Oahu Costco question

[Barbf823]

DH and I are heading to Aulani (1BR) for 10 days in September and are planning to hit Costco for some essentials.

Does anyone know what sunblock is sold at Costco on the island? I know they only allow reef safe sunscreens, but some are better than others! I’d like to save space in my luggage for other things

Any other recommendations of what to grab at Costco?

Thanks!

 

[Gruenilda]

I’m following! I’d love to ask if they have instacart for Costco orders too!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Just to be clear, you can bring whatever sunscreen you want into Hawaii if you have a brand that works well for you. The laws you're referencing (there are two, each banning two different ingredients) only apply to shops in Hawaii selling sunscreen that contains certain ingredients, but you're allowed to use sunscreen that contains those ingredients.

Obviously this doesn't answer your question if the reason you want to buy sunscreen when you get there is to save luggage space. But for anyone thinking they might want to buy sunscreen when they get there because they think they have to, you don't.

 

[Barbf823]

Just to be clear, you can bring whatever sunscreen you want into Hawaii if you have a brand that works well for you. The laws you're referencing (there are two, each banning two different ingredients) only apply to shops in Hawaii selling sunscreen that contains certain ingredients, but you're allowed to use sunscreen that contains those ingredients.

Obviously this doesn't answer your question if the reason you want to buy sunscreen when you get there is to save luggage space. But for anyone thinking they might want to buy sunscreen when they get there because they think they have to, you don't.

Thanks! But yes, I understand that you can bring what you want. I’m just hoping that Costco had a brand that I like!

 

[Lilsia]

Thanks! But yes, I understand that you can bring what you want. I’m just hoping that Costco had a brand that I like!

Have you tried going to their website or even Instacart to see what they have? You can go through and look without actually putting in an order.

 

[Laura K]

When I visited the Big Island last summer, I believe Sunbum was the sunscreen brand being sold at Costco, though not sure what it is on Oahu as of today. It was a two pack with one spray and one standard lotion bottle. As to other recommendations for what to grab at Costco, I want to say any snack or food that you never see in your own Costco, especially since Aulani food is expensive and you may not want to eat that all the time. They had some delicious guava danishes when I went, lots of dried seafood snacks, and a ton more Asian food than our Costco at home, and I live in the SF Bay Area!

 

[happymommy]

We‘ve been going to Ko Olina for years, every other year for 2 weeks usually. We always stock up on liquor at Costco, as well as wine (sometimes beer if others have a kind they like; we get cans so we can bring a few in a small soft side cooler to the pool with snacks). Saves a ton on drinks and we can get what we like.

Also, I usually get a sashimi tray, some fruit, milk, other snacks. Nice to make a fruit crackers and cheese snack to enjoy on the balcony in the afternoon.

Last trip, I had a back injury, and used Instacart several times. We barely used our rental van the entire time. Now I’m not even sure we’ll get a car next time (we lived there for a few short years, so have really seen most everything I want to see; we just enjoy Ko Olina; we own at the Marriott timeshare there).

 

[FinnFogg]

When we were last there in March, they had both Sun Bum and Banana Boat Sport. There was also a third option that I had. It heard of before.

 

[tidefan]

Our Costco tip is to buy the 2.5 lb bag of Royal Kona Vanilla Macadamia Nut Coffee to brew each morning of your trip! You can take the rest home (bring a gallon sized Ziploc to put the bag in for travel) and enjoy as I am doing now!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

While you CAN bring in any sunscreen you wish, please make it reef friendly. The islands have rules about the sale of sunscreen for legitimate reasons, and disrespecting their home is a very uncool way to be a visitor.

There is a lot of backlash about tourism on the islands right now, and some of it stems from the disrespect shown by visitors. Hawaii is one of the most unspoiled, ecologically diverse places in the world, and we should support their measures to keep it so.

https://savethereef.org/about-reef-save-sunscreen.html

 

[Aulani2011]

Kokua sun care is great for reef-safe. I love going to the Kapolei Costco for the variety. Instacart is definitely an option too.