PTR? Itinerary for Aulani/Oahu and Maui - whaddaya think?

BigTex71

DIS Dad #536...... Fort Worth, Texas
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
I suppose this might be considered a Pre-Trip Report Lite. Tastes great - less filling. It originally started as a straight up itinerary overview - then morphed as I was typing. The excitement is getting the best of me. So maybe not LESS filling, but I hope it tastes great.
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We have our first visit to Aulani coming up on Monday and we are overly excited. This has been planned for nearly a year and it is all culminating into reality soon. I have been reading so many great trip reports here, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube vlogs, and exercising my black belt Google-Fu skills to be prepared. I almost feel as if this will be my second trip after all that - so it will feel familiar. I have picked up lots of great tips and recommendations from the Dis boards to incorporate into my Mother Of All Hawaiian Family Vacations Co. Limited Killer Itinerary. (It will follow after some other blabberings in the next few paragraphs.)

I am a big-time planner (I find part of the fun of a vacation is researching and planning), but DW is not a planner. I want to go in with at least a basic guideline for what we can/will do each day - especially for an awesome (read: expensive) trip like this. After 5 nights at Aulani, we will be hopping over to Maui for 4 nights - staying in an Airbnb we found in Kihei near the water.

It will be a hectic few days before we fly out Monday morning because my son graduates high school on Saturday, then we have a graduation party at the house on Sunday. We leave the house at Dark O'clock on Monday morning for the flight out of DFW. With DW's health concerns, we decided that if we were going to do a non-stop flight from DFW to HNL, it would be better if we flew first class. (Yeah - a health issue. Can I claim part of the ticket through my medical insurance? LOL)

Here is an overview of my afore-mentioned itinerary (henceforth known as The Itinerary.) I had posted this on the Aulani Planning group on the MyFacePageBookagram and it helped me make a few tweaks. I wanted to share here for more feedback and other possible suggestions or tweaks. Thanks in advance!

Day 1: "The Arrival"
Arrival to HNL around 1pm. Pick up the rental car from Alamo, drive to Aulani to drop off luggage. Lunch and Costco/Target for groceries and necessities. Explore Aulani and the Pools/lagoon. Dinner in the villa.

Day 2: "Resort Chillaxin' Day"
Eggs n Things breakfast across the street from Aulani (so not "all day" at the resort.) All day* relaxing at the resort. Lunch and dinner in the villa.

Day 3: Our Own Private Oahu Tour (Part 1)
Oahu Private Tours - South Side (Waikiki/Windward side) from 8 am - 2 pm including Leonard's Bakery, Pali Lookout, Halona Blowhole, Kailua, Kane'ohe, Sea Cliffs, Lava Tubes, Byodo-In Temple. Relax at the resort after and dinner in the villa.

Day 4: Our Own Private Oahu Tour (Part Deaux)
Oahu Private Tours - North Shore from 8 am - 2 pm including Waimea Valley and Beach, Dole Plantation, Haleiwa, Sunset Beach, Fruit Stands, Kuilima Cove, Banzai Pipeline, Turtle Beach, Giovanni's Shrimp Truck. Relax at the resort after and dinner in the villa.

Day 5: Waikiki Fridaikiki
Breakfast in the villa. Hanauma Bay snorkeling, Ala Moana Mall (lunch in International Market or Rainbow Drive-In), Ala Moana Beach Park. Dinner reservation at Duke's @ 4:45 pm. Sunset and fireworks at Waikiki Beach (It's Friday). Resort.

Day 6: So Long Oahu - Hello, Maui
Breakfast in the villa. Enjoy resort for the morning, then check out of Aulani. Swap Meet at Aloha Bowl(?), return the rental car, fly to Maui, pick up the new rental car (Sixt). Costco/Target then food trucks near Costco for dinner. Check-in Airbnb condo in Kihei.

Day 7: North by Northwest (Maui)
Breakfast in the condo. Ka'anapali Beach, Napili Beach. Lunch at Coconut's in Kihei and Ululani's Shave Ice. Lahaina. Dinner at Kimo's in Lahaina @ 5:30 pm (Sunset Dining!) Condo.

