Ka Moana Luau · Aloha Tower Marketplace, Honolulu Harbor
Hula at sunset beneath Aloha Tower
A lei greeting, a hula lesson on the lawn and dinner over Honolulu Harbor, ending in a Samoan fire-knife finale.
The luau runs Sunday to Friday, and the booking calendar shows which dates are open for your trip.
- Free to cancelCancel up to 24 hours before your luau evening for a full refund.
- Pay laterReserve your seats for the luau now and pay nothing today.
- A luau on Honolulu HarborRuns on Honolulu Harbor at Aloha Tower Marketplace, not a resort lawn or a car park
- A show that opens and closes with fireThe revue opens with a fire-lit welcome and closes on the Samoan fire-knife
A lei at the gate, a lesson on the lawn, and a harbour that turns from gold to navy while the buffet line moves — a sunset luau at the foot of Aloha Tower.
The evening, at a glance
- What it isA harbourfront luau built around a lei greeting, hands-on Hawaiian activities, a buffet dinner and a Polynesian revue that opens and closes with fire
- WhereAloha Tower Marketplace, 1 Aloha Tower Drive, Honolulu — on Honolulu Harbor, at the foot of the historic Aloha Tower
- How longAbout three hours, check-in to the closing bow, across three seating tiers that all watch the same show
- Getting thereValet parking for luau guests, or an optional shuttle add-on from Waikiki
Why book this evening
A luau on Honolulu Harbor
Ka Moana runs at Aloha Tower Marketplace on the working waterfront of Honolulu Harbor, beside the Aloha Tower that opened in 1926.
It moved here for the view
For years Ka Moana ran at Sea Life Park on Oahu's east side; it relocated to Aloha Tower Marketplace in early 2023, trading a marine-park backdrop for a working harbour and a sunset that plays directly off the water. Some older listings and maps still show the old address.
A show built to open and close on fire
GetYourGuide's own listing describes the evening as a show that "starts and finishes with fire" — a structural choice, not a throwaway line: the stage portion is bookended by fire rather than saving it for a single late finale, with hula and the fast-footed Tahitian ʻōteʻa carrying the middle of the programme.
Three tiers, one real difference
Moana Classic, Splash and Celebrity all watch the identical revue from the same lawn. What changes is the lei you're greeted with, how many drinks are ticketed, how close your table sits to the water and the stage, and — on Celebrity only — whether a server brings your plate to you instead of you carrying it back from the buffet line yourself.
The harbour at dusk — Honolulu Harbor and Aloha Tower at sunset, and a Hawaiian luau buffet and bar.
Arrival, and the show
Two halves to the night: an hour of hands-on activity before anyone sits down, then dinner and the stage show running back to back until the fire-knife finale.
After check-in
Arrival, the lei and the lawn activities
Check-in begins on the harbour side of Aloha Tower Marketplace roughly a quarter-hour before the grounds open. From there it's an hour of lei-making, a hula lesson, coconut-headband weaving and a coconut tree-climbing demonstration — the kind of pre-show most visitors don't realise is part of the ticket until they've missed the first twenty minutes of it by arriving late.
The lei, strand by strand
A Hawaiian lei is strung flower by flower, in order, until the strand is long enough to loop. Ka Moana's evening builds the same way — each stage of the night is its own flower on the cord, from the greeting at the gate to the last fire-knife pass over the water.
- Shell 4:45pm, at check-in The greeting lei and the gate Check-in opens on the harbour side of Aloha Tower Marketplace; every tier is greeted with a shell lei at minimum, with a fresh flower lei on Splash's paid upgrade and standard on Celebrity.
- Kukui Before dinner Lei-making, the hula lesson and the tree climb An hour on the lawn before dinner: a lei-making station, a hula lesson, coconut-headband weaving, and a coconut tree-climbing demonstration alongside a fire-making demonstration that previews the flames to come.
- Plumeria Dinner The buffet opens over the water The farm-to-table buffet moves through the line as the light over the harbour starts to change colour.
