Full disclosure: this trip occurred in early September. 2022. I was trying to finish writing this in late October (2022) when I had a brief mom vacation to Minnesota (to attend a wedding sans kid) but ran out of time. Then, the third trimester happened, the birth happened, and then the newborn phase happened so I definitely didn't have time to finish this post. It was still fun being able to go back to recalling what we did and putting all the memories together. If you are thinking about traveling to Hawaii with your little one, I hope you find some of this information helpful.
A funny thing about the Maui trip was that...it was never planned for this year. Our original plan was to celebrate our upcoming 10-year wedding anniversary big by going to Turks and Caicos in early December (our wedding anniversary is December 28th). We had booked everything at Beaches Turks and Caicos until I read that positive pregnancy line in May. We were slightly bummed, but it didn't trump our excitement for the #2 coming.
We stayed in Maui from August 27th through September 2nd (we left early morning the next day so not really counting that as a stay), which was a good length but it felt like it went too fast with vacations. We did not island-hop so we stayed in Maui the entire time - this was because it didn't feel practical doing so with a toddler and it was literally my first time visiting Hawaii for the first (3rd time for Z but 1st time Maui), so we really wanted to soak in our experience. My brother-in-law and his wife from Seattle also joined us for the first half of the trip, which was great because any extra pairs of hands to wrangle Zoe is always a plus haha.
Honestly, there is much to do and see even in Maui I felt like we barely scratched the surface. I can totally understand why people love visiting this place, and I hope this won't be our last time either. Without making this recap overwhelmingly long, I'll try to condense what we did, where we stayed, some places we went to eat, etc. Also, remember that I am not a Hawaii travel expert, so if you are looking for more tips, there are plenty of blogs and vlogs (YouTube) for parents of little ones. I also got a lot of tips from asking questions on Hawaii Travel Advice | Facebook.
How we traveled
Well of course by plane (duh...lol). Ok, I know that's not what you meant. We took Southwest and had a layover in Pheonix. Overall, the travel time was about 10 hours total (4 hours from Dallas to Pheonix and about 6 hours from Pheonix to Maui).
Where we stayed
First, I must confess that this was not a cheap trip. Hawaii is an expensive area to visit, and we did not plan this trip early enough (see the second paragraph for "why") so everything was even more expensive to start out with, including lodging. We had looked into hotels/resorts but eventually opted for a place through VRBO because it made the most sense for our needs (with having a toddler). We stayed at this nicely updated/maintained condo in Kihei through VRBO. Would not recommend it if you have a child not used to going up and down the stairs, but this configuration was fine for Zoe as she is used to using stairs. We especially appreciated that they provided beach toys, chairs, coolers, etc.
Our place came with a parking spot and was within walking distance of various restaurants and coffee shops (about 5-10 minute walk). There is beach access across the street although we only went there once as we wanted to try visiting many different beaches. I will warn you that parking is quite limited in a lot of beaches so be prepared to get there early in the morning. The pool facility was very clean, and we used it often in the late afternoon as a way to wind down after an active day or if we wanted a slower day for Zoe. We recommend this place if you are a family with kids older than 3.
Activities/Beaches/Scene Lookout (not in chronological order)
Once you start researching things to do in Maui, you'll notice just how much there is to do. With a little child in mind, we wanted our trip to be a mix of kid-friendly activities and some slower-placed days to recuperate. In no particular order, there are some of the highlights of the activities we did. Any popular excursions get booked up early and fast so I would recommend deciding what excursions you want to do first to make those reservations a priority in your planning process.
Molokini Crater Snorkeling
There are several companies you can book with, but we ultimately went with Calypso because of the boat size. There is an underwater viewing for little kids to enjoy. It was me and Zoe's first time snorkeling in the ocean and despite some of my own anxiety leading up to snorkeling, my overall experience with them felt very safe and pleasant. The crew was very skilled in assisting newbies like me and did a wonderful job keeping everyone safe. They provide safety training and regular (safety) reminders while everyone is out snorkeling. Several crew members were always out in the water serving as lifeguards and monitoring activities. This 3-hour excursion came with a hearty breakfast and lunch as well as all the rental snorkeling gear for an additional fee.
