Oahu only or multiple islands?

[tom1944]

Do you only stay at Aulani or do you also stay on other islands on your trips?

 

[WDWLODGE]

We went on our 1st trip to Hawaii earlier this year. We only stayed at Aulani and Oahu for a 10-night trip and did not regret it. Whenever we return someday, I could see us possibly visiting another island.

 

[WinterSolider]

I would only island-hop if I had at least 2 full weeks. We like Kauai and we're doing the Big Island for the first time in February, but we view those as separate trips. There's more than enough to see and do on each island where I feel like adding another flight in the middle of your trip isn't worth the hassle.

 

[Brian Noble]

What @WinterSolider said.

From DTW, the trip to Hawaii and back is long enough that I try to stretch it to two weeks. If I can do that, I'll spend a week on one island, and the other on another. When I go for three weeks (which I've done twice) it is one week on one island, and two on another.

 

[starry_solo]

We usually do two islands in a week, start with an island before Oahu and Aulani. But our plane trip is only 5 hours

 

[OKW Lover]

Do you only stay at Aulani or do you also stay on other islands on your trips?

Been to Aulani at least 6 times and have just stayed on Oahu. There is so much to see/do on the island.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

Aulani only since I only go to Hawai’i for a week

 

[floribr1]

Each island has its own personality, and I would recommend visiting them if time and budget allows. However, there is certainly more than enough to see and do in Oahu. Certainly for a first visit, I would say that island hopping is not necessary to have a great vacation.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

We do multiple islands because each island has it's own uniqueness. I really would not like to spend more than 5 days on 1 island.

 

[kboo]

We've been to Hawaii a lot (for coming from the East Coast), and when we went to Aulani last year, we rented a car* and stayed on Oahu for 10 days (split with Royal Hawaiian on points for 3 nights). We had toyed with island hopping as Kauai and The Big Island are our favorites, but ultimately what stopped me was feeling like we wouldn't have had enough time on the other island either (Maui, Kauai and Big Island were all under consideration). If it's your first visit or first in a while, I'd stay on Oahu. Generally I feel like at least a week in 1 place is a minimum - it takes so long to get there from the East Coast.

Also, as Aulani first timers, and given how many points it is (!!!!!) we wanted to use the resort for more than a place to sleep. I think we would have gone off campus one more day (for 3 out of 7) if we hadn't booked spa and other things all over the week. Also my kids were a little young to spend the amount of time at Pearl Harbor I'd want to spend, although our experience at the WWII museum last April makes me think that they are ready now.

*we rented an electric car and as DVC members parking is free and the electric car chargers are very close to the elevator. Win win.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

We only do one right now. Just makes it easier... when my son gets older, we will look into the other islands.

 

[tom1944]

Thanks everyone

The reason I asked is I believe we will not have enough points for 10 to 12 days at Aulani so we would most likely have to have a cash stay for a portion of the trip and wanted to see if it made sense to go somewhere else for that portion of the trip

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks everyone

The reason I asked is I believe we will not have enough points for 10 to 12 days at Aulani so we would most likely have to have a cash stay for a portion of the trip and wanted to see if it made sense to go somewhere else for that portion of the trip

How about spending a few days in Waikiki? Perhaps on the start or end of your stay?

 

[monsterkitty]

Thanks everyone

The reason I asked is I believe we will not have enough points for 10 to 12 days at Aulani so we would most likely have to have a cash stay for a portion of the trip and wanted to see if it made sense to go somewhere else for that portion of the trip

Personally, I would look at other islands to visit while there.

We will usually do 10 nights, so we break it up depending on the islands we're visiting. If it's Oahu and another island, we do 3-4 nights on Oahu then jump to another island. If we don't do Oahu, then we usually do 5/5.

Even if you did 8 nights at Aulani, it may be cheaper to go to another island for the last 4 nights than doing a cash stay. Inter-island flights are cheap, and you can look on RedWeek for another island timeshare. You could probably get something in Maui really cheap right now.

 

[meggiebeth]

We visited Hawaii for 9 nights and spent 6 nights on Oahu and 3 nights on Maui. I would highly recommend visiting another island if you have the time. We didn’t have as much time as we’d have liked on Maui but were glad we made it there as we actually preferred the island generally to Oahu. It is much less developed and we preferred the vibe overall. That said Oahu is definitely the busiest island with the most to do. We stayed in Waikiki for one night and would probably not return - we didn’t like the city at all and preferred the Aulani area.

I’d say have a look at the other islands and see if you like the look of any of them. I’m not sure about Kauai and the Big Island but Maui did feel a lot more expensive than Oahu. Unless you have hotel points to spend hotel rooms can cost in excess of $1000 a night.

 

[monsterkitty]

We visited Hawaii for 9 nights and spent 6 nights on Oahu and 3 nights on Maui. I would highly recommend visiting another island if you have the time. We didn’t have as much time as we’d have liked on Maui but were glad we made it there as we actually preferred the island generally to Oahu. It is much less developed and we preferred the vibe overall. That said Oahu is definitely the busiest island with the most to do. We stayed in Waikiki for one night and would probably not return - we didn’t like the city at all and preferred the Aulani area.

I’d say have a look at the other islands and see if you like the look of any of them. I’m not sure about Kauai and the Big Island but Maui did feel a lot more expensive than Oahu. Unless you have hotel points to spend hotel rooms can cost in excess of $1000 a night.

Normally, I would agree that Maui is more expensive. However, after the fire tourism has taken a nosedive.

We are Marriott VC and rent out a week on Maui. This is the first time we've had difficulty renting the week, which was mid-June. Right now, you can rent a 7-night ocean front that sleeps 8 for around $2,800 depending on your dates. This is way lower than we rented our 7-night ocean view that sleeps 8 in June.

 

[jimmymc]

I spent two weeks on just Oahu (not at Aulani), and it was a good amount. Next time, I'm going to focus on the big island and probably end with a few days at Aulani. The islands are short flight from each other, but you still lose a lot of the day to packing, moving, checking in, and getting set up in your new location.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I agree with WinterSoldier. Only hop if you’re staying for 2 weeks and you can squeeze it into your schedule. It can be a lot with the logistics along with packing/ unpacking.

 

[jrub]

Multiple! There are so many great things to see and interisland flights are easy. The same beach and restaurants at the same resort get boring for us more than 4 or 5 days.

 

[rocketriter]

Do you only stay at Aulani or do you also stay on other islands on your trips?

I'd recommend only one other island on a trip. In each location, you want to settle in long enough to feel at home and relax. This isn't like hopping from London to Paris to Brussels to hit the tourist spots (which, frankly, isn't a great idea either).