Tips for East Coaster at Aulani

[Torisjavamom]

1. You will be up at 4:00-5:00 am. Trust me I am a mega sleeper and pushing 5:00 am was hard.
2. Pools do not open until 8:00 am. 3. Breakfast opens at 7:00 am.
4. There is a wonderful path by beach whee we would go for about and hour walk on at 5:00 am. You will meet other East Coasters along the path.
5. Go to Diamond head - it opens at 6:00 am. So go early. We left Aulani at 5:00 got there at 5:40 and were like the 10th car in line. It is cool enough to walk up and if you want you can be back by the pool by 9.
6. Secure the best beach view. On our resort day we secure front view beach chairs at 6:00 am. You do need to actually be at the chair and stay on it before 8 am. But we didn’t care we were already up and ready for the day. Some people were already in the water at this time.
7. Aulani is currently at 65% capacity. We noticed chairs don’t start filling up until 10 am.
8. There is not much to do at Aulani once the pools close. Which is 8:00pm. Being on the wrong time zone we would have a drink or 2 and off to bed at 9:00

 

[nkereina]

1. You will be up at 4:00-5:00 am. Trust me I am a mega sleeper and pushing 5:00 am was hard.

We came from NY and experienced the same for about the first 2-3 days. We were ready for bed by 8pm and up by 5am. Fortunately for us, we were in Waikiki for our first three nights and there are many people in that same boat that are staying in Waikiki. Because of that, we found a lot of breakfasts and cafes opened early and there was a fair amount of foot traffic on the streets at that hour. It at least felt a little more lively than Ko Olina would at that time.

5. Go to Diamond head - it opens at 6:00 am. So go early. We left Aulani at 5:00 got there at 5:40 and were like the 10th car in line. It is cool enough to walk up and if you want you can be back by the pool by 9.

Great tip! We did this on our first day since we knew it was an early one. Parking is limited and can be a challenge arriving later, and as mentioned, the weather is cooler at this early hour since the path is in direct sunlight. The path is also less crowded the earlier you go, which allows a little more flexibility for "pulling over" to take a break if need be. On our way back down, it was noticeably more crowded with a steady stream of people and would not be good for those with concerns about the physical aspect of it.

I would also advise to do Pearl Harbor on one of your first days there too, when you're still waking up early, if you're not able to obtain a tour time in advance. We arrived at Pearl Harbor around 7:30am as part of an organized bus tour, but there was already quite a standby line snaked around waiting to get same day tour times. Tour times are assigned in order so the earlier you get there and the closer you are to the front of the line, the earlier your tour time will be. If you're at the back of the line, you could get an afternoon tour time which leaves you with a gap you have to fill until your tour. Like Diamond Head, parking is also a challenge at Pearl Harbor the later you arrive which makes it not so appealing to leave and try to come back later for your tour. So, the earlier the better if you need same day tickets!

 

[Torisjavamom]

We came from NY and experienced the same for about the first 2-3 days. We were ready for bed by 8pm and up by 5am. Fortunately for us, we were in Waikiki for our first three nights and there are many people in that same boat that are staying in Waikiki. Because of that, we found a lot of breakfasts and cafes opened early and there was a fair amount of foot traffic on the streets at that hour. It at least felt a little more lively than Ko Olina would at that time.


Great tip! We did this on our first day since we knew it was an early one. Parking is limited and can be a challenge arriving later, and as mentioned, the weather is cooler at this early hour since the path is in direct sunlight. The path is also less crowded the earlier you go, which allows a little more flexibility for "pulling over" to take a break if need be. On our way back down, it was noticeably more crowded with a steady stream of people and would not be good for those with concerns about the physical aspect of it.

I would also advise to do Pearl Harbor on one of your first days there too, when you're still waking up early, if you're not able to obtain a tour time in advance. We arrived at Pearl Harbor around 7:30am as part of an organized bus tour, but there was already quite a standby line snaked around waiting to get same day tour times. Tour times are assigned in order so the earlier you get there and the closer you are to the front of the line, the earlier your tour time will be. If you're at the back of the line, you could get an afternoon tour time which leaves you with a gap you have to fill until your tour. Like Diamond Head, parking is also a challenge at Pearl Harbor the later you arrive which makes it not so appealing to leave and try to come back later for your tour. So, the earlier the better if you need same day tickets!

Agree on Pearl Harbor we did that our first day and had a reservation for the first boat to USS Arizona at 8:00 am. I bought the reservation on the Hawaii recreation gov site it came with an audio tour and Virtual Reality thing that wax pretty fun.

 

[monsterkitty]

We fly from Denver. I'm awake at 3:30-4:00 the first few days as well.

