Culture · Oahu
The Best Luaus On Oahu
More than 15 luaus run on Oahu this fall, from a shopping-center courtyard in Waikiki to a valley on the North Shore, and Paradise Cove is no longer one of them. These are the ten we would book, what each one costs, and how to choose by the thing you care about: the show, the dinner, or how far you want to drive at night.
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Almost every luau on the island follows the same evening: a lei greeting at check-in around 5 p.m., an hour of lawn activities, dinner, then a show that ends in fire. The ticket prices are close, too. Most dinner seats cost between $130 and $200 an adult. What separates them is how dinner reaches your table, whose story the show tells, and where you are when it lets out around 8 p.m.
Paradise Cove, the Ko Olina luau that ran for 47 years, held its last show on December 31, 2025, and the land is being redeveloped. A list that still ranks it is out of date. Kaula Lūʻau opened nearby in February 2026 and is on ours.
Quick picks
The Right Luau for Your Night
- Best overallToa Luau
- Best in WaikikiNā Lei Aloha
- Best fire-knife showChief’s Luau
- NewestKaula Lūʻau
- Cheapest dinner luauQueens Waikīkī, $109
- The splurgeʻAhaʻaina, $240
- For Disney fansKa Waʻa at Aulani
- Only windward luauAloha Kai at Sea Life Park
Every Oahu Luau Compared
| Luau | Area | Nights | Adult from | Dinner | From Waikiki |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queens Waikīkī | Waikiki | Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun | $109 | Catered plate | Walk |
| Nā Lei Aloha | Waikiki | Sun–Wed | $194 | Buffet | Walk |
| Pāʻina Waikīkī | Waikiki | Mon, Wed, Fri–Sun | $180 | Buffet | Walk |
| Waikīkī Starlight | Waikiki | Sun, Tue, Thu, Fri | $189 | Buffet | Walk |
| ʻAhaʻaina | Waikiki | Mon, Thu | $240 | Multi-course | Walk |
| Hale Koa (military ID) | Waikiki | Tue, Thu, Sat | $120 | Dinner | Walk |
| Ka Moana | Downtown Honolulu | Sun, Mon, Wed–Fri | $129 | Buffet | +$30 |
| Diamond Head Feast | Downtown Honolulu | Tue | $245 | Six plated courses | +$30 |
| Experience Nutridge | Tantalus | Tue–Fri | $170 | Family style | +$26 |
| Chief’s | Kapolei | Sun, Mon, Wed–Fri | $144* | Buffet | Extra |
| Mauka Warriors | Kapolei | Tue–Fri, Sun | $139* | Buffet | +$30 |
| Germaine’s | Kapolei | Tue, Thu–Sun | $128 incl. tax | Buffet | +$35 |
| Kaula | Ko Olina | Fri–Mon | $169 | Buffet | Extra |
| Ka Waʻa (Aulani) | Ko Olina | Select nights | See Disney | Buffet | Drive |
| Fia Fia | Ko Olina | Tue | $186 | Buffet | Drive |
| Toa | North Shore | Mon–Fri | $145 | Served to table | Drive |
| Paniolo, Turtle Bay | North Shore | Wed | $205 | Buffet | Drive |
| Aloha Kai | Waimānalo | Sun, Mon, Wed, Thu | $135 | Buffet | +$36 |
Adult prices are the lowest dinner tier for October 2026 on each luau’s own booking calendar, before tax unless noted. *Chief’s and Mauka Warriors add about 6% in fees at checkout. “From Waikiki” is the round-trip shuttle price per person; “Extra” means a shuttle is sold at checkout, and “Drive” means none is offered. Several luaus also sell show-only seats without dinner, from $79 at Mauka Warriors to $135 at Pāʻina.
Where the Luaus Are
Six of the 18 luaus are in Waikiki, within walking distance of most hotels. Six more are on the west side in Kapolei and Ko Olina, 30 minutes to an hour from Waikiki by the luaus’ own estimates, and two are on the North Shore. The numbers on the map match our top 10 below.
