An Evening at Germaine's Luau

Whether it’s your first, second or tenth visit to Hawaii, you need to take part in a luau. One of the best cultural experiences you can experience in Hawaii, a luau is a traditional Hawaiian party or feast, that is usually accompanied by some kind of entertainment. In Hawaiian culture, a luau is used to celebrate the many stages of life.

As a visitor to Hawaii, attending a luau is a great way to learn more about Polynesian culture and sample some of the local foods, like kalua pig buried and roasted overnight on the beach or poke and haupia – a coconut based desert. Entertainment at a luau traditionally includes Polynesian dances, as well as a beautiful slow hula dance.

One our first visit to Hawaii we were very keen to experience a luau for ourselves, often praised as one of the best things to do in Oahu. There are heaps of different luaus to choose from around the island of Oahu, but on the recommendation of a couple of locals we chose to visit Germaine’s Luau, and it absolutely did not disappoint!

About Germaine’s Luau

With the perfect location, right alongside the ocean, Germaine’s Luau will have you amazed from the minute you arrive. We were picked up from our hotel in Waikiki and driven out to the luau site, beautifully set under palm trees and the stars, with ocean waves crashing on the shores around you.

Germaine’s Luau have done a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of a backyard family gathering, despite the large number of people flocking to celebrate each night. We were greeted at the gate with a Hawaiian shell lei greeting, also known as an Imu Ceremony. Before the feast began a number of cultural presentations began to happen straight away, including the sounding of the conch shell.

We plopped our belongings down on our seat at one of the long communal benches in the sand, and then promptly headed to the bar to grab a Mai Tai in one of their super cute classes. We got to watch the unearthing of the kalua pua’a (roasted pig) from the traditional imu (earthen oven in the beach) before lining up to fill our plates with an incredible all you can eat feast.

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There’s absolutely no shortage of food at Germaine’s, with a homogeneous buffet dinner menu that offered:

Kalua pig (roasted pid)
Poi (taro potato)
Chicken long rice & regular rice
Lomi lomi salmon
Island fish
Teriyaki beef
Pineapple coleslaw
Hawaiian pulehu chicken
Three-bean salad
Tossed green salad
Potato macaroni salad
Dinner rolls
Fresh pineapple
Chocolate cake
Haupia (coconut pudding)
Vanilla coconut cake

Also on offer was a variety of complimentary soft drinks, hot coffee, hot tea, punch and more. If you were looking for something a little bit heavier, the Tiki Bar had a range of delicious cocktails to try, with options like the Blue Hawaii, Lava Flow, Mai Tai and Pina Colada.

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Throughout the night we were entertained by spectacular luau performances, including the Samoam Fire-Knife dance and Slap dance, before being taught how to properly hula. It was a really beautiful night. The whole atmosphere of the luau was just incredible. It was like everyone was one big family, celebrating together.

And with such a beautiful location, right by the ocean, you really can’t beat it! With the whole night set outside, under the sun setting and the beautiful Hawaiian stars, it was a truly magical night.

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Booking your night at Germaine’s Luau

Getting there: Free transfers are included with every ticket, so you don’t have to worry about driving and can test out as many cocktails as you like!

If you do decide to drive though, from Waikiki take the H1 Freeway west and follow the signs for Waianae. Get off on Exit #1 (Campbell Industrial Park) which loops over the freeway and will take you towards the ocean on Kalaeloa Boulevard. Follow the signs and take a right at Olai Street.

From Waikiki it takes about one hour to get to Germaine’s Luau.

Start time: Gates to Germaine’s open at 5:15pm each evening and the festivities begin promptly at 6pm. The luau normally ends around 8:45pm each night. They are closed on Mondays.

Ticket price: Tickets start from $98 USD for an original luau for an adult over 21 years old when you book through their website. There are a few different ticket types to choose from as well. Find out more about all the options HERE. We chose the Hibiscus package for our evening.

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