Oahu - The Polynesian Cultural Center

http://www.polynesia.com/

Looking at the web site, one of the things I noticed was that it called the Alii Luau "Hawaii's Most Authentic Luau", and that reminded me of something.

Although my sisters and I did not find Hawaii to be the most compelling spot we have ever gone to, my brother and his wife love it, and have been to multiple islands and done many things. When we were talking about whether we would go back, and what other things we would do if we did, we mentioned the Old Lahaina Luau, which is pretty famous. Our sister-in-law said that having been to the Polynesian Cultural Center, we did not really need to do Lahaina. I thought that was a pretty strong recommendation.

The food was good and plentiful. I have tried poi at different times, and when I hated it, thought maybe it was not fresh or something else was the problem. One of my friends from school was Hawaiian and she always swore that it was really good if it was made right. I have decided that if I did not like poi at the Polynesian Cultural Center (and I didn't) it just wasn't going to happen. But all of the other food was really good, and you need to have poi even if it is not good. (And even if I will never find it good, obviously some people do.)

The entertainment was also good. There were dancers from several different traditions, because this is not the Hawaiian Cultural Center, but the Polynesian Cultural center. I believe we saw dances from Samoa, Tonga, and New Zealand along with Hawaiian.

There are some cultures that they might not have dancers for, but you can still learn about the culture or a craft or something else by going through the villages. We saw a demonstration on making fire, participated in a palm frond weaving craft, learned some dancing, and watched the canoe pageant.

We did not do everything. There simply isn't enough time. Our tickets came with the option of coming back to explore the villages more within the next few days, but it was not practical for us to get back there. The Center was not at all convenient to where we were located. Our package included bus transportation, but it was a pretty long ride each way.

(This would be another reason to consider staying in different locations for the parts of the island you wish to see.)

Regardless of where you stay, the Polynesian Cultural Center is must see.