Excursions at or nearby Aulani

[2prettygirl]

I was just curious if you can book excursions through Aulani or if these should be booked by an outside agency? Thinking Dole Plantation tour, Pearl Harbor, etc.

Also, we are contemplating a helicopter ride while in Hawaii, for those who have visited Oahu, Big Island and Maui, which island do you suggest doing this over?

 

[dachsie]

I was just curious if you can book excursions through Aulani or if these should be booked by an outside agency? Thinking Dole Plantation tour, Pearl Harbor, etc.

Also, we are contemplating a helicopter ride while in Hawaii, for those who have visited Oahu, Big Island and Maui, which island do you suggest doing this over?

I didn't do a helicopter tour but I would do Big Island - lots of diveristy on that island

 

[abdgeek]

Yes, you can book excursions through Aulani. You can see what tours they offer by visiting their excursions page. Be sure to click on a date to see what’s available because certain tours only go out on certain days and require a minimum number to run. Payment is also required when you make your reservation, but will be refunded if the tour is canceled due to low numbers.

I did a helicopter tour of Oahu with Paradise Helicopters and loved it. They were a little more expensive than Blue Hawaiian, but I preferred their customer service and they require a lower minimum number than Blue Hawaiian to fly. They offer complimentary transportation to the helicopter and are the only company that does a true Circle Island Tour. They also fly out of Kapolei, so you don’t have to drive to Waikiki. Blue Hawaiian flies out of the Ko Olina Marina if their minimum number is met or you can drive to Waikiki.

 

[nkereina]

As PP mentions, you can book excursions through Aulani, but be aware they are "Disney" priced (i.e. expensive) and some of them don't offer transportation. If you will have a rental car, IMO, its easier and cheaper to book things on your own so you can tailor it to what you want to see and do. I'm not aware of any excursions that include the Dole Plantation, but hopefully someone else can confirm. The Dole Plantation is near the North Shore, but would make for a time consuming stop on an organized tour. The attractions there (maze, train ride, etc) are first come first served and the lines can get long later in the day.

We opted to do our helicopter tour on Kauai, but between your options, I would choose the Big Island. I would imagine it would fly over or near the volcano which would be cool to see from that vantage point. Seeing Haleakala from a helicopter on Maui would be my second choice.

 

[keikiworld]

mana cruises, private

 

[jodybird511]

As PP mentions, you can book excursions through Aulani, but be aware they are "Disney" priced (i.e. expensive) and some of them don't offer transportation. If you will have a rental car, IMO, its easier and cheaper to book things on your own so you can tailor it to what you want to see and do. I'm not aware of any excursions that include the Dole Plantation, but hopefully someone else can confirm. The Dole Plantation is near the North Shore, but would make for a time consuming stop on an organized tour. The attractions there (maze, train ride, etc) are first come first served and the lines can get long later in the day.

We opted to do our helicopter tour on Kauai, but between your options, I would choose the Big Island. I would imagine it would fly over or near the volcano which would be cool to see from that vantage point. Seeing Haleakala from a helicopter on Maui would be my second choice.

I would second this--if you have a rental car, you are MUCH better off just taking yourself around the island to do the things that are of greatest interest to you. We found the island very easy to navigate and had no issue getting ourselves around to do the things we wanted to do, including Pearl Harbor, snorkeling, Waimea Falls, North Shore, etc...

 

[purrenh1]

I can third the advice to take your own car around Oahu (same is true of Kauai in my experience). Pearl Harbor is easy to navigate to and pick your own activities at the ticket window there (check times first). Tour buses probably have the advantage of not having to fight for the same parking (in some locations, this will require you to be there very early in your car), but this is a minor issue compared to the savings.

 

[FFMatt12]

Yes, you can book excursions through Aulani. You can see what tours they offer by visiting their excursions page. Be sure to click on a date to see what’s available because certain tours only go out on certain days and require a minimum number to run. Payment is also required when you make your reservation, but will be refunded if the tour is canceled due to low numbers.

I did a helicopter tour of Oahu with Paradise Helicopters and loved it. They were a little more expensive than Blue Hawaiian, but I preferred their customer service and they require a lower minimum number than Blue Hawaiian to fly. They offer complimentary transportation to the helicopter and are the only company that does a true Circle Island Tour. They also fly out of Kapolei, so you don’t have to drive to Waikiki. Blue Hawaiian flies out of the Ko Olina Marina if their minimum number is met or you can drive to Waikiki.

Is Paradise Helicopters booked through Aulani excursions? Or did you book outside of the resort? Thanks

 

[nkereina]

Pearl Harbor is easy to navigate to and pick your own activities at the ticket window there (check times first). Tour buses probably have the advantage of not having to fight for the same parking (in some locations, this will require you to be there very early in your car), but this is a minor issue compared to the savings.

In my own experience, it was beneficial to do Pearl Harbor as part of an organized tour because you didn't have to fight for parking, the driver stayed with the bus which kept it secure (car break-ins are rampant there), and they facilitated getting our Arizona tickets which can be tricky to do in order to get an optimal time. Similarly, we did Diamond Head as an organized tour which was nice to not have to park far away and they dropped us off right at the start of the trail. Other than these two things, everything else I would definitely use my own car for.

 

[abdgeek]

Is Paradise Helicopters booked through Aulani excursions? Or did you book outside of the resort? Thanks

I called and booked directly with Paradise Helicopters. However, the Aulani cast member told me they could help me book it if I wanted them to. I’m glad I called on my own because I didn’t have to pay until the day of the tour. If I had booked it through Aulani, I would of had to pay in advance.

 

[gregf71]

Well, I will share this interesting tidbit...today, I booked (actually purchased the tickets for) the "Pua'a 'Ahiu – The Wild Boar Off-Road Expedition" that is offered up in the North Shore area out of Haleiwa. As a previous person stated, be mindful that certain tours only occur certain days of the week and are not offered every day. In our case, we are staying at Aulani for a week this July and planned to rent a car to explore the island for two days; this tour just so happened to coincide with one of our car rental days, as well as the day we planned to be up in the Haleiwa area! I found and selected it through the Aulani website, but upon doing so it took me out to the Pleasant Activities website to ultimately select my date and purchase our tickets. I knew that the experience was actually run by another local business, so I went to their website and priced the tour there as well. Turns out that it was actually a few bucks cheaper going through Aulani/Pleasant Activities than directly through the actual tour provider; the tour ticket prices were identical, but the difference ended up being in the sales tax being added, which I thought was interesting (though it does make some sense if you think about it as sales tax can vary from city to city and it may be higher in Haleiwa versus where Pleasant Activities resides).

So, long story short, do your homework ahead of time and find the best deal!