clarification on rush hour

[adamak]

Sorry for cutting in. Have similar question. Intra-island flight leaving at 9 am. Leaving at 6:15 am by taxi OK?

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

my suggestion of driving around the island (whenever I do so) is always noted as being longer and more for the scenic route type purpose, going direct is always faster. problem is that its also more stress and there isn’t much to look at.

sometimes longer with less stress is more appealing, sometimes its not. its great to some, and makes no sense to others (pretty sure your in that camp, which is fine)

still would like to know how to get from pearl city to aulani in 50 or so minutes at 5 pm...seriously I don’t think I could do that in less than 80 or so minutes on a normal weekday (not when school is out), and if theres some obvious route I don’t realize is there for some reason, I’d hobestly like to know where that is.

 

[Captain Canada]

We have a 10pm flight back to Canada on a Friday night the end of August. We need to drop off a rental car before the flight. What time should we leave Aulani? We don’t want to be rushed and are planning to eat dinner at the airport. Thanks.

 

[alohamom]

We have a 10pm flight back to Canada on a Friday night the end of August. We need to drop off a rental car before the flight. What time should we leave Aulani? We don’t want to be rushed and are planning to eat dinner at the airport. Thanks.

Well, it probably wont be too busy at the airport but you may want to get there at least 1.5 hours ahead of time(I always aim for 2) You need to return your car so give yourself half an hour for that. so absolute latest you want to be back to the airport area would be 7:30/8:00pm BUT not much is open at the actual airport to eat at that time of night in the departures area so you may want to hit something just before the car rental return. We usually find something to eat at the Moanalua Shopping plaza and we fill up the car there, it is basically 5 minutes from the airport off of a street called Valkenburg which connects to Nimitz (the road you take to get to the airport) There are so many options like Panda Express, Taco Bell, McDs, Subway, LocoMoco and a stand alone Ruby Tuesdays among other places to eat. Another option is to take your food to go and eat once you get into the airport. I know last time we left on a late night flight the only thing open for food was a Starbucks.

https://www.yelp.ca/biz/moanalua-shopping-center-honolulu-2

We have left Aulani at 6:30 for a 10pm flight and this gives us tons of time to get past the traffic (usually not too bad going toward the airport at that time) get gas, eat, return the car, go through check in and customs, and get to our gate. I would be panicked if we left any later, all it takes is one accident on the highway and you are backed up with no other route for quite a stretch.

 

[alohamom]

Our flight will be arriving in Honolulu at 3:00 pm. By the time we pick up our rental, it will be 4 - 4:30 pm I'm assuming, right in the middle of rush hour. Anyone have an opinion on whether we should try to have an early dinner near the airport to kill time before heading to Aulani, or would you go straight there despite the traffic?

I think it depends on where you are flying in from and how long you have of a flight.

My kids are older teens and they are always hungry. We fly in from Toronto and it is usually a long long long day of travelling with a time change. I learned the hard way when they were younger to get them fed as soon as we land. We got stuck one time in Kauai with nothing open and very hungry cranky kids. Not exactly paradise!!!

So what we do when we go to Aulani is hit the little plaza right off the Nimitz that I posted about above this. It is called Moanalua Shopping Centre and it caters to military families. There are lots of options for food and it makes the traffic that much more bearable. The other thing we have done is try to get to Kapolei to beat some of the traffic (that would be if we landed and got out of the airport before 2/3 ish. There are lots of food options in Kapolei and then we usually get a case of water and some basics at Target or Safeway. That way I dont have a cranky hungry family when we pull up to the resort!

 

[shaunacb]

We left Aulani at 7:00 pm for a 10 pm flight to Canada on a Wed night recently. No problem returning rental car and at airport by 8 pm. Traffic was fine. Drive was about 30 min.

 

[olafLover]

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[alohamom]

So much time would people leave for a flight to Kauai? It's at 11:54 on a Saturday, also have to return the rental.

I would still give yourself time to be there for at least 1.5/two hours ahead of time plus driving time.

You need to be at the airport by 10/10:30 at the latest. You still have to go through security for interisland flights and I think that might be a fairly busy time as you have planes arriving and departing.

