We visited Hawaii with kids in December 2022, on our way to Canada for our white Christmas experience. I always knew I'd like Hawaii but I didn't expect that I'd love it as much as I did! We only visited Oahu, where Waikiki is located and that hosts the main airport (Honolulu). We stayed for seven days and mixed up our stay between Waikiki, the north shore and the western side of the island.
In this post I'll take you through the places we stayed and the activities we participated in. I'll try and break down the costs for you in AUD as much as I can. We were travelling with 10 people so I'm going to cost it on a family of four, staying in one room, for consistency. We rented cars for part of the time and picked them up from Waikiki on our second day there and kept them 'til the end. I highly recommend having your own car to get around the island.
I also want to preface this with the fact that I'm very aware that we were incredibly privileged to do this trip. It's very much at the high end of the travel cost and it was a once in a life time experience for the whole family, including mine, my sister's and my mum. There's no way we will ever be able to do this again! This trip was part of our four week holiday in Hawaii, Canada and LA.
So, let's get started!
Contents
Where we stayed on Oahu Hawaii
We stayed in three different places in seven days, covering Waikiki, the north shore and the south coast.
The Royal Hawaiian - Waikiki (3 Nights)
The Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki, also known as the "Pink Palace," is a fun and easy choice if you’re heading to Hawaii with kids. Right on the beach, it’s perfect for those lazy days where the kids just want to splash around in the gentle waves or build sandcastles while you kick back. The hotel itself is gorgeous, and while it’s definitely a bit fancy, it’s super welcoming for families. They’ve got plenty of space, great food, and even a kids’ program with activities like lei-making and hula dancing. You can sneak off to the spa while the kids stay busy – everyone wins!
Their pool is heated and they are right on the beach. The water in Hawaii was so tropical in December, it wasn't even a little bit cold.
We stayed in a Historic Garden Double Room, which cost $1900 AUD for three nights.
Turtle Bay Resort (now The Ritz-Carlton) - 2 nights
Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore is perfect if you’re after a more laid-back, family-friendly vibe. With its beautiful beaches and calm waters, it’s ideal for kids to splash around or explore the tide pools. The resort has loads of activities like snorkeling, horseback riding, and even surf lessons if your family is feeling adventurous. Some of the highlights of Turtle Bay are; every room has an ocean view. The hotel is designed so that every room looks at the water. The rooms are huge, all with balconies and it has a laundry you can use.
What we loved
Turtle Bay was everyone's favourite. We wished we could stay for a week! It was so relaxing and beautiful. They have free snorkeling gear to use at the beach out the front, where you can see turtles. The best kept secret is, if you get up early and get them to take you in a golf cart to the stables, then you walk the trail around to the cove and you will see turtles coming into the cover to eat the seaweed for breakfast. It is magical! You need to be down there by about 7/7:30am.
We stayed in a standard room and paid $1700 for two nights. This was a huge discount as well. For some back story, I originally booked this trip for 2020, but covid hit and I had to cancel it. This resort was quite affordable then but during covid it was sold, refurbished and made 5 star. This jacked the prices up massively and they ended up refunding us because the price difference was so huge. I had given up staying here at all and booked somewhere else instead, but then, 2 weeks before we left they did a massive sale and our dates were available! So I snapped them up and I'm so glad I did! If you are going to splurge on any accommodation in Hawaii, this is the one.
Disney Aulani
Now, I think we are in the minority here because I've only heard good things from other people but we hated it at Disney Aulani. Even the kids hated it! I don't think it helped that we came from the beautiful, serene Turtle Bay Resort, to being trapped essentially in a kids club. It was insanely hectic the moment we arrived, check in was difficult and they didn't give us the rooms we had originally booked. So instead of rooms with two double beds we got rooms with a double bed and the worlds worst fold out couch. The rooms were run down, shabby and super small.
The thing I disliked the most was that it was 5 star prices for a 3 star experience. Two nights here cost us $1,900AUD. That's almost $1000 a night and it included just the room and being able to use the water park etc. The fact that it was more expensive than Turtle Bay, which was 5 star the moment you walked in the door, just blew my mind.
What we didn't like
Disney Aulani lacked the Disney magic that Disneyland has in spades. Disney is always expensive, but I find is Disneyland I can just roll with it for the Disney magic. It wasn't like that here. Everything was complicated (every day you have to round up the whole family and get them to same spot to get their daily pool bands. You can't just collect your family's for them). Everything was expensive ($10 AUD for a plain bagel expensive) and it has the feel of being in a club you don't quite understand.
