tuchuzy

Hi,
I was hoping a local could help me with some questions. We are thinking of going to Honolulu early September, our baby will be 4 months old. If we hire a car can we hire a a baby capsule ( not baby chair ), or do we have to bring our own. We are coming from Australia. I understand taxis won't take us, but buses are ok? If we go to restraunts I have been told that strollers are to be left at the front but you can take the baby in the capsule which can be placed on a chair? Also are there mothers rooms where you can breast feed at shopping centers and if I was to breast feed in public would it be ok if I was covered with a wrap? Any help would be appreciated, thanks

tuchuzy

Maybe I should have also asked if any other people on vacation have taken a young ( 4 months ) baby to Honolulu and how they managed?

stjohnbound

I'm sorry but I just can't imagine why you would even think about taking a 4 month old baby all the way from Australia to Hawaii. Can't the trip wait a few years?

starrsville

I agree with stjohnbound, and from the lack of responses wonder if many others agree as well.

The baby has not been born yet, right? Is this your first? I think my preference would be to take a first trip with a newborn a bit closer to home. I would not chose a Waikiki beach vacation with a 4 month old.

Good luck and congrats on the new baby!

suze

<I understand taxis won't take us>

I'm curious, you say that the taxi's will not take... won't take what, the baby or the baby capsule or what?

suze

I'm also curious about the choice of Honolulu/Waikiki. Especially with a tiny baby might you not better enjoy something outside the city, a quiet bungalow with a kitchen somewhere? Mostly people choose Waikiki for the nightlife, shopping, nice restaurants, etc. Waikiki is very urban, busy, loud, lots of traffic, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love the place myself, but it would be WAY down my list as a place to travel with an infant.

lcuy

We took our oldest child to japan at 4 months old. It was a perfect time to travel with her...she was still nursing, couldn't crawl away, and her presence got us all kind of wonderful interactions from other people.

I'm not sure what a baby capsule is...Maybe what we call an infant carrier- where baby lies in it and there is one swinging handle over the middle?

Rental car companies will have car seats, but not the infant carriers.
Taxis will take you and the capsule or a car seat. Busses will take you and what ever you are using to transport baby, UNLESS it is one of those giant prams.

At restaurants, it depends on the space. Most will remove a chair from the table to accomodate your stroller, or you can place an infant carrier on a chair or on the table even. Really formal places, will not usually be as happy to have infants, but you will probably be going to more informal places anyway.

Breat feeding in public, covered, is acceptable in most places. In shopping centers, go to the large department store bathrooms, rather than the center's public bathrooms. The dept store bathrooms are cleaner and usually have a sitting area where you can comfortably nurse.

tuchuzy

lcuy thank you so much for answering my question. You were the only one who understood what I was asking. Yes a baby capsule sounds like an infant carrier. Thanks again.

suze

i apologize for being less than helpful above. since i was recently in Waikiki i did mean to let you know that taxis would certainly take 2 persons and a baby carried however, but did not say that very well at all.

suze

There is a list of what you are allowed to bring on a bus at the website:

www.thebus.org

as well as prices, schedules, etc. for Oahu's public transportation system.

starrsville

tuchuzy, we undersood that a baby capsule is a baby carrier. What we don't understand why you want to take a 4 month old on a beach vacation.

I'm glad lcuy answered your questions and verified that she took a 4 month old to Japan. I personally cringe whenever I see a very little baby on a plane. Except for a family obligation, I don't know why anyone would want to subject a child that young to the public and travel.

My vet cautions about not taking a puppy to PetSmart until after 6 months old and all the vaccinations are completed. Islandmom just posted a Paris trip report and her 1 year old got sick en route to Paris and she spent two days in the hotel room with a sick baby.

Happy travels - but I still not understand why you are planning a trip that far from home - and a beach vacation at that. Safe travels for you and your baby-to-be.

jette

I'll go out on a limb and assume this is your first child. So much of what you can and cannot do will depend on what kind of a baby he or she is and you simply will not know this until sometime after the birth. My first born was very easy and we could probably have carted him anywhere although we chose to stay a little closer to home. My second was very difficult for the first 3 years and all of us, including her, would have been miserable going thousands of miles away from home. You might be wise to let time and your new arrival dictate what you'll be comfortable doing. Also, and this is not a small afterthought, do you have any idea how much stuff you'll have to carry?

kcapuani

A few more points for you -

Are you planning on having a separate seat for the baby? I would highly recommend it - I'm sure it is a 10 hour flight or so from Australia and it would be nice for the baby to sleep in his/her car seat. You will all be much more comfortable. Plus, it is safer for the baby during times of turbulence. It really isn't that difficult to carry along the carseat - I've done it many times, even when traveling by myself. I just strap the seat on to the back of the stroller and push it along with my daughter.

