday of our July trip we are considering a lap or road trip around the NE portion of the island - taking the H3 toward Kane ‘ohe Beach Park and driving counterclockwise around the island stopping along the way to see the sights/beaches/etc between and stopping at Haleiwa for food trucks before heading south on 99 or 803. (We are doing Kailua/ Lanikai and the SE area another day)

Is that doable in a day from Aulani based on what you experienced or describe above?
I reckon that is 100% doable - but of course depends on how long you take for stops etc, all of ours were about an hour except for one which was probably about 30mins. We left around 8:30am, did 5 stops and were back in the Kapolei area in time for an "early" (5:30pm) dinner (and did sit through a bit of bumper to bumper on the way back from Lanikai).
 
I'd agree with @DramaGeek above. Certainly doable. There are lots of tempting spots to stop at along the way so it somewhat depends on how frequent/long your stops are. And shopping in Haleiwa is fun, with lots of interesting shops. Suggest you take 99 back south but either is scenic.
 
Hi!

On the Thursday of our July trip we are considering a lap or road trip around the NE portion of the island - taking the H3 toward Kane ‘ohe Beach Park and driving counterclockwise around the island stopping along the way to see the sights/beaches/etc between and stopping at Haleiwa for food trucks before heading south on 99 or 803. (We are doing Kailua/ Lanikai and the SE area another day)

Is that doable in a day from Aulani based on what you experienced or describe above?

Yes it's doable, but it will be a full day. Kailua has some great food spots for lunch, then you could do dinner in Haleiwa, or the other way around. Definitely stop at Waimea Valley and Kawela Bay beach parks.
 
Everyone thinks that the traffic in their home city is "the worst". We did not find traffic to be worse then any other mid sized city. If you avoid the main rush hour, it is fine. The traffic is nothing like the bigger cities, Chicago, LA, etc. So if you have ever driven in one of those places, you will think that there is hardly any traffic at all on Oahu. Look at what Google maps says for travel time and then add an extra 20-30 minutes to be safe.
I'll add in that you should avoid the North Shore drive on the weekend if possible. All the locals go up to Pipeline and all the other surf spots on the weekend, and there is one 2 lane road that everybody has to use.
 
I'll add in that you should avoid the North Shore drive on the weekend if possible. All the locals go up to Pipeline and all the other surf spots on the weekend, and there is one 2 lane road that everybody has to use.
Yep - it's a Thursday and we are used to more traffic in our City - pre WFH. Prefer to avoid long lines of stop and go of course, but can deal with a bit.

We just want to enjoy a "circle island tour" that does not include planned excursions, but stops where we feel like stopping.
 
If you were not on DCV points, did you get housekeeping every day or every other day?
 
Yep - it's a Thursday and we are used to more traffic in our City - pre WFH. Prefer to avoid long lines of stop and go of course, but can deal with a bit.

We just want to enjoy a "circle island tour" that does not include planned excursions, but stops where we feel like stopping.

As others said, it's a day trip around Oahu, is very do-able, and something I done many times over on various trips to Oahu. The only thing I found is I often stopped to often or too long at various places that I often miss it or barely make it to Matsumoto Shave Ice before they close at 6pm. So if you want to visit Matsumoto, just make sure you timed it right. I never go by a schedule, and if I make it, I make it, and if I missed it, I missed it, but I always feel ouch when I don't get my shaved ice fixed at Matsumoto (my favorite on Oahu).

Also, being in Haleiwa around 6pm means I am missing most of traffic heading back into Ko Olina area.

Great3
 
Yep - it's a Thursday and we are used to more traffic in our City - pre WFH. Prefer to avoid long lines of stop and go of course, but can deal with a bit.

We just want to enjoy a "circle island tour" that does not include planned excursions, but stops where we feel like stopping.
It’s not so much the traffic, but trouble finding places to park at the beaches and dodging pedestrians crossing the road in random spots. It’s just not a relaxing drive through those areas. But definitely worth a see.
 
I’m considering grilling one night but have a studio. Are there grilling utensils (tongs, etc) available somewhere? Anything you wish you had packed? Toiletries in little bottles or big ones? With all the swimming I think we could run out of shampoo awfully fast, lol.
 

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