We do all hiking or popular attractions first thing in the morning because it's cooler and not as crowded. We figure, hey, we're awake so why not do something?

 

[Palmertoe]

Thanks for the tips.

 

[pjacobi]

Do not expect to fly home on a Sunday and be ready to go back to work on Monday. Be sure to plan a rest day when you return to the East Coast.


-Paul

 

[helenk]

Do not expect to fly home on a Sunday and be ready to go back to work on Monday. Be sure to plan a rest day when you return to the East Coast.


-Paul

For those of us on the East Coast with the 6 hour time difference and 12 hour flight time not including any layovers, if you leave on a Sunday you don't get home until Monday morning. We leave Saturday at 1:00 in the afternoon get to LAX at 9:30 in the evening. We leave LAX about 10:40pm and get into Philly at 7:30 am on Sunday . I am pretty sure most of us will be napping Sunday and might still feel a bit groggy on Monday morning.

 

[shon]

Yes to Pearl Harbour and Diamondhead.

 

[nkereina]

Do not expect to fly home on a Sunday and be ready to go back to work on Monday. Be sure to plan a rest day when you return to the East Coast.


-Paul

For those of us on the East Coast with the 6 hour time difference and 12 hour flight time not including any layovers, if you leave on a Sunday you don't get home until Monday morning. We leave Saturday at 1:00 in the afternoon get to LAX at 9:30 in the evening. We leave LAX about 10:40pm and get into Philly at 7:30 am on Sunday . I am pretty sure most of us will be napping Sunday and might still feel a bit groggy on Monday morning.

Good points. We left Hawaii on a 4pm flight on a Friday and flew overnight to Atlanta. With the time difference, we got to Atlanta around 6am Saturday, and then connected to our Buffalo flight around 8am. We were home by 11am Saturday. It was difficult to sleep on the overnight flight so that was tiring, but we made it a point to stay up and not nap once we got home on Saturday and went to bed at our "normal" east coast time. Because we were very tired by then, we slept fine and felt great and back to normal on Sunday, and were ready for work on Monday.

 

[tankin]

For business, I spend some time in Europe and we've used the same tricks I use with that trip for our trip to HI (time change is the same).
1. Stay up on the first night. It might be tough but do what you need to to make it until 8 ish. Short naps on the flight out tend to help. I've always found the first night makes all the difference.
2. Eat meals in HI at your normal east coast time (ie if you eat breakfast around 7 on a day at home, eat it at 7 in HI). Eat schedules help your natural body clock.
3. Trick we learned on our last flight back to the East Coast. Try to get on a flight that leaves close to your bedtime at home (ie 5 PM for a normal 10 etc). Take something like melatonin to help you fall asleep quickly. It really helped the last time we were at Aulani to get back on eastern time.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

For business, I spend some time in Europe and we've used the same tricks I use with that trip for our trip to HI (time change is the same).
1. Stay up on the first night. It might be tough but do what you need to to make it until 8 ish. Short naps on the flight out tend to help. I've always found the first night makes all the difference.
2. Eat meals in HI at your normal east coast time (ie if you eat breakfast around 7 on a day at home, eat it at 7 in HI). Eat schedules help your natural body clock.
3. Trick we learned on our last flight back to the East Coast. Try to get on a flight that leaves close to your bedtime at home (ie 5 PM for a normal 10 etc). Take something like melatonin to help you fall asleep quickly. It really helped the last time we were at Aulani to get back on eastern time.

Haha file this one under *different strokes* but I STRONGLY disagree with all of this advice.

First off, flying to Europe and flying to Hawaii is not the same thing at all because you're traveling in opposite directions. The time change works in your favor when you're traveling West, but works against you when you're traveling East. The "hard" part of a business trip to London is the flight there, but the "hard" part of a pleasure trip to Oahu is the flight home.

There's also a huge difference between traveling for work and traveling for pleasure. When you're traveling for work, you have no choice but to adapt to the local time zones to accommodate business hours. You're under no such obligation when you're traveling for pleasure. If you body wants to wake up at 4am and go to bed at 8pm, go for it.

That's what works the best for my family. We make a specific point to *not* adjust to Hawaii time as much as we can help it. We do everything as early as possible, including waking up, meals, and bedtime. That makes the return trip to the East Coast much more manageable. I'll add that this is much easier traveling in the winter. When it's summertime and it's light out later, it's hard to go to bed early.

I also have zero interest in flying a redeye with kids, so we like to leave Hawaii around late-morning to LAX, spend a normal, full night of sleep in an LAX area hotel, then fly the second leg from LAX to BOS the next day.

