3 night stay in Waikiki recommendations - hotels plus activities

[m61376]

We'll be 3 adults and 2 kids (11 and 14) so will either need 2 hotel rooms or a 2 BR for a 3 night stay prior to a week stay in Maui. We plan on combining visiting some of the Oahu sights with beach time/surfing lessons for the boys and our daughter, so beachfront or close proximity to the surfing beach area on Waikiki is important, since our time will be limited and our days busy. Tentatively I booked the Westin Moana Surfrider on Marriott points, but it's a lot of points and moreover I've read mixed reviews from great to not so great.

Any thoughts on the Moana Surfrider and/or other recs would really be appreciated! Looked at the Hilton Hawaiian Village properties but their location seems a little inconvenient for what will likely be pretty jam packed days. And it'd be nice for us to be able to walk down to the beach, watch them surf for awhile, and then maybe relax on lounges either at the beach or the hotel pool.

Figured you guys here are better than Tripadvisor reviews , so thanks for the help.

On another note- so far roughly planning on the first day going to Pearl Harbor and then returning to Waikiki to explore/beach/surf, the second day hike to Waimea Falls/swim at the falls and then head over to Kuoloa Ranch to visit the Jurassic Park sites, and the morning before our afternoon flight to Maui hike Diamond Head and then possibly another surf lesson. Obviously we'll be adding other things, so appreciate suggestions. We've been to Oahu a few times but this is the first trip for the grandsons, so trying to gear things for them, while still keeping up with them.

Would definitely like to take them to a luau- would you recommend one on Oahu or Maui? Would like one with both the traditional emu ceremony and with the fire dancing.

Thanks for any suggestions- multi-generational trip planning's a bit different.

 

[artringwald]

Our favorite hotel in Waikiki is the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort. When we went with our kids we asked for two connecting rooms. Surf lessons, outrigger rides, and sunset sails are available on the beach right in front of the hotel. Duke's and Hula Grill are on the property. International Market Place is across the street. Best mai tais are nextdoor at the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Bar. Have fun!

 

[SmithOp]

Wow, you are packing a lot of activities in that short stay, I needed a nap just thinking about it!

Activities we have done:
-Kualoa Ranch we did the ATV ride combo with lunch and private beach. They have a private island they ferry over a lagoon to, they include beach activities like canoe and SUP.
-Book Pearl Harbor early, don't wait until you get there, the shuttle out to the Arizona memorial sells out fast. Some of the tour operators buy up bulk blocks of seats so you might have to use one of them.
- We enjoyed the jet ski and parasail combo out of the marina near Ala Moana, they pick up at Waikiki hotels. Parasailing along Waikiki beach with Diamondhead in the background was breathtaking.

 

[m61376]

Wow, you are packing a lot of activities in that short stay, I needed a nap just thinking about it!

Activities we have done:
-Kualoa Ranch we did the ATV ride combo with lunch and private beach. They have a private island they ferry over a lagoon to, they include beach activities like canoe and SUP.
-Book Pearl Harbor early, don't wait until you get there, the shuttle out to the Arizona memorial sells out fast. Some of the tour operators buy up bulk blocks of seats so you might have to use one of them.
- We enjoyed the jet ski and parasail combo out of the marina near Ala Moana, they pick up at Waikiki hotels. Parasailing along Waikiki beach with Diamondhead in the background was breathtaking.

Ha- thanks. Our daughter and grandsons are used to super active vacations so trying to squeeze a lot in while still allowing us to keep up with them . We'll likely need a week to recuperate.
Already have the Pearl Harbor booking on my to do list- 56 days in advance, Hawaiian time. Hate to overpay a tour operator for something I can book for free.
How'd you find the ATV ride combo at Kualoa ranch? Figured we'd head over there after Wailea Falls but didn't realize Kualoa ranch had so much stuff. Guess we'll have to settle for the highlights, unless people feel the water activities at the ranch are better than hiking Wailea Falls. I wonder if there's similar falls hikes/swimming in Maui that might be better to consider.
Any recommendations for a good, relatively easy, waterfalls hike/swimming at base of falls in Maui? I know there are waterfall hikes in Maui, but looking for an easy one.

 

[SmithOp]

Ha- thanks. Our daughter and grandsons are used to super active vacations so trying to squeeze a lot in while still allowing us to keep up with them . We'll likely need a week to recuperate.
Already have the Pearl Harbor booking on my to do list- 56 days in advance, Hawaiian time. Hate to overpay a tour operator for something I can book for free.
How'd you find the ATV ride combo at Kualoa ranch? Figured we'd head over there after Wailea Falls but didn't realize Kualoa ranch had so much stuff. Guess we'll have to settle for the highlights, unless people feel the water activities at the ranch are better than hiking Wailea Falls. I wonder if there's similar falls hikes/swimming in Maui that might be better to consider.
Any recommendations for a good, relatively easy, waterfalls hike/swimming at base of falls in Maui? I know there are waterfall hikes in Maui, but looking for an easy one.

It's been quite a few years since we did Kualoa ranch, it looks like they have replaced the ATVs with UTVs now, can seat up to six people. We all rode in a group following a guide to all the movie sites. All the activities are half day so if you call them they can arrange to combine two with the buffet lunch as a package deal. I thought you would like the Secret Island afternoon as the second activity since the kids like water sports, the stand up paddle boards are like surfing and the waves were very calm there. We prefer the personal tours rather than packed on a bus with a larger group. They have horseback tours as well.

We haven't done any waterfall hikes, can't recommend anything there or Maui.