Help, help, Hawaii trip!

[candaceb]

If you have enough points, the Hyatt on Kauai is amazing.

Eta I responded w/o reading the other responses saying that the Hyatt is amazing. ITA!

[georgiegirl]

The grand Hyatt in Kauai is awesome. We stayed there a few years ago and loved it. For the kids, they have a daily bird show, koi feeding, lei making, and awesome lazy river, water slide. My kids had a blast there. They also had free toy rentals for the hotel room,

[94bruin]

I think it depends on what you're looking for. Our girls have only been to Kauai. There isn't much of a night life on Kauai, but it didn't really matter to us for their first two trips since they went to bed early. Kauai is veeery laid back - very little commercialization. Very relaxing, in other words. The first time we stayed in a condo; the second time we stayed at the Hyatt. The girls never wanted to leave - the grounds are so extensive that you can stay a whole week and never sit in the same area twice. Kauai is really gorgeous - hence the nickname the Garden Isle. There is so much beauty to see - however, I don't know if it would really interest a 4yo. The first time we went with DD1, who was 2.5 yo, we hired a babysitter and went on a doors-off helicopter ride around Kauai. A definite highlight!

However, now that our girls are getting older, we want to take them to the other islands. We honeymooned on the Big Island, so it has a soft spot in our hearts. The big draw there is the active volcano, with active lava flow! With the big island, we split the week - part of the time on the Hilo or wet/volcano side, and part of the time on the Kona side - the sunny beach side.

Maui - it's been a while since we've vacationed there - but I feel like there are a lot of activities to keep you busy - if that's what you want. I feel like there are a LOT of snorkeling opportunities, not just around the island, but you can take a boat ride to neighboring islands. There is a nightlife, so if you are able to go out at night, that's a plus.

For your first time, I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the islands... It's all Hawaii, after all! Can't really get any better than that!

[codex57]

You're from San Diego. I grew up at the LA/Orange County border. IMO, San Diego has better beach weather than Hawaii. Neither are 100% perfect, but I prefer being a bit colder on occasion to be better than high humidity with rain.

So, that's why I like Oahu better. You can still get the tropical beach paradise thing if you want, but since the beaches aren't going to be too impressive or unique for your kids, Oahu offers the built in infrastructure and variety of things to do that the other islands can't match.

And I'm not a fan of Maui. DW loves it, but I don't. Even though everyone says it's got a lot of development and activities, I don't think it does. It's nowhere near as full of activities and options as Oahu, but it doesn't have that deserted tropical paradise feel of Kauai. I say just pick one (Oahu or Kauai) and then do the other on a later trip.

[crayonblue]

Ha. Now I am thoroughly confused, LOL!

[AnnieW625]

Awww, yes, love North County!

Marriott has hotels in Wailea and Kaanapali (I think). Do you think one is a more kid-friendly area than the other?

We did drive up to Kaanapali but we didn't poke around much as it seemed like resort after resort but we did find a beach near Lahaina on the main highway that was really nice and there was no one there, but there were a bunch of beaches like that. Wailea was definitely a bit on the slower side of things, but we still really enjoyed it, but we were honeymooners and not with kids, but I loved the atmosphere, I loved how clean it was and I loved how relaxed it was but it was still enough to keep us busy, but not rushed. I think I would have felt more rushed had we been in Kaanapali, but that is just a feeling I got from the area just by driving there and not really poking around much.

....... Even though everyone says it's got a lot of development and activities, I don't think it does. It's nowhere near as full of activities and options as Oahu, but it doesn't have that deserted tropical paradise feel of Kauai. I say just pick one (Oahu or Kauai) and then do the other on a later trip.

I agree with this statement a lot although things have could have changed a bit since we were there. We did the helicopter tour of the island, we drove to Hana (although it rained that day so all of the shops were closed), we hung out at the resort pool, we went snorkeling (we didn't use this company as it was sold out but Trilogy was rec. by my aunt and uncle and their kids), we went to Haleakala, and we did a luau at the Renaissance which was nice, but I have heard that the Old Lahaina Luau is the best one, but again book early.