Unless you had booked a month out to eat at the restaurants, you couldn't get a meal. They didn't have room service (they also didn't service the rooms the whole time we were there) so to eat you had to go across the road to a block of shops and restaurants. I highly recommend the Mexican restaurant if you find yourself there. You also have to get down to the activity queue at 7:30am to book into any activities for the day. There is no app to do it so you have to physically go down and stand in a line!
A mini monsoon
To top it off, the one full day we had there there was a mini monsoon and we weren't allowed outside the resort! Absolutely not Disney's fault but they also had absolutely nothing to do inside. Their suggestion was to stay in our rooms and enjoy Disney+!! I can do that at home and not pay that amount of money. Oh and then to top it off my husband and daughter got trapped in a lift for 30 minutes and she had a panic attack. All in all, we will never go back. But if your kids love a kids club and will just go off and play and leave you to it and you don't mind the sound of a million screaming children, then you may love it!
What We Did on on Oahu Hawaii
To make this easier I'll break this down to talk about the activities we did on a day by day basis.
Day 1 - Waikiki
On our first day we arrived late morning so we headed to the hotel, checked in and just enjoyed the hotel and had a nap as it was an overnight flight.
Day 2 - Circle Tour
We arrived directly to Waikiki and on our first day we booked a circle tour. This is basically a tour of the whole island; taking you to key locations of interest. As there was 10 of us, we booked a private tour though Tours By Locals beacuse we wanted to learn about Hawaii from someone local to the area. Our host's name was Luz Palleres and she was fantastic! I can't find the cost of our tour in my emails but it does say now on her tour page that its $1200AUD for a day tour for up to six people. If you have more, just let her know and she will organise a bigger bus. That's how it worked for us.
We customised our tour to suit the kids - which is the great thing about a private tour. On our tour we visited:
The Dole Plantation
This was such a highlight for all of it. We did the plantation train tour, the maze and ate our weight in Dole Whip! You can't miss it!
Haleiwa Town
We spent a lot of time here and in the surrounds. The kids (and us) all wanted to see turtles to we went to Haleiwa Town on the north Shore for shaved ice (it's what it's most famous for) and then Luz took us for a walk along the water to a hidden beach. We saw loads of turtles and the beach was beautiful. We had a swim and watched the turtles for quite a while.
Food Trucks
We then headed to the food trucks on the north shore for lunch. There was a number of different trucks selling a variety of food. There was Mexican, fried shrimp and salad, burgers and so on. It was a lovely place to stop but be aware that food (and everything else) is expensive in Hawaii. Almost all their food is imported so it makes it more expensive.
The Byodo-In Temple
In the words of the website - The Byodo-In Temple, located at the foot of the Ko’olau Mountains in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, welcomes people of all faiths to worship, meditate or simply appreciate its beauty and history as a non-practicing Buddhist temple. Built in 1963, the Byodo-In Temple is a Hawaii state landmark and one of the states’s best kept secrets.
This place was amazing! It was so beautiful and serene. They have giant carp and friendly little birds that you can feed. We stayed here for a few hours because the kids loved it so much. It really should be on your list of places to see while you're on Oahu.
Our drive back to Waikiki took us past some beautiful beaches along the east coast of Oahu during sunset. It was magical!
Day 3 - Road Trip
The second day was my oldest daughter's itinerary choice. She is big into watching the surfing and an avid traveller. So she laid out a series of places for us to visit.
Halona Blowhole and Cove
This is a lookout over an amazing blowhole and a set of (steep) stairs that leads down to a beautiful cove. The cove has been used as a filming location for a number of big movies. You'll see it in; 50 First Dates, Ohana and Pirates of the Caribbean. Definitely worth a visit.
Waimanalo Beach
This beach had the most beautiful water I've ever seen! It was the picture perfect tropical water. No filter on these photos! However, it was also closed for swimming because of all the stingers. So that was a disappointment!
Kona Brewing Co.
Kona Brewing Co make her favourite beer and it's an Hawaiian company. They have a brewery and restaurant at the Koko Marina and that was her choice for lunch. The food was fantastic. We all agreed it was our best meal in Hawaii. So I highly recommend it if you're in the area.
We then headed back to the hotel to swim in the ocean for a while and then my husband and I took Tully to...
