Aulani..how many days?

[MrsB919]

I was curious if we were just planning on staying on property how many days would be a good amount but worth the plane ticket? We would be coming from the east coast so they are a bit more pricey. TIA.

 

[Cinderpamela]

Our first trip to Aulani it was just DH and myself for our Anniversary. We had 6 nights and that was a good amount. Then we island hopped over to Maui for 3 nights which was amazing! However it left us with the thought that the next time we went to Oahu with the whole family we would like to do a few nights at the beginning of our trip in Waikiki. That way we could get the tourist stuff and day excursions done and then be able to just relax when at Aulani.

So this next trip we are doing 4 nights in Waikiki and then 6 nights at Aulani. We are coming from the west coast ... I would say if I were coming all the way from the east coast I would want to do some sort of a split stay and either island hop or stay up on the Northshore. Coming all that way I would not just want to exclusively remain at Aulani there are so many other amazing things to see and do. 10 days would be what I would shoot for if you can swing it.

 

[myty5]

@ Aulani now, stay as much as you can afford. It's so amazingly awesome, worth every single point !

 

[amym2]

We took our first trip to Aulani last month and loved it! We did 5 nights at Aulani and 5 nights on Kauai and thought it was perfect. We had stayed on Oahu once before so had done some of the touristy stuff. We could probably spend 7 nights at Aulani, but I don't think we'd want more than that. If you haven't been to Hawaii, keep in mind that all of the islands are different and it's just a short plane ride to any of them. We live in the midwest, so we wouldn't go for less than a week, but we found 10 nights in Hawaii to be perfect (plus you lose a night coming home typically).

 

[MrsB919]

We have been to Oahu before and done the touristy stuff. That's why I was curious if we stayed on property. We were thinking of getting maybe a 2 bedroom and have my family come with us but it's a lot of points so trying to figure out how to best make it work although I think we would probably have to end up renting points if we wanted any kind of significant time. It's unfortunate that the one bedroom only sleeps 5 bc we would need 6 and that makes us push to the 2 bedroom and more points.

 

[Dean]

I was curious if we were just planning on staying on property how many days would be a good amount but worth the plane ticket? We would be coming from the east coast so they are a bit more pricey. TIA.

Personally I wouldn't fly for less than 9 days from the midwest or east or 6-7 days from the west coast. I might consider 7 days if I could EASILY get to an airport and fly direct. It's just too far for that type of trip for anything less. Personally we go 2 weeks minimum. Since you've done Oahu before, you might consider a trip to Aulani and another island, Maui would be our choice or even 3 islands if you could stay a little over 2 weeks. Our alternative would be a stopover for a few days in a gateway city each direction and a week on Oahu.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I would never travel from NJ to HA for less than 2 weeks. It takes too long to get used to the time difference, and that flight is a killer (farther than just about anywhere else you can go). If you can't afford the points to stay longer at Aulani, go on over to VRBO and see what you can find. We have gotten some amazing places at amazing prices there. In Feb. we spent a week at Aulani and another week on the Big Island in a VRBO rental that was very reasonable, and we were ocean front with our lanai hanging out over the waves!

 

[MrsB919]

What is VRBO?

 

[Anal Annie]

I have not been to Aulani (yet) but have been to Hawaii 4x before (from the east coast). The first time I only went for a week and it was waaay to short for the flight time and cost involved. We usually try to go for at least 9-10 nights now and we try to island hop to at least 1 other island for a few days. It is just to cost prohibitive and time consuming to go for any less time. We are hoping to get into Aulani for this summer for at least 7 nights plus 3 nights on Maui.

 

[Cinderpamela]

What is VRBO?

Its a website- Vacation Rentals By Owners- its great for finding vacation rental condos or even houses, many are rented direct from the owner, some through vacation condo brokers. We have used VRBO to find our condo for the first 4 nights of our trip in Waikiki. Then we are moving out to Aulani for the rest of our stay.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

We have 11 nights in August. Can't book until January 2 so still working through it. We have been to Hawaii before. Never spent significant time on Oahu though. Have done Pearl Harbor, sea life center, zoo...