I would check with the car company to see if they have infant car seats for rent if you decide not to bring your own. I have never personally used a car rental company's car seat - I think it is much easier to bring my own. You already know the baby is comfortable in it etc.

You are correct about bringing the baby carrier with you into restaurants. Some restaurants have slings to place the carrier on, or you can simply place it on a high chair upside down.

Also, if you have a wrap with you, most people will have no idea you are nursing the baby...

TravelingMom

While I'm not a local, I have traveled a fair bit with my own son. We took him to Germany from the States when he was about 4 months old. As I'm sure you're aware, the flight is the most stressful part. Luckily for us, my son is a very flexible, laid-back kind of kid. As soon as they dimmed the lights on the plane, I swaddled him and he fell sound asleep for the entire flight. Some people recommended giving him infant motrin or something similar to help him sleep, but that didn't feel right for us.

Anyway - to answer a couple of your other questions -

I would bring your own car seat. We rented one in Europe and it had to be at least 10 years old. It looked really unsafe so I would have felt much better with our own.

Also, if you're not completely sold on the idea of bringing a stroller, I would recommend just using a front-pack baby carrier (like the Snugli or BabyBjorn). It's much easier to transport and manuever, plus the kids seem happier in them anyway.

Breastfeeding in public is acceptable. Don't feel like you have to hide out in a bathroom, but you should make efforts to cover up as much as possible.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

dlam

Take the baby with you! We took our first child to Oahu when she was 7 months old and it was a great family vacation! The memories and pictures from that trip are priceless. It probably would have been a little more fun going before she was born (so we could go out more and snorkel together) but I can't imagine not going with her. 4-8 months is the perfect age because they are happy just being carried around and will sleep anywhere. I know all kids are different but our daughter was the perfect companion- she was happy to go wherever. The only thing we could not do was swim together- we just took turns.
I now have second baby and we are all going to Hawaii again- she will be 7 months old when we go (the older one is now 3 yrs old).
You can rent car seats for infants for your rental car. If they don't have actual infant seats, they will have convertible car seats which are fine for babies (we rented it for our baby) if you face them backward. The problem is that they aren't portable- you can't take it out of the car and into restaraunts. You may want to check with the car rental agentcy on this. While in restaraunts, You can always hold the baby or put the baby in the stroller. Most restaraunts will allow you to bring you stroller to the table. If not, do you have a sling?

Breastfeeding in public is fine- I do it all the time. Some people are uncomfortable with it but most moms will support you. Some cover up for privacy but you don't have to. It is perfectly ok and legal to breastfeed wherever you are.

E-mail me if you have questions! I love Hawaii and travelling with our babies has always been so much fun! Our 3 yr old has been on 8 plane trips already and I don't regret any of them.

aecalgary

I know this is old, but it's the same topic. My husband will be in a conference in Waikiki. Me and my then will be 4.5 mos old baby pland to tag along, for 6 nights in Aqua Aloha Surf hotel. We'll be traveling from Canada (total 7.5 hrs flight). My baby has been easy in car seat and car/mall traveling, hope plane will work the same. We'll bring the stroller and car seat etc. How do you find baby cribs provided by the hotel? Are they decent and clean? Also, how's the weather mid-June - is it okay and not too windy for a baby? Any other advice is appreciated too. Thanks in advance.

suze

You might want to start a new post.

Some people will skip over this thread and not read down to your last question, when they see it is 2 years old.

aecalgary

Thanks Suze, I'll try that. New at Fodor

suze

I know

That's why I mentioned it. (When you click on the Author name you see all a person has posted, and I guessed and confirmed it was your first time here).

Soooooo WELCOME!

starrsville

aecalgary, hotel cribs are just fine. Call ahead to make sure they will have one available. If you plan to be out on the beach for an extended period of time, you may want to buy a little sun shelter for baby - which will also serve well as a windbreak.

There are a lot of threads on this board with tips on traveling with baby. You may want to do a search in the box above and read for lots of good ideas for the plane, hotel room, beach, etc.

Have fun in Hawaii. What a great opportunity for your new family!