Hawaii?

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Anyone take their family? My husband and I just went on a biz trip and now would love to take the kids. It will be crazy expensive with airfare alone though. Any tips?

 

[PHXscuba]

Hawaii is expensive with airfare for sure. Plus food can get pricey.

My best tips after going with kids:

1. Pick 1 island and stay there. Island-hopping can eat up most of a day and adds to the expense of extra flights.

2. Get. The. Condo. Having a full kitchen, couches, more beds, etc. is vital. We have 4 kids like you and it is a lifesaver -- save money on eating in, get familiar foods, room to spread out and not bug each other. Many condos come with beach chairs, boogie boards, etc. for entertainment. I paid less for a week in a nice 2-bedroom-plus-loft condo on Maui than I did our 4 nights at Paradise Pier!

3. Activities can get mega-expensive. But kids seem to love just playing at the beach, which is free! All beaches in Hawaii are public, so get a rental car (also vital) and visit a different beach each day.

4. We ate many of our meals in (see condo above) and took the kids out for ice cream/shave ice as a treat instead. Dessert was still pricey but much less than a full meal (with 2 hungry teens).

We did a week on Maui with our 4 kids (ages 9-17) and had an amazing time. I love that place!

PHXscuba

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Oh man I was afraid you would say that...about the condo...but I know it's true. Problem is we we're so spoiled at the Hilton Waekiloa Village on The Big Island...I mean the resort, grounds, pools, lagoon were unbelievable. But yeah lunch alone for the six of us would be $300 easy. And airfare is going to be an easy $6,000. Ugh...back to the drawing board.

 

[bcla]

Hawaii is expensive with airfare for sure. Plus food can get pricey.

My best tips after going with kids:

1. Pick 1 island and stay there. Island-hopping can eat up most of a day and adds to the expense of extra flights.

2. Get. The. Condo. Having a full kitchen, couches, more beds, etc. is vital. We have 4 kids like you and it is a lifesaver -- save money on eating in, get familiar foods, room to spread out and not bug each other. Many condos come with beach chairs, boogie boards, etc. for entertainment. I paid less for a week in a nice 2-bedroom-plus-loft condo on Maui than I did our 4 nights at Paradise Pier!

3. Activities can get mega-expensive. But kids seem to love just playing at the beach, which is free! All beaches in Hawaii are public, so get a rental car (also vital) and visit a different beach each day.

4. We ate many of our meals in (see condo above) and took the kids out for ice cream/shave ice as a treat instead. Dessert was still pricey but much less than a full meal (with 2 hungry teens).

We did a week on Maui with our 4 kids (ages 9-17) and had an amazing time. I love that place!

PHXscuba

You can find specials on airfare. I remember when we flew with our in-laws (no kid at the time) we got some pretty good fares. We did Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island with round-trip from Honolulu, so we ended up with three interisland flights in about 3 days using 4 different airports. Except for HNL, these are small airports with typically short checkin and security lines. And of course it can work well if you have access to online checkin. And at the time it was pretty cheap because we either used United miles (5000 miles per flight) or used my wife's University of Hawaii alumni discount at the time (was $39 one way per passenger for the entire party).

We stayed in a condo at Kona. Overall it was fine, but we had issues with the first unit we were assigned by the management company. Each condo available for rental was furnished by the owner (to minimum specifications) with towels and toiletries provided by the management company. We had a unit with broken furniture.

As far as things to do, Haleakala on Maui and Hawai'i Volcanoes on the Big Island are national parks with only $10 entrance fees for up to 7 days. There's also a parks pass good for all NPS sites in Hawaii for $25 valid for at least a year.

 

[tiffjoy]

We took our daughters, then ages 1 1/2 and just turned 4, last September. We just went to Oahu as we didn't want to island hop with them. We spent 7 days at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club Resort. It was the best vacation we have ever taken!! (shh, don't tell Disney ) Our girls just had the most amazing time! I never wanted to leave. We had been twice before we had kids, once for our 15 day honeymoon (did all 4 major islands) and for our year anniversary (just did the Big Island), but this was amazing to go with them. We didn't plan much. Just played on the beach right outside the hotel,n swam in the pools, swam in the lagoons there, did some touring, like North Beach, and just relaxed. Our hotel was condo-like, so we had two bedrooms and a living area with a full kitchen. We ate most breakfasts in the room, had snacks, and ate two dinners in as well.

The only big thing we did was a pirate ship cruise. It was fun, but very hot. My poor toddler was not thrilled, although my 4 year old enjoyed it, mostly. Next time, I won't plan anything and we'll go with the flow. We did that most days, and those were the best ones. I'll never forget my 4 year old taking a hula lesson under the palm trees or my DD1 relaxing for 45 minutes and being practically asleep on my lap while we sat in the lagoon and the water just covered our legs. Both of them were very sad to leave, and DD4 talks about it a lot still.

We did do the character breakast at the Disney hotel right down the road from us (we had decided against staying there because we could get a suite for the price of just a small room at Aulani, but we were right in the same area.) I actually was glad we didn't stay there. It was very hectic compared to our resort, and the pool area was so crowded. The breakfast was the busiest and most hectic character meal I have ever been to. I wouldn't plan to do it again. I do love Disney, but it did not feel relaxing to me at all.

We used frequent flyer miles for our airfare, but I know it is very pricey. I will say it was just the best time, so I think it would be well worth the money. We were planning to go back next year, but decided to go to Guatemala with a family friend, so probably the year after that. I know we will be back though!

 

[GrandBob]

Oh man I was afraid you would say that...about the condo...but I know it's true. Problem is we we're so spoiled at the Hilton Waekiloa Village on The Big Island...I mean the resort, grounds, pools, lagoon were unbelievable. But yeah lunch alone for the six of us would be $300 easy. And airfare is going to be an easy $6,000. Ugh...back to the drawing board.

Hilton also has 3 timeshares right there in Waikoloa Village -- Kingsland, Kohala Suites (aka Waikoloa Beach Club), and Bay Club. The first two include full access to all facilities and pools at the Waikoloa Village hotel. In addition, Kingsland has its own awesome super pool with slides, waterfalls, and lazy river (taking DGD there this fall).

You can sometimes rent a timeshare from an owner. Good places to look include
Timeshare Users Group Marketplace
Redweek
eBay

As far as airfare, if you live on the west coast or can get there easily, Alaska Airlines has some killer deals. Sign up for their credit card, and you can get a companion fare for $99 plus tax, good for wherever they fly. They have quite a few routes from west coast cities to various places in the Hawaiian Islands.

HTH,
Bob

 

[bellanapoli]

We just spent a week in Kauai. We stayed at an all condo resort so the property had a fantastic pool, restaurant and spa on-site. It felt like a fancy resort but we had our own 2 bedroom 3 bath condo. I booked through vrbo.

Getting there can be pricey but virtually everything we did activity-wise was free.

 

[hilarys]

We use reward credit cards for all our purchases. When going to Hawaii we try to get the kids tickets for free using miles and then pay cash for ours (so we can earn miles for the flights too). You need to plan well ahead though as the "free" tickets during prime times go quickly.

I second the recommendation re the condo. When I am in Hawaii I much prefer to have breakfast in the condo and walk up from the pool/beach for lunch. If we are in a condo we also usually do 2 or so simple dinners in the condo. Hawaii has many great condo developments that have amenities that rival the Hilton Waikoloa or are right next to great hotels like it. The Hilton Waikoloa or a traditional hotel is going to be even more pricey for you as you are going to need at least 2 rooms. We have stayed at the Waikoloa for "free" using Hilton points before and the kids have had a great time. They have also loved staying in a basic but beachfront condo on Kaanapali beach on Maui. My kids really just love the beach and hanging out (no activities needed except maybe a surf lesson or snorkel cruise). There are some beautiful condos right on the other side of the Hilton Waikoloa that you can find on VRBO. They are very new and beautiful inside and out. You could always stay there and get a day pass for the Hilton for a day and then explore the many incredible beaches just up the coast (Hapuna, Mauna Kea, etc).

The lodging can definitely be managed but airfare for 6 is going to be tough any way you cut it, unless you or DH rack up a lot of miles flying for work. The Hawaiian Islands are the best though.

HS

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Thanks for the responses! Yes, I'm learning I think we need to go condo. Now I'm not sure though if we should do the Big Island or Maui. And while. I did see those condos near the Hilton Waikiloa Village, they are surrounded by golf courses if. I'm spending the money to fly my family of six to Hawaii, I really to be right on the ocean. Any links to condos or recommendations would be greatly appreciated too!

 

[PHXscuba]

Check out the south Kihei area of Maui. There are many condos right across the street from nice beaches, with an ocean view. Very easy to access the beach and decently priced.

PHXscuba

 

[hilarys]

Yes South Kihei has lots of great condos and the beaches are really nice. If you want more of a resort feel, also look at Kaanapali Beach. Many big hotels, condos, and time shares so lots of restaurants and shops that you can walk to and a real resort feel. The beach does get more crowded than Kihei beaches, but we have really enjoyed staying there the last two times to Maui. We have stayed at the Kaanapali Alii - wide range of prices depending on whether you rent directly from the management office or through VRBO and whether you get a remodelled room or not (we did not as location was more important). There are also several timeshare resorts (Marriott and Westin) in the Kaanapali area so you may be able to find a good deal with someone renting out their week.

Sometimes airfare can be cheaper to Oahu. Before our Aulani stay last year, we stayed for 4 nights on the north shore at Turtle Bay in a condo and loved the area. Check VRBO a wide range of prices depending on how close to the ocean and whether you are part of the hotel or not.

Hawaii really is the best hope you can find a way to make it happen for your family.

Hilary

 

[BSOGfam]

We rented a house in Kihei. We went with our whole family so we rented a 4 bedroom with a pool. Is there any other family members who may want to travel with you guys? This worked out to be so much cheaper per family than hotel rooms, along with the eating out savings.