Day 8: Road to Hana
Pack a lunch in a soft-side cooler. Early breakfast in Paia. Road to Hana (using the GyPSy audio tour app of Maui on phone). Dinner at the condo.

Day 9: Crater and Beaches
Breakfast in the condo, Wailea Beach, Big Beach (Makena). Lunch at Da Kitchen. Sunset at Haleakala. Late dinner in the condo.

Day 10: So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish
Breakfast in the condo. Check out. Ho'okipa Beach. Lunch at Paia Fish Market. Kahana Beach (Airport Beach). Drop off the rental car, flight to HNL. Flight to DFW.

Just think... this is the condensed version of The Itinerary. You should see my Excel spreadsheet. Yes, I may go a little crazy in detail in my planning - but this is more of a guideline than a rule. I will do a whole trip report when we get back so we can see how much of this we actually followed. And I will include lots of photos - I am renting a Nikon Z7 mirrorless camera for the trip, so I hope to have a few keepers in the thousands of photos I will take. :)

SO - what do you think? Too aggressive? Too chill? Just right? Do you have experience with some of these things? What would you remove or add?

(Did my coworkers think I would actually be productive at work these last few days leading up to my vacation?!)
 
You have really done your homework @BigTex71 this looks like the itinerary of a seasoned Hawaii traveller!

What I like is you have a great balance of sight seeing for a first time visitor and relaxation time.

It seems to me you have very realistic plans as well and if you are willing to go with the flow and have back up options you are golden.

You might want to watch your time on the first day as the lazy river closes at 8 and the main pool at 10. If you are getting luggage and a rental car you may not be out of the airport area and on the road till closer to 2 and then the drive will be probably between 30-45 mins depending on the traffic. Check in and dropping off the luggage will probably put you at about 3:30. Then you are driving back out to Costco/Target which is really only a 10 minute drive going east but may be longer coming back because of rush hour traffic. I think you will be ok and able to get some time in at all the pools but I would just be aware of and keep on top of the time if getting to the pools is a priority. Just saying because it has happened to us LOL

I think you might want to pack some snacks for after Hanauma Bay, even something a small as a granola bar. I find my teenagers are always starving after swimming, snorkelling, actually any time and getting across to Ala Moana might take a bit of time. Rainbow Drive In is closer and might be the better of the two options if everyone is hungry.

Cannot wait to read your full TR if this is you PTR! Have an amazing time, I know you will!
 


It seems to me you have very realistic plans as well and if you are willing to go with the flow and have back up options you are golden.

Definitely open to go with the flow and change plans on-the-fly, if needed.

You might want to watch your time on the first day as the lazy river closes at 8 and the main pool at 10. If you are getting luggage and a rental car you may not be out of the airport area and on the road till closer to 2 and then the drive will be probably between 30-45 mins depending on the traffic. Check in and dropping off the luggage will probably put you at about 3:30. Then you are driving back out to Costco/Target which is really only a 10 minute drive going east but may be longer coming back because of rush hour traffic. I think you will be ok and able to get some time in at all the pools but I would just be aware of and keep on top of the time if getting to the pools is a priority. Just saying because it has happened to us LOL

Yes. It is really more of an explore the resort. And hit up the pools if time allows (and if we are not dead tired from jetlag.)

I think you might want to pack some snacks for after Hanauma Bay, even something a small as a granola bar. I find my teenagers are always starving after swimming, snorkelling, actually any time and getting across to Ala Moana might take a bit of time. Rainbow Drive In is closer and might be the better of the two options if everyone is hungry.

Good idea about packing snacks. I think we will do that for all of our days when we are driving somewhere. Also, I like the idea of hitting up the Rainbow Drive-In after Hanauma Bay.

Thanks for the feedback!
 
