KristieGriggs
kmgriggs
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2016
We just returned home from ten days in Oahu. (We stayed two nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki and one night at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore before arriving at Aulani for seven nights). I really liked staying on the other side of the island first so we could see things on that side of the island before relaxing at Aulani.
Our first morning on Oahu we snorkeled at Hanauma Bay. So happy we did that first thing in the morning. We only stayed a couple hours and the parking lot was full when we left. Next we stopped at Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail. Very kid friendly and the views were amazing. Then we stopped at Lanikai Beach and snorkeled some more before heading back to Waikiki. We had dinner at Duke's that night. (Highly recommend that too!)
The next morning we hiked Diamond Head before heading to the North Shore. Loved that too! It was a workout but the views were amazing and we saw a rainbow at the top.
At the North Shore we zip lined at Climb Works. That was definitely the highlight of our trip. We all LOVED it! If your kids are over age 7 I highly recommend it.
I only wish we had more time on the North Shore. We should have stayed two nights there. There was construction going on up there and there was only one lane open, so it took a few extra minutes, but that was the only traffic we ran into.
After checking into Aulani we were blown away at how much we loved it. We loved the other hotels we stayed at too, but so glad we chose to stay at Aulani last.
Our first night we drove up to Yokohama Bay and had a family photo session with Kim Ebert. She was amazing and I can't wait to see the photos! I'm glad we chose to drive up there for our session since I have tons of photos from Aulani on my camera. And the mountain views were amazing from there!
The next day, we still had our car so we went to Pearl Harbor. It was a Sunday, and again, no traffic driving there...maybe because it was a weekend. Stopped at the swap meet on the way there. After Pearl Harbor we just asked the valet to return our rental car, so the rest of the week we stayed at the resort. We did do one excursion with Dolphins and You during the week. They picked us up from the hotel. That was another really great day!!! We saw lots of dolphins and the crew was awesome.
Aunty's Beach House was great for the kids. My girls are 9 and 11. I thought they may be a little old for it, but they really enjoyed it! The only time they didn't was when we left them there a little later when we went out to dinner across the street. I think they start closing down sections of it at the end, so they mentioned they were a little bored then. But the activities I preregistered them for they loved.
We didn't do any of the family activities that you have to stand in line for. But my kids were happy to just play in the pools and lagoon. We rented a paddle board one day and loved that too. And many walks to Paradise Cove.
It was such an amazing week!!!
Thank you to everyone who gave hints and suggestions!
Our first morning on Oahu we snorkeled at Hanauma Bay. So happy we did that first thing in the morning. We only stayed a couple hours and the parking lot was full when we left. Next we stopped at Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail. Very kid friendly and the views were amazing. Then we stopped at Lanikai Beach and snorkeled some more before heading back to Waikiki. We had dinner at Duke's that night. (Highly recommend that too!)
The next morning we hiked Diamond Head before heading to the North Shore. Loved that too! It was a workout but the views were amazing and we saw a rainbow at the top.
At the North Shore we zip lined at Climb Works. That was definitely the highlight of our trip. We all LOVED it! If your kids are over age 7 I highly recommend it.
I only wish we had more time on the North Shore. We should have stayed two nights there. There was construction going on up there and there was only one lane open, so it took a few extra minutes, but that was the only traffic we ran into.
After checking into Aulani we were blown away at how much we loved it. We loved the other hotels we stayed at too, but so glad we chose to stay at Aulani last.
Our first night we drove up to Yokohama Bay and had a family photo session with Kim Ebert. She was amazing and I can't wait to see the photos! I'm glad we chose to drive up there for our session since I have tons of photos from Aulani on my camera. And the mountain views were amazing from there!
The next day, we still had our car so we went to Pearl Harbor. It was a Sunday, and again, no traffic driving there...maybe because it was a weekend. Stopped at the swap meet on the way there. After Pearl Harbor we just asked the valet to return our rental car, so the rest of the week we stayed at the resort. We did do one excursion with Dolphins and You during the week. They picked us up from the hotel. That was another really great day!!! We saw lots of dolphins and the crew was awesome.
Aunty's Beach House was great for the kids. My girls are 9 and 11. I thought they may be a little old for it, but they really enjoyed it! The only time they didn't was when we left them there a little later when we went out to dinner across the street. I think they start closing down sections of it at the end, so they mentioned they were a little bored then. But the activities I preregistered them for they loved.
We didn't do any of the family activities that you have to stand in line for. But my kids were happy to just play in the pools and lagoon. We rented a paddle board one day and loved that too. And many walks to Paradise Cove.
It was such an amazing week!!!
Thank you to everyone who gave hints and suggestions!