Initial plan was to spend 7 nights at Aulani and 4 nights in Maui but not thinking of splitting the Oahu week with nights in Waikiki?

 

[Dean]

We have 11 nights in August. Can't book until January 2 so still working through it. We have been to Hawaii before. Never spent significant time on Oahu though. Have done Pearl Harbor, sea life center, zoo...

Initial plan was to spend 7 nights at Aulani and 4 nights in Maui but not thinking of splitting the Oahu week with nights in Waikiki?

If you're thinking less time at Aulani, I'd suggest you consider more time on Maui. For those that have been to the area before, I don't see a big advantage to staying in Waikiki for 2-3 days. Plus a car will cost you maybe $25 a day parking. I would not try to do 3 islands for 11 days as I've seen people do at times.

 

[amypetecar]

We are staying for 7 nights and 8 days..... But are taking a red eye home, so its kind of like getting an extra day.

Not sure if 1 week is enough, but im not sure when id have 2 weeks off in my life to stay longer. Since we've never been there, we're taking the plunge!

We too are flying from the east coast.

 

[stevelee]

when i was in hawaii last time we did an 7 night NCL cruise for the first week, It was a good priced option to see all of the islands and get a tste for everything. Our ship stopped 2 days on each of the isalnds. Started in honolulu and ended there.

After that we stayed in waikiki for 2 nights, flew to maui for 6 nights then home. However you decide to do it check out a cruise as it is a good way to see all the isalnds.

Steve

 

[DenLo]

I wouldn't do less than a week at Aulani. It just goes by so quick. If our points could cover it I'd vote for more days. I like dianeschlicht's suggestion of 2 weeks, split between Aulani and another island.

 

[Dean]

when i was in hawaii last time we did an 7 night NCL cruise for the first week, It was a good priced option to see all of the islands and get a tste for everything. Our ship stopped 2 days on each of the isalnds. Started in honolulu and ended there.

After that we stayed in waikiki for 2 nights, flew to maui for 6 nights then home. However you decide to do it check out a cruise as it is a good way to see all the isalnds.

Steve

That may be a good option for a first time visitor to help in planning future trips. Personally I'm not a big fan of using a cruise for exploring, I'd rather just cruise to cruise. I don't feel I can get enough exposure to truly see an area a portion of a day off the boat or even two.

 

[stevelee]

That may be a good option for a first time visitor to help in planning future trips. Personally I'm not a big fan of using a cruise for exploring, I'd rather just cruise to cruise. I don't feel I can get enough exposure to truly see an area a portion of a day off the boat or even two.

Ya that was the downside. You get only a taste of the islands. We stayed I Maui after the cruise for 6 nights so had a good chance to explore there. The big islands and Kauai I only got a taste of it, and because of that one day I will have to get back to both of those! For us as first timers we liked using the ship as a way to get from island to island! Doubt I would do it again though, now that I know what each island offers I would just pick the one I wanted to stay on.

 

[My GSD Rules]

We found a direct flight from Newark, our first non-stop adventure.
Our last trip (years ago) we had agreed that this trip can be no less 10 days. A week is just too short. In a short month (!) we'll be there 7 days Oahu- 6 days Big Island and 5 days Maui. We always rent a car, as we really don't like to depend on others for transportation. I just need to talk our group into enjoying the resort for a few days instead of trekking all over the island every day. LOL JR

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

We are flying from Toronto and spending 10 days at Aulani and then a week on the Big Island in August. Can hardly wait!!

 

[blondietink]

We went to Hawaii in September and flew from Cleveland. 4 nights Waikiki, 7 nights Aulani, then flew to Maui and stayed 10 nights there. We fell in love with Aulani and Maui both. Waikiki is worth it just to get shopping/tourist things out of the way on the east side of the island.

After arriving home and discussing how we would do Hawaii again in the future, we said one week per island is really not enough when you consider you will be wasting a day flying to the island/checking in to hotel and a day flying either to your next island or home. So, I think 10 days per island is about right if you can swing it. Our total trip was 22 days and we hope we can do this again next time. When you consider the flights ran around $800 rt per person, you really need to make the most of it.

Have fun planning!