Enjoying a Hawaiian luau is a great activity to plan into your vacation – especially for the first-time visitor. Participating in a luau offers a lovely introduction into the Hawaiian culture via food, music and dance.
If you are considering a luau, we want to give you an idea of what to expect along with advice to help you make the most of your experience.
Though the cost of a luau can vary by island and venue, plan on a minimum of $125 per adult. Most luau companies consider an adult guest to be anyone 13 years and older. For children between the ages of 6 to 12 years, plan to spend a minimum of $60 per child. Children age five years and younger are usually provided free entrance along with a paying adult.
The cost of a luau usually includes a buffet dinner, drinks, a Polynesian dance and music show and gratuities. Many, but not all luaus include a lei greeting. What’s included can vary so be sure and verify what is and isn’t included at the time of booking so that you won’t have any surprises.
After you check-in at a luau, the typical format goes like this:
To get the luau that you want, it’s best to book as soon as possible — weeks ahead of your trip. Some luau companies will seat guests in the order of booking. In those cases, the sooner you book, the better your seating/view may be.
If you get to Hawaii and you didn’t booked ahead, don’t worry, you will most likely still find a luau to attend. A hotel or island concierge will be able to advise where to go in short notice situations.
Comfortable clothes are always appropriate in Hawaii. Most ladies wear nice shorts, slacks, or capri pants or a casual dress. Khaki shorts and an Aloha (Hawaiian) shirt tend to be the attire of choice for men.
You might want to bring a light sweater in the winter months. After sunset, the air can get slightly chilly.
For more suggestions for what to wear on your vacation, see these posts:
– Ideas for what women should wear on a Hawaii vacation.
– Suggestions for what men might want to wear on a Hawaii vacation.
Unless you really know that you’ll get over jet lag quickly, we don’t recommend going to a luau on the first night or two of your vacation. Give yourself a day or two to adjust to Hawaii time so that you won’t be tired and sleepy at the luau.
You can find a luau on just about every evening of the week, but not every luau is offered every night. Many resort-based luaus are only offered two or three evenings per week. Make sure you consider the nights of operation as you evaluate your luau options.
Some luaus assign seats while others seat of a first come, first served basis. Check directly with the luau you choose to determine the seating process and their advice of when to arrive.
While guests mill around the grounds before the festivities begin, if they don’t have assigned seating, they normally save their seats by tilting and propping their chair against the table. See the below photo for an example.
Most luaus offer upgraded seating that’s close to the entertainment stage. The upgrades might also include other perks like a nicer lei and better service.
Upgrade fees vary, but average around $20 to $30 per person. If your budget allows, upgrading normally provides a better experience. We’ve never regretted upgrading.
We try to keep up to date with luau schedules, pricing and other useful information, which is quite a challenging considering the luau operators can and do change important aspects without notice. We have recently updated the following island luau guides:
– Hawaii (Big) Island luau list
These island luau lists include links to reviews, which provide useful insight. When available, check out photos uploaded by reviewers. Those photos will be much more representative of a real experience as compared to the attractive brochure photos.
There are some elements of a luau that are authentic to the Hawaiian culture — like Hawaiian hula dancing, Hawaiian mele/chants and some of the food being cooked in an imu. There are also other Polynesian cultures represented in luaus — e.g. Samoan fireknife dancing, Maori dances including the haka, and dances and songs from Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji and Marquesas.
For a brief history of a Hawaiian luau, see this link.
—
Have you been to a luau on your Hawaii vacation? Where did you go? How was your experience?
Mahalo to Catherine Pope for sharing this Aloha Friday Photo. Catherine took this pretty photo…
We've sampled all of Oahu's tasty onolicious treats and here are our food picks every…
This week's featured Hawaii visitor photo shows a beautiful pastel sunset with palm trees.
We've "tasted" our way around the island of Kauai to identify all the best foods…
Mahalo to Megan Donnelly-Morris for sharing this beautiful Aloha Friday Photo. Megan took this photo…
Mahalo to Victoria Weissnicht from Austria for sharing this unique shot for Aloha Friday Photos.…
View Comments
Great advice and love all the links too. Gotta eat dinner anyway, might as well do a luau and get entertainer too!
Thanks for all the information! This gives me and my family a whole lot more information than when we started!!! Luaus sound like a lot of fun, even though they are expensive! Thanks again for the advice!!! :D
We've been to Feast at Lele on Maui in Lahaina 3 times now and we highly recommend. You get your own individual table whether it's just 2 of you or a group. Open bar all night with every kind of tropical drink. Well worth it!