Help! For those who had an 8-8:30a.m. tour at Kualoa Ranch

[tinkertastic]

Hi all!

We are leaving for Aulani in a few weeks and I am trying to decide on a tour time at Kualoa Ranch. We were interested in either the 8:30 or the 10 a.m. For those of you who have done the 8:30 a.m.tour, what time did you leave Aulani and how rough was the traffic. I know we can avoid most of the traffic by taking the 10 a.m. but we our body clocks will been east coast time. We would also like to visit the North Shore that day and head back before traffic.

 

[nkereina]

We had to be at Kualoa at 8:30am for our 9am VIP Movie Tour. They require you there in advance of the tour time to get checked in. Being that we had to be there by 8:30, we left Aulani at 6:45am. We got caught up in some rush hour traffic, some rain, and an accident and pulled into the parking lot right at 8:30. So, traffic can be pretty messy on a weekday morning. We also thought the traffic once we got to the windward side was worse because it was one lane in each direction and was pretty slow moving. Its a 50 minute drive with no traffic, so I would give yourself at least 80-90 minutes. If you have no issues and arrive early, the ranch is beautiful place to walk around and take photos at.

 

[tinkertastic]

Thank you for the response! I'm wondering if we should do the tour on a Saturday instead. The traffic has to be a bit better on Saturdays,

 

[newdeal]

Cant remember what day of the week we went but we were there before they opened and the drive wasn't bad at all. Actually it was beautiful and was our favourite drive of the trip for scenery. It was smooth sailing the whole way for us. Since we were eastern we chose the earliest times which was no problem at all. This was in October 2016.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

the traffic is significantly better on the weekends, holidays, or during winter/spring/summer break. if you want the earlier time on a weekday then leave by 6 am at the latest...although if theres a bad accident you’ll be late leaving at 6 (earlier is better, 5-5:30 would probably be a good target). if your clock is still on EST then you maybfind yourself up at 4 am or so anyway.

the bad traffic won’t last the whole way there...its basically just till you hit the exit to start heading towards mililani/north shore.

if you get to the north shore early then maybe consider packing some kind of breakfast picnic of sorts the night before and eat on a beach, or explore around kualoa ranch.

 

[nkereina]

the traffic is significantly better on the weekends, holidays, or during winter/spring/summer break. if you want the earlier time on a weekday then leave by 6 am at the latest...although if theres a bad accident you’ll be late leaving at 6 (earlier is better, 5-5:30 would probably be a good target). if your clock is still on EST then you maybfind yourself up at 4 am or so anyway.

the bad traffic won’t last the whole way there...its basically just till you hit the exit to start heading towards mililani/north shore.

if you get to the north shore early then maybe consider packing some kind of breakfast picnic of sorts the night before and eat on a beach, or explore around kualoa ranch.

I agree that traffic would be better of OP opted for the Saturday tour. It's also good to get away from Aulani over the weekend as locals tend to make the resort busier.

We had traffic to contend with primarily around the split to H3, and again almost the whole length of route 83 until we got to the Ranch. It sounds like you're suggesting they take the route through the North Shore over to the Ranch? Not sure how traffic compares, but it is a longer route in general, especially if time is of the essence.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

for some odd reason my brain lumps kualoa ranch into the north shore unless I stop and think about it for a good chunk of time...

however going via the north shore does avoid the merge of traffic from the north shore/mililani heading into town, as well as pearl city. and mornings in kaneohe can add quite a bit of traffic in spots if school is still in session (might be out by the time the OP is heading to kualoa ranch.)

if traffic is really bad in the morning (unless its just on the stretch from aulani to waikele) it could be much faster. probably 90-100 minutes or so going via the north shore, with a low chance of traffic changing that time by much, taking the h3 without traffic would be much faster, but traffic can really add a ton of time.

good chance that schools will be out in a few weeks for summer break (they’re starting to end now...with the univeristy already being done)

 

[Lewisc]

Use the google navigation app on your phone. It will re-route you around traffic, if possible. It moved me off the main road to a "service type road" for a couple of exits. Probably saved 15 minutes. I suggest downloading Oahu to your phone for offline use before you leave. It will help for the locations where cell data isn't available and will lessen data use, only matters if you have low data limits.

Going the North Shore route will rarely save time. You're increasing your distance from 37 to 59 miles. You're also adding roads which require slower driving. Right now, around 11:30a in HI, going the north shore route is projected to take 1:40, going the regular route 50 minutes.

 

[tinkertastic]

Thank you all so very much, we opted for the Saturday early morning tour. I checked and the hotel will be full booked on Saturday so it made sense to leave the resort and take advantage of the lighter weekend traffic for the drive.

 

[micheleq]

We did an early tour (VIP Movie Tour-highly recommend!) in August 2016 and definitely give yourself ample time to get there. I believe it took us almost an hour and a half with traffic. Enjoy!

 

[Jiminy's Girl]

How far in advance can you book these tours. We will be there over Christmas. Can I book now?

 

[ebonyeyes]

How far in advance can you book these tours. We will be there over Christmas. Can I book now?

At least 6 months...I booked ours in January and we are goin in late July.

 

[nkereina]

How far in advance can you book these tours. We will be there over Christmas. Can I book now?

You can book tours right on their web site. If the booking window is open, it will let you do the whole thing online. I do recommend booking early because the tour we wanted was only offered once per day and was limited capacity.

 

[Luv2trav]

We had to be at Kualoa at 8:30am for our 9am VIP Movie Tour. They require you there in advance of the tour time to get checked in. Being that we had to be there by 8:30, we left Aulani at 6:45am. We got caught up in some rush hour traffic, some rain, and an accident and pulled into the parking lot right at 8:30. So, traffic can be pretty messy on a weekday morning. We also thought the traffic once we got to the windward side was worse because it was one lane in each direction and was pretty slow moving. Its a 50 minute drive with no traffic, so I would give yourself at least 80-90 minutes. If you have no issues and arrive early, the ranch is beautiful place to walk around and take photos at.

We are considering doing the VIP Movie tour. did you feel it was worth the price difference from the just the regular movie tour?

 

[MissScarlet]

We just did the VIP movie tour two weeks ago and definitely felt it was worth the price. There are only 12 people on the tour, you are in an air conditioned van with TVs to show the movie clips, you get out of the van and up close to the Jurassic world sets, and there was a snack and bottle water near the end of the tour. Our tour guide George was amazing and offered to take lots fun of pictures with our camera which is so nice when there are only 2 of you.

 

[oakleycat]

It took us about 1.5 hours on a weekday late morning (10:00 tour). We did the Raptor tour and loved it!