When you have family come to visit you, you want to give them the best Hawaii experience that they can have right? Well make sure that Chief’s Luau is on the list because it’s the highest rated luau in Hawaii for a reason!
My parents were coming in to visit so we decided to try out Chief’s Luau and I could not have picked a better luau to take them to.
Where is Chief’s Luau?
It’s located at Wet n’ Wild Water Park in Kapolei. Depending on traffic, it can be 45 minutes to an hour drive from Waikiki. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time since you don’t want to be late!
Even though I thought it sounded kind of weird at first that it was in a water park, but the way that they have it set up is great. You really can’t even tell since they hold the Chief’s Luau at the front of the park.
I do want to go back one day and check the water park out and see what it’s all about, so if you have time you could think about doing both!
Even though we drove ourselves, transportation is an option. If you don’t feel like driving and staying in Waikiki, definitely get the pick-up option! They even pick up from the cruise ship pier so that’s really convenient. If you choose to drive out, they have a parking fee of around $7.00 which I think is totally reasonable.
Getting Seated at Chief’s Luau
We chose the Royal package which I feel is well worth it. Right when we entered, we got a fresh flower lei greeting, a welcome Mai Tai along with three additional drink tickets for the bar.
You also get the best seat in the house right in front of the stage along with being the first in line for the buffet! Let’s be serious, who doesn’t want to be first in line for food? Last but not least you also get a souvenir gift and ours was a beach towel which my parents loved.
Luau Activities
Right when we arrived we noticed that there are several things to keep us busy until the Imu Ceremony when everything begins. There is also a cute little market that they have set up that you can purchase souvenirs from as well.
What I liked about Chief’s Luau is that they really focus on spreading Hawaiian and Polynesian culture. There are several things that you can take part in to learn more about the islands They are also very family oriented so these are things that you can do as a group as well.
We got to take part in hula dancing and spear throwing lessons, a fire making challenge, headband weaving, and you can even get a temporary Polynesian tattoo!
The fire making challenge was one of the funniest parts for me. It is on the stage where everyone is watching you while Chief Sielu is commenting on how everyone is doing and making jokes. He was so funny and authentic throughout the whole night and he really makes Chief’s Luau so amazing!
The one thing I regret not doing at Chief’s Luau is making a headband, but luckily they gave out a few things during the night and the chief made a joke asking my mom why she wasn’t wearing one and how come she didn’t make one and then he threw one to her!
Later on she gave it to me to keep so I still got to have one! Make sure you take advantage of all of the activities that you are interested in. Things like the headband make a great keepsake!
Imu Ceremony
This was my third luau and one of my most favorite things about them is the Imu ceremony. The Imu is a traditional Hawaiian underground oven where they cook the pig and it’s so neat to watch them uncover it!
I’m not sure if it was where we were sitting or if we just missed the announcement, but I didn’t get to see them uncover this one. We only got to see when they brought it on stage to present it. We did have the perfect seat for that because it was right in front of us!
This is a great time to snag some photos of it before they take it away! Your family and friends will be so jealous when you show them the pictures.
Chief’s Luau Buffet Dinner
Shortly after this you get to get in line for the buffet. It is all you can eat and thank goodness because I ate a lot! It definitely paid to be the first in line because seeing the cooked pig made me event more hungry.
The line moved very quickly and I was really pleased with the food choices. Everything tasted really fresh and so tasty. I do wish that they had more of a variety with the dessert though. It was only pineapple slices or pineapple cake. If you are not a huge fan of pineapple, you don’t have much to choose from unfortunately. Good thing I like pineapple!
There were staff members that were walking around taking drink orders through the night or you could also go up to the bar and order as well. They had Mai Tais, beer and wine to choose from along with soda, tea and tropical orange-guava punch which is a classic in Hawaii.
The Luau Dinner Show
The chief also hosts the Polynesian luau show where you will see South Pacific dancing and luau music from Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa and New Zealand. I loved all of the different costumes that they had as well.
It is a really entertaining show and it was very interesting getting to gain a little more insight about the culture. The chief makes sure to keep you laughing throughout the whole show. He also seems very genuine and shared a lot of stories from his life growing up.
By far the best part of the night for me though was the fire knife performers! They have a group of them performing at once and it amazes me how fast they can spin and even throw them!
It truly is mesmerizing watching them perform and afterwards you can see why the chief is the original world champion fire knife dancer!
Conclusion
We had such a great night and it was definitely one to remember! I would recommend this luau for anyone that is okay with driving a little further out of Waikiki to get the best experience, it’s definitely worth the drive!
It’s great not only for couples but also for the whole family as well! I would say that this is probably the most romantic luau though if you are celebrating a honeymoon or anniversary.
The chief invites couples on stage that are celebrating one of these and they share a dance together under the tiki torch light and at the end every woman gets a flower. This was something that was so sweet to me!
The luau operates five nights a week, and you can book it on HawaiiActivities. I don’t think you can go wrong choosing Chief’s Luau!