If it were me, I would leave Aulani between 9 and 9:30, but in all honesty closer to 9:30.

 

[limegreenpeanut]

You’d be driving right into peak rush hour at 4:30 (assuming its a weekday). If you feel safe leaving luggage in your rental car early dinner wouldn’t be the worst idea, theres not a whole lot of options near by...and most are fast food type options...there’s a few like ruby tuesday near by, but not really much in the way of places most would like to eat at when in hawaii.

It can be a tough choice to decide between leaving luggage in a car for an hour +, or driving for 2 hours or so in stop and go traffic (mostly slower than 15 mph).

You could also try doing a scenic route drive (head for the h-3 to kaneohe, then drive up through kahuku, north shore, etc. before turning back towards mililani and then towards aulani.) it’ll take longer but at least the scenery will be much nicer...and theres a good chance you won’t see much traffic...just a longer drive. Just gotta be sure theres no road closures that could turn a nice scenic drive into a traffic nightmare.

How bad do you think it would be to drive from the Airport to Snorkel Bob's in Honolulu during rush hour? I forgot that we have to pick up our gear before heading to Aulani.

 

[buffettgirl]

How bad do you think it would be to drive from the Airport to Snorkel Bob's in Honolulu during rush hour? I forgot that we have to pick up our gear before heading to Aulani.

Really Bad as in "I'd get a root canal before I did that". You'd get terrible traffic getting down there and then terrible traffic all the way back. IF you were going to do that, drive to Kapahulu, eat dinner somewhere close (side street inn is right there) and then drive to aulani later after traffic lessens a bit.

 

[trs518]

Our flight will be arriving in Honolulu at 3:00 pm. By the time we pick up our rental, it will be 4 - 4:30 pm I'm assuming, right in the middle of rush hour. Anyone have an opinion on whether we should try to have an early dinner near the airport to kill time before heading to Aulani, or would you go straight there despite the traffic?

We were at Aulani in early February. We landed around 3pm on a Friday. We picked up our rental car and went straight to Aulani. The traffic was slow, but it stayed moving. We live in a major metropolitan area, so that type of traffic didn't bother us. As long as you're ok with that, you'll be fine heading to Aulani right away. My parents live in a small town, so that type of traffic would have bothered them more.

 

[limegreenpeanut]

We were at Aulani in early February. We landed around 3pm on a Friday. We picked up our rental car and went straight to Aulani. The traffic was slow, but it stayed moving. We live in a major metropolitan area, so that type of traffic didn't bother us. As long as you're ok with that, you'll be fine heading to Aulani right away. My parents live in a small town, so that type of traffic would have bothered them more.

Thanks! We are flying from Toronto to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Honolulu. Toronto traffic is THE WORST. I can't even imagine something worse, really. Hopefully that will make Honolulu rush hour traffic seem like a leisurely Sunday drive. Now I'm worried about my Snorkel Bob reservation based on buffettgirl's comment. I think I may have to cancel it and find an alternate time to pick up our snorkel gear. TOO MANY DECISIONS. SO LITTLE TIME.

 

[alohamom]

Thanks! We are flying from Toronto to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Honolulu. Toronto traffic is THE WORST. I can't even imagine something worse, really. Hopefully that will make Honolulu rush hour traffic seem like a leisurely Sunday drive. Now I'm worried about my Snorkel Bob reservation based on buffettgirl's comment. I think I may have to cancel it and find an alternate time to pick up our snorkel gear. TOO MANY DECISIONS. SO LITTLE TIME.

I am also in Toronto and I agree with you, the traffic here is a nightmare. It is as bed as anytime I have had to drive in Los Angles. The Honolulu traffic is pretty bad though, partially because heading to Aulani from HNL airport, you really only have one route and everyone is on it during rush hour. If there is an accident, forget it-you are stuck! There are suburban communities out in the west side that are more affordable to live in than the city so you get a lot of commuters heading home. I know we are always pretty tired from travelling from Toronto, I think the last thing you are going to want to do is drive to get snorkel gear and then fight the crowds on the roads exiting the city. It would be like landing at Pearson, driving down the 427 to get snorkel gear at Sherway, then driving across the Gardiner and up the DVP at rush hour to get to Aulani. I promise you, this is not a great idea.

