Split stay on Oahu - Aulani and ? Suggestions please

[nolanboys]

We are in the preliminary stages of planning our Hawaiian vacation for 2018 for a last big hurrah before our oldest two leave for college. We are DVC members, but only have enough points for 4 or 5 nights at Aulani for the 6 of us. We would probably go for 8 or 9 nights. Any suggestions? Head up north? Waikiki? Stay at another resort in Ko Olina? This has been on our bucket list, and after listening to the Dreams podcast today, I've been furiously researching. Just wanted some opinions from those of you that have traveled here before. Thanks in advance

 

[LisaDKG]

We have been to Oahu and Aulani twice and each time we spend the first 2-3 nights of our trip right on Waikiki at the Outrigger Waikiki. Next time I also wouldn't mind trying a few nights up on the North shore or out east in Kailua but I wouldn't give up my time at Waikiki. Eating at Duke's on the first night of our arrival makes me sooo happy!

 

[Mom2disneygirls]

We are staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for 3 nights to start and using that time to do the major sight seeing (climb diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, etc).

 

[blondietink]

Our 2nd trip is coming up next month and we have rented a condo in Waikiki for 4 nights before moving to Aulani, flying in Wednesday afternoon. We did this on our 1st trip and loved it. With a condo rental through VRBO we are able to have a kitchen so we can eat breakfast, pack a picnic lunch and then explore the east side of the island. This time our condo is one block back from the beach, an easy walk to both the park, zoo and beach. After exploring the east side in the mornings we come back to the beach in the afternoon and enjoy some of Waikiki's night life. Condo's usually come with free parking unlike the hotels in the area. This scenario also avoids most of Honolulu's traffic issues.

We will move to Aulani on a Sunday and will stop at Pearl harbor in the morning, go to the swap meet at Aloha stadium and then to Aulani.

 

[nkereina]

We are also staying in Waikiki for 3 nights before moving to Aulani for 6 nights. We chose the Waikiki Beach Marriott because we found a good price for it, it was recently renovated, and it appears to be in a central location. Since we're coming from the East coast, we will do Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head during our Waikiki stay since we'll be up early still adjusting from the time change. After our Waikiki stay, we will pick up a rental car and head to Aulani. Not having a car in Waikiki also let us avoid the parking charges and traffic. We're doing tours from our hotel to Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head so we didn't need transportation there.

 

[nolanboys]

Thank you all for the great responses and places to look at. I hadn't thought about VBRO and that might be a good option as hotels get pricey because of our party size.

 

[mindy32]

We stayed at Aulani for two nights and then in Waikiki for five. Budget wouldn't stretch more than two nights at Aulani but if I was to do the same again I'd definitely do it the other way around, have the nights at Aulani last, our hotel in Waikiki etc felt like a letdown after being at Aulani!

 

[magicaldisney]

I'm going to follow this thread. It was a great question and I'm curious to hear the answers as well.

 

[njmeisje]

Splurge in Waikiki and stay Royal Hawaiian for a few nights. We loved it.

 

[MichellleH]

Ko Olina is nice especially if you have young kids. I lived in Hawaii for some time and I would recommend staying in waikiki. Aulani is farthest from the tourist spots but it's an island so you could literally drive around it in one day lol so it just depends what kind of vacation you want. Family friendly lagoons, downtown waikiki nightlife.

Wherever you stay don't forget to visit North Shore.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

!!!!Four Seasons Maui

 

[Fuhnuh]

We have been to Oahu and Aulani twice and each time we spend the first 2-3 nights of our trip right on Waikiki at the Outrigger Waikiki. Next time I also wouldn't mind trying a few nights up on the North shore or out east in Kailua but I wouldn't give up my time at Waikiki. Eating at Duke's on the first night of our arrival makes me sooo happy!

We pretty much do the same thing, but next door at the Waikiki Shore and drinks at Nobu instead of Dukes. We done the trip enough time that we spend the majority of time at Waikiki while driving around the Island during the day. I second making sure to make a trip to the North Shore (we really enjoy Waimea Valley/Bay). It's pretty easy to get all over the Island from Waikiki and it seems that the traffic is only really bad the opposite direction we are traveling (leaving Waikiki/Honolulu morning, return in the evening). Whatever you end up doing, have a great trip!

