Day Trip to Aulani?

[Lyndisty]

My parents and I are very lucky to be taking a cruise next month that includes a long day port call in Honolulu (early morning arrival, sailing out about midnight). We have a short city tour first thing in the morning, but we've been very curious about Aulani and are pretty unlikely to head out that way again any time soon. Is it feasible to go over and spend the rest of the day there?

Our city tour ends about noon, but we honestly have no idea how far of a drive it would be, or what sort of a cab fare or whatever we'd be looking at. We thought maybe we could get dinner and just wander a while. I'd even contemplated reserving a room for one night so that we'd be able to use the pool/beach, or even just go relax for a bit, even if we won't actually be able to sleep there.

Are we crazy to contemplate it, or is it something that's actually doable?

 

[alohamom]

It is totally do-able, especially if your city tour ends at noon. It can take anywhere from 30 mins to over an hour depending on where you are in Honolulu and the time of day (rush hour factors in) so it might be a pretty expensive cab fare there and back. I would probably consider renting a car. It is expensive to park at Aulani but I believe if you spend over a certain amount in the shops or restaurants you can get it validated and park for free. I think renting a room is a great idea, especially if you like to swim and want to experience the pools-the lazy river is amazing, we never want to leave it! You might even consider renting DVC points for the one night stay, cheaper and parking is included.

 

[wanderlust7]

Agree, totally doable. Even if you don't rent a room, you can still go to the beach, just not use the chairs.

Disney's taxi partner is Charley's. We haven't used them, but it would be $55 one-way flat rate from the airport to Aulani (not sure if they have flat rates from locations other than the airport).
http://charleystaxi.com/reservations/

 

[nkereina]

Agree with PPs. I probably wouldn't spend the money to reserve a room, because as PP mentions, the beach is free to the public. If you brought your own beach towels, you can sit anywhere on the beach and swim in the lagoon. The chairs and pools are for Aulani guests only.

You can also get a spa treatment there, and then you'd have use of the facilities in the spa for the entire day. The spa is amazing and so are the treatements and hydrotherapy gardens. You can keep your stuff stored and visit the lagoon/beach after your service, and then come back later to shower if you wanted. You're free to use the amenities of the spa all day on the same day of your service.

I think having dinner there is also a great way to cap off the night! Ama Ama would offer amazing views!

 

[Lilsia]

Rooms are about $600 a night so I don't know if you would want to spend that kind of money and not stay the night. But going over there and looking around is something you can do. I would rent a car also.

 

[cgattis]

The lazy river was my favorite too, but I guess not $600 worth. The spa is a great idea but probably no cheaper if it's more than one person. I like the idea of some beach, some meals, and some shopping. Maybe even one of th resort tours or the menehune hunt, or do your own menehune and/or hidden Mickey hunt. It's definitely worth seeing!!

 

[Lyndisty]

Thanks for the tips, everyone!

It's now looking like we're going to cancel our morning tour and just rent a car for the day. We're looking at using the Shaka Circle Island Tour app to do a do-it-yourself self-drive tour. Anyone have any experience with it?

 

[GeneralTso]

We just did this and it was great. We were staying at Royal Hawaiian because we wanted to be in the thick of Waikiki. Took a day trip to the North Shore to have lunch at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck then looped down to Aulani to spend a few hours. Walked around, shopped, hung out. It was lovely. There are great Aulani only Disney items like tropical mouse ears, etc.

 

[heaven2dc]

I'm not certain if anyone mentioned this but Aulani does not have a day pass to use the pools or amenities. If you are thinking of visiting Aulani for the day, you can dine there, make spa appointments and use the beach area. All of the amenities including beach rentals are for resort guests.