Trip Report--Family of 5 visits Aulani, Kauai, & Maui

We have been trying to decide between Safari and Blue Hawaii for helicopter tour so glad to see you were happy with Safari. Our cruise will overnight in Kauai and top of the list is helicopter tour. Also, were you happy with your GoPro? Thinking of splurging on one for our vacation.
 
Thank you. That was a really fun read!
Glad you enjoyed reading! I'm almost done with the report.

We have been trying to decide between Safari and Blue Hawaii for helicopter tour so glad to see you were happy with Safari. Our cruise will overnight in Kauai and top of the list is helicopter tour. Also, were you happy with your GoPro? Thinking of splurging on one for our vacation.
We were debating between Safari and Blue Hawaiian as well. The deciding factor was that we could pay extra with Safari to be guaranteed to have the helicopter just for our family of 5, since it seats 6 and they could have potentially put another person with us. And the extra cost still made the whole thing slightly cheaper than it would have been with Blue Hawaiian. I have nothing to compare to, but our experience was great!

The GoPro was super easy to use, I'd definitely say we're happy with it. Now, we haven't gotten into trying to do any editing or anything yet, so I can't comment to that side of it.
 
Day 12—Thursday, June 13th: Maui

This morning we actually changed up our routine. We had chosen to decline housekeeping for several days and in return received 3 free vouchers for the breakfast buffet. We used those 3 vouchers and paid for 2 of us so that we could all eat at the buffet.

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Here’s my view from our table:

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The food was really yummy! It was probably especially good since we’d mostly been eating just cereal and bacon in the room, ha!

After breakfast, the kids just wanted to be lazy in the room so Ty and I left them and headed down to the Sheraton where we had stayed on our trip to Maui in 2006. It was a short 5 minute drive south. We parked the car and then walked all around the hotel grounds, which are beautiful and spacious.

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Then we walked a little along the beach. The Sheraton’s location right at Black Rock is really nice. We love this hotel and had actually first made a reservation here for our family in a Ohana suite. We ultimately decided we needed more space and would be happier in a condo setting with a kitchen and washer/dryer. Some day though when it’s an adults only trip, we’ll probably be back at the Sheraton.

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Continued in the next post….
 
Day 12 Continued (Thursday, June 13th: Maui)

Back at our room, I started laundry (we had to check out the next day) and we ate a little lunch. Afterwards, we decided to try the pools next door at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas. It’s a sister property with the Nanea so pool hopping is allowed between the 2 resorts.

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Their pools were nice, and it was fun to try something different. Their bar area was really hopping! Game 6 of the NBA Finals was going on so that was probably a major factor.

The kids decided they were alright staying in another night while Ty and I went out to dinner. We didn’t want to go far though, so we just had a low-key relaxing dinner at our pool bar. It was a very chill evening, that pool bar was never crowded or crazy in the evenings. There was a guy playing guitar at the restaurant next to the bar, and he played some good covers (at least to us) like Fast Car and Creep. Ty ordered the drink of the day, a Shark Bite, which he said tasted kind of like a Blue Hawaiian.

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For dinner I ordered a chicken wrap and Ty had a fish sandwich. We both liked our food. Then we got dessert and Ty had a beer. I can’t believe I didn’t put in my notes what we had for dessert (I love dessert!), but I think it was a type of brownie sundae which is my favorite.

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We enjoyed a beautiful last Maui sunset from our table. No editing to this photo, the sky was so gorgeous!

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We stopped by the front desk and politely asked if we could have our checkout extended and she said she could move it to 11am (it’s normally 10am). After that we had to finish up laundry and get some of our packing done.
 


Great trip report, especially the photos. Thanks for sharing!

Did you (and especially the kids) discuss and compare the 3 islands/resorts? Which was the favorite?

If others were to plan the same type of multi-island trip, would you recommend going in the same order as you did?
 
So y'all didn't do the road to Hana on this trip, right?
Correct...DH and I had done it in 2006. We didn't think the kids would appreciate being in the car all day to do it on this trip.

Great trip report, especially the photos. Thanks for sharing!

Did you (and especially the kids) discuss and compare the 3 islands/resorts? Which was the favorite?

If others were to plan the same type of multi-island trip, would you recommend going in the same order as you did?
Thanks for reading!

The kids say they loved Maui the best while I loved Kauai the most. I'm not sure if DH had a favorite, he likes everything. The kids did love Aulani, but they didn't like our small 1-bedroom villa compared to the spacious 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom units we had on Kauai and Maui, so that was a knock on it in their minds.