The Ala Moana Mall/ The Squishables shop
A friend of mine posted pics at the Squishable shop and I knew Tully would lose her mind, so we took her there on a surprise visit. As predicted, she was OBSESSED! It's so cute and if your kids like things with 'cute little faces' they will love it. The rest of the mall was underwhelming in my opinion but I'm not one to shop on holidays. I was mainly high end designer shops.
Day 4 - Kualoa Ranch
We checked out of The Royal Hawaiian and drove to Kualoa Ranch, which is on the east coast, on the way to the north shore and Turtle Beach Resort. Kualoa Ranch is an absolute must if you’re in Oahu with kids, especially if they love adventure and a bit of movie magic! It’s where they filmed Jurassic Park and heaps of other blockbusters, so there’s a good chance the whole family will recognise the scenery. There are tons of fun activities for all ages, from ATV rides and zip-lining to the more chilled-out movie set tours and secret beach visits. It’s the perfect way to mix a little bit of education with a lot of excitement, plus you’ll get to see some of the most stunning views on the island.
We booked two different experiences there:
The Half Day Package
The Half-Day Package encompasses the natural beauty of our 4000 acre property, from the upland valleys all the way down to the crystal blue waters of Kaneohe Bay. Comprising two of our popular tours, the Hollywood Movie Sites Tour and our Ocean Voyage, the package also includes a lunch. The Hollywood Movie Sites Tour showcases some of the most popular and iconic site locations from a few of the more than 200+ movies and tv shows. For the Ocean Voyage, you’ll take a short catamaran ride across an 800 year old Hawaiian Fishpond, then board our 50 passenger catamaran for the mini-cruise on Kaneohe Bay. Be sure to bring reef-safe sunscreen, shades and a camera for what surely will be the most amazing pictures and selfies of your Hawaiian vacation.
Jungle Expedition Tour (90 minutes)
Marvel as the stories of Kualoa are shared on this tour which takes visitors to upper Hakipu’u Valley, where Ali`i (royalty) once lived and trained in ancient arts. Stop at the Wahi Pana (Celebrated place) and experience the culture of Hawaii. The tour then continues into the lush, tropical rain forest of the Ahupua`a where you will encounter breathtaking views of both ocean and jungle.
We could have spent days here! And we had massive regrets not booking the secret island tour - the water was so beautiful and we didn't get a chance to swim in it!
Day 5 - Turtle Bay Resort / The Cultural Center
We spent the morning at the resort looking for turtles and relaxing, and then headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the afternoon and to experience a luau for dinner.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is a fantastic spot to take the kids for a fun, cultural day out on Oahu. It’s like a mini tour of the Pacific Islands, with interactive villages where you can learn about different Polynesian cultures through games, dances, and hands-on activities like fire-starting or coconut husking. The kids will love the canoe rides and hula lessons, and the evening show and luau, Ha: Breath of Life, is a must-see with its fire dancing and storytelling. The kids loved it but I honestly would have rather stayed and enjoyed the resort for the whole day! The luau was very cool though.
Day 6 - Disney Aulani
Day 6 was check in day for Disney Aulani. We left Turtle Bay where we headed to Aulani (about an hour drive) where we checked in around lunch time. Our rooms weren't ready so we headed to the cafe and the pools. We finally secured our pool wristbands and ordered lunch. Unfortunately they lost the order and we ended up waiting an hour and a half. By the time we had eaten the storm clouds were rolling in so the kids had a quick swim and we headed to our rooms. That night (due to not booking dinner a month in advance) we headed across the road to the restaurant there.
Day 7 - Disney Aulani
Rain was predicted (turns out it was a mini monsoon) so I queued to book the kids into an activity (Mickey mouse ear making) at 7:30am, until it opened for registrations at 8am. We then headed to a character breakfast (booked a month in advance), which was the highlight of our time there. We had Stitch and Pluto spend loads of time with us and the kids loved it.
The weather got wilder as the day went on but in the morning the kids managed to get some time in the snorkling reef they have. The upside is it was completely dead outside and they were almost the only people in the pool. My older daughter and I took the opportunity to take a walk along the man made cove and have a shaved ice.
Day 8 - Check out and head to Canada
Our flight was in the evening and our plan had been to spend the day at Aulani and then head to the airport. However the weather was still raging and we couldn't leave the hotel. We managed to get late check out for one room (we had three) so we piled in there til midday and then headed to the airport, where we hung about for seven hours before take off to Calgary. We played A LOT of Five Crowns lol.
This just about covers our trip - let me know if I've missed anything you want to know and I'll be happy to answer it!
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