Itinerary for April

[eagle29]

Hi all,

Heading to Aulani April 11 (5 nights in a 2 bedroom ocean view) followed by 5 nights at WKORV-N on Maui.

Looking for some feedback on our tentative plans...

It will be myself, significant other and 2 teen girls (17 & 14). Jeep rental from Alamo

Flight lands HNL 1pm-ish Thurs 4/11: Grocery stop then Aulani check-in and explore resort
Fri. 4/12: spend day at Aulani pools/beach
Sat. 4/13: Tour the North Shore and all it has to offer
Sun. 4/14: Waikiki/Diamond Head hike (may rent Hawaiian Style scoot coupe moped s)
Mon. 4/15: Pearl Harbor (AM) hope Arizona Memorial is open! PM at Aulani
Tue. 4/16: 11 am flight to Maui (Helicopter tour when we get to OGG)

Girls want to surf (probably Waikiki day)

I've heard Aulani can be very busy on weekends due to popularity with locals. I have also heard North Shore is busy on weekends as well

Plans for Maui include beach/pool time, Snorkel trip, Luau (maybe), Lahaina.

Any thoughts/feedback appreciated!!

 

[pepperandchips]

I don’t know what your plans are for the Waikiki touring, but I would give myself more resort time at Aulani than you have. We found diamond head very worthwhile (actually we got engaged there so it ranks pretty high) but that should be a first-thing-in-the-morning adventure due to the crowds and heat. We followed Diamond Head with the brunch at Haleiwa Joe’s in Haiku which I can’t recommend highly enough.

Waikiki would not be on my list at all but I understand the whole different strokes for different folks thing - if you are planning on Lahaina and getting the Hawaiian local vibe on Maui I would nix Waikiki in favor of more resort time.

Have you stayed in Kaanapali before? Are you beach bums or do you like to get out and go? The most valuable thing about Aulani to us was the resort amenities - beautiful pool and sheltered lagoon, great for swimming. I would give Aulani more time - it’s hard to explain and when you are there you will likely never want to leave!

We did the Feast at Lele on our recent trip to Hawaii - it’s more of a dinner show than a luau but I highly recommend it. It was one of the best things we did on our trip!

 

[luvmychaos]

The North Shore does indeed get crowded and it’s pretty much 2 lanes through the town. As long as you know that and are willing to enjoy the drive and view, it’ll be fun.
2 things I highly recommend is the luau at Aulani and Kualoa Ranch. The show was fabulous and the food was tasty at the luau, it’s pricey but we thought it was totally worth it. And we had done Paradise Cove in the past(2 spots over fromAulani, actually) and Aulani’s blew it out of the water.
And we did Kualoa the same day we went up to the North Shore. They have several different tours and the grounds are breathtaking. Grounds isn’t even the right word, it’s like they own half the island(not really but it feels that way on property). If you guys are movie buffs, it’s where they film a bunch of movies and shows. We did the Raptor ATV tour and everyone wants to do it next time, too, they had so much fun!
We did notice the “crowds” come in more on the weekend at Aulani but we just made sure to have a beach casabella reserved so we’d have a guaranteed spot to sit and it had shade. We popped back and forth between the pool and beach and it wasn’t bad with the extra people around.

 

[eagle29]

Thanks for the responses. I have been to Kaanapali (2004). I would say we are active but also love beach/pool time so looking for a good mix.

I have considered Kualoa Ranch and am trying to convince the girls (all 3) that we should do it!!

 

[TwinMommyDec05]

The North Shore does indeed get crowded and it’s pretty much 2 lanes through the town. As long as you know that and are willing to enjoy the drive and view, it’ll be fun.
2 things I highly recommend is the luau at Aulani and Kualoa Ranch. The show was fabulous and the food was tasty at the luau, it’s pricey but we thought it was totally worth it. And we had done Paradise Cove in the past(2 spots over fromAulani, actually) and Aulani’s blew it out of the water.
And we did Kualoa the same day we went up to the North Shore. They have several different tours and the grounds are breathtaking. Grounds isn’t even the right word, it’s like they own half the island(not really but it feels that way on property). If you guys are movie buffs, it’s where they film a bunch of movies and shows. We did the Raptor ATV tour and everyone wants to do it next time, too, they had so much fun!
We did notice the “crowds” come in more on the weekend at Aulani but we just made sure to have a beach casabella reserved so we’d have a guaranteed spot to sit and it had shade. We popped back and forth between the pool and beach and it wasn’t bad with the extra people around.

Can you please tell me if the Raptor Tour covered the movie sets or is that totally separate? They want to go through the Dino Valley like in the pictures. Also, do you know what is the difference between the one hour and two hour tour? (Duh, yes one more hour, LOL) but is it worth it to pay for the extra hour?

 

[five_mouseketeers]

Can you please tell me if the Raptor Tour covered the movie sets or is that totally separate? They want to go through the Dino Valley like in the pictures. Also, do you know what is the difference between the one hour and two hour tour? (Duh, yes one more hour, LOL) but is it worth it to pay for the extra hour?

We haven’t been yet so I can’t say for sure but I’ve read tons of reviews and those that booked the one hour tour said their only regret was not going 2 hours. I think the two hour stops a few extra times. We opted in our plans for the premiere movie tour since we want to actually walk around the sites for photos, etc. the atv/UTV tours are pretty much just rides through with some stops but not ‘visits’ to the sites as far as I know.....this is after reading reviews specifically for the UTV and premiere movie tours and calling Kualoa directly. We also have a UTV tour planned on Kauai so we’ll get our riding fix on there. If we didn’t have that scheduled I might be inclined to do both at Kualoa.

 

[luvmychaos]

Can you please tell me if the Raptor Tour covered the movie sets or is that totally separate? They want to go through the Dino Valley like in the pictures. Also, do you know what is the difference between the one hour and two hour tour? (Duh, yes one more hour, LOL) but is it worth it to pay for the extra hour?

They do go by sets. They stop at some of them in the Raptor tour. We had done just the standard bus movie tour and it stopped and different places as well. If we go again, we’d book the other movie set tour via bus, because it goes even “deeper” into the property.