Aulani over new years

[eileensmiles]

My family along with sisters, their families and parents, are going to Aulani between Christmas and New Years. We are used to all-inclusives so didn't really plan ahead as far as activities and excursions. What extras onsite are ones that we shouldn't miss (assuming it isn't too late to book)? We have children infants-teens. Also any great offsite restaurant recos?

We are planning to rent cars at least one day to do the north shore and possibly Pearl Harbor. Are there any great third party excursions that might be good for a large group?

Thanks in advance!

 

[pharmama]

This would depend on the age of the majority of the kids and interest but we had a fantastic time zip lining at Climbworks. This could easily be combined with the North Shore sightseeing (but you couldn't really do PH that day too).

https://www.climbworks.com/keana_farms/

If not all adults want to go they could do additional north shore sightseeing with the kids that aren't old enough (must be 7yrs. My 7yr old DD did it and loved it).

Edit: Another great family option we enjoyed was the dolphin and snorkel catamaran sail from Ko Olina Ocean Adventures. Very convenient as its out of Ko Olina harbor which is just down the street. You can even take the free Ko Olina Resort Shuttle there if you want.
https://koolinaoceanadventures.com/

 

[frank808]

Offsite restaurants that are across the street from Aulani that I like are Just Tacos and Monkeypods. The ABC store has great burgers and plate lunches that taste very good. Also for breakfast, lunch and dinner there is a Eggs N Things by Just Tacos. Roys restaurant by the golf course has some great food. You can catch the resort shuttle to get there.

Also there are a couple of nice restaurants in the Four Seasons hotel next door but I have not been to them.

If you are willing to drive to Kapolei there are a vast variety of eateries to choose from. Breakfast I would goto My Cafe or Koa Pancake house. Dinner I would recommend Eating House 1849 or Gyu Kaku (cook your own meats over a grill) that is near targets in kapolei.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

onsite...probably should try at least 1 of the character dining options (dinner or breakfast) as aulani is the best disney character buffet (and better than the other disney buffets...except boma) not really saying too much there...but worth trying at least one of them. if you don’t want to leave the resort much either do the disney luau or the paradise cove one as well.

the spa is a good option for those that are into that kinda thing. and rainbow reef might be a fun option...but with the resort likely being packed to the gills during that time frame...might not be as good of an option as they normally are.

I think they still do the voyaging canoe bit...didn’t see it up on their website last I looked but they stilk had all the signs up at the resort and were still doing them as of a few months ago (if you call and ask one of the cms should know for sure)

also from about 8 pm new years eve to 1 am new years day...don’t be on the road driving if possible...depending on the year and where you’re driving visibility might be close to zero (worst it ever got was 2000 and visibility everywhere was maybe 3-4 inches at midnight) hasn’t been anywhere near that bad overall since then but some residential areas can still get pretty bad and depending on the winds freeway visibility can get bad in spots as well.

new years day avoid going near the budhist/shinto temples as they can get rather busy.

aulani typically also does either an xmas or new years special dinner/buffet (or both) not sure if they’ve announced them yet but they tend to fill up quick be a tad pricey but have some nicer food options as well.

north shore just be careful when the waves get big (20+ ft) not just stay out of the water, but they also close the roads in many spots for safety reasons, and sometimes those might be the only way in/out of an area.