Trip Report--Family of 5 visits Aulani, Kauai, & Maui

[alohamom]

I spied this activity chart on the way back to the room.

Was there a charge for any of the activities?

 

[Dizney73]

I am just loving your trip report! We are doing the NCL POA cruise next summer with our kids (14 and 11) and hoping grab at least 1 night at Aulani before our trip. My husband and I did Hawaii in 2004 and absolutely loved Kauai! Can't wait to see what Maui has in store for us!

 

[braysmommy]

Thank you for taking the time to write a review! We are spending 6 nights in Maui and 3 nights at Aulani prior to DCL Hawaiian cruise in May. My 13 yr. old is very excited to get shaved ice as much as possible...which means daily most likely.

 

[ErinF]

Was there a charge for any of the activities?

That is a great question, and unfortunately I'm not sure...we never got around to doing any of them!
My assumption/guess was that the ones in the cultural center were free, and the ones in the activity center (that required a reservation) had a cost. My daughter sort of wanted to do the bath bombs, but could never fully commit and then forgot about it.

I am just loving your trip report! We are doing the NCL POA cruise next summer with our kids (14 and 11) and hoping grab at least 1 night at Aulani before our trip. My husband and I did Hawaii in 2004 and absolutely loved Kauai! Can't wait to see what Maui has in store for us!

Thanks for reading! I hope you all get to do a night at Aulani, I think just 1 night could definitely be fun. Hope you have a wonderful time on the cruise!

Thank you for taking the time to write a review! We are spending 6 nights in Maui and 3 nights at Aulani prior to DCL Hawaiian cruise in May. My 13 yr. old is very excited to get shaved ice as much as possible...which means daily most likely.

Sure, thanks for reading! The best shave ice of the trip is coming up soon in my report.

 

[ErinF]

Day 9—Monday, June 10th: Maui

We had a lazy morning this morning. In fact, this was a theme going forward. We were generally pretty lazy and low-key the whole time we were on Maui. We had been fairly active while at Aulani and also on Kauai, so we just kind of wanted to lay low. The kids especially liked having lazy mornings, as they had only just gotten out of school a couple of days before we left for our trip.

Ty went down to get his coffee from the hotel shop. When he got back, he and I took a little walk to check out the walkway in front of the hotels and the beach area.







We came back to the room and we all got ready for the pool. We had fun swimming and exploring all around the big pool.







Ty went out and snorkeled a little during our pool time and came back to report that he saw several turtles.

We went back to the villa for lunch and some relaxation on the lanai. Afterward, we needed to get the car from the valet. It was the same price to valet the first 24 hours as it was to self park, but our 24 hours was coming up.

We drove down to Whaler’s Village, which is a like a small outdoor mall.





Ty, Sam, and Katie got shave ice and Mason got a smoothie from a little stand.



We walked in a few shops, but really, we are ABC Store type people. We ended up back in there for some souvenirs.



Sam had been wanting a stuffed turtle, so we purchased that for him. Katie had her eye on a ukulele. No matter that it was made in China, she just had to have it (she used her own money to buy it).

Continued in the next post....

 

[ErinF]

Day 9 Continued (Monday, June 10th: Maui)

After stashing our purchases back in our car, we walked north along the path that runs up and down Kaanapali beach. We reminisced in front of Hula Grill where we’d eaten on our honeymoon.





And then we walked all around the Kaanapali Beach Hotel where we had stayed on our honeymoon. Ty even got a Blue Hawaiian from the bar, just like he would do when we stayed there.









We retraced our steps back to Whalers Village and drove back to the Nanea. I cooked dinner in our villa while Katie sat on the lanai strumming her new ukulele. (She’d learned how to play in 5th grade—our local elementary school 5th graders get to learn to play the ukulele.)

After dinner the kids stayed in while Ty and I walked down to the beach to see the sunset. Ty grabbed himself a beer at the pool bar on the way. It was a pretty sunset, and I just happened to catch the so-called green flash in one of my live photos from my iPhone. I wish I knew how to make a live photo work on here because it was pretty cool!





