Hi--my husband and I have been to Hawaii many times (we used to go once a year, pre-childbirth) and are familiar with the islands in terms of adult activities.

However, this year, I was thinking of a short trip (probably Maui) for hubby's fortieth birthday, planning on leaving our daughter with Grammie and Grampa for a few days. My husband surprised me by saying he really wants to take the baby with us.

She will be 18 months at the time of the trip (April).

Honestly--is this a horrible age to take her? Should we wait until she's a bit older? We live in CA, so the flight will be somewhat reasonable. And she is a pretty easygoing kid. But I'm nervous. We haven't had to travel with her yet, as our families live in the area.

Any tips? Condo better than hotel? Time change and jet lag--does that screw the kids up really badly? Please be totally honest! If it SUCKS traveling with an 18-month-old, lay it on me straight!

it is never too early to start.

we travelled with dd since she was 3 months old.
on one trip to hawaii when she was about 18 mos i had to be very creative in keeping her occupied and not disturbing the other passengers.

i brought her favourite toys and books and some new ones to spark some excitement.
she also liked being a 'big' girl so she had been given a new backpack/purse which entertained her for hours as she filled it up and emptied it with small books and toys.

besides walking up and down the aisles a couple of times, we had no problems at all.

just make sure she has something to suck on - pacifier, bottle etc. to reduce the pressure in her ears during take off and landing.

i would vote for a condo over a hotel as it gives you so much more room and flexibility.
having a fridge was a boon as there were days that we just wanted to chill did not want to deal with a restaurant etc.
some of the rental agencies will also make available a crib and offer a list of baby sitters.

have fun!!

It sucked travelling with our 18 month old. She needed the same, rigid schedule every day to function, and travelling just kind of messed her up. She was cranky. She was overtired. She was whiny. It made us cranky and whiny.

We took her to Maui when she was 4, though, and we had a fantastic time. She was more flexible, and she had so much fun despite the long plane rides and all the driving.

I think it just depends on your kid. I know 18 months was a hard age for us to travel more than a couple of hours away from home. Our daughter just didn't tolerate disruption very well at that age. Frankly, Hawaii would've been a terrible trip with her. But every kid is different. And your daughter may be a lot more easy going and she may require less of a routine.

If you bring her, I'd definitely stay in a condo. It's nice to have the kitchen, separate bedrooms, and the extra space (and washing machine and dryer).

Good luck! I hope you have a great trip!

kurieff, i'm sorry you had such a hard time travelling with your 18 month old.
i do know what you are talking about as i have witnessed a few such incidents.

i'm not quite sure how or why it worked for me since dd was used to a disciplined schedule as well.

i think we just talked about it a lot and made it out to be this big adventure we were going on.
we had also taken her on several long and short trips before so that may have had an impact as well.

abranz, I think it just depends on the child or maybe just a stage they go through or something. Our daughter travelled well until she was about 13 months old, and then she was a nightmare to travel with until she was about two years old. Who knows. I'm glad she's fun now!

Our son was about that age when we went to Hawaii for the first time, for my sister's wedding (she lives there). For the most part it was fine, even the long flights. Our big surprise was when he immediately took a dislike to the ocean and sand! Both our kids have traveled the world with us from very young ages, and I wouldn't have done it any other way. I can't remember a single time they had problems with the time changes (unlike myself!), though I'm sure we just totally lucked out on that one. The condo is definitely the way to go for the extra room and kitchen (my kids never did well in restaurants).

The thing I'm really worried about is the time change and her sleeping habits.

My kid has an easy temperament and likes eating out, sightseeing, etc. But she is on a schedule and is pretty darn attached to her own room/bed/bedtime.

Did you all find that your kids slept okay in a different crib (we'd bring along her blankie and animals, of course!)? Did they wake up at the crack of dawn due to the time change?

Hi Gellers - I'll all for taking small kids to Hawaii. I took DS when he was 13 months, then again when he was almost 4 along w/ my 17 month DD.

I think it all depends on your kid, and you say she is easy going. I say go for it.