I did very much struggle with seasickness (even though I felt ok while on the boat) for most of the excursion and had a hard time loving snorkeling. However, I am very sensitive to motion sickness in general so even the gentle ocean waves were enough to mess up my equilibrium. The depths of the ocean (even though it was only 25 feet deep where we snorkeled) felt deep enough to kind of freak me and Zoe out. For me, it made sense because I am already afraid of heights so the depth gave me similar anxiety. I also believe the vastness and the depths of the ocean made Zoe (as a first-timer) anxious/scared. She actually did better with floating on a pool noodle instead of the life jacket I got for her and also preferred just wearing a swim google than a full snorkeling facemask (that I ordered from Amazon). We had her practice wearing and being underwater in the bathtub with the facemask before which she did very well, but that experience didn't translate well in the ocean. (Website: Calypso Maui - Molokini Snorkeling Adventures By High -Tech Catamaran!)
Whalers Village
This is a great spot for shopping and has a good selection of restaurants. It is nestled in a number of high-end resorts and hotels so you can enjoy the immaculate landscaping and still enjoy a great ocean view. A lot of friends recommended MonkeyPod for dining, but we settled with Hula Grill Kaanapali the night we were there and had a good experience. The Hula Pie, which is their signature dessert was humongous and delicious.
Papawai Scene Lookout
This scenic lookout was on our way from Kihei to Whalers Village on Honoapiilani Hwy. It was a nice quick stop to enjoy the west coastline of Maui and the sunset.
Keawakapu Beach (on South Kihei Rd)
This is the first beach we hung out on and also the closest to our condo. Not exactly a walking distance so driving is still recommended and also parking can be a bit tricky during the busy time. The sand wasn't the greatest but we overall enjoyed the convenience of the distance to the condo. Regardless, the adults had a great time relaxing and Zoe had a blast.
Napili Bay
We loved this beach! It is a long drive from our condo (25 miles, 2+ hours) so this was the first thing we did for the day. We loved it because of its calm waves (at least when we were there), clean/soft sand, and it's a decent spot for snorkeling. I actually enjoyed snorkeling here much more because I could control how deep I wanted to go in. All of us (that did snorkel) saw a decent amount of fish and good turtle actions. Do remember that some of the most popular beaches require advanced reservation and entrance fees. Those beaches do get booked up fast as well, so if you know you really want to check out there, you'll want to plan those places ahead.
Helicopter Tour
Probably our biggest splurge of the trip but one of the best decisions we made was going on a Maui helicopter tour. We went with Maverick Helicopters - our captain was so knowledgeable about the island, humorous, and friendly. Do occasionally expect some bumps during the ride when there is a slight air pressure change but our captain handled it like a professional and gave us plenty of warning when it was about to happen. Despite my general fear of heights, most of my fear washed away from being mesmerized by the view I was seeing. I was a little nervous about how Zoe would handle but she handled it like a champ and eventually took a nap during the last 30 minutes of the ride. To this day, we consider it as her "most expensive nap" ever to date 😉. I highly recommend this experience even if you feel like the price tag is a bit steep. It made me appreciate just how diverse and beautiful Maui's topography is. (Website: Maui Helicopter Tours | Maverick Helicopters)
Haleakala National Park
Because of its vastness and so many different ecosystems to explore, there is no way you will be able to truly appreciate this place's beauty in one day but you must at least try visiting at least one day during your trip. The most popular thing to do here is the sunrise viewing which gets booked up insanely fast and way in advance. There are some last-minute tickets that will reappear the night before, but it gets taken up at lightning speed. We, of course, didn't plan ahead so missed this opportunity. You could also consider doing a sunset viewing which is almost equally popular. We had thought about doing it, but Zoe was getting very tired for the day so decided not to do it.
We, however, still ventured up to the peak and get a first-hand experience of the changing ecosystem (and weather!) as we climbed up the elevation. The road up to the peak is very well paved so there is no need to worry about having a particular vehicle to get up there. We took a short trail just right off of the visitor's center and then hiked a very small portion of the Sliding Sand Trail. This is an 11-mile trail that we were absolutely not prepared for, but even a short hike there was simply breathtaking. I would consider this a pretty tough trail for a family with young kids. We at least had the MiniMeis carrier which allowed Z to carry Zoe around for a little bit; however, the powerful sun and the abrupt wind and temperature change still made some parts of the hike a little tough for the pregnant me and Z (with carrying a 27 lbs child). Regardless, the view was an absolutely breathtaking and unforgettable experience.
