Aulani - Traffic on Oahu??

[JenLyn1620]

Hoping to book a trip to Aulani in December 2013. I have read that traffic on Oahu is really bad. How bad is it really? Any other cities you can compare it to? Is it just bad going through Honolulu on the highway? We will be renting a car, and I am a little nervous to be driving in an unfamiliar place. Thanks!!

 

[cbnsoul]

We've been to Oahu exactly once so I am far from an expert. The traffic in Honolulu was pretty much horrible. The traffic in other parts of the island wasn't nearly as bad, however. We're going to Aulani in June and are renting a car. I plan to stay out of Honolulu until the last day/night when we stay at Waikiki the night before we fly out.

 

[Cinderpamela]

It really just depended on what time of day you were traveling. In no traffic it would take around 25 minutes (if I remember correctly) to get into downtown Waikiki from Aulani. If there was traffic we allowed for about an hour so that we would not be stressed. The traffic that we encountered was not the greatest but it was what I would describe as "rolling along". Meaning you were slowed by it, occasionally to a stop, but it was still moving forward- as opposed to being at a stop for a long time.

We are from Seattle, which is pretty bad traffic wise, so I really didnt think it was all that bad. If you plan for it you should be fine.

 

[TagsMissy]

Hoping to book a trip to Aulani in December 2013. I have read that traffic on Oahu is really bad. How bad is it really? Any other cities you can compare it to? Is it just bad going through Honolulu on the highway? We will be renting a car, and I am a little nervous to be driving in an unfamiliar place. Thanks!!

The usual rush hour sucks in terms of traffic other than that it's smooth sailing! The drive to/from Honolulu and really pretty much anywhere on the island is quite easy assuming you avoid when people are trying to get to work or home.

 

[abdgeek]

Hoping to book a trip to Aulani in December 2013. I have read that traffic on Oahu is really bad. How bad is it really? Any other cities you can compare it to? Is it just bad going through Honolulu on the highway? We will be renting a car, and I am a little nervous to be driving in an unfamiliar place. Thanks!!

Rush hour traffic on Oahu is pretty similar to any major city with an interstate(Washington DC, NJ, NY, etc.). A lot depends on where you are trying to go. Rush hour is from around 6-9am and 3-6pm. I rented a car while at Aulani last summer and didn't have much of a problem with traffic. I tried to stay off the roads around those times. In the morning, I was usually on the tail end of traffic going into Honolulu. I only got caught one time coming back from Honolulu in the afternoon, but the traffic was moving--even if slowly--so it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't be too worried.

 

[Fuhnuh]

We've been to Aulani 3 times, each while staying in Waikiki before and after. In our personal experience, traffic has been okay off rush hour both ways and okay Waikiki to Aulani during morning rush hour and Aulani to Waikiki in the afternoon. Otherwise, as others have said, comparable to mainland big city rush hour (we are from Seattle). Rush hour back from North shore can be a little slower going up in the morning and back in the evening (not too bad for us).

 

[Mickey Mantle]

If you are heading to Pearl Harbor early in the morning. Budget about an hour at least. I was worried about traffic heading to the airport for the flight home. Left Aulani around 6pm and made it in 30 minutes no problem.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

The other thing to know is that Hawaiians aren't in a big hurry. They drive the speed limit. They let you over. Not like L.A.! The traffic to me was like any rush hour around here. We planned for an hour to get from Aulani to Pearl Harbor, including stopping at Leonard's Malasadas. We got to Pearl Harbor early, even.

We did find that the GPS was NEVER accurate in terms of where YOU are. We had 3 cars among us- used Garmin, Google Maps, and the iphone turn directions. None worked right. So be aware. For example, it would say we were arriving at our destination, but it was actually 2 blocks back (and we had passed it already). Weird.

