A Guide to Maui with Kids!
This blog has been a long time coming, but I've entered a new phase of life where one kid is at school all day and another is gone two mornings of the week. I've been trying to figure out besides running and basic household stuff what to do with all this time! I'm gonna give this blog thing another shot. I miss writing and interacting with people a lot online. So if you are planning a trip to Maui soon or dreaming of one, I hope this helps you.
I won't go into a lot of crazy detail about everywhere we stopped. Please feel free to comment and ask me about specific locations if you would like more in-depth information.
Kapalua Bay Beach was by far the best beach we went to in terms of swimming and snorkeling. It's a cove so it's pretty calm. It's also the best snorkeling we had off a beach. We rented a viewboard for our kids to being able to see underneath and our daughter had an amazing time. I think our son would have liked it if he was a little older.
Black Rock was disappointing. It was crazy hard to find parking and the water was very rough. The sand was amazing along with the views, but definitely more commercial. I didn't cliff dive, but my husband and brother-in-law did and enjoyed themselves. My son liked the sand here the most. It was the best to dig in.
Pride of Maui was awesome. We snorkel Molokini Crater and Turtle Town. The snorkeling in Molokini was unreal. So many fish and it was just beautiful. It was calmer then Turtle Town, but I still had a rough time swimming at it. Our daughter again loved getting brought out on the surfboard and viewboard to see all the fish. Turtle Town was super rough and hard to swim in. My husband and brother-in-law found a few turtles, but it was hard to see with all the waves. We did see a few humpback whales in the distance on the boat, which was cool.
Road to Hana was super cool, but super slow as all the reviews I read had stated. Lots of great views, but the roads are very narrow and twisty. I was glad I was not driving during that day. All the places we stopped were easy to manage with the kids and didn't require long hikes. Waianapanapa State Park had the hardest and longest hike because you had to go down a bunch of stairs. We used the toddler Tula at this stop for our two year old and it made it a little easier. The black sand beach and caves at the bottom are well worth the hike!
Downtown Lahiana was a neat experience. It's definitely more for the tourist, but it had its own beach town vibe. It was filled with a lot of shops and restaurants. We ate at a few and they were fine. Fleetwoods was the only outstanding place, but mainly for the rooftop bar. We found a few cool shops with some neat souvenirs, but most of it is crap. Worth a short afternoon wander before dinner out. The Banyan Tree in the center of town was cool to see as well.
Nakalele Blowhole was a cool and very easy walk from the side of the road. The actual hike down to the blowhole was difficult. I didn't hike down it with the kids, but we stayed at the top and watched it. It would have been great to hang out at longer, but it was really windy that day. Cool and easy spot to stop at though.
Maui Tropical Plantation and Olowalu Plantation House were where the pre-wedding and wedding festivities took place. Maui Tropical Plantation was beautiful and the food was amazing. My kids liked the ducks and other animals we saw around. I do wish we would have had more time to explore the whole place. Olowalu Plantation House was gorgeous. A great spot for a wedding with amazing views. They also had some really great relaxing spots with awesome views of the ocean.
Recap
It was a crazy, once-in-a-lifetime trip that was ALL worth it! The memories we made are still fresh in our minds and my kids still remember a lot of the trip. That without a doubt is worth it all. I did wish we could have done more, but now we just need to go back and experience more of Maui. Maui is also really expensive so make sure you have a Costco membership to use before heading to your resort. It will save you a lot of money on food. Gas at Costco is also the cheapest so fill up there. Most of all just go with the flow. That is the trick when traveling with kids. You will enjoy yourself much more!
A Guide to Maui with Kids
I know what your probably thinking, "You took your kids to Maui why?" I get this question a lot. The main reason was we had a family wedding that we wanted to go to. Also, why not take your kids to Maui? It's a beautiful place with many things for families. I also love to travel with my kids and have them experience new places.
Basic information of our trip:
Duration: 12 Days including travel
Airline: United out of Cleveland with a connecting in San Francisco. Home was also United on a red-eye to Chicago then Cleveland
Accommodations: Rented Condo at Aston at Papakea Resort in Lahaina
Rental Car: We used our Costco membership to rent a car for a significant discount
Airplane Tips
I read so many articles and posts on different Facebook groups about traveling on an airplane with kids. This was our first time and as a total Type-A planner type this had me freaked out the most. Our kids in March of 2018 were five and two. Both of them clearly had to have their own seats on the plane and I honestly would have never been happy with having my two year as a lap child if allowed. We opted to bring a car seat on the plane for our son. We carried a booster on the plane for our daughter to use in Maui.
- Snacks
- Coloring Books
- Magic Inks
- Magnetic Scenes (Disney)
- Color Wonder
- Card Games (Uno & Go Fish)
- iPads with headphones
- Did I mention snacks?!?!
Seriously snacks and the iPad were the best thing to bring on the plane. They kept the kids very entertained the whole flight. We also found out that our flight had access to DIRECTV for like $6 or so. We opted to buy that for the flight out as a backup because it had more movies and the Disney Channel. Our daughter used it more then our son. He was completely happy with the iPad, sleeping, and eating the whole time.
