The Polynesian Cultural Center is one of Hawaii’s top attractions located on the North Shore in Laie next to the Brigham Young University Hawaii campus.

We were able to visit a few different times – once with my parents in September, and then again briefly with our friends who came in October. Sam also had an aunt visit and we split time attending between Sam, Rachel, and I.

Dates We Visited: Fall 2017 (Sept, Oct, & Nov)

Ages of Children: 12, 10, & 7

Background & History

The PCC started as away for students to earn money for their education and to preserve the cultures and crafts from their home islands in Polynesia. It still employs mostly students who are enthusiastic and excited about helping visitors get a taste of their cultures!

One of my favorite activities was talking with the students – finding out where they were from, what they were studying, and their plans for after school. Most students are on a work/study program where they return to their country of origin after they graduate.

There are many different packages you can buy when you visit the PCC. When we visited with my parents we chose to do the Ali’i Luau package which included the Islands, a Luau dinner, and the night show. It was pricey (about $500 for all 5 of us) but totally worth it.

The Islands

The Polynesian Cultural Center opens at 11:45am which allows the students employees to complete their classes in the morning. Its definitely worth it to be there right from the beginning as there is so much to do! Each of the Islands (there are 6) has a cultural presentation at various times during the day, and when they aren’t doing a presentation, there are activities to do in each village. We got a schedule when purchasing our tickets and then it takes some planning to make sure you don’t miss anything!

Even though it was expensive, the tickets do come with a “return within 3 for free” deal where you can come back to the islands anytime within the next three days at no charge. Totally worth planning to take advantage of that!

We learned about coconut oil, threw spears, started fires, saw Tahitian dancing (crazy shaking hips!), played Hawaiian checkers, had an Ukelele lesson, watched the Haka, and got tattoos.

Our favorite presentation by far was Tonga – it was lively, energetic, and just plain fun. They include audience participation which also adds humor. We also enjoyed the Hawaiian presentation as they have some pretty amazing Ukelele players!

At 2:30pm everyone takes a break and there is a Canoe Pageant that runs down the river through the villages. Its best to try and get seats in the shade as the sun gets pretty warm when you sit there for awhile! Totally fun and a great way to get an overview of all the islands.

The Samoan presentation with Chief Kap was also a favorite. He’s made quite a few YouTube videos and is just as fun in person as online. We made small toys out of coconut leaves which the kids loved, tasted fresh coconut water, and watched a young man climb a palm tree.

Luau Dinner

Since we were not ambassadors, our dinner was scheduled for 4:30 (the other group was at 6:00). It was a little early, but we managed to make it work. We received leis on the way in, and then were shown to our table. All of the dinners are buffet style with amazing Hawaiian food, but if your kids are picky eaters they may not enjoy it. We also loved the entertainment as it was very different than the show later that night.

“Ha: Breath of Life” Evening Show

The evening show is a beautiful, symbolic story about a young Polynesian boy that grows up through the islands. There’s music, dancing, and our favorite: FIRE. The production quality was amazing, we were entranced the entire show, and wished that we could have gone back again!

Photo courtesy of the Polynesian Cultural Center as no photos are allowed of the show.

We loved the PCC and are extremely happy with our time spent there. We did manage to see just about everything in two days (there’s also an IMAX film that’s beautiful!) and would definitely recommend a visit if you are headed to Oahu!

Check out the rest of our photos below:

We’ve desperately been missing hiking (well, at least Sam and I are) so we decided to drive to the dry side of the island and check out the Ka’ena Point Trail. You can hike two different ways to the point (from the south or Farrington Hwy) and while I’ve heard the south trail is preferable it was also an extra 45 minutes away. So north it was.

Our poor little beach car has seen better days (the passenger side window is no longer rolling up, and the the driver’s side won’t open from the inside) so we rented a car through the university Car Share program and drove a Nissan truck out there instead. Let’s just say we a) liked being back in a truck and b) immensely enjoyed the air conditioning.

This was a 5 mile return trip with most of it being a long a 4×4 dirt road. We were…disappointed. I think maybe if we had lowered our expectations or done a little more research we would have been better prepared. There were a lot of people driving vehicles (I’m pretty sure you have to have a permit or code to get past the gate) for some 4-wheeling and quite a few fisherman set up along the coast. We were ready for some “wilderness” and didn’t really get that.

Still, we explored the coast a bit on the way out and loved watching the waves. The weather over there is definitely more dry and we even saw a CACTUS! I can’t tell you how in heaven I was. It felt a little like a combination between the Oregon & Northern California coasts. As winter approaches the north shore waves are getting bigger and they are pretty spectacular.

At the end of the road we arrived at the Seashore and Albatross Sanctuary. The are is enclosed by a large black fence to keep out predators (and NO dogs), but its easy to open and slip through the gate once you’ve cleaned off your shoes. We were surprised to run into a ranger (the fact that this was part of a state park somehow eluded me) but she was super friendly and knowledgeable about the area. She even let us step off trail to see a baby wedgetail shearwater chick hiding in the bushes. The parents come to land and lay one egg and then once it hatches take turns flying out for food. This chick is almost fully grown and when they are this size the parents will leave for up to two weeks! It was pretty curious about us (thinking maybe we were mom with some food?) so we didn’t stay too long.

The trail through the sanctuary was more what we expected. Combination of rocky and sandy turning to sand dunes once we got out to the point. Kind of cool that you can look back towards the islands and see both the north and south shores at the same time.

After arriving and taking in the view we sat on the concrete base for the old lighthouse and dug into our @trailfoody bags for some snacks. We are really loving the Nut Butter Nation peanut butter/cracker combination we learned from these guys!

Depending on the time of year, there are hundreds of albatross that come and nest out here on the point. They typically lay their egg in January so were were a bit early. There’s also usually Hawaiian monk seals laying around but either they blended in *really* well with the rocks or they were absent. Instead we inspected the coral and climbed some rocks while taking in the view & sunset.

We hiked the loop inside the sanctuary and then had to book it back to the truck so we could get home on time. We made it in just over an hour which for 2.5 miles is a pretty decent pace! Overall, I’d say we enjoyed ourselves. We love hiking with the kids as it gives us a chance to move our feet and spend quality time together. I love the random topics we discuss – lots of programming between Sam and Rachel, while Cara & Andrew prefer anything Minecraft related.

It was nice to explore a different part of the island. This hike has zero shade so if you are going in the summer definitely take a hat, sunscreen and lots of water!

As we reached the parking lot, the sky decided to put on a show for us. Bold move, Hawaii. Bold move.