- Pīkake After dinner Hula ʻAuana and the Tahitian ʻōteʻa The stage portion opens with Hawaiian hula ʻauana, then shifts into the fast hip-and-footwork ʻōteʻa from Tahiti — the middle of the revue, and the part most first-timers say moves quickest.
- ʻIlima The last act The Samoan fire-knife finale The night closes the way it opened — with fire. A Samoan fire-knife performance is the last act on the programme, danced close enough to the front tables to feel the heat off the blades.
- Maile After the show The last mai tai and the walk out A short meet-and-greet closes the night before the crowd empties out through Aloha Tower Marketplace's restaurants and shops, the harbour now fully dark behind them.
The strand you're seated on depends on your tier: Classic sits standard lawn seating with a shell lei and one drink; Splash sits mid-lawn with a shell lei (or a fresh flower lei for +$20/person) and two drinks; Celebrity sits closest to the water and the stage with a fresh flower lei, a welcome mai tai, table service and a souvenir gift. All three watch the same strand of acts, just from a different point along the row.
Dinner and show
Buffet, the revue, and the fire-knife finale
The buffet line moves as the tables fill, then the stage takes over: Hawaiian hula, the fast Tahitian ʻōteʻa, and a Samoan fire-knife performance closing a show GetYourGuide itself describes as one that starts and finishes with fire.
The buffet and the bar
Dinner runs farm-to-table and buffet-style across all three tiers, with the drink count and the seating distance the only real difference between them.
What's on the buffet
An island-style, farm-to-table buffet with kalua pork among its dishes, served buffet-style rather than plated. The operator says the menu can change without notice, and its dinner menu page marks vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free and dairy-free items.
The bar and the drink tickets
Classic includes one drink, Splash and Celebrity two, with Celebrity adding a complimentary welcome mai tai on top. A full-service bar covers everything beyond the ticketed pours for guests of legal drinking age.
Table service on Celebrity only
Classic and Splash guests carry their own plates from the buffet line; Celebrity is the one tier with table service, alongside the closest seating to the stage and the water and a souvenir gift to take home.
Dietary needs
Because the menu is a fixed buffet spread built around pork, chicken, fish and starches, it's worth flagging any dietary restriction on the GetYourGuide booking form ahead of the night rather than at the table, so the kitchen has notice rather than having to improvise.
Getting to Aloha Tower Marketplace
Parking on site
The operator offers valet parking at Aloha Tower Marketplace for luau guests, and its pages differ on self-parking, so check when you book. Either way, it's a straightforward drive from most of Honolulu without the longer cross-island trip some of Oahu's other luau venues require.
A shuttle from Waikiki
An optional shuttle add-on runs from a handful of Waikiki pickup points for roughly $30 a person (the closest pickup point is assigned at checkout, and your confirmation shows the pickup time). It isn't bundled into every ticket automatically — confirm your pickup point and price when you book if you'd rather not drive.
Arrive for the gate, not the show
The lei-making, the hula lesson and the tree-climbing demonstration all happen before dinner, so treating the 4:45pm check-in as your arrival time — not the show start — is the difference between catching the whole evening and walking in for the second half of it.
What to wear
This is an open-air harbourfront evening rather than a formal dinner — casual clothes and comfortable, flat shoes suit the lawn and the buffet line best, with a light layer worth having once the sun is down and the harbour breeze picks up.
Ka Moana vs Chief's vs the PCC Aliʻi Luau
| Luau | What it's built around | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Ka Moana Luau (this site) | A harbourside sunset at Aloha Tower, hula and lawn activities, and a fire-knife finale over the water | From US$135 · Aloha Tower Marketplace, Honolulu Harbor |
| Chief's Luau | Five Pacific nations of dance and stand-up comedy from a host who's also a world fire-knife title holder | From US$182 · Wet'n'Wild Hawaii, Kapolei — see chiefsluauoahu.com |
| PCC Aliʻi Luau | A full afternoon through six island villages before the buffet and the evening HĀ stage show | From US$158 · Lāʻie, North Shore — see polynesianculturalcenterluau.com |
| A plain hotel or resort dinner | A meal with no MC, no dancers and no fire | Doesn't compete with any of the three luaus above — it's a different kind of evening |
Ka Moana Luau questions
What happens during the evening?
