What to do in Ko’Olina - Olivia Michelle

Ko’ Olina is by far my favorite beach on the island of Oahu. Ko’ Olina is a beautiful development on the Western side of Oahu with four beautiful lagoon beaches. The lagoons have calm crystal clear waters to swim in. If you love Disney you can also get your fill of Mickey Mouse at Disney’s Aulani Resort located here. Here are our favorite places to visit in Ko’ Olina.

Parking
Your best option for parking is one of the public parking lots but they fill up quickly. The resorts will allow you to park there but usually charge $30-40 for the day. The Marina also has parking (which is where we parked) and its only $10.

The Ko’ Olina Lagoon beaches have calm waters because the rocks break all the waves before they enter the lagoon. These beaches are perfect for families with small children. Hawaii state law says that all beaches are open to the public so even though there is only one “Public” lagoon, you may lounge at any of them.

We walked around and decided to stay at Lagoon 3. I also love the fact that there is a large grassy area with trees so you can throw a frisbee, picnic, and enjoy spending the entire day there. The facilities for showers and restrooms are nice too.

We spent the whole day here. You can walk on the other side of the lagoons on the rocks also. It is a really cool formation of lava rocks and at low tide there are very tiny tide pools you can see small fish and crabs in.

Food Options
There are plenty of restaurants in the resorts on Ko’ Olina. Many require reservations though, so plan ahead! The Ko’Olina Center is in the middle of town (its the only one so you cant miss it) which also has a few restaurants to choose from. This shopping center also offers a shuttle from the resorts!
For more info on Ko’Olina Center, click here.

We personally ate at Island Vintage Coffee for lunch which offers acai bowls, smoothies, sandwiches, wraps, etc.

For dinner we ended up at Pizza Corner. There were really really long waits for every restaurant at dinner. We waited over an hour for our pizza. It was a weekend and Ko’ Olina was crowded, especially because there are not a ton of places to choose from.
To view a full list of food options in Ko’Olina, click here.

Shopping
There are a few really cute boutiques in the shopping center. All of the resorts also have shops located inside. My two favorite boutiques were Mahina (womens clothing) and Plantation (home & gift).
To view a full list of shopping options in Ko”olina, click here.

Oahu’s #1 Rated Luau is located here in Ko’Olina! Paradise Cove is a must do during your trip. Not just a Luau, this event includes an all you can eat buffet, entertainment, activities, crafts, and more.

We had a ton of fun at the Luau and I break down all the activities, prices, and food in my blog post “Paradise Cove Luau”. To read it, click here.

Of course I saved the best for last, one of our favorite spots to visit in Ko’Olina is Disney’s Aulani Resort.

We made reservations at Makahiki for the Character Breakfast Buffet. They allowed us to park for free in the self parking lot and we had 2.5 hours to be able to eat and walk around.
To view the Menu and Make Reservations, click here.

Aulani is absolutely beautiful. Since we ate at the Character Buffet we got to get photos with the characters that were at the buffet (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto).

The buffet was absolutely delicious and they had everything you could think of. It also included some local Hawaiian specialties.

The dining experience includes the character meets as well as entertainment while you dine. They do a cute parade with all the kids and musical instruments. If you are celebrating let them know on your reservation so you can celebrate! It was Aurora’s birthday the day we went.