Aulani and Maui or Kauai??

[dis2cruise]

Can’t swing 3 islands due to the amount of days but if you had to chose either Maui or Kauai which would you chose...
Now a little about who’s going...

DH & I 57 yr olds celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary
No kids just us!! Don’t like wild tours but don’t mind hikes
Love the pools & beaches snorkeling is ok too but no diving.

Would also love to do a luau should we do it at Aulani or one of the other
Islands which is better??

Any other suggestions would be appreciated thanks!!

 

[Midoria]

How much time do you have?

 

[dis2cruise]

8 full days not including arrival and departure

 

[chainkid]

Having been to all three extensively, my choices would normally be Kauai and Maui but do not know if I would go to Kauai until I knew extent of recent damage. You really can't go wrong with any of them as I find it hard to say one trip was really better than another one. The most beautiful to me is Kauai but I'm a country gal and love the feel .

 

[nkereina]

We visited both Maui and Kauai, in addition to Aulani/Oahu. My trip report is in my signature.

We enjoyed every place we visited but if we could only do one, my pick would be Kauai. Between the three islands, IMO, Kauai was the most unique. Maui and Oahu had a lot of similarities whereas Kauai had more unique beauties like the Na Pali Coast which was amazing, Waimea Canyon, etc. One of the most fun things we did on our entire trip was Captain Andy’s Sailing Adventure around the Na Pali Coast on a catamaran with dinner. It was awesome. We also had better weather in Kauai and found Maui to be windy to the point where we got chilly on the beach (this was September). We were told its usually always that windy in Maui.

 

[dis2cruise]

Thank you so much for your input!! This helps me out a bunch and I will read about your trip !!

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have been to all the islands and Maui and kauai each have their own beauty. But Kauai is definitely our fav. Varied landscape, incredible hiking.

 

[kittylady1972]

Thanks for starting this thread and the responses. We are doing a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Aulani in August and are stopping first at Kauai for 4 nights, then the last 8 nights on Oahu, with the last 3 nights at Aulani. We have a party of 5 adults and 2 older kids (14 & 15) and are hoping for some fun experiences in both places.

 

[chainkid]

I went on my once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii back in 2010 with a cruise, Oahu and Maui. Place was so fabulous that I have been back many times since to different island and plan on going again next year. I try to go three weeks at a time as I'm from east coast. Never say once in a lifetime as the place is addicting. The aloha spirit draws you home

 

[cgattis]

Which kinds of things do you plan to do on Oahu? That might help narrow down which other island would offer the most different things you'd enjoy. Personally, I think Kauai is more beautiful--it looks prehistoric. But Maui has more different looking areas and being bigger, just has more stuff overall. I'm looking to do both again on my next trip

-There's great places to snorkel on all the islands, but Molokini crater is tops on my "next time" list.
-Haleakala is awesome and there's nothing like that on Kauai.
-The Na'apali coast is unbelievably awesome; nothing like that on Maui.
-Obviously nothing like the road to Hana on Kauai, but plenty of waterfalls and beaches similar to the ones you'd see on the road (minus all the curves!).
-I don't think there's any black sand on Kauai but I could be wrong.
-Less crowded on Kauai, at least when I was there.

Not sure if that's helping any or not!

 

[cgattis]

Okay, three posts in the time I was typing mine?? Tell me the truth--are all of you waiting on the Avengers movie to start like I am?? LOL

 

[cgattis]

I went on my once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii back in 2010 with a cruise, Oahu and Maui. Place was so fabulous that I have been back many times since to different island and plan on going again next year. I try to go three weeks at a time as I'm from east coast. Never say once in a lifetime as the place is addicting. The aloha spirit draws you home

I totally agree. I've always been a mountains/skiiing kinda girl, but I was just breathless the whole time we were in Hawaii and knew I'd HAVE to go back. And I just got back from 10 days in the south of Japan and it was almost as gorgeous--but with less people and cheaper food!! C'mon Powerball!!

 

[soniam]

We haven't done Maui yet, but out of the big island, Oahu, and Kauai, we fell in love with Kauai. I would seriously consider living there. It's got such friendly people and the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. The place just made us feel all comfy and at home.

 

[NancyDVC]

We took NCL’s PoA cruise before our stay at Aulani. It was fabulous. I would not be able to choose between Maui and Kauai. But with the recent extreme flooding on Kauai I would be wary about a trip there other than to stay at a resort.

 

[happymommy]

With only 8 days, I'd stick to one island personally. There is so much to see on Oahu, so if you're doing that island I'd stay there. That being said, Aulani is quite geared towards children. I'd stay at another place on Oahu for adult trips.

 

[Midoria]

We took NCL’s PoA cruise before our stay at Aulani. It was fabulous. I would not be able to choose between Maui and Kauai. But with the recent extreme flooding on Kauai I would be wary about a trip there other than to stay at a resort.

The floods did not affect the entire island, and HTA started asking tourists to come back to Kauai a few weeks ago. The main thing people should consider is what is on their "to-do" list and check and see if/how those areas are affected. My concern would be the rain in general. I just moved here 6 months ago from Oahu and it's been rainy the entire time. Locals have told me this is not normal and staying on the sunny side of the island is the best bet to cut down on the chances of having a soggy vacation.

 

[ggc]

Choices, choices, you will not go wrong with 4/4 split. Oahu or Maui/Kauai.
Our first trip was back in '73 and a bunch since then.
As chainkid has said you will be back.

 

[chainkid]

I would have to disagree that Aulani is just for families with children. I went with a group of 4 couples all 55 and over back in 2015 and we stayed for 5 days in a grand villa. We had a blast using this as our home resort. We didn't even use the spa which is what I will improve upon on next visit. Spending the day on the executive lanaii was peaceful . Back then you could order family style meals for the room and we took advantage . We had enough left overs for an extra day. Everyone felt blessed to stay at such a gorgeous spot. We loved the lagoon and the water slides. Who knew LOL

 

[chainkid]

The floods did not affect the entire island, and HTA started asking tourists to come back to Kauai a few weeks ago. The main thing people should consider is what is on their "to-do" list and check and see if/how those areas are affected. My concern would be the rain in general. I just moved here 6 months ago from Oahu and it's been rainy the entire time. Locals have told me this is not normal and staying on the sunny side of the island is the best bet to cut down on the chances of having a soggy vacation.

I read that the Hanalei area is a mess and to be avoided in the short term. It was my favorite part of the island..little hippy town with so much charm. We stayed in a condo in the Hanalei Bay resort with a view that didn't seem real. It was truly a magical stay.

 

[Amw1064]

I went on my once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii back in 2010 with a cruise, Oahu and Maui. Place was so fabulous that I have been back many times since to different island and plan on going again next year. I try to go three weeks at a time as I'm from east coast. Never say once in a lifetime as the place is addicting. The aloha spirit draws you home

Haha, we did our once in a lifetime trip to Aulani back in 2015. Added points to our DVC and went back 2016 and 2017. We are skipping this year to give Disneyland/CA a try but I am already regretting our decision. I started planning our 2019 Aulani/Hawaii trip today.