Family Trip
 

Were thinking of going to Hawaii (June)and just started to do some research on hotels, Islands, etc etc! Please recommend what would be right for a family of 4 - 4yr old son and 2yr old daughter. My wife and I want to make this trip fun and more oriented towards our kids but Mom and Dad needs some R&R too!
Thanks!!

Our most successful vacations when our children were young were spent at a beach. Hawaii is perfect, but you need to choose your location carefully. I would not recommend staying in the Honolulu/Waikiki area as it's basically a large urban setting with palm trees. I believe that you would be much happier on Kauai or Maui in a condo unit so that you won't have to deal with the kids eating in restaurants for every meal. The hotels tab on this website is a good place to start looking. You might also want to check out the Vacations to Go website
www.resortvacationstogo.com/hotdeals.cfm

Sorry that I can't be of more assistance........

Hawaii is a great destination, but with kids that age, is it worth the long plane ride and expense? Snorkeling, whale-watching cruises and most hiking will be off-limits with a two year old. Beaches are great, but in June, there are so many cheaper and more convenient beaches to go with little kids.

I can give you a huge list of things to do on Oahu if you decide on that island. My resort choices would be-

Iolani Resort
Turtle Bay Hilton
Hilton Hawaiian Village
Kahala Mandarin

On Maui-
Marriott Waimea
Kanapali Beach Hotel - lower end
Aston Kanapali Shores - lower end

Big Island-
Hilton Waikaloa Village
Four Seasons

Kauai-
Poipu Hyatt

Hi,
We have many happy memories of Hawaii trips with very young children. (Ours are still fairly young -ages 6 and 10-but we are definitely more mobile these days. The biggest difference: they can each pull their own "rolly" suitcase and tote their own backpacks!) Our favorite spot when the kids were younger was Poipu Beach on Kauai. We would rent a ground floor condo at Poipu Kai (through Suite Paradise)and would request a greenbelt unit in the Manualoha area of the resort. This gave us a unit a short distance from the beach and gave us access to the nicest pool at Poipu Kai. Poipu Beach Park is a great spot with young kids. The lagoon is safe and shallow AND is a very scenic spot. There is great snorkling off of the point for adults and lots of tide pools to explore with kids. There is a play area with pint-sized play equipment, showers, and bathrooms. Sometimes a monk seal will come up on the beach and that is always exciting for the kids. You can walk to Poipu Beach in front of the Kiahuna for a change of pace but the surf can be a little higher there.

Poipu Kai has a greenbelt that stretches all the way to the Hyatt and we used to regularily load the kids into their stroller and walk over to the hotel for morning coffee and "Parrot Talk," a free, very informal morning program that the parrot keepers put on for the public. My kids still talk about the parrots and remember their names. There is also a koi feeding at the hotel every morning that is fun when you're a munchkin. We also did hikes in the area and up at Koke'e State Park with the kids in backpacks. They loved chasing the ubiquitous chickens up there.

We have occasionally hired babysitters through Suite Paradise to come for the evening so that we could have an adult dinner out. A sunset dinner at the Beach House is a wonderful treat.

We learned to keep things simple with the kids when they were that age and they loved it. (And we loved it.)

We have also spent a lot of time on Maui and on the Big Island with them. I think that Kauai offers better value on condos and hotels than Maui and Maui feels crowded and busy compared to Kauai. The Big Island is great but the distances between beaches and resorts is greater and a lot of the activities - the volcano, snorkling trips, etc are better suited to older kids.

We are heading back to Kauai this summer- but this time will be staying on the Northshore with surfboards and boogie boards in tow. That lies ahead for you. Enjoy sand time with your little ones in a safe calm spot. My vote: Kauai!

In Maui, hands down GRAND WAILEA.
The kids will totally, absolutely, utterly LOVE IT. It's hard to say who has more fun, the kids or the older "kids." Right on the beach as well but their record breaking pool is just a BLAST!!!! (Wailea's spa has also been rated way up there in the world).