surfing at Aulani?

[lifesgr8]

We are headed to Aulani in January. My DD wants to surf. Does anyone know info about lessons & equip?

Also, I see a snorkeling pool/area at Aulani. Is that free? Equipment included for kids?

 

[wendypooh]

Aloha..... we've been to Aulani twice, there is NO surfing AT Aulani, but there IS paddle boarding in the lagoon. http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/activities/aulani-beach/makiki-joes/ You can book surf lessons at any number of local places, Aulani concierge should be able to help you or you can do it on your own. As for the the snorkeling at Aulani, it's at Rainbow Reef, http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/activities/rainbow-reef/

we did the length of stay pass - it was worth it!! We absolutely LOVED it. Have fun!!

 

[lifesgr8]

thank you wendipooh.

what about booking for pearl harbor? do I have to book a tour or can we just go see things there?

 

[Anal Annie]

You should book a tour for the USS Arizona as soon as they open the window for your dates. I have seen them open it as far as 6 mo. out. The earlier times go quickly. The tour for the Arizona alone is free but you need a ressie (and you need to plan to BE THERE 1 hour prior to your tour time). You can add on the USS Missouri for a fee. If you do both plan on being there approx. 5 hours. It can get HOT in the summer so it's recommended to go early. Since you are going in January and don't have a reservation yet you should plan to BE THERE by 7:00 when they open as there are limited amounts of tix available for walk-ups. But you have to be there early to GET them. Depending on traffic (ie day of the week) it could take you 45-60 min. to get there. (We went on a Sunday to avoid rush hour so it only took 40 or 45 min. to get there.) Booking is done thru the government rec website at: http://www.recreation.gov/tourParkDetail.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72369 You can probably book a tour thru Aulani or another tour company but you'll have to pay for it (which sucks bcuz the tix are actually FREE if you go on your own).

We booked surf lessons on the North Shore on our own prior to going. We used Uncle Bryan's Sunset Surrat Surf School and booked a semi-private lesson that was just the 3 of us.

 

[AZMermaid]

With the length of stay pass for the snorkeling, can you use the snorkel in the lagoon as well?

 

[Girimama33]

With the length of stay pass for the snorkeling, can you use the snorkel in the lagoon as well?

Yes. The length of stay pass is good for snorkel rentals at Makiki Joes.

 

[Mduff]

You should book a tour for the USS Arizona as soon as they open the window for your dates. I have seen them open it as far as 6 mo. out. The earlier times go quickly. The tour for the Arizona alone is free but you need a ressie (and you need to plan to BE THERE 1 hour prior to your tour time). You can add on the USS Missouri for a fee. If you do both plan on being there approx. 5 hours. It can get HOT in the summer so it's recommended to go early. Since you are going in January and don't have a reservation yet you should plan to BE THERE by 7:00 when they open as there are limited amounts of tix available for walk-ups. But you have to be there early to GET them. Depending on traffic (ie day of the week) it could take you 45-60 min. to get there. (We went on a Sunday to avoid rush hour so it only took 40 or 45 min. to get there.) Booking is done thru the government rec website at: http://www.recreation.gov/tourParkDetail.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72369 You can probably book a tour thru Aulani or another tour company but you'll have to pay for it (which sucks bcuz the tix are actually FREE if you go on your own).

We booked surf lessons on the North Shore on our own prior to going. We used Uncle Bryan's Sunset Surrat Surf School and booked a semi-private lesson that was just the 3 of us.

Do you recommend booking privately for the Pearl Harbor tours or to go through Aulani? I just booked 7 days (have to play with my dates so I can go for 10 instead and was wondering about booking now for Pearl Harbor. Do you know what the difference is between going through Aulani or doing it on my own?

 

[Anal Annie]

Do you recommend booking privately for the Pearl Harbor tours or to go through Aulani? I just booked 7 days (have to play with my dates so I can go for 10 instead and was wondering about booking now for Pearl Harbor. Do you know what the difference is between going through Aulani or doing it on my own?

BOOK IT YOURSELF!! I have no idea what Aulani would charge but the Arizona itself is FREE so there is no point to pay Aulani to go (unless you screw around and don't book it early enough to get the time you want). Check the rec.gov website often so you'll know when they open the dates for your trip and then snag it promptly - the slots can fill quickly. If you add on the USS Missouri I think it's like $57 pp but just the Arizona alone is free. If you do add on the Missouri allow at least 5 hours there to get thru both. Also, if you're going in the summer GO EARLY as it gets HOT. I have now been to PH 5x (and included the Missouri the last 2x). It is incredible. When we went this past August we had a 8:45 res time for the Arizona so we left Aulani at like 7 or 7:15 so we could be there an hour before as required to pick up our tix. We went on a Sunday to avoid rush hour traffic going into the city. We were able to move thru the Missouri a little faster this time (we do self guided everything). We also went thru the USS Bowfin. After we were done at PH we drove into Waikiki since we were so close and ate a late lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (DS collects their t-shirts) then we walked over to the beach (it's like 2 blocks from the Hard Rock) to get our obligatory peek at Diamond Head & a couple of pics. (We have always stayed in Waikiki on our previous trips so didn't feel compelled to spend TOOOO much time there.)

 

[Sir William]

USS Arizona Memorial Tour: As mentioned, tickets are free but should be reserved in advance. If you are unable to get reserved tickets, don't panic. They have a number of tickets (time slots) that are passed out first come, first served. Arrive as early as you can and see what times are available. If you're lucky, it'll be only a short wait and you can enjoy the museum and gift shop until they call your group. If not, find something else to do for a few hours (we went to lunch) and then return. Allow time to find parking!

 

[SplashMom]

We booked surfing on the North Shore at Turtle Bay resort. We reserved a semi-private for two people and it was great. They also had a photographer take photos the entire time and we purchased that at an additional cost of course, lol. I would highly recommend it.

We also booked Pearl Harbor ourselves well in advance. It was very inexpensive but the early times went very quickly. We booked one of the earliest times and traffic, parking, and people were not a problem. We just did the USS Arizona and spent lots of time looking around afterward. We also used the remainder of the day to explore Waikiki.