We then walked next door to check out Duke’s Beach House and the Honua Kai Resort. I see the Honua Kai recommended all the time on the Trip Advisor boards and I can see why. It looks like a great resort for families. We made the short walk back to the Nanea and to our villa to turn in for the night.

 

[AussieDisneyfans]

Really enjoying your trip report - thanks so much for sharing. Loved the photos from your helicopter ride.

 

[phewms]

I am just loving your trip report! We are doing the NCL POA cruise next summer with our kids (14 and 11) and hoping grab at least 1 night at Aulani before our trip. My husband and I did Hawaii in 2004 and absolutely loved Kauai! Can't wait to see what Maui has in store for us!

Same but hoping to tack on Aulani at the end of the trip for 2 nights.

 

[phewms]

OP thank you for your detailed trip report!

 

[dachsie]

What is the "green flash? Thank you for doing the report. Am really enjoying it.

 

[ErinF]

Really enjoying your trip report - thanks so much for sharing. Loved the photos from your helicopter ride.

Thanks so much! The helicopter ride was the highlight of the trip for me.

OP thank you for your detailed trip report! ❤

You're welcome!

What is the "green flash? Thank you for doing the report. Am really enjoying it.

So, the green flash is supposed to be a phenomenon where you see a flash of green light right as the sun completely sets (google says it's due to the refraction of sunlight through the atmosphere). What we saw was most definitely a flash right as it set, but to me it was a bright flash and not so much green.

 

[ErinF]

Day 10—Tuesday, June 11th: Maui

Ty went down to get coffee while I made breakfast in the room, that had pretty much become our morning routine. We all got our swimsuits and sunscreen on and grabbed the snorkel gear so we could hit the beach for the first time.





The ocean looked beautiful! The waves were pretty calm and the water temperature was really nice, warmer than I’d expected actually.





We all had fun splashing in the surf and playing in the waves.







Ty and Katie went snorkeling and saw several turtles.







Continued in the next post…

 

[ErinF]

Day 10 Continued (Tuesday, June 11th: Maui)

A couple more pictures from snorkeling:





Before we knew it it was lunch time, so we packed up our gear and headed up to the room. The kids just wanted to eat our food in the room, but Ty and I had seen that they were celebrating Taco Tuesday out by the pool. They were preparing fish tacos for purchase, so after showers he went and got some for the two of us. They were overpriced (seeing as we bought them at our resort) but they were yummy!



Not too long after lunch we all piled into the car to head north. Our first stop was the little Kapalua airport, just several minutes up the road. I think Mokulele Airlines is the only airline to fly in there, but it’s certainly convenient if you’re staying in west Maui. This is the view from the airport:



Next we headed to the Ritz-Carlton. We had almost stayed there. There was a great package that Costco had for awhile that was for a 2 bedroom villa and included free parking, free breakfast, waived resort fee and I think $300 resort credit. We kept that reservation for awhile, but I ultimately decided we would be happier elsewhere. It’s of course a super nice hotel, but the pool didn’t seem as fun for kids and it’s set back quite a bit from the beach.







We enjoyed walking around their grounds and seeing their beach area (DT Fleming beach).





We stopped at the Honolua store for some snacks before continuing to drive along the coast. We made a few more scenic stops before turning around and heading back to the Nanea.



Continued in the next post….

 

[ErinF]

Day 10 Concluded (Tuesday, June 11th: Maui)

More scenic pictures from northwest Maui:





Ty and I decided we wanted to eat at Duke’s for dinner, and I was able to secure a 5:45pm reservation on OpenTable. That was a little on the early side, especially considering when sunset was, but we weren’t sure if we’d have to wait a long time without a reservation, and the next available time was 8pm. So we picked up pizza for the kids at a nearby place and then walked over to Duke’s.







Ty enjoyed a beer with the baked Mahi Mahi. I chose the Farm to Fork Platter (a veggie plate) because I wanted to save room for dessert.

We shared the Hula Pie for dessert and it was amazing!! We ate every last bit!