Four Seasons Maui may be next on our list.

 

[alohamom]

If you are not into the Waikiki/Honolulu idea, there is a fairly new Marriott Courtyard up in Laie/North Shore. I have never stayed here but the prices are comparable to Waikiki. This is a fairly remote location, lacks restaurants and shopping, fyi
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/hnloa-courtyard-oahu-north-shore/

 

[blondietink]

Thank you all for the great responses and places to look at. I hadn't thought about VBRO and that might be a good option as hotels get pricey because of our party size.

When I was looking at VRBO there were a lot of 2 bedrooms available and they weren't much more than the one bedroom condos. Some had a queen in the one bedroom and 2 doubles in the 2nd bedroom plus a pull-out couch. We only needed a one bedroom for our family of 4 so that is what we settled on.

 

[nolanboys]

When I was looking at VRBO there were a lot of 2 bedrooms available and they weren't much more than the one bedroom condos. Some had a queen in the one bedroom and 2 doubles in the 2nd bedroom plus a pull-out couch. We only needed a one bedroom for our family of 4 so that is what we settled on.

Yes, I was surprised that many were quite reasonable and looked lovely. I was researching options at VBRO. I was surprised that many only had 3 day minimum stays, as I had wrongly assumed that many would be week only rentals. Definitely some great options!

 

[Dugette]

On our trip a couple months ago, we spent 5 nights on the North Shore before moving to Aulani for 4 nights. We stayed in a condo in the Turtle Bay resort area and we found it on AirBnB. In-laws stayed in condos down the street that they found on VRBO. All were nice and reasonably priced. Allowed us to take advantage of the resort (beach, dining, etc.) and also a good home base for North Shore attractions (Polynesian Cultural Center, Waimea Valley, etc.)

 

[LottiesMommy]

Similar to Dugette we did Aulani for 8 nights and then went up to the North Shore to stay at Turtle Bay for 4 nights. We loved it so much we will repeat the stays in December.

Aulani felt like a cruise ship to us: Lots to do and a lot of people. It was so much fun, but we kind of burned out on having so many people around.

We went up to Turtle Bay and rented a condo right on the ocean and enjoyed a much quieter pool at the condo building. We just loved the less crowded environment. We went horseback riding and wandered around the quiet resort grounds.

We loved our rented condo (had a wonderful view of the ocean), but next time we plan to stay in the Turtle Bay Resort main hotel since we liked the look of their pool and the cost is less at the hotel for our dates (there are many less expensive condos available a bit further from the ocean though).

We drove over to Waikiki one day from Aulani to have lunch at Duke's and to visit a few sites. We were glad to see it... but equally glad we were not staying there. I think it comes down to what you like in terms of environment/atmosphere. We are not into going out at night, so we had no desire to stay so close to a downtown area.

 

[nkereina]

Not to hijack the thread, but for those who have stayed at Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, did you catch their fireworks show on Friday nights? We'll be there on a Friday but not staying at the Hilton. We thought we'd walk there to check out the fireworks and the resort, and grab dinner. Where's the best place to sit and see them?

 

[wanderlust7]

Not to hijack the thread, but for those who have stayed at Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, did you catch their fireworks show on Friday nights? We'll be there on a Friday but not staying at the Hilton. We thought we'd walk there to check out the fireworks and the resort, and grab dinner. Where's the best place to sit and see them?

The fireworks are shot from near the lagoon. So anywhere on the beach in front of HHV will be good - very close and very loud.

 

[aulanidreamer]

I avoid Honolulu if at all possible. Love the Northshore and the west side. Our first trip we stayed on the Northshore near sunset beach and loved it, although the beach itself was amazingly beautiful but the surf was too rough to swim in it in Feb. Last time we stayed in Waimanalo and would highly recommend it. Had a vrbo that was a 3 min walk to the most amazing beach. A very different experience from Aulani, but we loved it just as much.