Anyone care to critique my itinerary for Hawaii?

[kkmcan]

We are booked for Wed, March 12-18th Phx to Oahu.

First two nights will be in a Wyndham timeshare in Waikiki. Then we check into Aulani (hotel room) on Friday the 14th- Tues the 18th with our flight leaving at 9:15 pm that evening.

Here's what I've got so far:

Wed- Arrive at 11:45am in Oahu.
Pick up rental car.
Check in at timeshare.
Hit a store for some snacks and breakfast.
Find a place to eat. (Not sure where this will be yet)
Maybe a walk on the beach or some shopping

Thurs- Head for Pearl Harbor (already reserved the tickets)
Afternoon if time: Go checkout the beach if we didn't get to it the night before.
Dinner in the timeshare.

Fri- Pack up, check out, head out to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling.
Quick lunch when we are done.
Head back to timeshare to pick up stored luggage.
Head to Aulani to check in.
Hopefully get our room and then make a quick grocery run. Or maybe
we should do the shopping first and then check in???
Enjoy the resort. Swim, hang out in the lagoon. Hot tub baby!
Dinner in our room. Probably just a salad and some deli items as
we don't have a kitchen or even a kitchenette.

Sat- North Shore- Waimea hike, Turtle beach, Stop at shrimp trunk and
at Dole Plantation for a look around and Dole Whips
Back to Aulani to relax and swim
Dinner at Monkeypods

Sun- Relax at resort. Hit pool and beach first. Then lunch sandwiches in room.
Menehune Trail.
Maybe walk over to the Marriott
Ama Ama for dinner for dh and I.
Pick up some quick service for kids.

Mon- Possible surf lessons for dh and ds.
Drive the coast
Shopping?
Must get some Malasadas if we haven't already.
Back to Aulani.
Dinner? Pizza or Just Tacos or even quick service
Starlit Hui.

Tues- Last Day
Hang at Aulani. Snorkel, swim etc.
Lunch- sandwiches and chips to finish off stuff
One last snack- shave ice or mickey ice cream
Shower and clean up.
Dinner ?
Head out to airport at 6:30ish

We weren't really interested in hiking Diamond Head, the Polynesian Center or the Kaloa Ranch so those aren't on our list. Also, I wanted to allow lots of relaxing and enjoying the resort time. We may only get there this one time. We are staying in the hotel as we aren't owners.
I wanted to make sure I left time to just drive and explore and stop as we wished. Dh doesn't like to be too over scheduled.

But I feel like we got some of the major things that we really wanted to do in there- Hanauma bay, Waimea waterfall, Pearl Harbor and stops at food trucks, Dole and for Malasadas and shave ice.

What do you guys think? Not enough stuff planned? Or just right?

Also should we pick up groceries and then checkin to avoid having to leave the resort after checkin?? Do they have a place to keep our groceries if we are waiting on a room? We won't have a lot as we are just in a regular hotel room but I did think we'd pick up deli meat, and cheese for sandwiches. The rest of the items will just be like muffins, chips, other snacks, bread, alcohol and coffee creamer.

We are so excited!! Kids don't know about Aulani yet! The oldest is so disappointed thinking we aren't going to stay there. She is begging us to just make a stop so we can look around and say we saw it! She is going to freak out when we tell her!

Thanks for any input or advice!

 

[CailinFig]

Sun- Relax at resort. Hit pool and beach first. Then lunch sandwiches in room.
Menehune Trail.
Maybe walk over to the Marriott
Ama Ama for dinner for dh and I.
Pick up some quick service for kids.

Mon- Possible surf lessons for dh and ds.
Drive the coast
Shopping?
Must get some Malasadas if we haven't already.
Back to Aulani.
Dinner? Pizza or Just Tacos or even quick service
Starlit Hui.

Tues- Last Day
Hang at Aulani. Snorkel, swim etc.
Lunch- sandwiches and chips to finish off stuff
One last snack- shave ice or mickey ice cream
Shower and clean up.
Dinner ?
Head out to airport at 6:30ish

We weren't really interested in hiking Diamond Head, the Polynesian Center or the Kaloa Ranch so those aren't on our list. Also, I wanted to allow lots of relaxing and enjoying the resort time. We may only get there this one time. We are staying in the hotel as we aren't owners.
I wanted to make sure I left time to just drive and explore and stop as we wished. Dh doesn't like to be too over scheduled.

