8 nights Aulani at end of August or change to split stay?

[BCV23]

If it were me, I'd stay at Aulani for the duration of an Oahu stay. So much more relaxing to unpack and settle in once. As five_mouseketeerssaid, most areas are as close to Aulani as Waikiki. In addition, you will have less traffic with which to contend especially if you avoid rush hour. It is easy to make a day trip or two if you want to visit Diamond Head or the museums in Honolulu. Whatever you decide, enjoy. Aulani is very special.

 

[roopster]

Thanks for the reply! That was exactly my original thinking. However, the pool closures / construction for the time we are there is concerning me now. I feel that a few nights somewhere else might be a bit of a ‘safety net’. I guess the problem is no one really knows what it will be like until the construction starts, by which time it’s too late!

If it were me, I'd stay at Aulani for the duration of an Oahu stay. So much more relaxing to unpack and settle in once. As five_mouseketeerssaid, most areas are as close to Aulani as Waikiki. In addition, you will have less traffic with which to contend especially if you avoid rush hour. It is easy to make a day trip or two if you want to visit Diamond Head or the museums in Honolulu. Whatever you decide, enjoy. Aulani is very special.

 

[BCV23]

So true about it being too late especially using points. Disney always does seem to handle construction well. Good luck with your decision.

 

[roopster]

Thank you everyone for replying.

I’m just bumping this thread as I’ve now changed our Aulani stay to four nights. The uncertainty of the construction was just too much to risk the entire trip!

So I would love to hear opinions as to where else to stay for the other four nights.

We could do:
1) a rental on North Shore
2) a rental on the east of Oahu
3) a hotel in Waikiki - two rooms at the Hilton village will run about the same cost as Aulani points rental.
4) go to Kaua’i and stay at Koloa Landing - flights & 3 bed suite will work out roughly the same as if we stayed at Aulani. Seeing another island would be amazing but we’d lose half a day on travel...the hotel pools look great though for our kids (the grand Hyatt is too expensive unfortunately...)

Options 1 & 2 will be about half the cost of 3 & 4 (saving about $1400). But my 10 yr old loves pools - more than the beach! None of us can surf - but will take a lesson and try (before probably giving up!) We could squeeze into a Turtle Bay rental (legal, I checked!) - does anyone know what the pools there are like?

There’s too much choice! If only we had a three week holiday!!

 

[nkereina]

Our kids are 5 & 10 and we are also travelling with my parents in their 70’s. From what I read Waikiki might be better geared to adults and older kids. Is that fair? We wouldn’t really care about shopping for example, and living in London, it’s nice to get away from the city!

We love Waikiki - its a very different vibe than any other place we visited in Hawaii. Lots of shopping, dining options, nightlife and all in walking distance. It did remind us of South Beach with a bustling area plopped on the beachfront, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. What we also liked about it is that there were TONS of bus tours and organized tours offered from the area, with pickups at the various hotels. It makes for an easy way to see the island or go to places like Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor, where parking can be challenges. I think I mentioned up-thread that our bus tours to Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head worked out very well - it was nice to let the pros worry about the logistics. And we had just two people - you have a few more.

As far as the ages go, every place we went was family friendly. We saw kids on the beach, and the beach is great for people watching. I would say the area is primarily for walking, just in case your parents have mobility issues. There are also double decker trolleys that go up and down the strip that are easy and cheap to use.

We could do:
1) a rental on North Shore
2) a rental on the east of Oahu
3) a hotel in Waikiki - two rooms at the Hilton village will run about the same cost as Aulani points rental.
4) go to Kaua’i and stay at Koloa Landing - flights & 3 bed suite will work out roughly the same as if we stayed at Aulani. Seeing another island would be amazing but we’d lose half a day on travel...the hotel pools look great though for our kids (the grand Hyatt is too expensive unfortunately...)

1) You mentioned Turtle Bay, which is a gorgeous resort with great pools. It's on the north shore technically, but its more located between Haleiwa and the windward side. My favorite part of the north shore was Haleiwa, and Turtle Bay is about a 20 minute drive from there. You'd definitely want a car at Turtle Bay.

2) We loved Kailua, which is on the east/windward side. The beaches there were the nicest we saw our whole trip. It has more of a laidback vibe in that area. I think this would be a good area to stay in, but again, I'd have a car.

3) My comments on Waikiki are above, although Hilton Hawaiian Village wouldn't be my choice. Its a beautiful resort but at the far end of the strip so its longer walks to most places. There is a trolley stop nearby. We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki and thought it was the perfect location.

4) This one would be my vote. We stayed in Lihue near the airport. We thought Kauai was the most exotic of the islands we visited, with the most natural beauty and least commercialization. The Na Pali Coast was my favorite thing of the whole trip, and I highly recommend Capt. Andy's sunset dinner cruise. It was awesome. We did a helicopter tour as well which went over Waimea Canyon and the coast, and while we enjoyed it, it was definitely a splurge. We had 3 days there and did and saw everything we wanted, with time for relaxing at our resort as well. I would recommend booking the inter-island flight for either early morning or late night. We did lose about a half a day by flying mid-day. Had we gone early or late, we would have had more of a full day. The flights are very short - 30-40 minutes.

