Spending money

[DisFan84]

Our original plan was to rent a car for the week we’ll be there (end of January) but after going back and forth, we decided to cancel the car and spend the week relaxing as we’re going to busy busy Disneyland in September. We have a friend that lives in Oahu and has offered to take us sight seeing for a day. With that said- because we do not have unlimited funds, and chose a month after Christmas to go- what spending money realistically will allow us a really good time? This is our honeymoon and we’ll have our four year old with us.

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[ErinC]

Just my personal opinion, but we just spent a week at Aulani and I wouldn't even consider a stay there without a rental car. We bought groceries at Costco and Target and that helped our budget considerably. There are a few places that you can walk to and eat, but food is expensive in the area. We dropped $60 on lunch by the pool on our checkout day. I understand that if you rent from Alamo, they have an onsite rental desk at aulani, so you could maybe get a car for a few days and not the whole time. Of our 7 days there, I think we spent 3 total resort days without going other places. Much longer than that, I would go stir crazy, but that's just my personality.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

depends on what you enjoy...if you’re a foodie...bring double what you’d normally spend

probably expect to spend close to what you would at one of the parks. if you want to be on the safer side $90 a day for food per adult should be fine (although it is possible to get by much cheaper)...maybe $50-$100 should be more than sufficient for the 4 yr old for 2-3 nice souvenirs.

probably worth it to do one of the character dining buffets and/or the luau. the spa could be good if you can arrange something for the kid at the same time.

a lot of it comes down to what you enjoy. the less you need to eat at the resort the more you can allocate to things like the spa/luau/character dining.

 

[jodybird511]

Agree with ErinC--I wouldn't even consider doing Aulani without a car--at least for part of the time. The onsite food is SOOOOOO overpriced, and mostly mediocre, at best. We stayed onsite for, I think, six or seven days on our most recent trip, and for our family of four, we easily saved $500-$1000 by buying groceries (including our own booze). The amount you would save on not renting a car will be completely canceled out by the amount you will have to pay for being stuck with onsite food. I suppose it comes down to personal preference, but having to eat high-priced, not terrific food for my entire trip would be a stressor for me--I'd rather spend my money elsewhere. One option is to just rent the car from Alamo at the airport, buy groceries on the way to the resort, and return the car at the onsite rental office.

 

[DisFan84]

Agree with ErinC--I wouldn't even consider doing Aulani without a car--at least for part of the time. The onsite food is SOOOOOO overpriced, and mostly mediocre, at best. We stayed onsite for, I think, six or seven days on our most recent trip, and for our family of four, we easily saved $500-$1000 by buying groceries (including our own booze). The amount you would save on not renting a car will be completely canceled out by the amount you will have to pay for being stuck with onsite food. I suppose it comes down to personal preference, but having to eat high-priced, not terrific food for my entire trip would be a stressor for me--I'd rather spend my money elsewhere. One option is to just rent the car from Alamo at the airport, buy groceries on the way to the resort, and return the car at the onsite rental office.

I did end up booking it for one day since it’s essentially the amount we’d spend for a shuttle one way. I should add that our reservation comes with 300.00 resort credit and we (our son, really) received 300.00 in Disney gift cards for Christmas. Definitely plan on using the car to purchase groceries and alcohol. It pains me how much I’m going back-and-forth on this car thing when renting one and parking is going to be well over $400 between the rental and parking.

 

[Agent13]

I did end up booking it for one day since it’s essentially the amount we’d spend for a shuttle one way. I should add that our reservation comes with 300.00 resort credit and we (our son, really) received 300.00 in Disney gift cards for Christmas. Definitely plan on using the car to purchase groceries and alcohol. It pains me how much I’m going back-and-forth on this car thing when renting one and parking is going to be well over $400 between the rental and parking.

I totally get it. I agree with the other posters, as well. I would only do Aulani again with a car. Paying for parking just has to be part of the budget. Really, only my opinion, there was one restaurant that was soooo good that I would have to go back again. And that was Makahiki dinner. Their breakfast there was meh. Ama Ama is the other restaurant. I did have one good dinner there actually. But, in general, it's hit or miss with many people. I had lunch there once too and it was meh.

Then they have the Ulu Cafe, which I find myself in there a lot. But it's just okay.

My point is: I would prefer to make my own food at Aulani except for the special Makahiki evening and possible special Ama Ama evening. If I'm not eating food that we barbecued or whatnot, I want (need) a car to go to North Shore and get yummy food. Or heck, possibly even Dukes (my all time fav) in the city and enjoy being in the city for a little.

Kitchen. Car. Must haves at Aulani.

 

[DisFan84]

Does anyone know what Alamo charges for a deposit or hold on a debit or credit card? I called the HNL Alamo twice but nobody answered. Alamo Customer service is closed.

 

[jimmytammy]

We got a great rental quote for a Jeep for Feb from Advantage Rental Cars(they are a fairly young company based out of Orlando). They are located at the airport. Our 1st trip there we rented from Alamo at the airport but Advantage gave the better deal this time

 

[DisFan84]

We settled on renting a car from the airport when we get in (Friday the 25th) and returning it to Alamo at Aulani on Sunday afternoon. The rental is 100.00 and we’ll get groceries Friday and explore on Saturday (North Shore) and get up early Sunday and finish exploring. Then resort it up Sunday night till we leave Thursday morning. We can’t bring ourselves to pay for parking when we truly do want to relax and not go anywhere so we’ll pay 55.00 to be taken to the airport. Even though the car rental is 187 for the whole week 222.00 to park pains me.

 

[alohamom]

We settled on renting a car from the airport when we get in (Friday the 25th) and returning it to Alamo at Aulani on Sunday afternoon. The rental is 100.00 and we’ll get groceries Friday and explore on Saturday (North Shore) and get up early Sunday and finish exploring. Then resort it up Sunday night till we leave Thursday morning. We can’t bring ourselves to pay for parking when we truly do want to relax and not go anywhere so we’ll pay 55.00 to be taken to the airport. Even though the car rental is 187 for the whole week 222.00 to park pains me.

I think this an excellent compromise!

By purchasing groceries on the way compared to across the street at Island Country Markets you will save a decent amount of money that will offset the rental. Especially with a young one, the snacks etc can be costly.

I bring a soft sided insulated bag with me from home so that I dont have to worry about items that need refrigeration. I also bring some things for the room like spices, aluminum foil and Saran wrap, paper plates, ziploc bags etc so that I dont have to add that into my groceries. That kind of stuff travels light and really doesnt take up a lot of room in our luggage. I also bring my own bbq tongs from home because although you can borrow them at Aunties I want to be using ones I know for sure are clean (I am a bit fussy about that kind of thing as well as cross contamination of foods like fish to chicken etc)

As far as spending money per day goes, having the car will allow you to travel wherever you want. North Shore is great but the waves are going to be pretty big at this time of the year. Try and get over to Kailua or Lanikai because this area is a shallow, gentle, clear bay and the water is on the warmer side because of it. The water here is calmer than the north shore and the sand is powdery white making for an excellent low cost activity (free unless you factor in the car) Ask your friend who was/is going to tour you around about it, I am sure they will tell you the same.



I think you may want to take extra spending money just in case, or have a reserve in case because Aulani itself is pricey and you have the last days scheduled for staying just there

 

[alohamom]

This is Lanikai beach-just up the road from Kailua, the only problem here is that there really isnt any proper parking. At Kailua there are two lots and public restrooms/showers