Does anyone have ideas/tips for a family vacation in Hawaii?

[gandpsmommy]

We have never been there, and I would love to go. We are looking forward to getting to take a vacation this winter, for the first time in five years. We were thinking of going somewhere in the Caribbean, but I would really love to go to Hawaii.

 

Is it possible to have an affordable family vacation in Hawaii? I've heard that everything is really expensive there. A lot of places in the Caribbean offer all-inclusive packages, which I know doesn't happen in Hawaii.

 

Also, where is the best place to go? We love to just relax on vacation and not have to be scheduled. We sometimes like to go do activities, but not the entire time. The kids love to swim and explore nature.

 

Any ideas or information are welcome! Thanks.

[Mrs Mungo]

We have never been there, and I would love to go. We are looking forward to getting to take a vacation this winter, for the first time in five years. We were thinking of going somewhere in the Caribbean, but I would really love to go to Hawaii.

 

Is it possible to have an affordable family vacation in Hawaii? I've heard that everything is really expensive there. A lot of places in the Caribbean offer all-inclusive packages, which I know doesn't happen in Hawaii.

 

Also, where is the best place to go? We love to just relax on vacation and not have to be scheduled. We sometimes like to go do activities, but not the entire time. The kids love to swim and explore nature.

 

Any ideas or information are welcome! Thanks.

 

Hawaii is expensive, but it is SO beautiful and there are ways to make it less expensive. What island are you considering? What all do you want to do or see? I ask because I know people who have gone to the Big Island expecting to see the Arizona and people who have come here to Oahu wanting to see a Volcano. :)

[hornblower]

We've done Waikiki a bunch of times & an all inclusive in Puerto Vallarta once.

 

The PV all inclusive is a better deal IMO. I LOVED never having to think about food or worry about it. We are also lazy layabouts & enjoy each other's company just hanging about so we didn't feel a great big need to 'go places' or 'do' stuff. Our biggest decisions were things like "should we get a boogie board now or in an hour?"

 

Waikiki is more expensive for us, even eating at fast food places. Denny's is an ok deal there & there is an all you can eat place called Perry's? I think? which we usually did at least once. Otherwise we often bought some fruit & snacks & had that in our room for a mid day meal... We spent Christmas in Waikiki once & had dinner from Wolfgang Puck's on the beach :D

 

When our kids were young we got a zoo membership & went to the zoo every day for a walk in the morning, then hit the beaches. In the evening we walked the strip - there are entertainers, lots of outdoor stuff to see.

 

It's partly what you like. My parents have gone to Waikiki & Maui & also did an all inclusive in Mexico & they get very bored in Mexico, a bit bored in Maui (but they rent a car & go driving around to change things up a bit) and they tend to return to Waikiki the most.

 

Unless someone gifts me with a trip, I can't see us doing Waikiki again but we definitely plan to scrape enough $ to do an all inclusive in Mexico again (bummer that my kids are beyond the stay & eat free age now!) We stayed in a Riu chain btw, & we really liked it. Very relaxing.

[Mrs Mungo]

I don't think Waikiki is the best way to go if you're bringing the family to Oahu. I would suggest renting in Kailua. MUCH better beaches on that part of the island, often *less* per night than a hotel in Waikiki. You often get a kitchen (or mini-kitchen) to cook meals in. It gives you a better "home base." You rent a car and drive to the North Shore, Hanauma and maybe a day in Waikiki and/or Pearl Harbor.

[AlaskaGrownFamily]

I'd go to Maui, and search vrbo.com for condos and owner-rented properties.

 

I LOVE Maui, particularly the Ka'anapali side. (Notsomuch Kihei.)

If I was going back to Oahu, I second the recommendation for Kailua rather than Waikiki. :)

 

We're from AK, so prices don't seem that high to me, but it's all relative. Good luck with your decision and vacation planning!

[gandpsmommy]

Hawaii is expensive, but it is SO beautiful and there are ways to make it less expensive. What island are you considering? What all do you want to do or see? I ask because I know people who have gone to the Big Island expecting to see the Arizona and people who have come here to Oahu wanting to see a Volcano. :)

 

I really have no idea which island we would want to go to, or exactly what we would want to see. My consideration of this as even a possibility is nascent. I think my dh would probably be interested in seeing Pearl Harbor, since he loves history, but my ds would probably love to see a volcano and would be interested in ocean life, and dd would like swimming and sightseeing. I would love to relax on the beach. How's that for a little bit of everything?

 

Are there any huts or condos or something similar that one can rent that might have a kitchen where we could cook most of our meals? I've heard that even groceries are exorbitant there, though, so I don't know how much that would help.

 

How much would you expect a 7-day vacation for a family of four to cost?

[Mrs Mungo]

I really have no idea which island we would want to go to, or exactly what we would want to see. My consideration of this as even a possibility is nascent. I think my dh would probably be interested in seeing Pearl Harbor, since he loves history, but my ds would probably love to see a volcano and would be interested in ocean life, and dd would like swimming and sightseeing. I would love to relax on the beach. How's that for a little bit of everything?

 

Pearl Harbor is part of Oahu. The only active volcano is on the Big Island (aka: Hawai'i, I realize this is confusing, lol). There are beaches and such on all of the islands, but the beaches are all different. Plus, there are seasons of a sort. If you want to watch a surf contest you will need to come in the winter. If you want to snorkel in Waimea Bay, then you would need to come in the summer. :)

 

Are there any huts or condos or something similar that one can rent that might have a kitchen where we could cook most of our meals? I've heard that even groceries are exorbitant there, though, so I don't know how much that would help.