 

[roopster]

Thank you for all the suggestions! Great advice here...
I’m narrowing it down to Turtle bay or Kaua’i at the moment!

We love Waikiki - its a very different vibe than any other place we visited in Hawaii. Lots of shopping, dining options, nightlife and all in walking distance. It did remind us of South Beach with a bustling area plopped on the beachfront, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. What we also liked about it is that there were TONS of bus tours and organized tours offered from the area, with pickups at the various hotels. It makes for an easy way to see the island or go to places like Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor, where parking can be challenges. I think I mentioned up-thread that our bus tours to Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head worked out very well - it was nice to let the pros worry about the logistics. And we had just two people - you have a few more.

As far as the ages go, every place we went was family friendly. We saw kids on the beach, and the beach is great for people watching. I would say the area is primarily for walking, just in case your parents have mobility issues. There are also double decker trolleys that go up and down the strip that are easy and cheap to use.



1) You mentioned Turtle Bay, which is a gorgeous resort with great pools. It's on the north shore technically, but its more located between Haleiwa and the windward side. My favorite part of the north shore was Haleiwa, and Turtle Bay is about a 20 minute drive from there. You'd definitely want a car at Turtle Bay.

2) We loved Kailua, which is on the east/windward side. The beaches there were the nicest we saw our whole trip. It has more of a laidback vibe in that area. I think this would be a good area to stay in, but again, I'd have a car.

3) My comments on Waikiki are above, although Hilton Hawaiian Village wouldn't be my choice. Its a beautiful resort but at the far end of the strip so its longer walks to most places. There is a trolley stop nearby. We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki and thought it was the perfect location.

4) This one would be my vote. We stayed in Lihue near the airport. We thought Kauai was the most exotic of the islands we visited, with the most natural beauty and least commercialization. The Na Pali Coast was my favorite thing of the whole trip, and I highly recommend Capt. Andy's sunset dinner cruise. It was awesome. We did a helicopter tour as well which went over Waimea Canyon and the coast, and while we enjoyed it, it was definitely a splurge. We had 3 days there and did and saw everything we wanted, with time for relaxing at our resort as well. I would recommend booking the inter-island flight for either early morning or late night. We did lose about a half a day by flying mid-day. Had we gone early or late, we would have had more of a full day. The flights are very short - 30-40 minutes.

ank

 

[roopster]

Oh dear - the flights I had planned for Kauai have shot up by more than $100 each.

This makes it a tougher call - Maui for 4 nights could also be an option then.

I’m driving myself crazy now!

We love Waikiki - its a very different vibe than any other place we visited in Hawaii. Lots of shopping, dining options, nightlife and all in walking distance. It did remind us of South Beach with a bustling area plopped on the beachfront, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. What we also liked about it is that there were TONS of bus tours and organized tours offered from the area, with pickups at the various hotels. It makes for an easy way to see the island or go to places like Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor, where parking can be challenges. I think I mentioned up-thread that our bus tours to Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head worked out very well - it was nice to let the pros worry about the logistics. And we had just two people - you have a few more.

As far as the ages go, every place we went was family friendly. We saw kids on the beach, and the beach is great for people watching. I would say the area is primarily for walking, just in case your parents have mobility issues. There are also double decker trolleys that go up and down the strip that are easy and cheap to use.



1) You mentioned Turtle Bay, which is a gorgeous resort with great pools. It's on the north shore technically, but its more located between Haleiwa and the windward side. My favorite part of the north shore was Haleiwa, and Turtle Bay is about a 20 minute drive from there. You'd definitely want a car at Turtle Bay.

2) We loved Kailua, which is on the east/windward side. The beaches there were the nicest we saw our whole trip. It has more of a laidback vibe in that area. I think this would be a good area to stay in, but again, I'd have a car.

3) My comments on Waikiki are above, although Hilton Hawaiian Village wouldn't be my choice. Its a beautiful resort but at the far end of the strip so its longer walks to most places. There is a trolley stop nearby. We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki and thought it was the perfect location.

4) This one would be my vote. We stayed in Lihue near the airport. We thought Kauai was the most exotic of the islands we visited, with the most natural beauty and least commercialization. The Na Pali Coast was my favorite thing of the whole trip, and I highly recommend Capt. Andy's sunset dinner cruise. It was awesome. We did a helicopter tour as well which went over Waimea Canyon and the coast, and while we enjoyed it, it was definitely a splurge. We had 3 days there and did and saw everything we wanted, with time for relaxing at our resort as well. I would recommend booking the inter-island flight for either early morning or late night. We did lose about a half a day by flying mid-day. Had we gone early or late, we would have had more of a full day. The flights are very short - 30-40 minutes.