Luau recommendation in/near Honolulu?

[mystang52]

We are going on a cruise out of Honolulu, in July, and arriving a few days earlier. I'm sure they're classic "tourist traps," but DW wants to go to a luau.
My preliminary research ID'd the top 2 as Diamond Head Luau and Chief's Luau.
Anyone have experience with either one.....or suggest another one?

 

[Winemaker]

For a good day trip to learn about the Polynesian culture and a great luau, try the Polynesian Cultural Center. A mini-Disney Experience, I believe it is 60-90 minutes from Honolulu on eastern coast. Avoid hotel luaus, they're pretty campy.

 

[jjquantz]

For a good day trip to learn about the Polynesian culture and a great luau, try the Polynesian Cultural Center. A mini-Disney Experience, I believe it is 60-90 minutes from Honolulu on eastern coast. Avoid hotel luaus, they're [-]pretty[/-] extremely campy.

There, fixed it for you. Campy isn't all bad, however. We vacationed on the Big Island with our grown daughters and we felt obligated to do the luau thing. It was fun, but once was enough. DW did the Polynesian Cultural Center on a business trip to Oahu, she recommends it highly.

 

[clifp]

The Polynesian Cultural Center is pretty good. It is sort of like Epcot center for the South Pacific meaning mostly true but Disneyified.

If you are just looking for a shorter and less expensive experience Germaines is the best of the ones I've gone to.

You can definitely get better food at a couple of Hawaiian restaurants, and there are decent Hula shows lots of places.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We did a luau on Oahu in December because we do touristy things, and hey, Hawaii, luau. I wouldn't recommend the place but it was okay. I would never do another one.

The cruise we then took offered a luau as an excursion on one of the islands. Six hundred people went. That imo would not be fun, so we were glad we had already crossed off the activity on Oahu.

 

[Souschef]

Luau

On Oahu, for our son's wedding, we went to Germaine's Luau and enjoyed it

 

[audreyh1]

The Polynesian Cultural Center is pretty good. It is sort of like Epcot center for the South Pacific meaning mostly true but Disneyified.

If you are just looking for a shorter and less expensive experience Germaines is the best of the ones I've gone to.

You can definitely get better food at a couple of Hawaiian restaurants, and there are decent Hula shows lots of places.

I think I did that one a few decades ago - as I remember taking a tour bus out to a beach location far from Waikiki and the pictures look familiar. The location was gorgeous, and I was impressed because they actually did cook the pig in an earthen (underground) oven, covered by dirt and all. That's a real imu. Digging it up was part of the show.

Lots of campy touristy stuff including the tour bus guide making silly hand signs, but they did a pretty good job overall - good food presentation, good show. It was all outdoors which was nice.

This is a late afternoon/evening thing.

Also recommend the Polynesian Cultural Center which is quite a distance from Honolulu and is really and all day venture. The drive there and back is very scenic.

 

[NW-Bound]

The Polynesian Cultural Center is pretty good. It is sort of like Epcot center for the South Pacific meaning mostly true but Disneyified.

If you are just looking for a shorter and less expensive experience Germaines is the best of the ones I've gone to.

You can definitely get better food at a couple of Hawaiian restaurants, and there are decent Hula shows lots of places.

Same as Audrey, we have been to the Polynesian Cultural Center and a luau place far from Waikiki, but that was more than 30 years ago and it was similar to this Germaines place but I of course would not know for sure. It was good to go to either or both places once.

 

[Fedup]

Polynesian culture. Only 26-27 years ago.


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