 

[dreamit]

I’m CST. What worked for us was to not try to adjust to the time change. We loved being up early and going to bed early. There is much to do in the mornings and not much going on in the evenings. What did help was not paying attention to the time once back in our room at night. If I were to focus on it being 8:00 or 9:00, mentally it would have been difficult to fall asleep. Our first morning we drove across the island and watched the sunrise from Kailua Beach, followed by a kayak tour out to Flat Island. We’ll do the same next time, likely skipping the kayaking and replacing with a nice breakfast in Kailua. The kayaking tour was loved by my family, but was considered a one-and-done.

 

[tankin]

@CaptainAmerica ... Funny thing ... When I fly home from Europe, I'm going 5 hours east after being there weeks so my clock is reset. When I fly to Aulani, I'm flying 5 hours east.... Its the same thing. I may do it at the end of the trip instead of the beginning but resetting your clock is resetting your clock.

Do it how ever you'd like... My plan works for our family.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

@CaptainAmerica ... Funny thing ... When I fly home from Europe, I'm going 5 hours east after being there weeks so my clock is reset. When I fly to Aulani, I'm flying 5 hours east.... Its the same thing. I may do it at the end of the trip instead of the beginning but resetting your clock is resetting your clock.

Do it how ever you'd like... My plan works for our family.

I'm very confused. Are you Australian? The thread topic was about American East Coasters.

 

[Lilsia]

I am central time zone, so only an hour closer then you guys. We had zero issues adjusting to local time. What we did was kept ourselves up as late as possible the first day there, so did not go to sleep until after 10pm local time. After that, we were adjusted to local time. I actually have more issues coming home and getting readjusted.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

What happens when you throw a stopover in CA at Disneyland for a few days into the equation??

 

[Lilsia]

What happens when you throw a stopover in CA at Disneyland for a few days into the equation??

We did that on our last trip, stopped off at DL. It did make it a bit easier, but we used the same system, stay up until normal bed time the first night.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I am central time zone, so only an hour closer then you guys. We had zero issues adjusting to local time. What we did was kept ourselves up as late as possible the first day there, so did not go to sleep until after 10pm local time. After that, we were adjusted to local time. I actually have more issues coming home and getting readjusted.

Right, coming home is much more difficult. To make the return adjustment easier, you need to adjust to Hawaii time less. So instead of staying up until 10pm local time, maybe only stay up until 8pm local time for example.

What happens when you throw a stopover in CA at Disneyland for a few days into the equation??

Disneyland isn't especially convenient to LAX, so I think the extra travel logistics make it more headache than it's worth. I do think there's value in staying in California close to the airport overnight, mostly for the benefit of sleeping in a real bed instead of an airplane. In our experience, booking HNL to LAX and LAX to BOS in two separate reservations is no more expensive than booking HNL to BOS in a single reservation.

 

[floribr1]

@CaptainAmerica ... Funny thing ... When I fly home from Europe, I'm going 5 hours east after being there weeks so my clock is reset. When I fly to Aulani, I'm flying 5 hours east.... Its the same thing. I may do it at the end of the trip instead of the beginning but resetting your clock is resetting your clock.

I'm very confused. Are you Australian? The thread topic was about American East Coasters.

I am pretty sure that tankin just mistyped, and intended to state "flying 5 hours west," not east. But his point is correct in that you will have the same issues flying to Aulani from the east coast as flying to the east coast from Europe, since the time difference is identical. Flying to Aulani from NY is the same as returning to NY after a trip to Europe. (And obviously, the same is true for the reverse flights.]

I believe this was a direct response to your earlier statement that you "STRONGLY disagreed" with his advice, and that "...flying to Europe and flying to Hawaii is not the same thing at all because you're traveling in opposite directions."

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I am pretty sure that tankin just mistyped, and intended to state "flying 5 hours west," not east. But his point is correct in that you will have the same issues flying to Aulani from the east coast as flying to the east coast from Europe, since the time difference is identical. Flying to Aulani from NY is the same as returning to NY after a trip to Europe. (And obviously, the same is true for the reverse flights.]

It's not the same issues at all. Flying West is no issue, in either case. Flying East is the issue, and there's a huge difference.

Flying to Europe takes 6 hours on the plane, plus 5 hours of clock change, for a total clock difference of 11 hours from takeoff to landing. You can leave Newark in the morning and be in bed in your London hotel at a decent local time, ready to start a work day the next day at normal business hours. Coming back to the East Coast from Hawaii means 12 hours on the plane, plus 5 hours of clock change, for a total clock difference of 17 hours from takeoff to landing. That's a HUGE difference. It's almost an entire day. To mitigate some of that difference, I'm recommending doing things as early as possible local time while you're in Hawaii