 

[parrotheadlois]

I have a Garmin. I updated the maps before I left and have had no problem. We ran into horrendous traffic on the way to the swap meet (last Sunday). It was construction traffic, I don't know if that was a one-time thing. The next day (Monday) we went to Pearl Harbor - traffic wasn't as bad - but knowing Sunday's was due to construction, we still under-estimated the time it would take us. I'd say allow at least an hour and if you're early, that's ok. Yesterday we drove to the North Shore (and around the North Shore). Had no problems. Really enjoyed the ride and the beaches. Macky's was as good as 'they' say! On the way back was what I would consider normal 5 o'clock type of traffic. It was fine. We're still planning one more trip back to the Honolulu area. I want to hike Diamond Head, want malasada's from Leonards, want to go to Hanauma Bay and to Halona Cove Beach, the beach in the movie From Here to Eternity.

 

[Stitch_lover_Sith]

So I live on Oahu. GPS is sometimes very wrong, doesn't ever get my house right. Not even the correct road. I find Waze to be the most helpful an application for traffic and navigating to places I don't know. So I am going to give you a tip only someone who lives here would know. Every night they shut down three lanes of H1 heading from downtown to Aulani. This shut down only lasts for about a mile but even at midnight can have traffic backed up over a mile. This shut down starts at about 6:30pm till about 4am each day. Also if they are behind they will keep the lanes closed down all day on Sunday. This roadwork has no scheduled end and has been going on for over six months.

 

[parrotheadlois]

So I live on Oahu. GPS is sometimes very wrong, doesn't ever get my house right. Not even the correct road. I find Waze to be the most helpful an application for traffic and navigating to places I don't know. So I am going to give you a tip only someone who lives here would know. Every night they shut down three lanes of H1 heading from downtown to Aulani. This shut down only lasts for about a mile but even at midnight can have traffic backed up over a mile. This shut down starts at about 6:30pm till about 4am each day. Also if they are behind they will keep the lanes closed down all day on Sunday. This roadwork has no scheduled end and has been going on for over six months.

So, that would probably explain the traffic last Sunday! Thanks Stitch Lover. I guess we'll plan on going to Diamond Head on Monday.

 

[ACDSNY]

We were there twice in 2012 (Jan & Dec) and neither time did we run into traffic that I would consider terrible. Yes we had a few times of slow downs on the freeway during rush hours, but otherwise it was fine. Our traffic locally is worst then what we had on our trip.

 

[Sir William]

Rush hour traffic on Oahu is pretty similar to any major city with an interstate(Washington DC, NJ, NY, etc.). A lot depends on where you are trying to go. Rush hour is from around 6-9am and 3-6pm. I rented a car while at Aulani last summer and didn't have much of a problem with traffic. I tried to stay off the roads around those times. In the morning, I was usually on the tail end of traffic going into Honolulu. I only got caught one time coming back from Honolulu in the afternoon, but the traffic was moving--even if slowly--so it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't be too worried.

This has been my experience from several visits, both business and pleasure. It probably depends on what you're used to as well. I live in the DC area and would take Oahu any day at any time. In Oahu traffic slows but rarely comes to a complete stop, or crawls at walking speed for miles, unlike DC. But if you absolutely have to be anywhere at a specific time just allow more time to get there and risk being too early than too late.

 

[izzy]

The other thing to know is that Hawaiians aren't in a big hurry. They drive the speed limit. They let you over. Not like L.A.! The traffic to me was like any rush hour around here. We planned for an hour to get from Aulani to Pearl Harbor, including stopping at Leonard's Malasadas. We got to Pearl Harbor early, even.

We did find that the GPS was NEVER accurate in terms of where YOU are. We had 3 cars among us- used Garmin, Google Maps, and the iphone turn directions. None worked right. So be aware. For example, it would say we were arriving at our destination, but it was actually 2 blocks back (and we had passed it already). Weird.

I agree with how polite the drivers are and that they drive the speed limit. DC area drivers could take a hint! The screensaver on my computer is a picture of a bumper sticker I saw on a jeep when I was at the beach one day - Slow Down, This Ain't The Mainland! So funny yet so true for Hawaii.

Yes, traffic can be very bad at certain times of the day, but I didn't find it to be overly stressful like in some cities. Just allow some extra time and you'll be fine.