Oahu
Honolulu & Waikiki
- 2Nā Lei Aloha Hyatt Regency
- 6ʻAhaʻaina Royal Hawaiian
- 7Queens Waikīkī International Market Place
- 10Nutridge Tantalus
- APāʻina Waikīkī Waikiki Beach Marriott
- BWaikīkī Starlight Hilton Hawaiian Village
- CHale Koa military ID only
- DKa Moana Aloha Tower
- EDiamond Head Feast Aloha Tower
Kapolei & Ko Olina
- 3Chief’s Wet’n’Wild Hawaii
- 4Kaula Ocean’s Edge
- 5Mauka Warriors Coral Crater
- 8Ka Waʻa Aulani
- FGermaine’s Kalaeloa
- GFia Fia Marriott Ko Olina
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Elevation: USGS, via AWS Terrain Tiles.
The 10 Best Luaus On Oahu
Toa Luau at Waimea Valley
Toa runs inside Waimea Valley, the North Shore valley the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has owned since 2006, and the setting does half the work. Dinner is served to your table, VIP first, then Gold, then Silver, so there is no buffet line, and the ticket includes a day’s admission to the valley within a week of the luau. The show moves through Hawaiʻi, Tonga, New Zealand, Tahiti and Samoa and closes on fire knife. It runs weekday evenings only and there is no shuttle, so plan on driving back from the North Shore in the dark. Book Gold for the front row of the upper level, and walk the valley that afternoon.
Nā Lei Aloha
Nā Lei Aloha is hula and Hawaiian music from start to finish: no fire knife, no tour of the South Pacific. The Hawaiian Council, a Native Hawaiian-led nonprofit, produces it on the Nāleʻa Terrace at the Hyatt Regency, and the show tells the story of the lei. Dinner is an international buffet, served until 7 p.m. It runs Sunday through Wednesday, with some Thursdays and Fridays. If you have already eaten well in Waikiki, the $119 cocktail-and-show ticket skips the buffet. Book this one if hula is the reason you want a luau.
Chief’s Luau
Chief Sielu Avea, billed as the original World Fire-Knife Dance Champion, runs this show at his own venue inside Wet’n’Wild Hawaii in Kapolei, and he carries much of the evening himself: fire knife, comedy, storytelling and a coconut-husking demonstration. Dinner is an all-you-can-eat buffet with kalua pork, poi and lomi. Plan on 5:15 to about 8:15 p.m. Chief’s tells guests not to follow Google or Apple Maps to the gate, so use the directions on its own site, or take the shuttle from seven Waikiki pickups. Book the Aloha tier ($144, plus about 6% in fees at checkout) unless you want the front rows.
Kaula Lūʻau
Kaula opened on February 27, 2026, at Ocean’s Edge, a new venue by the Ko Olina marina, two months after Paradise Cove closed. The Hawaiian Council, the same nonprofit behind Nā Lei Aloha, stages it as one story: a grandmother and granddaughter trace a family’s voyage through Tahiti, Samoa and Hawaiʻi, with aerial acrobatics above the stage and a husband-and-wife fire-knife team. The buffet runs from village-style food houses, and tables are not called up by row, so nobody scrambles for the line. It runs Friday through Monday. Book Standard ($169), and add the Waikiki shuttle at checkout if you are not staying in Ko Olina.
Mauka Warriors Luau
Mauka Warriors moved to Coral Crater Adventure Park in Kapolei in 2025 and runs a four-hour evening, 5 to 9 p.m. It is owned by veterans and members of the Polynesian community, and the show is built around Polynesian warrior history, ending with what it bills as Oahu’s largest fire performance. Before dinner there is an umu (Samoan earth oven) cooking demonstration with samples of the roast pig, kava tasting, lei making and Polynesian tattoos. Parking is free and the Waikiki shuttle is $30. Book it if you want more to do than watch; the Koa tier ($139) sits at the back.
ʻAhaʻaina at the Royal Hawaiian
ʻAhaʻaina is the most expensive luau in Waikiki, $240 an adult, and the difference is the dinner: a multi-course menu at restaurant-style tables, with hand-pounded poi, lomi salmon and a roasted ahi collar from Pier 38. The three-act program tells the story of Helumoa, the historic name of the Royal Hawaiian’s grounds, in hula and Hawaiian music, and three drinks are included. It runs Monday and Thursday only, and cancellations need 72 hours. Book it for an anniversary or the last night of the trip.
