How many nights?

[abbey71211]

How many nights would you reccomend to spend at Aulani if we solely plan to spend all our time on property? We would be 2 adults and 2 kids (age 3 1/2 and 6 months).

We have done Hawaii a few times before and will prob spend some time elsewhere or on another island.

If you had kids of a similar age and didn't need to sight see how many nights would you spend on property?

Thanks!

 

[FinnFogg]

We started going to a Aulani when our kids were 1, 3 and 5. They are now 8, 10 and 12. We have always been able to spend 10 days there at a time easy. We usually do one day trip to Dole/the north shore, and one to Waikiki, but otherwise LOVE spending our time in Ko Olina.

 

[OKW Lover]

My answer to this question would depend a bit on where you are flying from and if the Aulani stay would be at the start/middle/end of the cruise.

If you are flying from the east coast and Aulani would be the start of your trip I'd add an extra day or two simply to adjust for jet lag & time change. In that case I'd say 5 nights.

OTOH, if you were already in Hawaii and your body clock was adjusted I'd say minimum of 3 nights but 4 would be nicer. But that's based on the OP's plan to spend time at other resorts as well.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Aulani might be my favorite place on Earth but I'd go bored out of my skull if I spent the entire time at the resort. If I'm going on vacation to do nothing but hang out at a highly themed resort and lounge by a great pool, I'll fly three hours to Animal Kingdom Lodge, not eleven hours to Aulani.

Our perfect length for an Aulani vacation is 10 nights total. One night in Boston before an early flight, eight nights at Aulani (but doing things all across the island), and one night in California to ease the jet lag of flying East.

Here's my itinerary for an upcoming trip:

Day 1: Drive from home to Boston and spend the night in an airport-area hotel.
Day 2: Fly nonstop BOS to HNL. Early bed.
Day 3: Church and grocery shopping in the early morning, then most of the day enjoying the resort.
Day 4: Bishop Museum in the morning, then afternoon at the resort.
Day 5: Green World Coffee Farm and Dole Plantation on the way to the North Shore and Waimea Valley
Day 6: Pearl Harbor and the surrounding museums
Day 7: Morning hike at Ka'ena Point, then afternoon at the resort.
Day 8: Early morning hike at Diamond Head, then the rest of the day at the resort.
Day 9: Drive to the windward side of the island for Kualoa Ranch and the Byodo-in Temple
Day 10: Church, then fly HNL to LAX.
Day 11: Fly LAX to BOS, drive home.

So on an 8 night trip, we spend about two full days (split over four half-days) on property.

 

[abbey71211]

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone. I should have mentioned we would be coming from New Zealand (about a 9hr flight) but the time difference is 23 hrs so its almost like no time difference at all. Still have to wait until our country opens its borders to travel at this stage anyway!

 

[jimmymc]

If you don't care about seeing the rest of Oahu and just want to do things at Aulani, I would go for 3 to 6 days. That would let you do each restaurant for dinner (if that interests you), plenty of time for snorkeling and swimming with an off-day in the middle, a spa day, and chances to see the restaurants across the street.

 

[Twohsieh]

Since your coming from New Zealand, I would make the most of your flight trip and stay at least 7-10 nights, if not longer. Our flights are only about six hours to Oahu and I make sure we stay at least 10 nights in Hawaii. Hopefully your country is able to open up soon.

 

[nkereina]

If your time at Aulani is not going to be used for sightseeing, 3 nights would be good for me. The resort is relatively small and can feel crowded, especially depending on time of year. In the current environment, I believe dining options are still somewhat limited. But even if they weren't, 4 days/3 nights would still give you enough time to try them all. You'd also have time to venture off property into Ko Olina, walking distance, if you wanted to check out surrounding restaurants and hotels. There are not many. We spent 6 nights at Aulani, but that included 2 days of sightseeing and 1 morning at the spa, plus check in/check out day, so we had about 3 solid resort days which was good enough for us.