But I feel like we got some of the major things that we really wanted to do in there- Hanauma bay, Waimea waterfall, Pearl Harbor and stops at food trucks, Dole and for Malasadas and shave ice.

What do you guys think? Not enough stuff planned? Or just right?

Also should we pick up groceries and then checkin to avoid having to leave the resort after checkin?? Do they have a place to keep our groceries if we are waiting on a room? We won't have a lot as we are just in a regular hotel room but I did think we'd pick up deli meat, and cheese for sandwiches. The rest of the items will just be like muffins, chips, other snacks, bread, alcohol and coffee creamer.

Can you flip your Sunday relax day at the resort with your Monday drive around the island? The reason being is weekends seem to be crowded (possibly due to locals staying for the weekend--it was hard for us to find pool seats on the weekend in October, but resort was empty once Monday hit) and Monday you might find yourself in island traffic bc it is a work day depending on what time you're driving around.

A friend of mine told me he had a mini fridge in his hotel room when he stayed, but you might want to call just to make sure. If that's the case, I'd stop and do a grocery run before you check in so that you can have the groceries brought up with your luggage. We decided to do this and it was helpful. The bellman had a little cart to put our groceries in...

I think your itinerary is great for hitting some major things and relaxing at the same time. Have a great trip!

 

[mouseaider]

It all looks good except.......

I would make it a point to hike Diamond Head. It is a little effort but the reward of a "spectacular" view should not be missed.

You are going to love Aulani! Enjoy!

 

[kkmcan]

Thanks guys! Lot of good advice. I didn't think about the traffic and Sunday vs Monday. I need to think about that cuz we wanted to alternate sightseeing days and relaxing days.

I know my dh would want to hike Diamond head but I really don't know if I could do it because of how strenuous it is and the claustrophobia of the tunnel and stairs. I've seen the photos and videos and it freaks me out! Also not sure if my kids would want to do it. We aren't really hikers- any of us. Well, except for dh. I guess we'll just see how it goes. We could try it and see how far we get.

I like to make loose plans for our trips meaning these are all flexible and changeable at any time depending on what we feel like. So we could just go with the flow and if plans don't work out, then we change it up.

Thanks!

 

[wcpamotm]

Without even looking at your itinerary, this criticism came to mind: it's not enough time in Hawaii!

 

[amym2]

I certainly wouldn't try to add anything to your itinerary. If anything, I'd take out something to give you more time at the resort. How old are your kids (sorry if it's in your post I can't see it because I'm reading this on my phone)? Our kids are 10 and 12, and while they weren't interested in Aunty's, we did do some of the family activities like the hula lessons (Minnie comes to join you) and the Starlit Hui. One thing I didn't realize is that the Menehune Trail is 5 "missions," each lasting 30-45min. I was glad we started it early in our trip, because then the kids wanted to do 1-2 missions each day. Our kids aren't huge swimmers, but they would have been perfectly happy just doing the lazy river and slides all day long.

 

[kkmcan]

My kids are 17 and 14. They may try one or two of the teen activities but they really aren't into the clubs. They never were on the cruises either. They will want to sleep in so it will be hard getting them up and out the door early.

Yes, it is too short but that's all the time we have. But it is nice that we get there kind of early on our first day and then fly out late on our last day.

Thanks for all of the responses.

 

[amym2]

My kids are 17 and 14. They may try one or two of the teen activities but they really aren't into the clubs. They never were on the cruises either. They will want to sleep in so it will be hard getting them up and out the door early.

Yes, it is too short but that's all the time we have. But it is nice that we get there kind of early on our first day and then fly out late on our last day.

Thanks for all of the responses.

Our kids have never been into the clubs on cruises or at resorts either. One nice thing about Aulani is that many activities are for the whole family, so if your kids are ok hanging out with you, they might be worth trying. Maybe ukelele lessons or lei making? DD10 (9 on our trip) gave us the whole preteen "I can't believe my parents are making me do this with them" attitude at Aulani, but it's obvious she enjoyed the activities when we hear her talk about them now!

 

[msabol01]

#1 I agree spend more time in HI

I would consider hitting the Dole Plantation/ North Shore / and Giovanni's after Pearl harbor. You'll have the time, and personally you will also want to maximize your time at Aulani. Especially for your trip duration.

While it is as much of a time change for you coming from AZ, smart move on saving Aulani for the back end of the trip.

I would suggest getting your groceries on your way to Aulani, There's a Safeway, Target, and Costco right before Aulani in Kapolei. The bell desk can store your groceries in their refrigerators and freezer until your room is ready (again, maximize your time in Aulani).

