Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've been to Aulani and its a wonderful place though is extremely family oriented. Also its only about a half an hour away from Waikiki. If you have kids it would be a cool experience but if you don't have kids I would suggest going somewhere else or doing a cruise
I've been to Aulani and its a wonderful place though is extremely family oriented. Also its only about a half an hour away from Waikiki.
Even at 3am, you can't get from Aulani to Waikiki in 30 minutes - even as I type this at 1:50pm, google maps says 47 minutes and we aren't even in commuting time.
Even at 3am, you can't get from Aulani to Waikiki in 30 minutes - even as I type this at 1:50pm, google maps says 47 minutes and we aren't even in commuting time.
I guess I understated a bit. Aulani still not too horribly far from Waikiki. I spent one driving to Diamond Head, hiking to the top, then going to Waikiki, walking around Honolulu a bit, then returning to Aulani and the day was only a little more than half over.
I guess I understated a bit. Aulani still not too horribly far from Waikiki. I spent one driving to Diamond Head, hiking to the top, then going to Waikiki, walking around Honolulu a bit, then returning to Aulani and the day was only a little more than half over.
All of this is perspective. I know the locals who were born and raised here see any trip farther than 5 or 6 miles as too far. And I get that. At the same time I originally came from SoCal where my wife and I would drive 20-25 miles just to have lunch or dinner. That was normal for us. If you feel comfortable staying at Aulani and using it as your base of operations while you are here that is perfectly okay. Just because someone else disagrees doesn't make what you want to do wrong. They are just trying to force you to see that traffic can be worse than some think. And it is true. But outside of rush hour, rail closures and taking away the occasional accidents, traffic is not bad most of the time. To argue that it takes 5 or 10 more minutes to get to Waikiki is just nit picking on their part. Come on over, stay a week or two at Aulani and enjoy Honolulu and Waikiki to your hearts content. Just understand you can run into some bad traffic every so often.
All of this is perspective. I know the locals who were born and raised here see any trip farther than 5 or 6 miles as too far. And I get that. At the same time I originally came from SoCal where my wife and I would drive 20-25 miles just to have lunch or dinner. That was normal for us. If you feel comfortable staying at Aulani and using it as your base of operations while you are here that is perfectly okay. Just because someone else disagrees doesn't make what you want to do wrong. They are just trying to force you to see that traffic can be worse than some think. And it is true. But outside of rush hour, rail closures and taking away the occasional accidents, traffic is not bad most of the time. To argue that it takes 5 or 10 more minutes to get to Waikiki is just nit picking on their part. Come on over, stay a week or two at Aulani and enjoy Honolulu and Waikiki to your hearts content. Just understand you can run into some bad traffic every so often.
If we had a lot less people with your mentality here traffic wouldn't be so bad.
And we probably wouldn't have had the ridiculous $6B rail project shoved down our throat.
If we had a lot less people with your mentality here traffic wouldn't be so bad.
And we probably wouldn't have had the ridiculous $6B rail project shoved down our throat.
So thank you very much.
Delete what's in red bold, and I think everyone would agree!
As for the OP's question, I do understand the appeal of a cruise around the islands, so you can get a taste of each one and see which one you like the best. If your first trip to Hawaii is intended as a "scouting expedition" in order to lay the groundwork for future Hawaii vacations that would be more focused on the places you would like the best, I think it's perfect. But if feel like you may only get one shot at visiting Hawaii in your lifetime, I would do some research beforehand and narrow your choices to no more than two islands . . . then allocate a minimum of 5 days to each one. One or even two days per island is a tease; it's like offering a sumptuous banquet to a starving man, but then driving him away from the table after he's seen the dinner spread and eaten a single piece of bread.
As for Aulani, I've not been there, but for those who love the Mouse (and there are plenty who do), I would think it would be a good base from which to explore Oahu. Not everyone is cut out for the high-density, high-energy pace of Waikiki, so it's nice to see a more secluded option available.
Delete what's in red bold, and I think everyone would agree!
It's absolutely a mentality thing. My mentality is that you have to be clinically insane to put yourself through that traffic hell day in and day out. Because of that specific mentality, I choose not to contribute to Oahu's traffic problem. I don't put additional strain on our tapped out transportation infrastructure because of my mentality. I don't expect the government to provide me alternative, taxpayer-funded transportation options because of my mentality.
My mentality is that I am content in a smaller, more modest home. With closer neighbors and a very tiny yard. It's a compromise I made to avoid traffic and make life a teensy bit better for everyone else that resides here... and it's my little contribution to a healthier environment. All a result of my mentality.
It's absolutely a mentality thing. My mentality is that you have to be clinically insane to put yourself through that traffic hell day in and day out. Because of that specific mentality, I choose not to contribute to Oahu's traffic problem. I don't put additional strain on our tapped out transportation infrastructure because of my mentality. I don't expect the government to provide me alternative, taxpayer-funded transportation options because of my mentality.
My mentality is that I am content in a smaller, more modest home. With closer neighbors and a very tiny yard. It's a compromise I made to avoid traffic and make life a teensy bit better for everyone else that resides here... and it's my little contribution to a healthier environment. All a result of my mentality.
I guess you didn't get that I was joking. Re-read your sentence again, without the red bolded words. The meaning changes into something that's so blindingly obvious (fewer people = less traffic) that it wouldn't even need to be stated.
It's absolutely a mentality thing. My mentality is that you have to be clinically insane to put yourself through that traffic hell day in and day out. Because of that specific mentality, I choose not to contribute to Oahu's traffic problem. I don't put additional strain on our tapped out transportation infrastructure because of my mentality. I don't expect the government to provide me alternative, taxpayer-funded transportation options because of my mentality.
My mentality is that I am content in a smaller, more modest home. With closer neighbors and a very tiny yard. It's a compromise I made to avoid traffic and make life a teensy bit better for everyone else that resides here... and it's my little contribution to a healthier environment. All a result of my mentality.
It's not physically possible for everybody to live close to work. Everyone can't just choose to live downtown. If they tried, rents would be even higher than they are now, and yet the number of people living downtown would be the same.
Well, I've been a big proponent on this forum that the only way to accomplish that is to make things so much more expensive via taxes or other fees that it makes it downright painful for people and either deters more people to move or encourages more people to move away. I'd raise property taxes by at least 5x, which is woefully low compared to California and explore other options to make more of the people rethink living here until the population has a better balance.
I also think when the new housing comes online on the west side - those 80,000 potential new residents are going to actually have a side affect of causing more people to move to the urban core - I don't see how the Kapolei/Ewa crowd will get to work or home in any reasonable time even if they leave at 5am with all the new cars on the road.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
