7-8 days Sept or Oct - 4 days Maui+3 Aulani?

HuskyGal

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 15, 2016
Hello. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve been to Oahu. I’d like to plan kind of a last minute trip to Aulani with DH, DD7, DS4 and I. DVC has limited availability with some 1 bedrooms. What are your opinions on September or October travel? Should we Avoid the first two weeks because of Oahu school district fall break? Should we Avoid weekends at Aulani? Where to stay in Maui or possibly Kaui? Or is it not worth to island hop for a short trip? I was thinking 4 days Maui then 3 days Aulani. Any kid friendly places? bUdget friendly? When I was in Oahu over ten years ago, I don’t recall any traffic issues but I’m reading on here that there is heavy traffic all the time....?
 
.....Where to stay in Maui or possibly Kaui? Or is it not worth to island hop for a short trip? I was thinking 4 days Maui then 3 days Aulani. Any kid friendly places? bUdget friendly?.....

We spent 13 nights in Hawaii last month celebrating our 25th anniversary (5 nights on Maui, 2 on the Big Island and 6 on Oahu at Aulani). We absolutely loved Maui and the place where we stayed, The StarWind Cottage at Maui Tradewinds, would be perfect for a family. It is a lovely, well-appointed, standalone unit with full kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths indoor plus an outdoor shower just outside the 2nd bedroom, so it's really like having 2 full baths. The main house where the owners live is just a short walk up the driveway and has a washer/dryer for guest use. At about $400 per night, I would consider it budget friendly for a family especially if you make some of your own meals. It's not on the beach but in a wonderful, secluded area near the north shore so it is centrally-located to all areas of the island. And it has an immaculate hot tub on the huge deck with views of Haleakala, and the ocean in the distance. See my trip report for more details: https://www.disboards.com/threads/april-2018-tr-maui-the-big-island-oahu-aulani.3680090/.
 
We did two weeks in September. We spent 6 days at Aulani, 3 days in Maui, 3 days in Kauai (and 3 days in Waikiki). My trip report is in my signature for details.

We loved September - lower crowds, beautiful weather. Would definitely go that time of year again. We liked both Maui and Kauai but preferred Kauai - better weather (Maui was so windy), less commercialized, and more unique natural beauties. The Na Pali Coast of Kauai was one of my favorite things we saw on our trip. We stayed at the Marriott in Lihue on Kauai and the Westin in Kaanapali on Maui. Loved both resorts and would recommend either. If it were me, I'd do 3 nights on Maui or Kauai, and 4 nights at Aulani. During the time at Aulani, I'd break it up with 2 resort days and 2 exploring days - we loved the North Shore and Kailua.
 
Thanks to both of you! I thought about changing to Disneyland but reading about how crowded it is with the Halloween parties, Aulani is sounding better.
 


We did Marriott's Maui Ocean club with 2.5yo twins for 4 days in 2016. It is a time share, but you can rent from owners or book cash rooms. They had a kids play-ship, a kid friendly beach, and a play room. We did not need to leave the resort, but we did anyhow- often to simply put the kids in the car so they would nap! There were gas grills for cooking outside, and barrels of mint and basil growing next to them available to take. The adjacent hotel (Sheridan?)was a short walk away and had penguins in their lobby! We liked it enough to consider going back there this fall, but decided to go to Kauai instead.
We have been to Kauai pre-kids and stayed at the Kauaii beach resort, which was fine but not amazing. We had proposed the waimea plantation cottages (they used to have a brewery and we stopped there) but the grandparents are coming and decided we would do another Marriott instead.
We also did Aulani with the 2.5yos and I would say 3 nights is the least time I would stay there, you can spent the 3 full days not leaving the resort itself, and there are many other things to do on the island for the kids as well.

Good luck!
 
For such a short trip, honestly, I don't think island hopping is a great idea because you essentially lose, at the very least, half a day to a full day traveling and settling in again to a new place. With only 7-8 days that's not really worth it in my opinion, especially with young kids. It would be more restful to stay in one place and just relax and enjoy and explore. Maui and Aulani are both worth staying and exploring for the entire time! Save the other place for your next trip!