Queens Waikīkī Lūʻau
Queens is the cheapest dinner luau in Waikiki, $109 in the back section, and you can walk to it: it is in the Queens Courtyard at the International Market Place. The evening is short, 5 to 7:30 p.m., with hula lessons and fire-stick twirling before a 45-minute Polynesian show that ends on fire knife. Dinner comes from an outside caterer on disposable plates, with teriyaki chicken and kalua pig but no poi, lomi salmon or haupia, so come for the show and the short walk home. Cancellations need 72 hours. It suits families with young kids who need to be in bed by 8.
Ka Waʻa at Aulani
Ka Waʻa is Disney’s luau, held on Hālāwai Lawn at Aulani in Ko Olina, and its show tells Hawaiʻi’s story through canoe (waʻa) voyaging. Dinner is a buffet with salt-crusted prime rib and local seafood. The Disney part is smaller than most families expect: recent guests describe Mickey and Minnie on stage for about one song, and no source we found puts Moana in the show. It runs on select nights only and needs a reservation. Book through Disney, where the current price is posted.
Aloha Kai Lūʻau at Sea Life Park
Aloha Kai is the one luau on the windward side, on Makapuʻu Meadows at Sea Life Park, and it stages an imu ceremony, uncovering the pig from the underground oven before dinner. The buffet covers the standards: kalua pork, poi, lomi lomi salmon and fresh island fish. Our guide to traditional Hawaiian food explains each dish, and the best food on Oahu covers where to eat them the rest of the week. Every ticket includes park admission (for Bronze, the day before, of or after), and the drive out passes Hanauma Bay, Hālona and the Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail. It runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Book Bronze ($134.99 online) and see the park the same afternoon.
Experience Nutridge
Nutridge is a four-hour evening on a private estate on Tantalus, above Makiki, where Hawaiʻi’s first macadamia nut plantation started in the 1920s. Dinner is served family style at the table: imu-cooked kalua puaʻa, pulehu chicken and laulau. There are cultural workshops, dancers and a fire-knife dancer, all under a tent, rain or shine. It is 25 to 35 minutes from Waikiki, the round-trip shuttle is $26, and the grounds are hilly, so wear walking shoes. Book it for a sit-down dinner without the drive to the North Shore.
Other Luaus On Oahu
- Pāʻina Waikīkī · Waikiki Beach Marriott rooftop. Five nights a week, Saturday included, with a prime rib buffet and a Tihati Productions cast whose show includes a tribute to Queen Liliʻuokalani. Dinner from $180; cancellations need 72 hours. Book on Viator.
- Waikīkī Starlight Lūʻau · Hilton Hawaiian Village. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday on the Great Lawn, plus a Friday Firework Luau ($249) that ends just before Hilton’s Friday fireworks. Dinner from $189. Hilton’s luau page.
- Germaine’s Luau · Kapolei. On its west-side beach since 1976, with an imu ceremony and a buffet that covers kalua pig, poi, lomi lomi salmon and haupia. From $128 with tax included; the Waikiki bus is $35 more. Closed Monday and Wednesday. Book on Viator.
- Ka Moana Lūʻau · Aloha Tower Marketplace, downtown Honolulu. Five nights a week, a buffet, and a show of Hawaiian hula, Tahitian dance and Samoan fire knife. From $129; the Waikiki shuttle is $30 more. Book on Viator.
- Diamond Head Lūʻau Feast · Aloha Tower Marketplace. Six plated courses, one each for Hawaiʻi, Tahiti, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga, with a performance timed to each. Tuesdays, from $245. The Feast’s site.
- Fia Fia Lūʻau · Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club. Chief Sielu’s second show, on Tuesdays, with fire knife, drums and a buffet. From $186.
- Paniolo Lūʻau · The Ritz-Carlton Oʻahu, Turtle Bay. Wednesdays. Hawaiian cowboy stories and music, a pig roast buffet and s’mores at a campfire. From $205. Refunds need 72 hours, and there is no refund if weather moves it indoors. Turtle Bay’s page.
- Hale Koa Luau · Hale Koa Hotel, Waikiki. Open only to active and retired military and Department of Defense ID holders, with an imu ceremony and a tribute to service members at the close. From $120, or $86 for E1 to E6.
- Rock-A-Hula · Royal Hawaiian Center. A luau-style buffet followed by a separate indoor theater show with hula, fire knife and tribute acts. It is a dinner show, not a luau.
