A Luau experience by Waikīkī Starlight Luau. Back to all Oahu tours.
Tour Summary: For guests of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the luau is right on the property: walk over at 5:30 PM and walk back after, with no coach or parking to sort out. It is also the only Oʻahu luau with a Friday fireworks edition, staged beachfront on the resort's Great Lawn.
Doors open at 5:30pm, dinner comes first, and the show itself starts at 6:45pm. 
The keiki line is separate for ages 12 and under, with tater tots, corn cobettes and teriyaki chicken. Kālua pig sits on the hot line next to huli huli chicken, BBQ beef brisket and the day's island catch. The cold line also carries Hawaiian macaroni salad, lomi salmon and poi.
6 Tour Highlights:
- Walking distance from any Hilton Hawaiian Village room, no coach and no drive
- Friday edition on the Great Lawn timed to the Hilton's weekly fireworks
- Show-only ticket at $126.14, roughly half the dinner price, one hour, no buffet
- Fire-knife segment, the strongest few minutes of the performance
- Open-air rooftop garden deck at sunset, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday
- Check-in on the 6th floor of the Mid-Pacific Conference Center
Important: The venue can be moved between the rooftop deck, the Great Lawn and an indoor room at short notice, sometimes the morning of, and that is not grounds for a refund.
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult |
|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $200.34 |
Price note: The Friday fireworks edition costs about $60 more per person than the same seat on a regular night, and the show-only ticket is a separate product with no dinner. Children 4 to 11 pay $83.74, ages 3 and under are free, and everyone 12 and older pays the adult price.
Tour Provider: Waikīkī Starlight Luau
Activity: Luau
Tour start time: 5:30 PM (dinner show, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday), 6:15 PM (show only), 5:30 PM (Friday Night Firework Luau, Great Lawn)
Duration: 2.5 hours
Location: Waikīkī
Included: Polynesian dinner show performance. Buffet dinner on dinner tickets. Assigned seating by ticket tier. Live music and fire-knife segment
Cancellations: Free cancellation up to 48 hours before the event start time, Hawaiʻi time. Inside that window the booking is non-refundable, and a venue change made by the operator does not reopen it.
Read more: about luau in our Oahu luau guide.
Read more about the Waikīkī Starlight Luau
If you’re staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the luau is on your own resort: no coach at 3:30 PM, no hour on the H-1, no shuttle back at 10 PM.
Check in on the 6th floor of the Mid-Pacific Conference Center at 5:30 PM, and walk back to your room when it ends 2.5 hours later. A standard ticket covers the buffet dinner, the show and seating in the tier you booked, and there’s a separate keiki line for ages 12 and under.
A rooftop garden deck, not the beach
The operator lists this as beachfront on the Great Lawn, and gives the meeting point as the 6th floor of a conference center. Both are true on different nights. The regular Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday show sits on a rooftop garden deck built above the conference center’s parking structure, with the Hilton towers around you rather than open ocean. We wouldn’t book this one for the setting.
The Friday fireworks edition and the show-only ticket
The Friday edition moves to the Great Lawn and is timed to the Hilton’s weekly fireworks. A Golden Circle seat costs $263.94 on a Friday and $200.34 on a Tuesday. The show-only ticket costs $126.14, starts at 6:15 PM, runs an hour and includes no dinner.
Most low-rated reviews complain about the buffet: cold plates for late-served tables, trays running empty. If the buffet worries you, book the show-only ticket. The fire-knife segment is short.
Venue changes, sometimes announced the morning of the show
The operator has moved guests to the Great Lawn or an indoor ballroom for wind or weather, and sometimes because the lawn was booked for a corporate event. Some guests learned of the move only on the morning of the show, and the operator has refused refunds. Ask which venue your date is booked into when you buy, and get the answer in writing.
The cancellation deadline is 48 hours before the start, Hawaiʻi time. There’s no imu (underground oven) ceremony here. The only way up is an escalator, with no elevator, so call the operator about mobility needs before you book. Expect a line at check-in.
Book this if you’re sleeping at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and convenience is the deciding factor, or if you want the Friday fireworks from a seat rather than from the lagoon path. If you’re driving in from Ko Olina or Kailua for a luau evening, book a different one: at 3.4 stars across 1,074 reviews this is the lowest-rated luau we cover, and the reviews mostly say the same thing: it costs too much for the food and seating you get.
About Waikīkī Starlight Luau
The Waikīkī Starlight Luau is produced by Tihati Productions, a Honolulu company that has staged Polynesian entertainment since 1969 and is one of the largest and longest-running production companies in Hawaiʻi. Its musicians and dancers are drawn from across the Polynesian islands, and Tihati runs luau and stage shows at resorts on every main Hawaiian island.
Affiliate Disclaimer
Booking through this page costs you nothing extra and is made directly with Waikīkī Starlight Luau. We earn a commission from the operator, not from you, and it is what pays for the research that keeps lovebigisland.com free and free of paid placement. We only list operators we would send a friend to. Details on our affiliate links are here.