I have nothing of merit to add, but just wanted to say it sounds fabulous!! And we are following somewhat in your footsteps, leaving from DFW (we live in Frisco) on Sunday, June 2nd. We will only be at Aulani for 3 nights, but then go on to Kauai for 4 nights and then finish up on Maui for 5 nights. Can't wait to read your trip report! I'm hoping to do one myself as well, but I've never done any kind of report so we'll see. My main hangup is that I don't know how to post pictures within a post, so if I can figure that out I'm golden!
 
We planned to eat a lot in the room, too...
3 beachside/pool meals, 1 extra Ama Ama, etc, later.... we didn’t. Lol. Don’t over buy groceries... :-)

Looks like fun.

Swap Meet was interesting, be prepared to get hot. Parking lot felt like 115 degrees when we went.
 


Well BigTex and ErinF we’ll be right behind you coming from Plano. Our kids are private school so don’t get out until Thursday (and son has middle school baseball championship Wed, so I worked out). We are 5 nights Aulani, 5 nights Grand Wailea (Maui). First time to HI with kids of our own, but went many times pre-kids. Like BigTex, I’m the planner, DW is along for the ride and just wants relaxation. We’ve got Pearl Harbor and North Shore planned for one day, but alll the others are planting our rear ends in a lounge chair with a cold one while kids run amok.

Well there should be at least three trip reports up in the next couple weeks.

Maybe see you both in HI.
 
OP trip plan looks great to me! We have a month until our trip (also island hopping!). I look forward to each of your trip reports!! Can’t wait to read them :). I’ll try to post one upon our return as well. They are so helpful to read when planning.

Jagron11-we are staying at Grand Wailea on Maui as well. I’m a little worried about the mixed reviews I’ve seen as far as rooms needing updating—would love to get your feedback when you return!

Hope you all have magical trips!
 
Jagron11-we are staying at Grand Wailea on Maui as well. I’m a little worried about the mixed reviews I’ve seen as far as rooms needing updating—would love to get your feedback when you return!

Honestly, haven’t paid as much attention to that part of the trip. Traveled a lot for work the past 12 months so the GW rooms are on Hhonors points. So I’m not expecting a lot. More for the Wailea beach location and the POOLS. My 4 kids (5-7-9-11) are fish. I will report back though.
 
We were just at aulani for 10 days for the 7th time. We go every year In may and stay 10 days. We come from Chicago and I agree first class is the only way to go for what for us a 9 hour flight.

We never leave aulani but we have seen all of Oahu and the other islands, We are not planners so your schedule seems foreign to me but I’m glad that method works for you, A few comments,

I’d suggest you stop for groceries on your way to aulani. That’s what we do. Then once you get there have the bellman bring up everything to your room and you can unpack and relax.

You seem to eat in the room a lot at aulani. I’d suggest you go out to dinner a couple times. But I don’t know your cost restrictions. Except for the aulani character breakfast, we eat breakfast In our villa, then I make sandwiches and bring them to pool for lunch and we go out to dinner most nights. There are 4 of us. Just tacos across the street is not expensive. And the monkey pod has a happy hour. Down the street is a Marriott. Their restaurant is Longhi. Not too expensive. Good food. And if you go on Tuesday, when they have their luau, you can sit at longhi and listen to the luau and depending on where you sit, you can see part of the show,

You don’t mention eating at aulani. The character breakfast is a lot of fun and while expensive even older kids will like it. Ama Ama is a lovely restaurant but a little expensive, although not expensive for Hawaii. You can eat there and watch the sunset. Also there is music outside of Ama Ama every night. It’s on a small stage right outside of Ama Ama. You can go there, bring a drink and just sit and listen to the music while looking out on the beach. Even after dark it’s an amazing view.

The sunset is easy to see. Just go to the sidewalk along the beach and head to the left. Lots of people come out, bring food or drinks and enjoy the beauty.

There is also music outside the aulani bar, sorry I can’t remember the name. You get there early, say around 5, grab an outside place to sit, order a drink and appetizers and make it a night listening to the music.

Not sure if you care about character interactions but every morning you can get a schedule of where the characters are from the community house on the first floor, aulani will tell you to call a certain number but we just go to the community house after 8 am and take a picture on the phone of the schedule. You need to get in line at least 15 minutes ahead.

