Thanks so much highflyer! --are you counting the days? :)

yes...11days to go.I'm reading hawaii the big island revealed and day-dreaming!!!

highflyer--How was the Marriott and their kids programs?? Hope to see your review in here soon! Thanks..

Hi Maw

Just started a trip report! The Marriott Waikoloa was lovely. No construction noise but there was some building going on next door(north) of the hotel and standard rooms on that side would have unsightly 'views'. We'd booked a garden view room and were upgraded to a partial ocean view when we complained that the 1st floor room had no lanai only a flowerbed!

My daughter (7) signed up for a hula lesson and a lei making class (orchids) and really enjoyed both. My son (14) took a ukelele lesson and loved it...he plays piano,clarinet and guitar so this wasn't a huge stretch for him and he quickly got the hang of it.

These aren't advertised as just for kids and there was an adult in Lauren's hula class. They were free except for the lei class ($5 per person).

I'm not sure if there were any other kid's programs as we didn't look into it as ours tend to prefer sightseeing/snorkeling with us.
The classes they took were each about an hour long and held in the hotel lobby with 'auntie' who was really good with kids.

We got to swim with turtles a couple of times at 'A' Bay (to the right/north of the beach in front of the hotel)near the shore. The water was a bit murky and not ideal for snorkeling but turtles were a highlight for us!

The kids loved the pool and liked cooling out in the hot tubs at the end of the day. They were slightly disappointed that the water slide wasn't always manned and therefore closed but usually someone turned up if asked.

If you have anything specific to ask please do... we had a great time and loved our first trip to Hawaii so much that we'll definitely go back asap!

Vanessa