As far as the snorkel gear rental, if you are a Costo member or know someone willing to go for you, I just saw decent snorkel gear in the stores here. I am a total germaphobe so I always bring our own. It is actually super easy to pack and then I dont have to worry about loosing them or what ever.

 

[Captain Canada]

Well, it probably wont be too busy at the airport but you may want to get there at least 1.5 hours ahead of time(I always aim for 2) You need to return your car so give yourself half an hour for that. so absolute latest you want to be back to the airport area would be 7:30/8:00pm BUT not much is open at the actual airport to eat at that time of night in the departures area so you may want to hit something just before the car rental return. We usually find something to eat at the Moanalua Shopping plaza and we fill up the car there, it is basically 5 minutes from the airport off of a street called Valkenburg which connects to Nimitz (the road you take to get to the airport) There are so many options like Panda Express, Taco Bell, McDs, Subway, LocoMoco and a stand alone Ruby Tuesdays among other places to eat. Another option is to take your food to go and eat once you get into the airport. I know last time we left on a late night flight the only thing open for food was a Starbucks.

https://www.yelp.ca/biz/moanalua-shopping-center-honolulu-2

We have left Aulani at 6:30 for a 10pm flight and this gives us tons of time to get past the traffic (usually not too bad going toward the airport at that time) get gas, eat, return the car, go through check in and customs, and get to our gate. I would be panicked if we left any later, all it takes is one accident on the highway and you are backed up with no other route for quite a stretch.

Thank you so much, I was planning on grabbing dinner at the airport, I didn’t take into consideration that everything would be closed by that time. We will definitely eat on the way or maybe grab something to go - it gives us something to do while waiting at the gate. I’m already dreading the trek home with my seven year old son and husband, no dinner would have made it extra miserable.

 

[alohamom]

Thank you so much, I was planning on grabbing dinner at the airport, I didn’t take into consideration that everything would be closed by that time. We will definitely eat on the way or maybe grab something to go - it gives us something to do while waiting at the gate. I’m already dreading the trek home with my seven year old son and husband, no dinner would have made it extra miserable.

Some of the shops are open so you can get snacks chips, chocolate bars, drinks) but no full on meals, at least that was the case the last time we flew out on an evening flight. Dont worry, the flight home is an adventure too!

 

[limegreenpeanut]

It would be like landing at Pearson, driving down the 427 to get snorkel gear at Sherway, then driving across the Gardiner and up the DVP at rush hour to get to Aulani. I promise you, this is not a great idea.

As far as the snorkel gear rental, if you are a Costo member or know someone willing to go for you, I just saw decent snorkel gear in the stores here. I am a total germaphobe so I always bring our own. It is actually super easy to pack and then I dont have to worry about loosing them or what ever.

The thought of 427 + Gardiner + DVP during rush hour makes me shudder. I am now convinced we will have to pick up our snorkel gear the next day. I was hoping we could take advantage of the time change and being up super early to go to Hanauma Bay the next morning, but if I have to factor in picking up snorkel gear we will not be there in time to get a parking spot. I'm not even sure what time Snorkel Bob's opens. No worries though, we will just go to Hanauma a different day. Nothing set in stone. I'm glad I asked about driving to Snorkel Bob's.

I read another long thread on a different site about Costco snorkel gear vs. renting, and the general consensus was that having a mask that fits your face greatly improves your snorkelling experience. Snorkel Bob's will try and fit you to a mask, whereas with Costco gear there's a good chance for leaks. The last time we went to Hawaii we did bring our own snorkel gear (may have even bought it at Costco but I can't remember now) but ended up not using it because of leaks. I ended up renting from Hanauma while we were there because I was getting so frustrated.

At Snorkel Bob's I reserved the budget package with a MoflO2 upgrade. $20 for a week. I figured it was worth it.

 

[ebenmax]

We have an 8:48 am interisland flight to Kauai on a Friday in early June. Plus a rental car. We also have TSA precheck at the airport. (Hopefully we can use that for interisland flights.)
What time should we leave Aulani? 5:30am?