Last thing, start planning your next trip. We've been twice already, and thinking about our next trip....each trip was 10 days or more and we still have a lot of things left on our list....Enjoy it's awesome.

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

I would suggest getting your groceries on your way to Aulani, There's a Safeway, Target, and Costco right before Aulani in Kapolei. The bell desk can store your groceries in their refrigerators and freezer until your room is ready (again, maximize your time in Aulani).

So last time we were there we stored groceries too but last night I was on Aulani's page and saw they specifically said they no longer hold cold storage- which def throws our plans for a loop because we plan on stopping by foodland then be at Aulani by 2 (we go in 3 weeks!). If our room isn't ready right away that is no good!

http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/faq/checkin-checkout-faq/

 

[Neraj]

Concerning storing the groceries. I can confirm they do still hold groceries. I believe they may have that on the webpage because there is not enough storage for the entire resort, especially with over 1,000 rooms open now.

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Concerning storing the groceries. I can confirm they do still hold groceries. I believe they may have that on the webpage because there is not enough storage for the entire resort, especially with over 1,000 rooms open now.

Ok good to know- thanks!!

 

[Cinderpamela]

Concerning storing the groceries. I can confirm they do still hold groceries. I believe they may have that on the webpage because there is not enough storage for the entire resort, especially with over 1,000 rooms open now.

Agreed, we were there just a couple of weeks ago and the Bell Services folks put our food items that we had specified into cold storage without a problem.

 

[kkmcan]

I think we might take our chances on the cold storage thing because we will only have a couple of items anyways. We are only there for 4 nights in a reg room so we won't need much.

 

[Tribe0701]

We were there over Christmas and I can confirm they held our things in cold storage. I agree with changing your north shore day to a weekday. Also hanauma bay has a very small parking lot and fills very quickly, once full they will not allow any more people in, so pack up and head there very early in the morning. Also if you choose to hike diamond head the same applies so go very early! Enjoy Hawaii and aulani, it's amazing!

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

My own personal opinion is that you have too much going on, and not enough resort time. We are heading out in a week and a half for our second trip to Aulani, and I refuse to schedule more than two days off property. We're doing North Shore for one, and Pearl Harbor and the swap meet for another. It's sooo expensive to stay there (and we are DVC), that I don't want to waste the money not enjoying all that Aulani has to offer. And, to be honest, we don't really want to go off property! We LOVE the beach/cove, the pools and just laying out in the sun!!! We only left the property once last time (except for groceries) and never felt like we were depriving ourselves of experiences. Aulani is also our home property though, so we will be going back many times over the next 50 years, so there was never any pressure to fit in as many sites as we could. If you won't be back for some time though, I could see why you would want to pack the itinerary!

 

[JOANNEL]

Rainbow drive in is good and reasonable while you are in Waikiki . Diamond head is beautiful. You can skip the stairs by going up the left side. I am a little claustrophobic , we were there early so as long as I could keep moving in the tunnel I was ok. Coming back down you can see the open end so it's not bad. It's a hike but well worth it. After leaving hunanae bay you should drive north on the east coast. Beautiful, even if you just go up 15-20 minutes.

 

[JOANNEL]

They do have cold storage. We went to Hickam and our room was not ready, they put the cold stuff in a different tub to refrigerate.

 

[abdgeek]

I agree with the OP, if you have the time, hike Diamond Head. It's $5 to park and the view from the top is worth the hike. If you decide to do it, once you exit the tunnel turn left and go that way to the top. You still have stairs, just not the 99 you have to get to the top the other way and everything is open. I don't hike either, but I made it to the top and was wowed by the view.

For groceries You can walk or drive across the street to the ABC store(don't laugh) to see how many of those items they have or you can drive about 5 minutes to the next town to the grocery store(you'll actually pass Kapolei before you get to Aulani). The ABC store not only has souvenirs, but ready made food and groceries, etc.

 

[dsneygirl]

Sat- North Shore- Waimea hike, Turtle beach, Stop at shrimp trunk and
at Dole Plantation for a look around and Dole Whips
Back to Aulani to relax and swim
Dinner at Monkeypods

We did a North Shore drive and it too the entire Day. We got back at like 5 o clock and we didn't stop to hike, we just stopped at some scenic places a long the way to take pics and on some beaches. Didn't do the Dole Plantation either.

I would couldn't on getting back to aulani until late in the day or early evening.