It was just about sunset time when we were finished with our meal so we hoofed it back to the room to get the kids (after this quick picture in front of Duke's).



Only Sam and Mason wanted to come back down with us, and we were a little slow, so we made it to the beach just after the sun had already set. No matter, the colors weren’t quite as showy as they had been the night before.



Ty and Sam stopped to play giant Connect 4 as we headed back to the room. I grabbed a picture of what to me is iconic Hawaii, Hibiscus and tiki torches.

 

[soccerdad72]

We then walked next door to check out Duke’s Beach House and the Honua Kai Resort. I see the Honua Kai recommended all the time on the Trip Advisor boards and I can see why. It looks like a great resort for families. We made the short walk back to the Nanea and to our villa to turn in for the night.

Just got back last week from our family trip to Maui (2 days in Waikiki on the way home) and we stayed at Honua Kai (mostly due to Trip Advisor recommendations) - it was a great resort for us, I agree. We loved the beach walk too - most of our mornings, my wife and I walked the entire thing from end to end (the Hyatt at the farthest point north on Kaanapali).

 

[braysmommy]

Just got back last week from our family trip to Maui (2 days in Waikiki on the way home) and we stayed at Honua Kai (mostly due to Trip Advisor recommendations) - it was a great resort for us, I agree. We loved the beach walk too - most of our mornings, my wife and I walked the entire thing from end to end (the Hyatt at the farthest point north on Kaanapali).

We are staying at Honua Kai in May pre DCL Hawaii cruise. Can't wait!

 

[ErinF]

Just got back last week from our family trip to Maui (2 days in Waikiki on the way home) and we stayed at Honua Kai (mostly due to Trip Advisor recommendations) - it was a great resort for us, I agree. We loved the beach walk too - most of our mornings, my wife and I walked the entire thing from end to end (the Hyatt at the farthest point north on Kaanapali).

I'm glad you liked Honua Kai! I think it would be nice to stay there with my family on a future trip, especially since you can pick your exact unit.

We are staying at Honua Kai in May pre DCL Hawaii cruise. Can't wait!

How fun, hope you love it!

 

[ErinF]

Day 11—Wednesday, June 12th: Maui

This morning was pretty much a repeat of yesterday morning. At the beach, Ty and Katie did lots of snorkeling.











Sam did a little snorkeling with them as well while Mason and I hung out on the beach.







I saw something that took me slightly aback. This guy, who was with several friends and his teenage daughter, had his snorkel gear which included a huge knife strapped to his calf. I guess to use in case of a shark encounter?

We headed back at lunchtime again and finished off much of our leftover food. We were sitting out on the lanai after lunch and Sam remarked that he liked that mountain view better than our ocean view we had in Kauai.

We decided to go explore south Maui as Ty and I had never been to Kihei or the Wailea area. We decided to set Ululanis shave ice in Kihei as our destination to give us directions. We were driving the road south, around west Maui, when we decided to pull off at a scenic overlook. Google maps labels it Papawai Point. The views were great from here.



Molokini way out there:



Continued in the next post...

 

[ErinF]

Day 11 Continued (Wednesday, June 12th: Maui)

However, when we were done and ready to hit the road again, there must have been some kind of accident because traffic going south was at a complete standstill. We really had no choice but to return back north. We decided to hit up the Ululanis in Lahaina instead. We found a little parking lot a few blocks away and walked over.

The line was really long! I think we waited 15-20 minutes.





I think we all agreed it was worth it, this was the best shave ice! This was actually my first shave ice of the trip, I’m more of an ice cream person. I had eaten a few bites here and there off the kids’ shave ices, but I knew I had to try Ululanis. It did not disappoint.



I picked kind of a weird combo, lemon and grape. I was thinking I might like lemon, kind of like a lemon chill. It was good, but I loved the grape! Ty had coconut and lime and said that the coconut flavor was far superior to all the other coconut flavorings he’d had up until then.





We headed back to the resort where I fixed dinner in our room. Afterward, around sunset time, we made our way down to the pool for a nice evening swim.





View from my lounger:

 

[Noah_t]

Thank you. That was a really fun read!