 

[DVC_Corrys]

Going off topic. How bad is parking at the swap meet?

 

[Anal Annie]

So I live on Oahu. GPS is sometimes very wrong, doesn't ever get my house right. Not even the correct road. I find Waze to be the most helpful an application for traffic and navigating to places I don't know. So I am going to give you a tip only someone who lives here would know. Every night they shut down three lanes of H1 heading from downtown to Aulani. This shut down only lasts for about a mile but even at midnight can have traffic backed up over a mile. This shut down starts at about 6:30pm till about 4am each day. Also if they are behind they will keep the lanes closed down all day on Sunday. This roadwork has no scheduled end and has been going on for over six months.

Hey there Stitch Lover - I would like to pick your brain a little bit. We're going to Aulani in August for 7 nights (Wed - Wed). We currently have a cabana rented for our first full day and our last full day to ensure we allow ourselves time to enjoy the resort and to relax. This leaves Fri - Mon to plan for our drive to the North Shore, Pearl Harbor & the USS Missouri and surf lessons and 1 more day to visit Waikiki for some shopping etc. I was wondering if the traffic in / out of town to visit Pearl Harbor would be less on Saturday since there should be no rush hour? We live near DC so are used to super bad traffic - but that doesn't mean we LIKE it!! I am trying to pick a TIME for Pearl Harbor & the Missouri and am aware that the tours take 5 hours to do both (we've been before and have done both but want to go again bcuz DS was only 9 at the time and we want him to see these places again now that he is older). But we stayed in Waikiki before and booked some tour that picked us up at our hotel the last time - this will be our first time driving. The website where you buy your tix says to pick them up 1 hour before your tour (not sure what happens if we're late picking them up). So if we pick the 8:00 tour that apparently means we need to be there at 7:00 (and leave Aulani at 6:00). DH does not want to get up at 5:00 AM on vacation NOR does he want to go too late because he wants to get back to the resort for some more chillaxation time (you can see where his priorities are). So I was wondering if we planned to go on the 9:00 tour on Sat. morning if maybe the drive would be a little better (ie we could leave Aulani closer to 7:00-7:15)?! Thoughts? This is hard to please everyone involved and I wish there was a tour offered on the half hour just for some compromise!! I feel like no matter what time I book I will pick the wrong time!! TIA

 

[Stitch_lover_Sith]

Hey there Stitch Lover - I would like to pick your brain a little bit. We're going to Aulani in August for 7 nights (Wed - Wed). We currently have a cabana rented for our first full day and our last full day to ensure we allow ourselves time to enjoy the resort and to relax. This leaves Fri - Mon to plan for our drive to the North Shore, Pearl Harbor & the USS Missouri and surf lessons and 1 more day to visit Waikiki for some shopping etc. I was wondering if the traffic in / out of town to visit Pearl Harbor would be less on Saturday since there should be no rush hour? We live near DC so are used to super bad traffic - but that doesn't mean we LIKE it!! I am trying to pick a TIME for Pearl Harbor & the Missouri and am aware that the tours take 5 hours to do both (we've been before and have done both but want to go again bcuz DS was only 9 at the time and we want him to see these places again now that he is older). But we stayed in Waikiki before and booked some tour that picked us up at our hotel the last time - this will be our first time driving. The website where you buy your tix says to pick them up 1 hour before your tour (not sure what happens if we're late picking them up). So if we pick the 8:00 tour that apparently means we need to be there at 7:00 (and leave Aulani at 6:00). DH does not want to get up at 5:00 AM on vacation NOR does he want to go too late because he wants to get back to the resort for some more chillaxation time (you can see where his priorities are). So I was wondering if we planned to go on the 9:00 tour on Sat. morning if maybe the drive would be a little better (ie we could leave Aulani closer to 7:00-7:15)?! Thoughts? This is hard to please everyone involved and I wish there was a tour offered on the half hour just for some compromise!! I feel like no matter what time I book I will pick the wrong time!! TIA

9AM on a Saturday would be fine traffic in the morning on Saturdays is not bad now traffic for you guys to get from Pearl Harbor back to the resort would be slow. Not quite rush hour traffic but not clear either. For your trip into Waikiki I would take the Disney Provided shuttle, biggest reason for this is parking on a Friday, or Sunday in Waikiki is a mess. Hit the North Shore Early Friday before people get out of work or Monday when those who live in Hawaii are back at work. There is some construction happening to Schofeild Barracks that might effect traffic these days though. They have two out of the five gates closed for refurb. Surf lessons are going to be the hardest to plan because they tend to be in Waikiki during the week or North Shore during the weekend.