Chairs can be hard to find at the pool. This is the only time I do have a routine. I’m an early riser. I’m usually out
Around 630 am. I go for coffee, then I work out. Around 730 I find the chairs I want and stay there until the towel shed opens at 8 am. I get towels and my wrist band, which everyone is supposed to have, put the towels on the chairs to save them. Then I go back to room, change into my swim suit, get my kindle and head back to the chairs to save them until the rest of the family shows up.

You also don’t mention a luau. Not sure if you care but I will say that Disney luau is one of the best you will see. Again expensive but you get a lot of show and food for the money.

The four seasons next to aulani has happy hour at the fish house restaurant. You can sit on the terrace, have a drink and even order some food, at a relatively good price. If the kids are at the kids program at aulani, it’s a nice treat. Or bring them and do an early dinner. Happy hour starts at 3 and ends at 5. The drink types are limited to beer, red or white wine and three different mixed drinks. They are very liberal with the liquor.

It seems like you are taking tours to visit the rest of the island. You may be more comfortable doing that but it really is unnecessary. You can do all those things very easily on your own in your car and in one day. And save the money.

Remember you have to be at hanauma bay very early in order to get in. The last time I heard it was 7am. Also we were just at aulani in early may and the Bay was closed for some reason.

I didn’t see Pearl Harbor on your list. Something you can easily do on your own and a wonderful experience. You can order free tickets on the national park website.

Not sure if you will be at aulani on a Saturday or Sunday or if you’re catholic, but if so and you are interested in mass, there is a wonderful little church a few miles down the road, it’s called saint Rita. You are greeted as a new friend. The people are warm and loving and it’s a wonderful experience in this tiny little church. There is sat mass at 5.

Also you always need to factor in driving time. Rush hour starts early and seems to run all day on the H1 which is the highway you take back and forth from aulani to almost everywhere except the north shore.

On Maui when you do the road to Hana be sure to stop at this the banana bread trucks. It’s the best in the world! And traffic can be a pain so be prepared for a longer drive than you think.

Sorry for the long winded response. Hopefully some of this helps.
 
Can’t wait to see your trip report. My daughter and I stayed at Grand Wailea Maui about 8 years ago and we loved it! It’s a beautiful resort in a perfect location. The rooms were great then. Very large and the views were awesome. We’re staying at Aulani in October in a one bedroom and hoping it’s as lovely. Seriously, GW was perfect! Enjoy your trip. Maui is my favorite! But since we are DVC members Aulani it is!
 
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Hope you have a great Aulani vacation! The weather forecast looks to be the usual, boring 85 degree high 70 degree low.
 
The Pali is currently closed because of a rockslide that happened several months ago. I don’t believe you can get to the lookout. That shouldn’t affect the rest of your plans as you’ll probably be taking H-3 back to Aulani anyway.

I 2nd @alohamom ’s suggestion for Rainbows. Chicken cutlet, extra gravy, and a slush float .... yummy! Ala Moana food court options are meh. Also, 95% of the stores in that mall are chain stores these days. Kahala mall, although smaller, has more Hawaii-based stores if you’re looking for more unique options.

Have a great trip!
 
Just my two cents!

Day 1: "The Arrival"
Arrival to HNL around 1pm. Pick up the rental car from Alamo, drive to Aulani to drop off luggage. Lunch and Costco/Target for groceries and necessities. Explore Aulani and the Pools/lagoon. Dinner in the villa.
I presume you're dropping off luggage first because of the posts about theft on Oahu. While nowhere is exempt from theft, it is most common in beach lots and other unmanned, less crowded areas that tourists frequent. DH and I took our chances and left our luggage in our rental car while we went into Target. The plaza was very busy being a Saturday afternoon, and we parked near the front to minimize the chances of a break-in. We were comfortable with it, but everyone's risk tolerance is different. My point in bringing this up is that its much more convenient to stop for your groceries on the way TO Aulani, than it is to go past the Kapolei exit, drop off luggage, and backtrack to the stores. It also detracts from that grand feeling you get while entering Aulani for the very first time - you'll be anxious to just get settled and explore! Our flight arrived around 12:30pm and after we picked up the car, got lunch, and shopped at Target, we got to Aulani around 4pm and stayed put the rest of the night. Our room was also ready at that point too.