We also lucked out and our flight to Maui had very little people in Economy Plus so our son was able to get out, walk around a bit, and lay across a row of seats. That was a huge thing for our son who is very active. I also suggest babywearing if possible in the airport. We had our toddler Tula and it was a lifesaver the entire trip. A luggage cart is also a great idea of the car seat. Makes pulling it through the airport much easier.
Accommodations
We really enjoyed our stay at the Aston at Papakea Resort. Our condo fit all seven us just fine. I only ever found it crowded in the evenings when my kids were winding down and all of us were in the condo downstairs. Other then that it was a perfect fit. It was also a well-maintained property. I just wish it they let us know that they had sand toys and a few other things so we didn't buy them again.
The resort had two pools and spas, a mini golf course, picnic areas with grills, and poolside cabanas. They also offer some other amenities like a Mai Tai party. It was an oceanfront property, but no beach. That was a little disappointing.
Activities
 |
| View from our balcony. |
- Kapalua Bay Beach
- Black Rock Beach/Ka'anapali Beach
- Pride of Maui Snorkeling Tour
- Downtown Lahaina
- Keawakapu Beach
- Road to Hana
- Twin Falls
- Hanawi Falls
- Nahiku Viewpoint and Wayside
- Waianapanapa State Park
- Honokalani Beach
- Nakalele Blowhole
- Maui Tropical Plantation
- Olowalu Plantation House
There are so many things to do in Maui. There are many, many beaches plus hiking trails and waterfalls galore. We had more ideas for Road to Hana, but it happened to rain a lot in February and March. That lead to a lot of overly flooded trails. Also with kids everything is unpredictable so by Waianapanapa State Park they were sick of being in the car so we stayed awhile, had lunch, and then went back to the condo.
I won't go into a lot of crazy detail about everywhere we stopped. Please feel free to comment and ask me about specific locations if you would like more in-depth information.
Kapalua Bay Beach was by far the best beach we went to in terms of swimming and snorkeling. It's a cove so it's pretty calm. It's also the best snorkeling we had off a beach. We rented a viewboard for our kids to being able to see underneath and our daughter had an amazing time. I think our son would have liked it if he was a little older.
Black Rock was disappointing. It was crazy hard to find parking and the water was very rough. The sand was amazing along with the views, but definitely more commercial. I didn't cliff dive, but my husband and brother-in-law did and enjoyed themselves. My son liked the sand here the most. It was the best to dig in.
Pride of Maui was awesome. We snorkel Molokini Crater and Turtle Town. The snorkeling in Molokini was unreal. So many fish and it was just beautiful. It was calmer then Turtle Town, but I still had a rough time swimming at it. Our daughter again loved getting brought out on the surfboard and viewboard to see all the fish. Turtle Town was super rough and hard to swim in. My husband and brother-in-law found a few turtles, but it was hard to see with all the waves. We did see a few humpback whales in the distance on the boat, which was cool.
Road to Hana was super cool, but super slow as all the reviews I read had stated. Lots of great views, but the roads are very narrow and twisty. I was glad I was not driving during that day. All the places we stopped were easy to manage with the kids and didn't require long hikes. Waianapanapa State Park had the hardest and longest hike because you had to go down a bunch of stairs. We used the toddler Tula at this stop for our two year old and it made it a little easier. The black sand beach and caves at the bottom are well worth the hike!
Downtown Lahiana was a neat experience. It's definitely more for the tourist, but it had its own beach town vibe. It was filled with a lot of shops and restaurants. We ate at a few and they were fine. Fleetwoods was the only outstanding place, but mainly for the rooftop bar. We found a few cool shops with some neat souvenirs, but most of it is crap. Worth a short afternoon wander before dinner out. The Banyan Tree in the center of town was cool to see as well.
Nakalele Blowhole was a cool and very easy walk from the side of the road. The actual hike down to the blowhole was difficult. I didn't hike down it with the kids, but we stayed at the top and watched it. It would have been great to hang out at longer, but it was really windy that day. Cool and easy spot to stop at though.
Maui Tropical Plantation and Olowalu Plantation House were where the pre-wedding and wedding festivities took place. Maui Tropical Plantation was beautiful and the food was amazing. My kids liked the ducks and other animals we saw around. I do wish we would have had more time to explore the whole place. Olowalu Plantation House was gorgeous. A great spot for a wedding with amazing views. They also had some really great relaxing spots with awesome views of the ocean.
Recap
It was a crazy, once-in-a-lifetime trip that was ALL worth it! The memories we made are still fresh in our minds and my kids still remember a lot of the trip. That without a doubt is worth it all. I did wish we could have done more, but now we just need to go back and experience more of Maui. Maui is also really expensive so make sure you have a Costco membership to use before heading to your resort. It will save you a lot of money on food. Gas at Costco is also the cheapest so fill up there. Most of all just go with the flow. That is the trick when traveling with kids. You will enjoy yourself much more!
Comments
Post a Comment