Vacationing in Hawaii...With Kids

A once in a lifetime excursion, I recently vacationed in Hawaii, and it is everything you’d imagine if you’ve never been fortunate enough to make the voyage. The travel is certainly not easy, but it’s compounded exponentially by traversing with a six-, four- and one-year-old.

We spent our first five days on Oahu with my cousin who serves in our military and his family. He’s stationed there; it was ideal navigating the island with locals, versus always defaulting to the atypical tourist activities. We were on the go from sunup to sundown everyday, and it truly felt like we got a good sense of what Oahu has to offer:

Restaurants

• Boston’s pizza (not the chain) was a clutch takeout spot for dinner two of the nights when we were on the move
• Lanikai Juice had amazing, fresh smoothies that we started a few days with
• Wilson Store lived up to the hype of best shaved ice on the island
• The North Shore has a ton of food trucks - we hit Big Wave Shrimp in Haleiwa for lunch, and it was awesome (Guy Fieri approves too)
• We got Nico’s takeout one night, and it was good if not unspectacular, but I hate judging restaurants on their takeout

Attractions

• We stayed on the military base, and there were a couple beaches on it that were low key that we could’ve made a day at: Secret Beach and Pyramid Rock
• Our minds were blown when we witnessed several turtles at affectionately-called Turtle Beach
• My son is still talking about the beach at Kualoa Park, where we paddle boarded out to Chinaman’s Hat and hiked/climbed the small island
• Lanikia Beach was the most beautiful beach we visited
• The Lanikia Pillbox Hike was no joke, but is worth every minute
• ​Bellows Beach was a blast
• Waikiki Beach was touristy, but it was really cool being on a beautiful beach within a major city
• We couldn’t visit Hawaii without touring Pearl Harbor, which was an incredible experience - even for the kids
• Blowholes are apparently a thing, and Halona Blowhole was cool and offered incredible views

​After five days on Oahu, my family flew to Maui for an additional four days. We mostly relaxed around the beach near the resort during the day, but we still explored:

• Maui Brewing was the canned beer of choice while on the beaches, but we hit their restaurant in Kihei twice
• If you’re craving authentic Greek food while there for whatever reason, Pita Paradise hit the mark
• Monkeypod came highly recommended, and exceeded expectations
• Paia Fish Market was by far the most affordable place we dined and offered the largest portions and best kids’ meals (Paia was a cool town to walk around too)
• Ululanis Hawaiian Shaved Ice was good, but didn’t top Wilson’s in Oahu

• Ioa Valley State Monument offers incredible views and moderate hiking perfect for the kids
• Twin Falls was amazing to explore - beware of mosquitoes though!

A few other miscellaneous/anecdotal observations:

• Maui Brewing definitely has the most prominent distributing, but Honolulu Beerworks and Kohola Brewery also offered a solid slate of beers
• Don’t be fooled by the myth of pineapples in Happy Meals like we were 
• Parents beware: restrooms are scarce, so plan breaks intently. The aforementioned McDonald’s and grocery stores didn’t have public restrooms, and neither did some of the public beaches and parks we visited. One rather large restaurant we ate at had just one unisex restroom for the entire place.
• Roosters are everywhere in Maui - and they will deliver their customary wakeup call
• Geckos are like squirrels in Hawaii - they are also everywhere
• Bring water shoes to the beach - many are lava rocky
• Many ice cream places close at dinner time, so plan accordingly
• Cliche I know, but prioritize stopping at a roadside fruit stand to get a coconut to sip fresh coconut water from
• The people truly are happier and friendlier, except for our shuttle driver at the airport - that guy sucked
• Hawaian Time is real too - island life is slower than on the mainland

We had an incredible time. Shoutout to my wife who was a rockstar who orchestrated the majority of the vacation for us. I highly recommend Hawaii if you have the opportunity to visit. And it can be done with kids. Hope my notes are helpful to any parent making the trip with their family in the future.

-Steven Michalovich, CBUS Dads contributor