Not on this list
The Polynesian Cultural Center
The Aliʻi Lūʻau and HĀ: Breath of Life show in Lāʻie are a large production, with more than 100 performers. The center is a nonprofit affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which created it in 1963 to employ students at what is now BYU–Hawaiʻi, and its revenue supports the center and those students. No alcohol is served anywhere on the property. We send readers to luaus run by Hawaiian organizations instead: Toa, in a valley owned by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Hawaiian Council’s Nā Lei Aloha and Kaula.
How to Choose a Luau
- Pick the show first. Most luaus here stage a tour of the South Pacific: Hawaiian hula, Tahitian dance, Samoan drumming, and a fire-knife finale, which is a Samoan tradition. Kaula’s own FAQ points out that fire-knife dance is not part of Hawaiian culture. If hula and Hawaiian music are what you came for, book Nā Lei Aloha or ʻAhaʻaina.
- Then the dinner. Toa and ʻAhaʻaina bring dinner to your table, Nutridge serves family style, and the Diamond Head Lūʻau Feast is six plated courses. Everywhere else is a buffet line. For what kalua pig, poi and lomi salmon actually are, see our guide to traditional Hawaiian food.
- The cheapest tier is the back of the venue. Tiers buy seats and drink tickets, not a different show. At Toa, Silver is bar-height seating on the upper level’s back row, which is hard on kids and older guests.
- If you are drinking, take the shuttle. Kapolei and Ko Olina are 30 minutes to an hour from Waikiki by the luaus’ own estimates, and the drive back is in the dark. Round-trip shuttles run $26 to $36 a person. For a Waikiki luau, the mai tai comes with a walk home.
- Arrive at check-in. The lei making, hula lessons and cooking demonstrations happen in the first hour, before dinner.
- Read the cancellation window. Most luaus refund with 24 hours’ notice. Nutridge and Aloha Kai need 48, and Queens, ʻAhaʻaina, Pāʻina and Turtle Bay need 72.
- Put it on the right night. A luau takes the whole evening, so in the Oahu Itinerary Builder put it on a day that already ends near the venue: Toa after a North Shore day on the Oahu Drive Map, Aloha Kai after Hanauma Bay and Makapuʻu. Our list of things to do in Oahu fills the rest of the day.
Oahu Luau Questions
What is the best luau on Oahu?
Toa Luau at Waimea Valley, for the setting and a dinner served to your table instead of a buffet line. In Waikiki, Nā Lei Aloha at the Hyatt Regency is the pick for hula and Hawaiian music. For the biggest fire-knife show, book Chief’s Luau in Kapolei.
How much does a luau cost on Oahu?
Dinner luaus run from $109 an adult (the back section at Queens Waikīkī) to $245 (the Diamond Head Lūʻau Feast), before tax, for October 2026. Most land between $130 and $200. Shuttles from Waikiki add $26 to $36 a person, and show-only seats without dinner start at $79 at Mauka Warriors.
Is Paradise Cove Luau still open?
No. Paradise Cove held its last show on December 31, 2025, after 47 years in Ko Olina, and the land is being redeveloped. Kaula Lūʻau opened at Ocean’s Edge in Ko Olina in February 2026.
Which luaus can you walk to from Waikiki?
Queens Waikīkī at the International Market Place, Nā Lei Aloha at the Hyatt Regency, Pāʻina Waikīkī at the Waikiki Beach Marriott, Waikīkī Starlight at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and ʻAhaʻaina at the Royal Hawaiian. None of them needs a car or a shuttle.
Do Oahu luaus include transportation from Waikiki?
Usually not. Shuttles are an add-on at most luaus outside Waikiki, $26 to $36 a person round trip. Germaine’s charges $35 extra from Waikiki. Toa Luau on the North Shore has no shuttle at all.
Which Oahu luau is best for kids?
Queens Waikīkī ends at 7:30 p.m., costs $89 for children 3 to 12, and is a walk from most Waikiki hotels. Toa Luau lets children 4 and under in free. Families set on Disney can book Ka Waʻa at Aulani, where Mickey and Minnie appear briefly.
What should you wear to a luau?
Aloha wear or resort casual works at every luau on this list. Bring a light layer for the west-side luaus after dark, and wear shoes you can walk a hill in at Nutridge. Toa Luau does not allow swimsuits.
Toa Luau at Waimea Valley, Oahu
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