Aulani with teens

ebonyeyes

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
We will be taking our first trip to Aulani in late July. Wondering if I planned enough excursions to keep 2 16yr olds occupied. They are active kids that do not like sitting around. We really want to enjoy the resort without them getting bored. Any insight will be helpful. Thanks
 
We will be taking our first trip to Aulani in late July. Wondering if I planned enough excursions to keep 2 16yr olds occupied. They are active kids that do not like sitting around. We really want to enjoy the resort without them getting bored. Any insight will be helpful. Thanks

Sorry no insight but we will be in same situation with 2 boys 16 and 14. We have planned an excursion 6/7 out of our 10 days. We are not sit by the pool or beach type of people. Don't get me wrong we love it just not every day. I'm hoping the excursions we have planned make them want to chill on our days off. My younger son will love the pool slide and snorkel. My oldest will probably stay in the Cabana on his phone or on the lazy river lol

I hope they try out the teen activities but not confident they will.
 
I'm hoping the excursions we have planned make them want to chill on our days off
I think that's how it worked out with my two, almost DD16 and DS13 when we went. Our first 9 days (Waikiki and cruise) were pretty much go every day, and by then, they were ready to do some chillaxing ;) Our last 5 days were at Aulani, and we only left twice.

My kids really enjoyed surfing (Waikiki)!! Their second favorite was snorkeling (Hanauma Bay and Sharks Cove) the most. Because we'd been those places (plusvin Kauai), they didn't want to do Rainbow Reef. There are tons of fish in there, though, so give it a shot if you don't elsewhere. We hiked Diamond Head, and it was much easier for them than us LOL; they enjoyed it. We also did Pearl Harbor and the swap meet, which they enjoyed. They didn't want to do the stand-up paddleboarding at Aulani, but they do that at the lake at home. Would be a fun teen activity without leaving the resort. They both actually really enjoyed making kukui nut leis one afternoon on our cruise (even the boy), so that might be an activity they'd like. Mine didn't want to do any of the teen stuff, but again, we were pretty tired by then LOL. (Well, DD and I did the menehune hunt some...) They were really content lounging, doing the slides, hanging in the pool, and especially floating in the lazy river (sometimes together, sometimes alone, sometimes while playing on their phones....whatever!). And actually, I was too!! We did Paradise Cove luau, and they enjoyed all the activities before it, especially the canoe ride and tattoos. Our other two tries at a canoe ride got cancelled, but I couldn't pay what Aulani wanted, so we just did the free one at the luau and it was fun. We also explored Secret Beach a couple of times and looked for turtles at Paradise Cove, so little hour-long "excursions" and then back to the lazy river :)

That ended up being way longer than I meant! Hope some of that helps!
 
Thanks for the info! I think we will go with what I have planned and play the rest by ear. The resort sounds amazing and just can’t wait!!
 


One other thing the kids and I enjoyed that I hadn't seen mentioned before our trip was finding all the hidden creatures around the grounds. There are menehund hiding around, and there are hidden Mickeys, but there are also other hidden "critters" throughout. I don't want to spoil it, but we spent a long time finding them as we floated in the lazy river and exploring the grounds. There is a ton of detail there; it's like one giant scavenger hunt :)
 
I have to admit I'm hoping my teens get a little bored. They don't get enough of that at home. It's in those moments I hope we have time to connect. Too many distractions at home. I need their brains to shut down and unplug. It will be a 6 hour difference from home so it will be hard to keep up with friends etc. I'm looking forward to that.

They will just have to depend on each other to figure it out. Some brotherly bonding. Lol.
 
I have to admit I'm hoping my teens get a little bored. They don't get enough of that at home. It's in those moments I hope we have time to connect. Too many distractions at home. I need their brains to shut down and unplug. It will be a 6 hour difference from home so it will be hard to keep up with friends etc. I'm looking forward to that.

They will just have to depend on each other to figure it out. Some brotherly bonding. Lol.
I totally understand; same with us. And we really did. They had one tiff on about day 12, but all in all, we spent a lot of time together just enjoying being in paradise. All of us had things we did together--just mom and DD, just mom and DS, just DD and DS, etc.--and it was great. I think you'll have some great times together and make some awesome memories.
 


I think that's how it worked out with my two, almost DD16 and DS13 when we went. Our first 9 days (Waikiki and cruise) were pretty much go every day, and by then, they were ready to do some chillaxing ;) Our last 5 days were at Aulani, and we only left twice.

My kids really enjoyed surfing (Waikiki)!! Their second favorite was snorkeling (Hanauma Bay and Sharks Cove) the most. Because we'd been those places (plusvin Kauai), they didn't want to do Rainbow Reef. There are tons of fish in there, though, so give it a shot if you don't elsewhere. We hiked Diamond Head, and it was much easier for them than us LOL; they enjoyed it. We also did Pearl Harbor and the swap meet, which they enjoyed. They didn't want to do the stand-up paddleboarding at Aulani, but they do that at the lake at home. Would be a fun teen activity without leaving the resort. They both actually really enjoyed making kukui nut leis one afternoon on our cruise (even the boy), so that might be an activity they'd like. Mine didn't want to do any of the teen stuff, but again, we were pretty tired by then LOL. (Well, DD and I did the menehune hunt some...) They were really content lounging, doing the slides, hanging in the pool, and especially floating in the lazy river (sometimes together, sometimes alone, sometimes while playing on their phones....whatever!). And actually, I was too!! We did Paradise Cove luau, and they enjoyed all the activities before it, especially the canoe ride and tattoos. Our other two tries at a canoe ride got cancelled, but I couldn't pay what Aulani wanted, so we just did the free one at the luau and it was fun. We also explored Secret Beach a couple of times and looked for turtles at Paradise Cove, so little hour-long "excursions" and then back to the lazy river :)

That ended up being way longer than I meant! Hope some of that helps!

