Visiting Waikiki from Aulani

N

NancyK

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 4, 1999
Hi. We are staying at Aulani for 6 days prior to our Pride of America cruise. We want to spend a day playing tourist in Waikiki/Honolulu. Where is the best place to park? It doesn't necessarily have to be cheap (although that's always nice). I'm looking more for the convenience factor. We want to walk along Waikiki beach and possibly do Iolani palace etc. We don't mind walking from place to place but I'm guessing that it gets warm even in January. :) Thanks for any input.
 
We always found parking down by the zoo side. There is a large parking lot by the zoo. I can’t remember the cost
 
Ala Moana Shopping Center has free parking after certain hours (4:00 pm weekdays). But it costs like $4.50 an hour otherwise up to $30 per day. https://www.alamoanacenter.com/en/parking/ We often did metered parking or took the Bus to the museums and the palace. I think Aulani has a shopping van that goes into Honolulu. I don't know how much that costs.

I would think about doing Waikiki and the Palace on the day you board the ship. Drop off your luggage return the car and take a cab to the palace and then decide if you want to walk to Waikiki or take a cab.
 
I don't recall Ala Moana charging for parking; note that after a certain hour security will chain off certain sections. You can inquire on tripadvisor or yelp maybe at cost to park at Fort DeRussy Lot which is right across the street from Waikiki beach.
 


DenLo said:
Ala Moana Shopping Center has free parking after certain hours (4:00 pm weekdays). But it costs like $4.50 an hour otherwise up to $30 per day. https://www.alamoanacenter.com/en/parking/ We often did metered parking or took the Bus to the museums and the palace. I think Aulani has a shopping van that goes into Honolulu. I don't know how much that costs.
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These rates are only for the office building. There are thousands of free stalls in the mall’s parking lot. Also, it’s about a 20minute walk from Ala Moana to the heart of Waikiki.

I believe the parking lot next to the zoo is about $6-$8 but you can only park for a maximum of 4 hours.

If you’ll only be in Waikiki for a couple hours, you can park at Ross for free with any purchase, even if it’s only $1.

DFS offers free parking as well, but I’m not sure if you have to make a minimum purchase. Also, the lot is small with only a dozen or so spaces available.

If I’m visiting Waikiki for more than half a day, I usually park at the International Marketplace lot. It’s in the middle of Waikiki and the rates are reasonable so long as you have validation. We’ll usually stop by Godiva for a couple of ice cream cones to get our validation.

Iolani Palace is definitely NOT walking distance from Waikiki. There is a parking lot in back of the palace and tons of metered parking in the area.
 
If you park at Ala Moana Center, its very easy to take the Pink line trolley to the heart of Waikiki. We stayed at Waikiki Beach Marriott and caught the trolley up to Ala Moana Center and back. Tons of hop on/hop off stops along the way and the shuttles were frequent. I THINK it was $2 per person per ride (if memory serves) and you need exact fare when you board. It was a nice way to get around.
 


Another "if you only need a couple hours" (but really nice to know about the Ross tip!)

Both trips we parked in the parking garage at the Royal Hawaiian Center. It's a large garage, centrally located. It requires a $10 purchase for 1 hour free validation and $2 per hour for an additional 2 hours. So $4 for 3 hours + the $10 validation. The first time we just grabbed some lunch, the 2nd time I bought a Disney item at LeSportsac.

https://www.royalhawaiiancenter.com/
 
there's a great garage on Lauula St (Between Royal Hawaiian and Seaside) that charges a flat nightly rate after 6pm of like $10 - or less, I forget now. It's a super great place to park, centrally located and cheap.
 
disneydeal said:
My advice. Look up Lana kai beach and go there. Paradise to yourself instead of hundreds of others sharing.
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No doubt Lanikai is a very nice beach, but Waikiki is still an area to be experienced IMO. It's not the most relaxing beach day, but it's fun to sit on the beach and people watch for a while, walk up and down the strip to shop and have a meal and grab some drinks. It's a fun atmosphere and the only fast paced area on Oahu that we found. It also felt like we were in Japan or another country with all the culture around, which we loved. There are lots of beaches like Lanikai in other parts of the island, but none with all the other goings on like in Waikiki.
 
nkereina said:
No doubt Lanikai is a very nice beach, but Waikiki is still an area to be experienced IMO. It's not the most relaxing beach day, but it's fun to sit on the beach and people watch for a while, walk up and down the strip to shop and have a meal and grab some drinks. It's a fun atmosphere and the only fast paced area on Oahu that we found. It also felt like we were in Japan or another country with all the culture around, which we loved. There are lots of beaches like Lanikai in other parts of the island, but none with all the other goings on like in Waikiki.
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No doubt. I like Waikiki also. And don't forget the north shore in winter. Wow those big waves...nothing like it.
 
We just park by the canal on Ala Wai Blvd for free. I can't recall what the parking restrictions are but we never spend that much time in Waikiki so whatever the restrictions are they never have limited us.
 
DenLo said:
Ala Moana Shopping Center has free parking after certain hours (4:00 pm weekdays). But it costs like $4.50 an hour otherwise up to $30 per day. https://www.alamoanacenter.com/en/parking/ We often did metered parking or took the Bus to the museums and the palace. I think Aulani has a shopping van that goes into Honolulu. I don't know how much that costs.

I would think about doing Waikiki and the Palace on the day you board the ship. Drop off your luggage return the car and take a cab to the palace and then decide if you want to walk to Waikiki or take a cab.
Click to expand...
Aulani has a van that goes to Waikiki? do they run all day like every hour? Same drop off?
 
We always park at the parking garage for the Hale Koa. It's just easy. I forget how much it costs, but when DH was active duty it was like $7/night (we used to stay at the Hale Koa or other hotels in Waikiki for weekend getaways when we lived in Kailua).

Warning about Lanikai - there is very little parking there. Kailua Beach has a lot but it's often full. Lanikai is trying to stop those illegal busses that are dropping tourists off there. It is totally illegal. The beach is eroded to the point where there is little beach there now compared to 20+ years ago. Like very little. So if you do go there understand you may not find parking at all, and not much beach. Kailua Beach has some nice spots.

I think the shopping shuttle that is referred to is the free weekend shuttle to Target, Walmart, and Costco for Ko Olina. It's for folks to arrive and do not have a rental car. It stops at 3 resorts in Ko Olina and runs to the stores in Kapolei. Weekends only.
 
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