Split stay Waikiki, Turtle Bay and Aulani question

[flav]

For the last part of our trip, we (me, DH, DD10, DD12) are visiting the island of Oahu. For budget consideration, we are thinking 5 nights at Waikiki or Waimanolo, 1 night at Turtle Bay and two nights at Aulani. What do you think of that split? Any other suggestions? Should we skip one of the resort?

 

[flav]

Also, I am a bit concerned about sleeping arrangement in a studio at Aulani... Which is the maximum we can afford.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

I’m going to give you my honest opinion.

It seems like a lot of packing up and moving to only unpack and move again.

We just spent 21 days In Hawaii (Split between Oahu and Maui) and loved Oahu more over Maui.

We did not care for Waikiki, so we wouldn’t spend the time there (this is just us) We would rather split the time between Aulani and the North Shore area.

VRBO and Airbnb are also great options and cheaper options to rent a house or condo along the North Shore.

As for the studio at Aulani, we didn’t find it bad at all. It was myself, my husband and my 2 boys ages 10 & 8. My boys slept on the pull out couch and we had the bed. We spent 11 nights at Aulani in the studio and are doing it again next Nov 2018.

I wouldn’t be too worried about the space etc if it’s only for 2 nights. We didn’t spend much time in the room anyways, and when we did, we just all layed out and watched TV etc without any issues.

Hope this helps

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

We spend a few nights in Waikiki when we arrive from the east coast, then move to Aulani for the remainder of the stay. We have done 9 nights in a studio when our girls were the same age, it wasn't an issue at all for us. We spent little time in there anyways. I wouldn't let the size deter you, in my opinion.

It seems like a lot of moving, I would vote for another night at Aulani, but I love it there and can never get too many nights at Aulani. Enjoy your trip!

 

[alohamom]

I might consider leaving out the Turtle Bay stay, you can get there easily from both Waikiki and Aulani.

I have learned the hard way that it really takes half a day out of your vacation to move from one hotel to another (more if you are island hopping) because most make you leave by 11-12 and you cannot check in until 3-4 so you are restricted for a few hours with all of your luggage. I dont like the idea of leaving everything in a rental car and hitting the beach or a tourist stop because of theft. It has never happened to us but I do know it can happen.

 

[nkereina]

We thought a studio was tight for just two adults. It's smaller than a standard hotel room. You will have a queen size bed and a full size sleeper sofa that pulls out in front of the balcony door. Not much walking room when it's pulled out. You can definitely all fit, but it will be a tight squeeze, especially with luggage, etc. Might not be the most comfortable but I think I'd bite the bullet before deciding to stay elsewhere since it's only a couple days.

I agree with PPs that it's a lot of moving around for a short time. I'd scrap Turtle Bay. My original plan was to do 3 nights at Aulani and 3 nights at Turtle Bay, but we ended up canceling Turtle Bay and doing 6 nights at Aulani and I was so glad we did. Traveling around, packing up, checking in/out, etc. eats up a lot of time taking care of business. You don't get to enjoy the full extent of the resorts either.

We did 3 nights in Waikiki which would be max for me. The beach was crowded so we used the time to do most of our sightseeing and shopping. With a total of 8 nights, I would do 2 nights in Waikiki and the remaining 6 nights elsewhere on the island - Aulani or Turtle Bay or somewhere more budget friendly if need be.

 

[flav]

First, thank you all for your input. Together with reading and measuring distances on Oahu, it gave us a good sense of how we should split our stay there.

You are all right saying 3 hotels in 8 nights for Oahu would be too much packing and unpacking. While we have done that in the past, it was always because it was allowing is to travel somewhere else (think from Key West to Orlando for example). The distance are too short on Oahu for that.

Also, we will already have moved a lot:

• One hotel in West mainland (we come from the East)
• One condo on Maui
• Two hotels on Big Island (Hilo, Kona)
• Two hotels in Oahu

That will be enough!
We cancelled our stay at Turtle Bay and extended our stay at Waikiki. We understand that it will feel busy and city like but that in itself might be a nice change of pace from the rest of the trip. It will serve as a base for expeditions and tours.

We will finish with the two nights in a studio at Aulani and plan on it being a nice « vacation » end to our vacation.

So looking forward to it! Cheers