moe

I am finally turning in all my miles to take my family on an extremely memorable yet relaxing vacation. I have 5 children ranging from newborn to 13 years old. We have decided between Kauai, Kona, and St. Thomas/St. John US Virgin Islands. We have been to Maui before and loved it, but don't know what we are missing with the other locations. We are an active family (with a newborn) and can only handle laying around or swimming at a pool or a beach for a few hours each day (excluding snorkleing). I am not sure where we will be staying as that depends on the location. It will be a resort with a kitchen (so I'm looking for suggestions on that as well). I am looking for the best place to go between the 3 above; focused on great soft-cool-sand beaches, great-not rough-snorkeling, beautiful landscaping and hiking, quiet/relaxing yet "accessible" to some nightlife, 85 degrees and up days, and affordable dining.

Please help; I will be planning the trip for august 2001, but need to make these arrangements very soon, due to some restrictions on some airline tickets that I have. (Please use this message board for replies.)

THANKS

N.R.

I don't think it is wise to take a baby on such a trip. I suggest either going somewhere close to where you live or leaving your baby with relatives before taking such a trip.

chris

Went to the Big Island and Kauai for my honeymoon in late July. Loved the 4 seasons on the Big Island (but may be too pricey for the whole family). Much more mellow of a hotel, but they had a man-made freshwater pool so that kids (and adults) could snorkel w/o worrying about the waves, etc. (I saw more fish in the pool than I have seen on some dives!) Stayed at the Hyatt in Kauai - big family oriented hotel, multiple pools, water slide. Kauai has great beaches for the family to visit, plus the canyon and waterfalls galore. Minimal nightlife on both islands but the hotels (esp the Hyatt) will always have entertainment on the property for visitors (dancers, singers, bars).

kmd

We just got back last week from Kauai and it was wonderful! Stayed at the Hyatt (which is probably not where you want to be since there are no kitchens). It seems every other couple we ran into at this resort had a baby in a stroller, and they seemed to really enjoy themselves.

xxx

Going to Kauai nest month and did St. Thomas last year all on FF points. Although we went w/out kids, I can recommend ST. Thomas. We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel and I belive that there was a condo complex, I think it was Bolongo Beach that shared the facilities. They had one two and three bedroom condo's with kitchen facilities. Activities were BEACH< BEACH BEACH for us, but there was plenty of other things to do.

James

If you have some preconceived notion of St.Thomas as an idyllic, pristine Caribbean island, I can almost guarantee you will be disappointed. It is the least desirable of the three USVI. St. John is much less developed, much less crime, cleaner, etc. There are other islands maybe you could get to through your FF miles. Tortola comes to mind. Anyway, if it were me, i would choose Kona or Kauai over St. Thomas. $0.02.

Beth

We went to the Big Island and stayed in Kona last year. So many places to explore and many things to do. Not much of a nightlife in Kona but close to many things. We are going to Kauau in April so I will have my opinion on the when I return! St. Thomas is nice but not what I would call exciting!

mjb

Have been to all three spots- although St. Thomas was pre-kids. I would recommend Poipu Beach on Kauai. Very kid friendly, easy access to beaches (meaning not having to get in and out of cars with kids), beautiful, fairly close to Waimea Canyon for gorgeous scenery and nice, short hikes with kids.
We have rented condo units at Poipu Kai and Kiahuna Plantation. I would recommend Poipu Kai units with younger kids as beach in front of Kiahuna can be a little rougher and pool is across fairly busy road. Poipu Kai has a number of pools, units with up to 3 and 4 bedrooms, and is on a walking trail system that ends at the Hyatt. We enjoy taking our kids over there for "Parrot Talk" in the morning when the bird handlers very graciously teach the adults and kids about the birds, and let the kids feed and handle them. There are also daily koi feedings and a wonderful Keiki (kids) Hula program a couple of nights a week where local hula troupes perform on the open air terrace of the hotel. For the price of a couple of drinks and smoothies for the kids, you receive a wonderful show.
We have rented units through Suite Paradise and through private owners. The units are nice, not spectacular but work really well for families. Northshore Kauai is also beautiful but weather can be variable even in the summer.
Big Island is also great but it always feels like we are in the car more when we are there because of the distances between beaches and the large size of the island. One of the things that I like about the Poipu area is that everything is close enough to the condo so that a baby can be napping, and kids can still be at beach close by with one parent without having to pack everyone up. There are a number of kid friendly restaurants in the area as well and some beautiful, remote feeling beachers a short drive away. (Mahaulepu comes to mind.) The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook is a good reference book for beaches, day hikes, kayak trips, etc.

St.Thomas: very different feel and in my view, more difficult in terms of transportation, costs, finding the right spot. There's something to be said for being able to access a K-Mart when travelling with kids and that's not the Caribbean. St. John is glorious but again much harder to do with little ones. I'd save that trip for later.

Brad

In order, I'd rank them Kauai>Kona>>>USVI.
Having been to all three (Hawaii many times), I'll never go back to the USVI's. True, St. John is beautiful, relatively unspoiled, has some of the world's best beaches. But safety factor, racism (Caucasian American tourists are practically hated by locals...which is ironic in that tourism is their main source of income), lack of restaurants, difficulty getting around and high/high humidity in summer all add up to a big NIX on ever going back there for us.
Hawaii is in another league (far superior).

Dan

St. Thomas AND St. John are both DISGUSTING places to visit with or without children! Be smart and go back to gorgeous Hawaii!!!

jana

We've been to St. John several times and love it!! We usually rent a villa thru Caribbean Villas which can be cheaper than a hotel such as the Westin especially when you factor in cooking some of your own meals. The beaches and snorkeling are great. Racism issue is overstated in my opinion by previous posters. You will need to rent a car. We're doing Hawaii (Kauai) this summer so then we will be able to compare. Good Luck!
Jana

Mo

We have done Maui, St. Thomas and St. John with kids. All of us choose St. John as our favorite. THe kids were 8 and 11 when we stayed at the Westin. They have villas and townhouses with kitchens. I saw no racism at all

juli

What fun!! We've done all three with little kids to teenagers (ours, cousins, nieces, etc.) and I'd have to vote for the Big Island. The BEST place would have to be the villas at Mauna Lani which are expensive but have access to fabulous soft-sand beaches, easy shallow snorkeling, etc. The villas would also be extremely baby-friendly as they're one-level with laundry facils. and great kitchens. That was the best big-family place we ever stayed & the kids program is super. Check on this site or travel guides--I think there are some other more affordable arrangements in the Kohala area. We are on our way to Kona with small ones next week--I'll post afterwards if any else that comes to mind. There's just more cool stuff on the big island for all ages--volcanoes, lava fields, lots of "hey wow" besides the beach.

Kauai is also great--Poipu would be best with that many kids. For affordable dining and a bit of real Kauai try the Ono family restaurant in Kapa'a. Our kids LOVE the Ono restaurant!!