My husband and I are planning to go to Hawaii (for the first time) with our kids, ages 3 and 7, for a week. Which island should we visit (I'm thinking one is enough for a week) and where should we stay?

Taking my kids to Hawaii next week, ages 7 and 11. Will post a trip report when we return. We are spending three nights on Oahu and 7 on Maui. I agree with you that if you only have one week, just do one island and you basically lose a whole day moving to another island and it seems like a lot with such small children. Where are you coming from? We are on the east coast and have a direct flight on Cont'l. If at all possible get a direct flight since it is such a long trip. I believe there are direct flights from the Mainland to Oahu, Kauai and Maui. Maui seems to be an especially good choice for kids, I will let you know when I return. We are staying at the Embassy Vacation resort, a large 1 BR condo with kitchen.

I look forward to hearing about your trip. Thanks!

Eileen, We took our 3 kids (then ages 16, 14 and 11) to the Embassy Vacation Resort in Maui a few years ago, and we loved it. If you do the road to Hana, make sure to take drinks/snacks in the car with you. We took along cheap ($2 from Target) tennis shoes to wear to the black sand beach; then we just threw them away. That vacation is one of the best family vacations we've ever taken!

Hi
We took our 4 kids 2 years ago ages: 4-7-12-14 and had a blast. We stayed at the Westin Maui and loved it. Awesome pool andgreat atmosphere! We went for a week and thought it was perfect. My kids loved hanging between the beach and pool.
Have fun!

When are you planning to go? and what is your budget? the suggestions are on the expensive side, but very nice if you have the money. I go to Hawaii every year with my two kids now 13 and 15 however we have been going since they were born. We all love Maui there is enough to do you can't get bored and the snorkeling is very easy there, great beaches. I would suggest a Condo, there are a lot availabe, check out www.crhmaui.com I always stay in Kihei at the Aston Maui Hill, I've been going there for over 20 years. Nice units very large. If you can afford the Embassy, Westin, or Grand Wailea, go for it they are awesome. Aloha

I'm not sure I would take fairly young kids on the Hana drive, though I personally thoroughly enjoy the drive. I've done it four times. Trouble its a long time in the car going, and really long returning (or so it seems). If you do go, plan on driving slowly and taking frequent stops to view the scenery and to avoid car sickness for the kids. Also, buy the CD narration at the Kiosk at the Shell station just before you turn on the Hana Highway. Makes the trip much more interesting.

What are the pros and cons of a week in Maui vs. a week on the big island?

Maui is much more developed that the BI though that seems to be changing quickly.

There is much more in the way of shopping, night life etc on Maui. Maui has far more sandy beaches than the BI. Both have excellent snorkling though it is a bit more difficult on the BI due to the very rough coastline.

The BI has Volcano national park, which is a wonder all to itself.

It's a matter of personal preference, I suppose. If it were up to me, I would go to the BI only because its less crowded, my kids (15 and 18) prefer Maui because they like Lahaina and the Kanapauli area and my wife seems to enjoy both equally.

That's why we typically do both, and spend the first week on Maui and the second decompressing on the BI.

that's helpful--where would you stay?

Again, depends on your tastes and life style.

Resturants and such are not a big part of our lives, so we do the Condominium thing so we can prepare many of our meals ourselves. Also since out kids go with us, eating all meals in a resturant would strain the budget pretty badly. And, we can afford to get a two bedroom condominium so we have a bit of privacy. With two teenaged daughters, two bathrooms are a necessity. No way we could afford a hotel suite.

There are many Condominiums on both Islands. I personally like the Keihi area on Maui, again because its less crowded, but my wife and kids like the Kaanapauli/Kahana area because its close to the shops and stores around Lahaina. Guess who wins? We stayed at the Mahana a couple of weeks ago and it was quite nice. Ditto the Kaanapauli Shores and Kaanapauli Villas. There are many many more.

If your taste runs to hotels, there are several in both the Kaanapauli area and around Wailea. I don't know much about the hotels because I don't stay in them.

As for the BI we always stay South of Kailua Kona, on the Alii Drive strip. However, for whatever reason, there are not nearly as many "nice" Condominiums there. We have had good luck with the Kona By the Sea, the Royal Sea Cliff and the Kona Reef. The Kona by the Sea was suddenly closed for renovation (?) this summer and no ocean view rooms were available in the other two Condo's so we stayed at an unfamiliar place, the Bali Kai - that was a mistake, it was a pretty tired facility. But regardless, since most of your time is spent outdoors it wasn't a big deal.

There are also several nice hotels on the West Hawaii side in both Kailua and north of the airport in Waikoloa and surrounding area. Again, I'm not familiar with the hotel accomodations.

Best thing to do is go to the web site for VRBO and Condominium Connection that will give you a very good idea of what's available in condominiums. I'm sure an internet search of Hotel web sites will do the same for the hotels.

thanks--do any of the condo complexes have nice pools? That's the major attraction of a hotel for me because I think that will be where my kids want to spend the whole vacation.

Nice, yes, but none that I know of approach the lavishness of those found at some of the major resort hotels.

jrd: One of the reasons we wanted to stay at the Embassy Vacation Resort was the fact that it had a nice, big pool with a slide. Some of the condos don't have a real nice pool. The Embassy was sort of a middle ground between a resort and a condo. We were in a one-bedroom unit (with 5 people) and had plenty of room. My husband and I slept in the bedroom, our girls slept on the pull-out couch, and we had a rollaway for our son. We used BlueHawaii.com travel agency (talked to Renee) and got a very good rate.

Which hotel has the best pools for kids in Maui?

The Marriot has a very, very, nice pool but I always find the pool area (lounge chairs)a bit crowded and the menu is a bit pricey. Their beach is also very nice. Since it is also a timeshare they will have condos. The Embassy is great, my kids love it. It has minature golf (small but popular) and a kids club just in case you and your husband want some free time (The Marriot has a kids club too). You should check www.vacationsonly.com under rentals and compare prices. They usually can have some good deals that will save you money but first call around. Since these are both timeshares they sometimes have incentive programs at low prices if you go to a presentation. I think your family would be happy with either of these two.

Make sure you go to the dinner/magic show, my kids loved it. If you get the front table (in front of the stage)at the far end of the room (close to the stage steps) they will prbably ask your kids to go up on stage as a volunteer. Also, Bubba Gump's fresh baked choc chip cookie a la mode - gotta have it.