Day 2: "Resort Chillaxin' Day"
Eggs n Things breakfast across the street from Aulani (so not "all day" at the resort.) All day* relaxing at the resort. Lunch and dinner in the villa.
We did not eat at Eggs n Things, but wanted to put out a suggestion for Ama Ama breakfast if you weren't already planning on it. One of my favorite meals of the trip!

Day 5: Waikiki Fridaikiki
Breakfast in the villa. Hanauma Bay snorkeling, Ala Moana Mall (lunch in International Market or Rainbow Drive-In), Ala Moana Beach Park. Dinner reservation at Duke's @ 4:45 pm. Sunset and fireworks at Waikiki Beach (It's Friday). Resort.
Duke's reservations are for the dining room. Is that what you want? The outdoor beachfront seating, with the "grill" menu, is more casual and first come first served with no reservations (called the Barefoot Bar). If the dining room is what you want, you may not have a lot of time for the beach and you'd need to bring a change of clothes that would be more appropriate for the dining room. There's not a dress code to my knowledge, but I don't think bathing suits and cover ups would fly either. My other concern would be that the reservation is a little early - you may not be hungry by that time if you're doing a lunch like Rainbow Drive-In. If you decide to eat at Rainbow Drive-In, I would do it after Hanauma Bay and before Ala Moana Center because it's right in between the two. You'll be backtracking if you go to the mall first, and there's a lot of traffic in that area that can hold you up. Lastly, I think the fireworks are at 7:45. If you keep your 4:45 reservation, you will likely have time to kill after dinner and before the fireworks. If you'd rather do the Barefoot Bar, you may have a bit of a wait so I would go early to ensure you're done with time to get a spot for fireworks.


Day 6: So Long Oahu - Hello, Maui
Breakfast in the villa. Enjoy resort for the morning, then check out of Aulani. Swap Meet at Aloha Bowl(?), return the rental car, fly to Maui, pick up the new rental car (Sixt). Costco/Target then food trucks near Costco for dinner. Check-in Airbnb condo in Kihei.
Just a personal opinion, but we did not enjoy the Swap Meet. Only took us about 45 minutes and many of the booths had the same stuff. Yes, its cheap, but you can find the same items at the ABC Stores as well. We weren't impressed. I see on Day 4 you're doing the North Shore area, but you're covering a lot of ground from 8am-2pm so you don't have much time at any spot. If it were me, I would scrap the Swap Meet and kill the time in Haleiwa. We loved strolling the shops, enjoying Matsumoto's, and eating at Kono's! We wanted a second day there, but didn't have the time.
 
Just wanted to add that every time we've shopped at Target/Costco/etc on the way to Aulani we haven't felt the least bit of concern about our vehicle being broken into. This is a very busy area with lots of people around.
 
@BigTex71 I'm so excited I saw this thread! Like you, I'm my family's next-level-crazy planner and the planning/daydreaming/anticipation is a big part of the vacation fun for me. "The Itinerary" is awesome and you've gotten some great feedback. I'm unashamedly stealing ideas from all. We're planning an Aulani trip NEXT summer as soon as school gets out so I'm still in planning stages. We became DVC members in 2018 and an Aulani trip is one of the things we're most looking forward. (I'd love to be going this year, but we're headed to our home resort of CCV for the week of July 4. First time seeing those July 4 fireworks in person instead of via live stream. You do not want our problems.) Anyway, I'm super interested to hear more planning throughts and your trip report and insights once you return. Keeping my fingers crossed that @ErinF and @jagron11 will share their trip reports too!
 
Just got back yesterday. We followed the itinerary loosely - we did about 70% of it. I will start a trip report soon with plenty of pictures. I rented a nice camera and got some good photos.
 

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