I loved the order that we did. If I could go back and change anything, assuming we still just had 12 nights to work with, I would have done 3 nights Aulani, 5 nights Kauai, and 4 nights Maui. But that's mostly because I'd never been to Kauai and I had taken 2 previous trips to Maui. I think it makes a lot of sense to do Aulani first because of jet lag. It's really beneficial there (kind of like the parks) to start your day early, and jet lag means you will be up early.
 


Day 13—Friday, June 14th: Maui and then travel home

We slept in a little bit and then finished packing up. We took one last walk around the resort, returned our towels to the towel kiosk, and then checked out at the front desk.

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We drove down to Lahaina to the Cannery mall and bought some last minute gifts and souvenirs at the ABC Store there. We grabbed lunch at a local burger place nearby, Teddy’s Bigger Burgers. Then we headed south to finally try and see Kihei and Wailea. It was hard to see the hotels and beaches from the road, and every beach parking lot we tried was full. Ty was running out of patience for this exploration, as I could tell he just wanted to get back closer to the airport (though our flight wasn’t until 8pm). He wasn’t completely unjustified, there were those fires just recently between Kihei and Kahului that stopped traffic for hours, so better safe than sorry.

Anyways, what I most wanted to see before the airport was Ho’okipa Beach Park. We drove over there and saw lots of windsurfers.

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And turtles! One of the turtles was separate from the group, so there were volunteers stationed to keep tourists at bay. The rest of the turtles were all to one side, and they just look like rocks on the beach from far away!

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Continued in the next post….
 
Day 13 Continued (Friday, June 14th: Maui and then travel home)

Ty was ready to get going so we drove to Costco for gas. Along the drive from Costco to the airport, we could see our plane sitting at the gate.

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We returned our rental car, checked in, and made it through security with no problems. We were sitting at our gate about 5pm. We filled our time easily though. We walked around to get some different food items for dinner and snacks. And I walked through a couple of gift shops and found a Maui Christmas ornament I loved. I also caught a glimpse of one last Maui sunset.

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Before boarding, they asked if anyone would be willing to gate check their bags, I think they were anticipating running out of room in the overhead compartments. So Ty took 2 of our 3 to gate check. (Why not all 3? We always keep the bag with Sam's nebulizer with us just in case.) Soon enough it was time to board. The kids were actually excited for their first overnight flight! Sam was especially curious with questions like, “Will everyone just be sleeping on the plane? What if there are people who snore? Will they turn the lights off so I can sleep?”

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The flight left on time and was uneventful, save for the fact that none of us slept very much at all. We landed early and got off the plane reasonably fast. My dad was right there to meet us at baggage claim, but the frustrating thing was the gate checked bags were extremely slow in arriving. We finally got them after about a 20 minute wait.


Well, if you made it all the way to the end here, thanks so much for reading! It was really fun to do my first trip report. I think it helped a little with the post-trip blues and it was nice to relive so many wonderful memories! And now I’ve got the whole trip log with pictures organized so I can make a photo book. Besides the memories, that’s my ultimate keepsake. :-)
 
I really enjoyed all of your posts. Your family has a very similar travel style to mine and I could tell your planning and adventures stemmed from wanting to appreciate all that the islands have to offer.
That picture of your kids with the luggage waiting to leave the resort made me think back to the many times we have had last day blues leaving Hawaii, it is bittersweet. I try to remind myself to be grateful that we have been able to experience as much of Hawaii as we have in the past and I always try to say to my self "there will be a next time" You took your children at such a wonderful age, I am sure they will remember this amazing trip for a long time.
 
ell, if you made it all the way to the end here, thanks so much for reading! It was really fun to do my first trip report. I think it helped a little with the post-trip blues and it was nice to relive so many wonderful memories! And now I’ve got the whole trip log with pictures organized so I can make a photo book. Besides the memories, that’s my ultimate keepsake. :-)

Post trip blues are a real issue for me. They even start the last couple days of the trip. I almost always start googling how much to change flights to delay leaving and predictably its way too expensive. Lol. Again that was a fun read. I'm doing Oahu (Aulani) for one week this August so am doing all the reading and absorbing as much knowledge as possible. Thanks for sharing your journal and I always find I need to start planning the next trip to alleviate those blues
 
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OMG we have been to Aulani twice LOVE IT, our third trip is planned for Febuary cant wait to go after reading this we may try island hopping as well great post.
 