PS if you are military doing the MWR surf lessons at Pearl Harbor/ Hickham Joint base would be the best.

As a stated in my previous post if you have an iPhone download the Waze app, this will help you decide on Saturday morning if you should leave at 7-7:30 to get there by eight. I have used this app to get from A'ulani to work and it was accurate in how long it would take, was not late once.

 

[Anal Annie]

9AM on a Saturday would be fine traffic in the morning on Saturdays is not bad now traffic for you guys to get from Pearl Harbor back to the resort would be slow. Not quite rush hour traffic but not clear either. For your trip into Waikiki I would take the Disney Provided shuttle, biggest reason for this is parking on a Friday, or Sunday in Waikiki is a mess. Hit the North Shore Early Friday before people get out of work or Monday when those who live in Hawaii are back at work. There is some construction happening to Schofeild Barracks that might effect traffic these days though. They have two out of the five gates closed for refurb. Surf lessons are going to be the hardest to plan because they tend to be in Waikiki during the week or North Shore during the weekend.

PS if you are military doing the MWR surf lessons at Pearl Harbor/ Hickham Joint base would be the best.

As a stated in my previous post if you have an iPhone download the Waze app, this will help you decide on Saturday morning if you should leave at 7-7:30 to get there by eight. I have used this app to get from A'ulani to work and it was accurate in how long it would take, was not late once.

Thanks!! I had orig. thought the Pearl Harbor / USS Missouri tours were only on the hour but then I found they are actually offered like every 15 min. so I think we'll just book like a 9:15 or something. I called to ask what happens if we're not there 1 hour ahead to pick up the tix and the girl said they will start giving away the tix to walk-ups!! Since these combo tix cost $55 pp they'd better NOT give them away!! Guess we'll shoot hard for the hour ahead window. I don't have an iPhone...DH has a smart phone but it's not an iPhone.

We are not Military - I was planning to book the surf lessons through the Hawaii Fireman's Surf School. They get rave reviews on Trip Advisor (380 out of 394 reviews give them a top score of a 5). I was planning to drive to those so we could do some more exploring around the island after the lesson.

So you're saying the North Shore is crowded on the weekends?? Maybe we'll plan to go to the North Shore on Friday morning, surf lessons on Sunday and go to Waikiki on Monday (after rush hour starts to die down - would that be 9:30-10:00ish)? Heck, maybe we'll even plan to have a relaxing morning at the resort & go into Waikiki later on in the afternoon & just stay there for dinner somewhere & return to Aulani in the evening after dinner. We should be able to avoid the worst traffic if we do that, right?

So looks like our week is shaping up like this - Wed. arrive / Thurs - Aulani - cabana / Fri - North Shore / Sat - Pearl Harbor & USS Missouri / Sun. - surf lessons followed by ? / Mon. - Waikiki and Tues. - Aulani - cabana.

 

[parrotheadlois]

Going off topic. How bad is parking at the swap meet?

We found the parking lot to be mostly empty. I can't imagine it ever being a problem. We didn't get there first thing in the morning.

 

[TALB]

Stitch, we are planning to go to Pearl Harbor on Easter Sunday. We have a 9:15am tour so we have to be there at 8:15am. We will be touring everything that is offered with the combination passes. What time do you suggest we leave from Aulani to arrive by 8:15?. Also, we would like to eat at Duke's after touring. Will the traffic be better or worse on Easter? Do you have a suggestion for what time to make reservations at Duke's? Also, is there parking near by Duke's? Thanks