Check-in opens around 4:45pm on the harbour side of Aloha Tower Marketplace, followed by lawn activities such as lei-making, a hula lesson, coconut-headband weaving and a coconut tree-climbing demonstration. Dinner is a buffet, and the stage show — Hawaiian hula, the Tahitian ʻōteʻa and a Samoan fire-knife finale — follows. Your confirmation shows the schedule for your date.
Is Ka Moana Luau still at Sea Life Park?
No. Ka Moana Luau ran at Sea Life Park on Oahu's east side for years, but relocated to Aloha Tower Marketplace on Honolulu Harbor in early 2023. Some older listings and maps still show the old location, but the current venue is Aloha Tower.
What are the three seating tiers and what do they include?
Moana Classic is standard lawn seating with a shell lei and one drink. Moana Splash sits mid-lawn with a shell lei (or a fresh flower lei for a paid upgrade) and two drinks. Moana Celebrity sits closest to the stage and the water with a fresh flower lei, a complimentary welcome mai tai, table service and a souvenir gift. All three watch the identical show.
What's on the buffet?
An island-style, farm-to-table buffet, served buffet-style with a full-service bar alongside it. The menu can change without notice, and the operator's dinner menu page marks vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free items.
Is there an imu ceremony?
Not as a published part of the programme. Ka Moana's evening centres on the lei greeting, the lawn activities, the buffet and the stage revue closing on the fire-knife finale — unlike some other Oahu luaus, an imu-unearthing ceremony isn't listed on the operator's own site, so we don't promise one here.
What time should I arrive?
Check-in begins at 4:45pm, and the lawn activities (lei-making, the hula lesson, the tree-climbing demonstration) happen before dinner. Arriving at the show start rather than at check-in means missing them. The operator's pages give different times for the grounds opening, so use the schedule in your confirmation.
Is there parking, or a shuttle from Waikiki?
The operator offers valet parking for luau guests, and its pages differ on self-parking, so check when you book. An optional shuttle add-on runs from several Waikiki pickup points; confirm the pickup point and price when you book, since it isn't automatically included in every ticket.
What should I wear?
Casual clothes and comfortable, flat shoes suit the lawn and the buffet line. It's an open-air evening on the harbour, so a light layer is worth having once the sun goes down.
Planning a night at Ka Moana Luau
A first-timer's guide
A night at Ka Moana Luau: what actually happens, step by step
From the gate to the closing fire-knife, in the order each stage happens and what's actually involved.
Read more →Tickets, packages and how to choose
Ka Moana Luau tickets: which package to book
Classic, Splash or Celebrity at Ka Moana Luau: what each package changes, how seating works, and booking direct or through a platform.
Read more →The show, explained
Hula, the ʻōteʻa and the fire-knife finale at Ka Moana Luau
What the three dance styles actually are, and why the show starts and finishes with fire.
Read more →Getting there, timing and the show
Ka Moana Luau: location, parking and timing
Where Ka Moana Luau is at Aloha Tower, how to get there from Waikiki, parking, what to wear, and what the hula, ʻōteʻa and fire knife dance are.
Read more →Choosing between three Oahu luaus
Ka Moana Luau vs Chief's Luau vs the PCC Aliʻi Luau
A harbour sunset, a comedy-and-fire evening, or a full afternoon of villages — three different Oahu nights that all happen to be called a luau.
Read more →Around Honolulu
Honolulu evenings beyond Ka Moana Luau
The luau is one harbour night — here's where it fits against everything else a Honolulu trip usually covers.
Read more →