Cars and Dining????

[River Country]

DW and I haven't been back to Hawaii since our honeymoon, and this time we are brining extra baggage LOL in the form of my parents in their 70's and our DD(11). Just curious as to what others have done regarding renting a car and dining? Did you eat all your meals at Aulani or did you go out into Oahu to sample some local fare.

As far as the car question I guess I am wondering is it worth it, I plan on going back to Pearl Harbor but don't want to go on the tour I went on last time, thought I would drive there go to the Arizona and head back. Also drive to other restaurants. Any and all experiences welcome.

TIA

 

[kdonnel]

I would never go to Aulani and not have a car.

There is much too much on Oahu to experience to not leave Aulani.

 

[DVCRSheridan]

We've rented a car each of our 3 trips. Even some of the trips where we spent a lot of time at Aulani, it was still necessary (and nice) to have the car. Some days we didn't necessarily have a destination in mind, but we just went out and drove around until we found something. Those were some of our most beautiful days on the island and led us to some things we really enjoyed! As a heads up, rent from the airport and not right at Aulani. We've found it to be significantly cheaper this way (SIGNIFICANTLY).

As for dining, you'd be very hard pressed to eat every meal at Aulani for the entire trip. You could get away with breakfast everyday at Aulani (shoot, we did AMA AMA almost everyday for breakfast cuz we loved it so much lol), but for lunch and especially dinner you'll wanna venture out some of the days...even if it's only venturing right across the street to some of the other options in Ko Olina (MonkeyPod, pizza, sushi, mexican, Roy's...).

 

[nkereina]

Generally speaking, I agree that a car is really recommended for Aulani. But I could make a case for no car depending on your plans, length of stay, and whether you are staying on DVC points. But if you want alternate dining options, I would say that a car is a must. Outside of Aulani, there are very few other options in walking distance.

I agree that eating all meals at Aulani would get tiresome quickly, and also would be repetitive and pricey. We ate at Ulu Cafe twice, AMA AMA breakfast, and Makahiki dinner during our 6 days. We did bring some quick breakfast items for the room as well. Across the street, we ate at Pizza Corner and Monkeypod twice. There's also Just Tacos and a sushi place, as well as a few dining options at the Marriott and Four Seasons. Nothing really to write home about. With a car, Kapolei is the next exit up and has more options. We also found that planning a meal near whatever off-site activity we were doing that day worked well also.

Keep in mind for Pearl Harbor that you will need a ticket to see the Arizona Memorial. If you're unable to get one in advance, you'll want to arrive early in attempt to get a same day ticket. It would be easiest and most efficient to have your own vehicle in this case so you can control what time you arrive, and also have the option to leave and come back if you end up with a tour time that's later in the day.

 

[Orlanr]

You have to have a car, you get free parking if your an owner. There is a shopping center across the street from the resort and a Roys at the golf course. When the freeway ends before you head to Kolina there is a town with many places to eat and a Costco if you want to get supplies.

 

[Goaliemom30]

I think having a car is a must. It opens up cheaper and better food options. We made all of our breakfasts and most of our lunches in the room. Had one spaghetti dinner in our room. We only had an appetizer while we listened to music at the Oleo room. Ate at Monkeypod- meh. Haleiwa Beachhouse- Yum!, the Hula Grill, the Barefoot Beach cafe - awesome and super cheap to watch Friday's fireworks on Waikiki, and Anna miller's- a good cheap stop after Pearl Harbor.