 

Not so much in Waikiki, but there are on other parts of the island. Groceries are REALLY pricey if you buy them at the ABC store down in Waikiki. If you go to a regular grocery store for locals, they aren't quite as bad.

 

How much would you expect a 7-day vacation for a family of four to cost?

 

Hm, it greatly depends upon the time of year (flight-wise, summer tends to be cheaper, Christmas is most expensive), which island, etc.

[cheryl h]

My husband and I went to Kauai'i last February and had a great time. We flew into Lihue, went to Costco for food(same prices as here) and Walmart for anything else and it really wasn't bad at all. Eating out is what is the most expensive. If you stay on the south side near Poipu, you can snorkel to your hearts content, right off the beach, and be near any grocery stores that will keep costs down. I was shocked to go to Costco, have a $1.50 hot dog(same prices!) in their open air food court, great scenery, i had to laugh. Not what you want to do everyday, but it helps. The infamous $5 Subway footlong is $6 there, still not a big deal. Your biggest expenses will be flight and hotel, everything else can be done cheap. The north side of the island has a great bay that bigger kids can safely learn how to surf. The island is small so to go from one side to the other to see everything is no biggie. We loved it. Kauai'i is also the least comercial of the bigger islands, so laid back. It was like going to a different planet. A lovely, lovely, planet!:001_smile:

[KatieJ]

We stayed in a condo on Maui with our teenage sons5 years ago. Our married daugther and her hubby had one condo, one teenager, and we had one with the other teenager.

We have sent several others to the same complex. All units have kitchen,most have one bedroom, but several have 2 bedrooms. All have washer and dryers. It is right on the beach. There is a pool..beach charir, private, it was wonderful. You need to be careful and learn the lingo when searching for condos. Short walk to the beach, may mean you have the cross the main thorougfare to get there.

Ceiling fans, means no A/C...etc.

We cooked breakfast and kept sandwich stuff and fruit..but ate out once a day. Never expensive places tho. There is a grocery store we picked up their discount card and pretty much ate what was onsale..wierd, but it worked for us.

Farmer's market was wonderful. WE bought gifts and local produce, jam, etc..

Airfare was definately teh most expensive thing. Condo was reasonable. We did one very expensive day snorkel trip, and it was the most fun thing we did the whole trip.

[sbgrace]

We started in Oahu to see Pearl Harbor primarily and I'm glad we did. After a few days we went to the Big Island and I loved it because we saw the volcano, were in rain forests and a variety of ecosystems, etc. I loved it. But if you're mostly a beach person your choice of Islands would be affected by that. I guess my main point is you don't necessarily have to do just one island since family may have different interests. We did condos so we could make meals and save money that way.

[creekland]

We've been to Kauai, Oahu, and the Big Island.

 

Kauai is our favorite overall and the island I'd recommend if you want laid back and nature coupled with sheer beauty. Take a day to go hiking in the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" and another day (or two) to explore the north shore as well as snorkeling in the south and just marveling in the beauty. Beaches abound.

 

Oahu is worth it for Pearl Harbor and I'll second (or third) the idea of staying somewhere other than Waikiki unless you prefer your vacation among crowds (some do). To us, Oahu is a city with a beach - perfect if you like city vacations with a beach - not so perfect if you prefer other things (and yes, we've been all around the island so have seen the non-Honolulu areas).

 

The Big Island is worth it for the volcano and has the best diving in our opinion. The Manta Ray night dive is probably still at the top of our list for favorite dives of all - and it can be snorkeled - but might be too pricey for a budget trip. Staying in the village of Volcano is superb for visiting the volcano and it's cheap. It's not close to the beaches though. The Big Island doesn't have the best beaches to be honest, but their black sand beaches in the south are incredibly pretty. The Eastern side of The Big Island is wet and rainforesty - nice waterfalls, etc. The north has nice valleys to explore. The west is where the majority of the tourism is (resorts, etc), but it's certainly not the best for beauty. It is the best for diving and snorkeling though.

 

See if your library carries the Wizard Pub Guidebook series to Hawaii (Big Island Revealed, etc) and take a look at those for each island to see what would appeal to you. I can't answer any "Hawaii on a Budget" ideas as we weren't on a budget when we traveled there. I can say we rented condos since that's what we prefer, and we shopped in grocery stores (yes, expensive, but...) and farmer's markets (generally nice fruit, etc, but look things over carefully).

 

In a week, I'd pick one island and stick with it unless you wanted to add a day to see Pearl Harbor on your way or way back. You'll lose practically a whole day switching islands by the time you pack, take the quick flight, rent another car, and check in. It's not worth it when you only have a week.

[Closeacademy]

We took our girls a couple of years ago and they still talk about it and want to go back.

 

We went to the Big Island which is very family friendly. We stayed for 15 days on the island and spent around $6000 total for everything and I mean everything (food, airfare, housing, car, etc.). We went through Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO) and rented a place above this wonderful lady's garage.

 

Every morning at dawn the turkies would come gobbling down the hill to wake us up. We spent a lot of time at King K beach which is perfect for kids to learn to swim in the ocean as it is tranquil and full of tide pools.

 

There are some nice historical sites, the volcano, waterfalls, and we were able to find a nice little fair up in Kohala. The girls loved it. It was more like a festival with a petting zoo, some simple games, a train to ride, live entertainment and booths. I bought some wonderful Lillikoi jam.

 

I was able to count just about every day we were there as school because we were always having new adventures and learning new things.:001_smile: