MAJESTIC CIRCLE ISLAND TOUR

[vadersprincess12]

Hello Everyone ~ Planning a 25th anniversary trip for 2025. Wondering if anyone has some recent feedback on the Majestic Circle Island Tour. Thanks.

 

[Paul Stupin]

Have never taken the tour, but it is very easy and less costly to just rent a car for the day, especially on the weekends when the traffic is lighter and Aulani is generally busier.

 

[WinterSolider]

We didn't do the tour, but we saw the buses arriving at some of our destinations after we were leaving. It looked like an absolute nightmare. We got to the Byodo-In Temple right when it opened and we had the place to ourselves for about an hour. Literally 8 buses showed up all at the same time as we were leaving and the place turned into a zoo. I HIGHLY recommend getting your own transportation and arriving everywhere right when it opens.

Have never taken the tour, but it is very easy and less costly to just rent a car for the day, especially on the weekends when the traffic is lighter and Aulani is generally busier.

Weekends and super super early in the morning. I always recommend that people from the US mainland not fully adjust to the time change. It should be very easy to wake up and be on the road before rush hour gets too heavy.

 

[Pens Fan]

Agree with just renting a car and going your own way. It's not a difficult island to navigate and you can go at your own pace. I see a lot of complaints about Honolulu traffic, but as someone who has lived in or near a city all my life, I didn't think it was that bad. Beats driving through Pittsburgh (or Nashville where we are originally from) for sure .

One book I highly recommend is Oahu Revealed by Andrew Doughty. We were at Aulani for 9 nights in Oct/Nov and spent a lot of time exploring the island. We got a lot of great ideas from that book.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Check out the Shaka Tours if you do a rental car. Those tours are amazing and GPS driven. Just throw it on the car speakers and it will take you to places you won't get from the Circle Tours. They are in depth and you get to set how much time at each place. I've used most of the Oahu ones and the Maui ones and they are my go to recommendation. Bonus they have walking tours of downtown Honolulu and the Imperial Palace area.

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

I have actually taken the tour. It gives you a nice overview of the island.