I enjoyed your TR. My son just moved to Oahu with the military so I'm in the beginning stages of making plans for our visit(s)!!! I've been to Oahu once, but never the other islands! I definitely want to incorporate at least a one night stay at Aulani!

snorkel gear which included a huge knife strapped to his calf. I guess to use in case of a shark encounter? 🤔
I'm a scuba diver and we wear a knife mostly for fishing line that can cause problems. Absolutely no need for one when snorkeling--it was (hopefully) all for show. Some people like to try and kill things to feed to the fish. Hopefully he wasn't doing that.

I had to laugh. When I first read you went to the ABC store I thought, "alcohol" because in Virginia the ABC stores are the state run stores that sell liquor (other stores can only sell beer and wine). After your continued comments I realized it wasn't a liquor store! :rotfl2:
 
Great trip report! We are about to go on that same trip in reverse (with no Kauai!) I am so excited to go to Aulani! Great memories have been made with my family in Hawaii. Thank you!
 
Thank you so much for sharing your report. I really enjoyed it - you made Hawaii come alive for me. While I won't be going to Kauai or Maui, I will be at Big Island and Aulani so hope I can do a trip report like yours that will help others "see" Hawaii.
 
Thanks once again for a wonderful trip report and for sharing your photos and thoughts, etc. Makes me look even more forward to my own trip to Aulani in December!
 
I really enjoyed all of your posts. Your family has a very similar travel style to mine and I could tell your planning and adventures stemmed from wanting to appreciate all that the islands have to offer.
That picture of your kids with the luggage waiting to leave the resort made me think back to the many times we have had last day blues leaving Hawaii, it is bittersweet. I try to remind myself to be grateful that we have been able to experience as much of Hawaii as we have in the past and I always try to say to my self "there will be a next time" You took your children at such a wonderful age, I am sure they will remember this amazing trip for a long time.
Thanks for reading, and for commenting! Yes, I think it was a great age to take my kids, they do have great memories. And we definitely believe there will be a next time, so that's something to look forward to for sure.

Post trip blues are a real issue for me. They even start the last couple days of the trip. I almost always start googling how much to change flights to delay leaving and predictably its way too expensive. Lol. Again that was a fun read. I'm doing Oahu (Aulani) for one week this August so am doing all the reading and absorbing as much knowledge as possible. Thanks for sharing your journal and I always find I need to start planning the next trip to alleviate those blues
I sometimes get the blues before some trips are over as well, usually to DL or WDW because we never to get stay as long as I'd like. Thanks so much for reading! Hope you have an amazing time on your trip next month!!

What a wonderful report - thank you! Did you find airfare to Hawaii was average in early June or is it at peak prices?
Thanks for reading my report! I think airfare was probably pretty average for Hawaii flights out of DFW, but I'm not certain.

OMG we have been to Aulani twice LOVE IT, our third trip is planned for Febuary cant wait to go after reading this we may try island hopping as well great post.
Thanks! That's awesome that you're planning a 3rd trip, have fun!!

I enjoyed your TR. My son just moved to Oahu with the military so I'm in the beginning stages of making plans for our visit(s)!!! I've been to Oahu once, but never the other islands! I definitely want to incorporate at least a one night stay at Aulani!


I'm a scuba diver and we wear a knife mostly for fishing line that can cause problems. Absolutely no need for one when snorkeling--it was (hopefully) all for show. Some people like to try and kill things to feed to the fish. Hopefully he wasn't doing that.

I had to laugh. When I first read you went to the ABC store I thought, "alcohol" because in Virginia the ABC stores are the state run stores that sell liquor (other stores can only sell beer and wine). After your continued comments I realized it wasn't a liquor store! :rotfl2:
Yeah, my husband said the same thing about it being necessary if you're scuba diving. This guy didn't even snorkel for long at all, so it may have been all for show.

That's funny about ABC stores in Virginia!!

Have fun planning your trip(s), it would definitely be nice to see some other islands on one of your visits!

Great trip report! We are about to go on that same trip in reverse (with no Kauai!) I am so excited to go to Aulani! Great memories have been made with my family in Hawaii. Thank you!
Thanks for reading! I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip, I'm sure you'll love Aulani!!

Thank you so much for sharing your report. I really enjoyed it - you made Hawaii come alive for me. While I won't be going to Kauai or Maui, I will be at Big Island and Aulani so hope I can do a trip report like yours that will help others "see" Hawaii.
Thank you for your kind comments! I think your trip will be amazing!!! I'd love to visit the Big Island, so that would be great if you do a report, I'd love to "see" it and all that you do there. :-)
 
Thanks once again for a wonderful trip report and for sharing your photos and thoughts, etc. Makes me look even more forward to my own trip to Aulani in December!
You're welcome, and thanks for reading! Hope you have the best time on your trip, December will be here before you know it!!
 

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