My kids had no problem w/ the time change (5 hours, I think). Yes, they woke up early, but so did I. We were pretty busy during the day, so a few times, they took an unscheduled nap in the car and woke up refreshed.

Truthfully, at 17 months my DD was a little difficult at home. But she was so happy to be outside in Hawaii playing in the sand and water, she was actually a joy the whole time.

Condo definintely is the way too go. Also, I strongly suggest visiting the beach in the morning for a few hours. Then heading home for lunch and some shade.

Thanks Gellers, now I want to go Hawaii again especially since I keep finding reasonable air fare from DFW. Can you talk my husband into going again this year?

Happy planning.

geller,
it seems that my dd at 18 mos had pretty much the same temperament as yours does.
pretty easy going, loves new experiences but also very attached to schedule/bed/home etc.

the time diff does sometimes affect their waking hours. though we had rented a crib, it was not home so it was difficult to keep her there.
so we ended up waking early some days and sometimes sharing the bed with her.
we were enjoying ourselves too much and did not think these were major issues.

We've traveled with our son since he was about 3 months. We love it! It definitely changes the way you travel though -- if you expect the differences it will be easier on you.

You and your husband won't be able to do everything together. You can't snorkel together, you can't play in the water together, you can't doze on the sand together, you might not even be able to eat together! But, you can dig in the sand together, you can go on beautiful drives together . . .I'm sure you get my point!

We've also found that traveling with a toddler can be more relaxing than by ourselves. We're less tempted to cram too much in. We're more likely to stop midday for nap. Our meals are simpler -- and cheaper!

Definitely get a condo! You'll love being able to put your daughter down for naps while you read a magazine on the balcony or stay up and watch movies with your husband. It will also be better for meals -- you can keep her familiar foods, like yogurt, cheeses, fruit, milk etc in the fridge. If desperate you can even whip up mac n cheese one night.

Flying can be a pain. I won't sugar coat it. The best you can do is be prepared. Buy her her own seat. We always have 3 carryons. 1: expensive camera equipment 2: his toys 3: his food. I read once to have a new toy or activity for every 10 - 15 minutes of flight time. That sounds extreme but I would rather have unused toys than a bored toddler. Little things like finger puppets, pez dispensers, pop up books, individual snack foods, etc.

Changing time zones and back hasn't been too difficult on our son. It was easier on him when he was still taking one or two naps a day. Sometimes the naps were longer and the nights shorter, sometimes the other way around. It's usually harder on us than him!

It will probably be more work -- and definitely more luggage -- but we love it.

Good luck!

Thank you all for your advice! I think maybe we should just go for it. Now...any recommendations for a good Wailea-area condo?

I'm glad you've decided to travel with your 18 month old to Hawaii. We did it with our DD when she was that age and it worked out great. We did a lot of the same things that posters such as abranz and BKP mentioned--distractions for the plane and a slower pace for us all on the island.
The only thing that concerns me is that you've said "I'm nervous". If you are stressed out before and during the trip, your child is going to sense this and the trip is not going to be a pleasant experience for any of you. So, try to be calm about the whole thing--it will work out fine and you'll have a good, but different, Hawaiian experience.

Let me echo what Longhorn posted... If you are nervous, uptight, and stressed, then your child will react accordingly and the trip could be a nightmare. On the other hand, if you can stay relaxed and just go with the flow, it can be a great trip. More than you realize, you will set the tone for the trip, not the child. If you as the parent are determined to stick to her home schedule, it's going to be tough. The odds of her staying on the home schedule are very slim. If you can adopt the attitude that she may be wide awake and hungry at 3am and that's just part of the adventure, it will be fine. Kids are generally flexible and deal better with time change and jet lag than adults do.

Stay in a condo so you have your own kitchen and a separate room for her to sleep. On our first trip to the beach as new parents, we didn't think about that our son would need the room to be dark and quiet to go to sleep. We ended up putting the crib in the bathroom so we didn't have to sit in the dark hotel room in silence. Live and learn.

