1st Time

[Tdisney]

We are going in July with another family. However they are not staying at Aulani. They are staying near Waikiki. Said they didn't want to stay somewhere as commercialized as disney. Isn't Waikiki very commercialized and developed ? He is a big surfer so I think being near Waikiki is a big draw. When people do a surfing excursions/lessons, is Waikiki where you went ? For people that went do you stay at the resort for the majority of the time or do a lot of excursions ? And if you did excursions were they for the entire day or just half days then back at the pool. When we go to WDW we spend a lot of time at the resorts pool, BC and GF. Which we love but because of that we don't want to be tied to the resort. Is the excursions for Pearl Harbor and surfing close to Aulani or is there a lot of travel time between the two ?

Thanks for any input and advice.

 

[Silver Queen]

Pearl Harbor is about a half hour from Aulani from Pear Harbor in light to moderate traffic. From what I've hear that time can double during rush hour. I am not aware of a surfing spot near Aulani, but we did take a drive up to the north shore to see the surfers there. There are some beautiful beaches there. We did drive to Waikiki and yes, found it to be very commercial and crowded. We didn't care for it. There was some surfing under the Diamond Head area, but no real beach. We were able to take several trips to activities away from Aulani. In some cases we were able to return to Aulani and get a little pool/beach time in before dinner.

 

[alohamom]

Waikiki is one of many places that is great for surfing,
this is a great site for conditions but in July the waves are not as big as the winter waves. http://www.surfline.com/surf-report/oahu_52737/map/

We used sunset surratt ( https://surfnorthshore.com/ ) on the North Shore, run by a great guy who used to be a competitive surfer.

 

[cmph]

We are going in July with another family. However they are not staying at Aulani. They are staying near Waikiki. Said they didn't want to stay somewhere as commercialized as disney. Isn't Waikiki very commercialized and developed ? He is a big surfer so I think being near Waikiki is a big draw. When people do a surfing excursions/lessons, is Waikiki where you went ? For people that went do you stay at the resort for the majority of the time or do a lot of excursions ? And if you did excursions were they for the entire day or just half days then back at the pool. When we go to WDW we spend a lot of time at the resorts pool, BC and GF. Which we love but because of that we don't want to be tied to the resort. Is the excursions for Pearl Harbor and surfing close to Aulani or is there a lot of travel time between the two ?

Thanks for any input and advice.

Hopefully your friend didn't put you off before even seeing Aulani! FWIW, I don't know anyone who's stayed in Waikiki and thought it was the quintessential Hawaiian experience. Someone out there must prefer it, but not anyone that my husband and I have talked to, anyway; everyone steered us away from staying there, saying things like "It's not what I pictured Hawaii would be like." It's very urban. A teacher at my kids' school who is from Hawaii told me that staying elsewhere was smart and added in a whisper "there are a lot of hookers around at night" but that daytime it's fine. We decided to stay at Aulani for our entire trip (coming up in a few weeks) and plan to split resort and exploration time about 50/50. I've mapped out the distances to what we want to do, and the most we'll be driving is a bit over an hour (not counting traffic) to get to the opposite side of the island. Unless you split your stay on Oahu to 3 or more spots on the island, you're always going to end up with a drive at some point. Waikiki to the North Shore is the same as driving from Aulani to the North Shore, for example.

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

We are taking our 4th trip to Oahu in a couple weeks. This will be the first time we have stayed in Waikiki. We have stayed on the North Shore and of course we have stayed at Aulani. Waikiki is a bustling city on the beach. It is not what I pictured Hawaii when I thought about visiting an island, Aulani is exactly what I picture, lush, beautiful, laid back...in my eyes perfect! Our last trip was the first visit with our kids, I warned my oldest, don't judge Hawaii when you first get off the plane, remember we are in the city. I could see a little disappointment in her eyes when we were stuck in traffic coming from the airport...her eyes lit up when she saw the beauty of Aulani and the surrounding areas. That said, we are going to give Waikiki a try for a change of pace, plus there are things to see and do that we might not want to drive from Aulani to see, but if you are in the area, good to check out. We did every other day away from the resort, but even on days we were out and about we were usually back in the afternoon to hang out by the pool or on the beach. My husband and daughter did surf lessons somewhere close to Aulani, it was thru Hawaii Fire (they don't do lessons any longer) but there were a lot of surf lessons in that same area. My husband is just going to rent a board this time in Waikiki instead of lessons. I hope you enjoy your vacation, Aulani is beautiful!!

 

[Tdisney]

Loveallthingsmouse, what was in Waikiki that would make you want to stay there. Is most of the excursions near Waikiki or closer to where Aluani is ? My kids and I are beginner surfers. I always heard the north shore is where the huge waves are. We are lookingfor beginner lessons.

Thanks again

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

Loveallthingsmouse, what was in Waikiki that would make you want to stay there. Is most of the excursions near Waikiki or closer to where Aluani is ? My kids and I are beginner surfers. I always heard the north shore is where the huge waves are. We are lookingfor beginner lessons.

Thanks again

Truly we felt like we wasted the first two days of our trip adjusting to the time change (from the east coast) so we are hoping to be a little more adjusted when we move to Aulani. We are getting in late one afternoon, spending 2 nights in Waikiki then moving to Aulani. So we aren't there long. We didn't really get to explore much in Waikiki last time, it is a city with city traffic so it seems like you could walk around if you were staying there better than just driving in. The surf lessons my husband and daughter took were great, especially for my daughter. She would get tired paddling out, so the instructors would tow the kids out to where the waves would start. I think they did it for adults too, but I know the kids definitely, helped save energy. My husband surfed as a child, so he wants to say he surfed in Waikiki. Depends on when you go, when we went during the summer the North Shore had no waves, but I guess that can change. I think Aulani has a surf excursion, you can see who they work with, but book direct from the company, will save you some money if you don't need their transportation. We had no issues getting to any excursions from Aulani, we still have many planned when we move resorts, we just wanted to try Waikiki, but I have a strong feeling we will be very ready for the laid back Aulani resort.