Which Hawaiian Island with Toddlers?
 

2 families each with a child 2 or under joining to vacation together.. usually outdoor lovers, hiking, scuba, kayak- but this time sharing time with kids- looking at either Maui or Kauai... never been to either island and totally lost as to which to look into. Not big into the resort scene and night life is not so important as their bedtime is before any of the begins... planning to rent a villa on or near the beach on either island...please advise!
Thank you!

All of the outdoorsy things can be done on either island. I think Kauai is more what you are looking for. It is more laid back and not as resorty. Hopefully some of the kauai experts will chime in.

I'm going to recommend the Maui Prince Hotel. A very mellow, low-key place. They have a kiddie swimming pool. And they have a wonderful beach for children with lots of sand and little waves. Kayaking, snorkeling, trips to Molokini right off the beach. (Turtle town is at the south end of their beach).

Aloha Wizbang,
May I suggest Kauai. Look at some previous posts of some footage I just saw posted by Bluefan in this thread. Kauai is very laid back and perfect for family fun. It is a very special Island and truley beautiful. Go to some B&B sites listed on Kauai to look for a Beach House to rent.

definitely kauai!

we have a timeshare there and we took our son there when he was 20 months. great time. we have been there 3 times since then. perfect island for families! i would recommend to stay in the poipu area...lihue and kapaa too touristy and busy. we love popiu for quiet and sunny weather...north shore is also great.

If you want to avoid touristy, go with Kauai over Maui. Looking at some of Fodor's featured hotels, I clicked on the link for Gloria's Spouting Horn B&B. Turns out Gloria retired, but her son is renting condos on Kauai. There looked to be some pretty good deals on his website. Homes near Poipu Beach that could easily accomodate 4 adults & 2 toddlers.

Poipu Beach is nice because it isn't crowded and there is plenty of free parking. Last time we were in Kauai, we stayed at the Kauai Marriott. The pool was great, but when we wanted to go to the beach, we packed up & went to Poipu. Plenty of clean public restrooms at Poipu, too.

I agree with the Poipu Beach area on Kauai.

Sorry to sound redundant, but another vote for Kauai--esp. the Poipu Beach area.

I'm gonna be different and suggest you look into renting one a beach house in Hanalei on Kauai. You did not mention when you are going, but if it will be in the summer, Hanalei Bay is like one big swimming pool and the beach is one of the best on the island.
Here are some agencies that have rentals in Hanalei. I've used NaPali and can recommend them.

http://www.balihai.com/vacationrenta...er/home/cat_1/

http://aninialoha.com/hanalei.htm

http://www.napaliprop.com/vr1.htm

-pila