What I think will work in our favor is that our kid really adores checking out new places and people. She is social and loves hub-bub and noise and activity. So she may actually like the airport and the flight. I think she'll be really interested in staying in a new place, too. I think what I have to do is just let go of concerns and just go with the flow, as you all have said. What is the worst that can happen? She doesn't sleep one night?

I know 18 months is right in the middle, but we took our kids when they were super-babies (3 months and 5 months, respectively) and again when they were a little older, like 2, 3 and 4. The only bad part was that they woke up earlier than I would have liked. Generally, we just took the opportunity to go out for some early beachtime (like 7 a.m.), or a cup of coffee and a walk/stroll along the beach path, etc. Other than than, we had a blast playing in the pool at each resort (very little time in the ocean -- the waves scared them when they were little). You'll have fun, I promise!

sf7307 makes a really good point about kids and the ocean. My son loved the sand but he's just now getting used to playing in the ocean -- and he's 3 1/2. However, he has always loved pools! Definitely rent a condo with a pool. We stayed in my brother's time share so I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

I'm glad you decided to go. We took our daughter to Kauai when she was 18 months, and we have such fond memories of the trip.
We flew from ORD, so our trip was much longer than yours was, and it wasn't bad at all. It was not her first plane trip, but her first long haul flight. Buy her a seat, and use her car seat on the plane. Our kids always calm down when they are in their own, familiar car seats on planes.

I agree with longhorn that your kid will pick up your anxiousness and feed on it. We don't have any options for childcare, so our now-3 year old daughter and 15 month old son go everywhere with us. We have since moved to the UK, and we've made 5 transatlantic flights with them the last year, with absolutely no problems. I just pack lots (& LOTS) of snacks.

Good luck.

I just pack lots (& LOTS) of snacks.

Lots & lots of snacks is a good idea, but what worked for us when our kids were little, were lots and lots of new activities/toys. We went to K-mart (or equivalent) and bought lots of cheap "things to do" -- coloring books, popsicle sticks, markers, mini-etch-a-sketch, whatever is appropriate for an 18-month old. Basically, we had something new for every half hour! And this was in the days before dvds! (I'd highly recommend a personal dvd player and her favorite movies or tv shows or cartoons).

For us, travelling with our DD (Now 3) has been a crap shoot. We travel with her often. She NEVER gave us a bit of trouble until our trip to bermuda in June this past year when she was 2 1/2. The flights were fine, but she decided that she didn't like pools, sand or ocean at this age. very challenging in bermuda.

This past week we took her to florida. She cried on both flights. Has never cried on a flight before. On the flight out (v. early in the a.m.) she wasn't feeling well and on the flght back (V. late) she fell asleep and woke up disoriented and i'm sure her ears hurt. She was inconsolable. She had never ever been that way. On teh plus side, she LOVES the pool and the beach now. Go figure.

Prior to all this, we have flown with her to FLA several times and bermuda once before and the trips were a breeze. so for us, it's very unpredictable.

I would highly recommend a portable dvd player (or 2) for the plane. Our dd was hooked on barney at your baby's age and that was the best thing we brought on that trip for the flight.

We flew from MSP to HNL last March with a 5 year old and an almot-2-year old. I was nervous, but the kids were great. I think what really saved the day were the seatback monitors with on-demand movies. This really made the time go by for the kids and they each chose a couple of different movies to watch on their own; neither slept at all, which surprised me. Our 5 year old really liked watching the progressive map that showed how far we had yet to go - who knew?

The FA were great, allowed us to walk around freely and check out the back galley areas and get additional drinks as requested.

We chose the outside rows (2x2) and put the 2 year old behind the 5 year old so if there was any kicking going on, it wouldn't bother other people. Then my husband and I switched seats off and on to give the kiddos some variety.

We stayed with friends which was much easier than a hotel. I think I would choose a condo situation where you have access to separate bedroom(s) and kitchen facilities.

As far as time change, the first couple of nights our 2 year old was up about 3 a.m. but she quickly adjusted to a normal schedule.

Go for it; you have half the flight time we did! We don't regret taking the kids - and it was our first visit to Hawaii.

However, we're going back in 10 days....ALONE!