Why We Don’t Offer All the Luaus on Oahu

Hula dancer presents fire in two coconut shells at Diamond Head luau.

Why We Don’t Offer All the Luaus on Oahu

Guests learning some hula moves at Diamond Head Luau, one of the many top-tier luaus on Oahu. — Learning some hula moves at **Diamond Head Luau**

You’re excited about your upcoming trip to Hawaii, and you can’t stop talking about it to anyone who’ll listen. Everyone seems to have advice on what you simply must see and do while you’re in the islands.

For example, that one guy who came here on his honeymoon twenty years ago and went to Luau X. “You have to go to Luau X,” he insists. Over and over again. He sends you email reminders practically every day. At least once a week, he texts you to ask whether you’ve made your reservation for Luau X yet.

Thankfully, you’re no pushover. You had the good sense to come to the luau experts (us) to compare Luau X with the other options.

‘Luau X’ isn’t offered on our site. What gives?

Diamond Head Luau offers the islands' only farm-to-table buffet — Food is one of the many categories we rate every luau on

Here’s the thing: We visit and assess all of the major luaus on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island. That’s a lot of luaus. We have high standards and only some of them are considered for inclusion on our site.

That is not to say that you can’t or won’t have fun at those luaus, we just think you can do better.

As our comparison chart shows, we rate every luau based on three main categories: Entertainment, Food & Beverages, and Location/View/Setting.

These are then broken down into subcategories, things like audience participation, imu demonstrations, tropical drinks, traditional foods, friendliness of the staff, etc. These are standard components of every luau, and if any of them falls short, it can diminish the overall experience.

How We Decide What Luaus to Offer

When we choose to work with a luau, it’s because it rates high enough in all categories—or does so well in some categories that it makes up for one or two areas that may be a bit lacking.

Fire knife dancer — Fire knife dancing is often the highlight of the evening’s entertainment, so we rate it for each luau

You may be wondering, “Why not just list all the luaus and let people decide on their own?” Firstly, that’s a lot of luaus. And secondly, we wouldn’t be offering you any value other than simply being a place to book some random luau. Like the kids say, that’s not how we roll.

Our whole reason for doing this is to offer our experience and expertise and help our visitors choose a top-rated luau that works best for them.

While your friend loved ‘Luau X’ years ago, things have likely changed. New management sometimes lets standards slip, star performers get poached by other luaus, luaus raise prices, or decide to save money by skimping on the food and drinks.

We keep up with the industry gossip, and local business news, and frequently check out all of the luau offerings in person. We have a much wider—and more up-to-date—basis for comparison.

The Bottom Line: Not All Luaus Are Equal

There are lots of terrific luaus on Oahu, and no one is in a better position than we are to provide solid, fact-based recommendations. In the end, only you can decide where you want to spend your hard-earned cash, but we can say with complete confidence that if you select any of the luaus we offer, you’re going to have a blast.