Checking out this thread for myself as I'm in the same boat, doing our first Hawaii trip with 3 teens (18, 15 and 14) this August. We flip-flopped a few times but have now booked our first 4 nights at Kauai, followed by 8 nights on Oahu with 5 of them at a timeshare near Aulani and the last 3 nights at Aulani. I guess I'm okay with Aulani being the FINALE of the trip, with time for relaxation as well as maybe a few day trips. I feel like saving Aulani for last will just make the trip complete. I know we will want to explore Oahu for some time during our 9 days there but I'm thinking Pearl Harbor, Swap Meet, visiting a few beaches to check out some snorkeling, MAYBE ziplining (though I think we'll do that in Kauai so that may be better) and then just exploring the area for a few hours each day. I am thinking we might just do a cabana one day at Aulani and hang out for the day there, maybe on our very last day?
 
Checking out this thread for myself as I'm in the same boat, doing our first Hawaii trip with 3 teens (18, 15 and 14) this August. We flip-flopped a few times but have now booked our first 4 nights at Kauai, followed by 8 nights on Oahu with 5 of them at a timeshare near Aulani and the last 3 nights at Aulani. I guess I'm okay with Aulani being the FINALE of the trip, with time for relaxation as well as maybe a few day trips. I feel like saving Aulani for last will just make the trip complete. I know we will want to explore Oahu for some time during our 9 days there but I'm thinking Pearl Harbor, Swap Meet, visiting a few beaches to check out some snorkeling, MAYBE ziplining (though I think we'll do that in Kauai so that may be better) and then just exploring the area for a few hours each day. I am thinking we might just do a cabana one day at Aulani and hang out for the day there, maybe on our very last day?
I think that sounds like a great plan. We definitely enjoyed just soaking in the resort on our last day. If you only do 3 Aulani days, I'd recommend planningvthe first day at the resort, some not-total-must-do offsite the second day, then last day onsite. That way you'll be able to decide if you really need all three days just at Aulani! (Some things aren't offered every day...) Also, I didn't see surfing on your list, andctgatvwas bith my kids' fave; I wished I'd planned more time to repeat it. Come back and report on Kauai; need info for me next trip! :)
 
If you go to waikiki, do the outrigger canoe ride. Super fun and pretty cheap

I recommend if this is something you REALLY want to do, make a reservation. It was high on my list, but when I called one of the beach services to make a reservation, I was told there was no need--just walk up. So we did, and they "had no boat captains that day," nor did any of the others on Waikiki.

I figured no big deal--my backup plan was to do one in Kona. But a sewage spill closed the beach that day, so that was cancelled. We finally got a ride (not surfing, just paddling) at the Paradise Cove luau (for free!) and I was thrilled with that.
 
I think that sounds like a great plan. We definitely enjoyed just soaking in the resort on our last day. If you only do 3 Aulani days, I'd recommend planningvthe first day at the resort, some not-total-must-do offsite the second day, then last day onsite. That way you'll be able to decide if you really need all three days just at Aulani! (Some things aren't offered every day...) Also, I didn't see surfing on your list, andctgatvwas bith my kids' fave; I wished I'd planned more time to repeat it. Come back and report on Kauai; need info for me next trip! :)

Ah yes, surfing IS in fact on the list for our time at Oahu! If you have a recommendation, let me know.

Thanks for the advice on our trip planning. Technically we'll have 4 days, since we could potentially arrive at Aulani early on the first day (since or other resort is literally RIGHT NEXT DOOR) and then we would have a late flight on our last day. I'll definitely report on Kauai. We just booked our stay there yesterday via VRBO so it's getting more real now! :)
 
Ah yes, surfing IS in fact on the list for our time at Oahu! If you have a recommendation, let me know.

Thanks for the advice on our trip planning. Technically we'll have 4 days, since we could potentially arrive at Aulani early on the first day (since or other resort is literally RIGHT NEXT DOOR) and then we would have a late flight on our last day. I'll definitely report on Kauai. We just booked our stay there yesterday via VRBO so it's getting more real now! :)
Mine surfed on Waikiki, based on the fact that pretty much everything I read said that was the easiest place to learn. Considering both kids were up within 15 minutes or less, I'd say that was likely correct!! We used Hawaiian Oceans and they were great. They have a photographer there, too, with a MUCH larger lens than mine. I told him up front I was buying that CD so take lots of shots (like buying Photopass LOL) and he did. They're almost right behind the Duke statue.
 
We stayed in Waikiki upon arrival in Oahu before moving on to Aulani. We took an early moning surf lesson on Waikiki beach that also included an outriger canoe ride. We made reservations ahead of time with Big Wave Dave. I can recommend them, everyone was so friendly, except Dave. He showed to give us our outrigger canoe ride after our surfing lesson. While everyone else introduced themselves, he ignored us the whole time. He never utter a word to us. It was a little off putting. Our surf instructor was great, funny and so personable; we were all standing up, riding waves by first or second try.

We are also a veery active family. My husband can only tolerate a few hours sitting on a beach or by a pool. Out of our 11 days at Aulani, we spent one full day there and most every other day we would go explore the island or had a tour scheduled. We tried to have a good mix of haalf day excursions and then return to Aulani to hangout and swim.
 

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