Diamond Head Luau - Waikiki Aquarium

Date: April 15, 2020 

Before I came to Hawaii, one of the activities that I heard everyone talking about was a luau.

“You have to go to a luau, they are tradition!”

“Luaus are so much fun and the food is so good!”

I heard so many comments like this. But, how do you choose which luau to go to? I definitely wasn’t sure and of course I went on Trip Advisor and Yelp to try and figure out which one to go to but I could not decide! There were way too many options!

So, I decided to book three luaus and go to them all on different days to decide which one I liked best and to see the differences between the luaus.

The Diamond Head Luau was my first luau. I had no idea what to expect besides what people had told me and some things I read online. This luau did not include any transportation, luckily, we were staying just a few minutes away on Waikiki Beach.

This luau is held at the Waikiki Aquarium. There are only a handful of spaces in the aquarium parking lot so I would not bet on parking there. There is plenty of street parking, both metered and free. The night we decided to go, it was super crowded and we couldn’t find any parking. We went right down the street and paid to do valet parking at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel. That way they were able to watch our car and it wasn’t too far of a walk.

Once we got to the aquarium, we checked in and went through that gate and got our drink and found our table and chose our seats. We then went and got out temporary tattoo and then weaved our own headband. They were very patient as it took me a minute to catch on to the headband weaving. Once the activities started to simmer down, they started sending people to the buffet. I got a little bit of everything to try. This was the first time I tried Poi and lomi lomi salmon. I recommend eating the poi with your kalua pork! I first tried the poi by itself, and I will say it is an acquired taste. After people have been eating, the show will start. The cast did different Polynesian dances and there was even a fire knife dancer!

After the show, you are able to walk through the aquarium and see all the wonderful aquatic animals!

Overall, this was a good started luau! I do recommend it; you can see Waikiki Beach behind the aquarium and watch the sun set. The food was delicious and the show was good.

-Roxanne

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