Planning help needed

[dachsie]

Hey all - I need some advice. We are planning to visit PH and Dole on a Sunday before we check in to Aulani. I plan to go to Mass at 7am in Kapolei then go back to the Hampton to eat breakfast, check out and go. Question is, would it be better to go to PH and pre-book the 11 am tour and then go to Dole? Or go to Dole first since its less crowded in the morning and pre-book the 2pm PH tour?

We are leaving our luggage at the Hampton to be picked up on the way to Aulani. I have a whole day for the north shore. This is the only day Dole works into the plans. Which would you do first?

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

whichever you choose to do first, you may be cutting things a bit close...if you end up losing track of time for even an hour you may not make it to pearl harbor if you do dole first, and if you do pearl harbor first and you end up spending more time than you thought you would you may end up missing out on things at dole.

dole and pearl harbor are a fair bit of driving apart (probably a minimum of 30 minutes to drive...could be less or more...depends on traffic). they're also maybe 25 minutes or so away from kapolei (also depends on traffic)

pick the one that you'll regret missing the least as the 2nd activity in case you can't make it or don't get as much time as you may have wanted.

also check for any events (sports/concerts/etc.) happening at the stadium as that could impact how long it takes you to get to or away from pearl harbor. if you're going from dec-feb big surf swells could cause a ton of traffic even as far back as dole as people head towards the north shore.

 

[dachsie]

Am going in January. My inclination it to do PH at 11 and then Dole.

 

[kyton]

Is there a specific reason to go to Dole? It’s really just a tourist trap in the centre of the island. Are you going to the North Shore at all - if so, just do a toilet stop if you really want to visit.

 

[nkereina]

I believe Dole is only open until 5pm, and the later in the day you go, the more crowded it is and the lines for the attractions can get long. Parking can also be a challenge. We got to Dole when they opened at 9:30. All we did was the train, browse the gift shop, and get a Dole Whip and it took us nearly 3 hours, and this was in September when its a slower time of year. I agree with PP that if Dole is a must do, it's better done on a North Shore day since it's on the way to Haleiwa.

Just doing some rough estimating - if you go to mass at 7am, back at the Hampton by 8:15am, have breakfast and on the road to Pearl Harbor by 8:45am, that would put you at Pearl Harbor around 9:15am, since its a Sunday and traffic shouldn't be too bad. That would give you about 90 minutes to see the free museum exhibits before an 11am tour. We took about 90 minutes, as people who are not history buffs, and it was about right for us. The tour has a 20-30 minute video and then the ride out to the Arizona. You'll probably be back on land by 12:15-12:30ish. This should put you at Dole around 1:15ish. You'll probably want to grab lunch at some point too, I'm guessing.

Doing the opposite, if you got to Dole around 9:30am, and leave around 12pm (which is about the time we left there when we arrived at opening), it would put you at Pearl Harbor around 12:30ish. This would give you about an hour to explore the free exhibits before a 2pm tour, and virtually no time to grab lunch. You'd likely have time to explore the free exhibits after your tour as well. I think doing it this way would allow you to get to Aulani earlier because Dole won't take as long since it will be less crowded, but you'll be clock watching and pressed for time to make sure you get to Pearl Harbor on time. You'd likely only be able to do one attraction at Dole due to the timing.

I agree with PP that you should choose which one you care more about, and plan around that one. And PP's point about unexpected traffic, even on a Sunday, is valid as well. I believe the Swap Meet at the stadium is on Sundays as well, so not sure how that would impact traffic and parking at Pearl Harbor.