Maui Butterfly Farm (Home (themauibutterflyfarm.com))
This was a very neat experience for all of us. It is the only butterfly-breeding farm in Hawaii that provides educational tours and hands-on interaction with butterflies. They even give you a couple of packs of wildflower seeds that you can plant back at home to attract butterflies.
Te Au Moana @ Wailea Beach Resort (Marriott)
There are many Lu'au experiences to choose from and personally, I think it is worth it to experience at least once. Continuing with the theme of not really reserving anything in advance, our option was somewhat limited on which Lu'au event we can attend, but we managed to get tickets for the Te Au Moana show at the Wailea Beach Resort (Wailea Beach Marriott's Luau Show On Maui | Te Au Moana). The food was delicious (albeit, it felt gluttonous as there was so much food, and I found out that they all just go to waste if not finished..that felt very uneasy to me) and the stage had the most beautiful backdrop of the ocean. The tickets are definitely not cheap, but it felt like a worthwhile experience even for Zoe's age.
Nakalele Blowhole
We did not actually go down to see it as the terrain was a little tricky for my pregnant self to get down to, and Zoe was grumpy from her car nap lol. But we did enjoy the beautiful view and Z took several maternity photos of me.
Makena State Park
This was our last outing before heading back home. We visited another beach as we wanted to maximize our R&R before heading back to the mainland. You can't really go wrong with any beaches, to be honest; they have spectacular views and the ocean is simply amazing. Having a little kid in tow, however, does mean that some beaches are better than others, though. That particular day (or perhaps it's common on Hawaiian beaches), the rip current was particularly bad. I must admit, I didn't know what rip current initially was or felt like until getting slammed down by the waves a few times with Zoe. There was definitely one instant where I felt I was losing grip on Zoe, and that was when I decided it was too dangerous to be in the water. There were several announcements by lifeguards about not going into the water, and I was also personally approached by one as a caution one as he noticed that Zoe was with me. We spent the rest of our time on the sand making sand castles which was a perfect way to end our trip.
Where we ate
I must admit...I was too hungry (hello, feeding 2 people here) to take any photos while or before eating. But here are some places that we went to and liked. Because we stayed in a condo, we cooked quite a bit of food ourselves, especially breakfast, and sometimes, dinner. Waiting in line to wait wasn't always feasible for a little kid who was tired and hungry after a full day out under the sun. On the day we landed in Maui, our first trip was to Costco to get a bunch of groceries. I find this to be essential, especially if you are traveling with kids because kids. From where we stayed, going to Costco was a reasonable trip, so we made another trip there in the middle of the vacation to replenish.
Restaurant | Da Kitchen | Kihei (dakitchenkihei.com) (This place was our favorite out of all)
Coconuts Fish Cafe (we went there often because it's a fast-casual restaurant so you can get food pretty quickly. Also, it's one of the few that stays open late!)
Final thoughts
Whew! I hope I remembered everything. This was a good way to reminisce about the trip, and it makes me excited to go back again someday. There is so much to see and to do; I sincerely do not think that one visit will do justice. Now that Zaylee is born, I think it would be really fun to go back once the girls are a little older and can handle outdoor activities a little better. One of the things we really hoped to do but couldn't this time around was the Road to Hana (look up on YouTube as there are so many vlogs about this). And of course, there are the 3 other islands that have yet to be explored. I think for a family vacation involving little kids, Maui is an excellent choice. It provides a good balance of convenience and beauty even though many areas are urbanized.
Next time, we also want to consider a direct flight instead of having a layover. We thought a layover might be helpful when traveling with little kids, but it kind of provided an unnecessary break in our travel especially when the layover caused so much delay. Perhaps, we felt this way because Zoe is already an experienced traveler, but she did truly handle the longish flight quite well.
This was an unforgettable wonderful trip! We will be back. Until next time, Hawaii ;).
Comments