I also think with kids although I am sure it has a different feel, but Oahu is probably more kid friendly and there are more museums and such, but if that doesn't interest you then I think Kuaui or Maui might be a better choice as you live near a big city now and probably don't want to vacation in one either.

[dhano923]

We did Oahu in July for a week. We did 3 nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for a more busy, commercial experience and then moved to Disney Aulani for 3 nights. We booked it that way - Aulani was expensive, and we couldn't afford to do a whole week there (it was $600/night!) the whole trip was a surprise for the kids (they didnt now we were going until we got to the gate!). It worked out really well.

The first 3 days, we walked around, hung out at the beach and the Hilton's private pool, watched the fireworks, checked out local restaurants, etc. We went to the Dole Plantation as our token tourist attraction. The kids enjoyed it. The day we were moving to Aulani, we told the kids that we had to find a new hotel because Hilton didn't have another room for us to move into. We left in the am, went up to the NorthShore, ate lunch at Macky's shrimp truck, checked out the scenery and then drove to Aulani. It was a great resort and we enjoyed the last 4 days just hanging out, enjoying the resort shows, amenities,etc. they have a lagoon area with paddle boarding and kayaking which was fun. We are hoping to go back again next year, but we going to try and off in the off season to save a few dollars and do Aulani for the whole week.

We live in SoCal too, but the Hawaii experience is much different. We did Maui pre-kids and loved it, but we enjoyed the laid back feeling in Oahu more.

[123LuckyMom]

If you're not looking for a beach vacation, I'd choose Oahu or The Big Island. The Big Island really is BIG. You can spend a lot of time driving from place to place, but all the places are interesting. We visited the Volcano park, of course, which was wonderful and very different from anywhere I'd been before. We saw a fantastic historic site in the southern coast. Honestly, I can't remember the name, but it was great. We went to a black sand beach and enjoyed all the turtles. We stayed the majority of our trip at the Hilton. From there we did a helicopter tour to see the volcano action up close. I don't know where a Marriott would be. If you're intent on staying at a Marriott, this might not be the best trip for you, because you'll want to stay in several different places to get to see things.

On Oahu, you can visit the whole island from one home base. There's the cultural center, the city of Honolulu, Waikiki beach, the North Shore, the Dole plantation, Pearl Harbor-- lots to see!

Maui also has good sight seeing, but it's more nature oriented. We stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel, which was very basic on a strip of much more upscale resorts, but we like that sort of thing. I'm sure there was a Marriott there. We visited Mt. Haleakala, did the road to Hana with all the side hikes and the red sand beach at the end. That was a great beach vacation, though. Once you've done those two activities, I'm not sure what else there is to do.

I haven't been to Kauai. DH says it's by far the most naturally beautiful of all the islands. (He lived in Hawaii for 6 years). My guess is that Kauai would be best for a relaxing beach vacation with a helicopter ride or some hiking. I think it's a bit more of a stay-at-your-resort place, but I've never been.

[crayonblue]

OK, well, Marriott answered my question. For the week we are going, Kauai has rooms available with points but Maui does not. Considering points will save us thousands, Kauai it is! We will do a couple of days at the Hyatt and the rest at the Marriott. DH will take DD1 scuba diving and tubing and surfing and DD3 and I will play at the hotel pools and beaches and such. Then we will do a Luau and nature hikes. I think our week will fly by! Thanks for all the info. Now I want to go to all of the islands!

[georgiegirl]

OK, well, Marriott answered my question. For the week we are going, Kauai has rooms available with points but Maui does not. Considering points will save us thousands, Kauai it is! We will do a couple of days at the Hyatt and the rest at the Marriott. DH will take DD1 scuba diving and tubing and surfing and DD3 and I will play at the hotel pools and beaches and such. Then we will do a Luau and nature hikes. I think our week will fly by! Thanks for all the info. Now I want to go to all of the islands!

Sounds great! Have fun!