As to where to go- I love both! With young kids Aulani would probably win by a smidge. The resort is amazing, the beach and lagoon protected and beautiful. So much to do and 3 days is not enough! We stayed 8 nights our first time and wish we had more time.

For Maui - our favorite area is Kaanapali followed closely by Wailea. Kaanapali has a beautiful reef for snorkeling, very convenient, lots of shops and restaurants (whalers village!) and a nice beach. Any hotel along that stretch would be good!

Wailea beach is outstanding but not much fish to see. Again - really nice hotels! Grand Wailea is spectacular!
 
Thanks so much for replying. I had decided to stay at Aulani because, well, I’m lazy. But I keep reading that Aulani is packed on the weekend. Wondering if we should book a different hotel for the weekend? Thank you again.
 


My wife and I did Maui 3 days + Aulani 4 days w/ our 4 year old daughter in April, here's what I'm thinking:

I would either do 7 nights on Maui (first choice) or 7 nights at Aulani (second choice)

1) Island hopping just isn't worth it. Two rental cars, needing to hoof it to the airport TWICE (leaving the mainland is enough for me), wasting half a day traveling is just a drag. Let's not talk about wrestling/installing the car seats :furious:

2) Maui vs. Aulani/Oahu is going to depend on what you want for your vacation. If you want to turn off your brain and relax - Aulani for sure, just be prepared to pay for it. If you want to go on country drives and explore, go out and do things outside of the resort, go to Maui. For me, I was getting cabin fever at day 3 at Aulani, and my daughter just wanted to swim all day, so we really didn't get to anywhere else on the island. Plus, Ko Olina is 45 minutes away from Waikiki and other spots on the island, we just didn't feel like driving.

3) Budget - Maui will be cheaper. Everything at Aulani is standard Disney mark-up, and you'll want the conveniences of poolside dining and room service. At 4 nights, our incidentals bill topped $900+, I don't even want to know what a 7 night stay would look like. Granted, we didn't put much effort into stopping off at Costco/grocery store before our trip, and we were in a studio (so no kitchen).

Anyway, hope that helps :)

P.S. Disneyland is SUPER CROWDED in October - we have VGC points as well and those weekends were mostly gone even at the 7-11 month window!
 
Thanks so much for replying. I had decided to stay at Aulani because, well, I’m lazy. But I keep reading that Aulani is packed on the weekend. Wondering if we should book a different hotel for the weekend? Thank you again.

I would definitely just stay at Aulani for the weekend - save yourself the move and maybe spend more time at the beach if the pools get too busy. Or plan some time away from the resort on those days. I wouldn't bother booking a separate hotel myself.
 
Thanks to everyone who replied. I’m going to pay through her the nose for staying on the weekend but I don’t want to deal with switching hotels and kids. We are going in October so at least the prices are reduced for fall. We might not even leave the property some days so I’m ok with that. I need to make sure the villa or suite that the travel agent is booking has the full kitchen so I can save on at least a few meals.

Is there a free shuttle to a mall from Aulani? Does it go to the mall with the cool Japanese inspired food court? I haven’t decided to rent a mini van for the full week or just use the 1 day car rental the travel agent gave us.
 
Thanks to everyone who replied. I’m going to pay through her the nose for staying on the weekend but I don’t want to deal with switching hotels and kids. We are going in October so at least the prices are reduced for fall. We might not even leave the property some days so I’m ok with that. I need to make sure the villa or suite that the travel agent is booking has the full kitchen so I can save on at least a few meals.

Is there a free shuttle to a mall from Aulani? Does it go to the mall with the cool Japanese inspired food court? I haven’t decided to rent a mini van for the full week or just use the 1 day car rental the travel agent gave us.
Did you see the 40% off deal for sitting through the DVC presentation? May make the price more palatable. It should cover your dates.
 
Well I booked the dvc deal for the full 7 nights! Thanks, everyone! Wish it included parking, maybe I can ask very nicely at check in.
Next acquire a copy of Oahu Revealed...
 

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