How to Vacation in Maui as a Family
When you talk to people who have vacationed in Maui, they will probably tell you about the winding Road to Hana or the sunrises at the Haleakala National Park. While these to-dos are wonderful, they aren’t feasible when you have young kids. Hawaii is very kid-friendly are there are plenty of ways to fill up a week-long vacation while leaving lots of time for relaxation. Here are my tips and checklists of where to stay and what to do in Maui with kids!
Make Your Life Easier
Planning a trip to Hawaii can take some time because it is not a destination that offers all-inclusive deals. Being prepared will save you money and headaches in the long run. That’s why I love Maui, a tropical paradise with all the comforts and security of North American travel. It does however come with a price tag: Maui is EXPENSIVE. So I’m letting you in on some ways to save your family some money!
Where to Stay
Every time we travel here, we choose accommodation with an apartment set-up. The time change is pretty rough on kids and having a separate bedroom for them the sleep was key for us this year. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money going out for three meals per day, then find a place to stay with a kitchen. I can’t tell you how convenient it was to have a stove, microwave, washer/dryer and dishwasher at our disposal! We cut some of the costs by doing a large grocery shop at Costco and Walmart right beside the airport as soon as our plane landed and we had pick-up our rental car. We had breakfast and coffee every morning, packed lunch in the cooler and then either made dinner in our unit in the evening or went out for dinner. When you have young kids, this kept things much more relaxed! Watch the YouTube video below for a full tour!
The Honua Kai
We LOVED our stay at the Honua Kai this trip. It is located in the popular location of Ka’anapali. My main goal was finding a resort that was kid-friendly and this place was it. There is a water slide, a lazy river, a grotto with waterfalls, and three separate pools. The pools are all 3-4 feet deep so shallow enough for the little ones to play in. We packed life-jackets for our kids since they are still learning to swim.
We rented our two master-bedroom, two master-bath suite through VRBO. Our unit was #604 of the Konea Tower, and we found that it was managed extremely well by a property management company called Hawaii Life. Our set-up included all the beach essentials too: boogie boards, beach chairs, sand toys, a cooler and an umbrella to use during the duration of our stay. We did bring snorkel gear from home but you can easily rent those items from the hotel.
What else should you know? There’s an on-site restaurant called Duke’s where you can grab drinks and food poolside during the day or dine on a nice dinner in the evening. The beach directly in front of the resort is beautiful but can be pretty wavy at times, so keep a close eye on your kids. There is a boardwalk along the beach that connects a few of the other hotels south of the Honua Kai. One of the best things we brought on our trip was a collapsable wagon. We hauled our kids and our beach gear around easily, it was an awesome substitute for a stroller!
Things To Do
Maui Ocean Centre – The best aquarium I have ever been to! Buy tickets online and spend a few hours here exploring all the local Hawaiian sea life. Everything is really interactive for kids including a touch pool and shark tunnel!
Whaler’s Village – Great shopping and eating! Tell your kids you’re going to visit see a whale skeleton and then sneak away into the Enjoy a beautiful sunset here while dining at Hula’s Grill. Make sure to get the fish tacos and your children will love the kid’s menu too.
Beaches – There are so many beaches on Maui. We like to stay in Ka’anapali and enjoy the beach outside of our hotel. We do always visit Black Rock Beach where you can snorkel with giant sea turtles. My kids could see them while standing on the shoreline.
Lahaina – I love this charming little village. Go here for some great dinners out! Try Cheeseburger in Paradise or Bubba Gump’s. Lots of great little shops, or you can easily book excursions or rent beach gear here.
Luau– Although we thought our kids are still too young for this, I can’t wait to take them here when they are a little older. Watch an authentic Hawaiian ceremony and dance and then feast on authentic buffet-style cuisine.
Maui Travel Tips for Kids – Checklist
Book flights to OGG
Book a hotel or vacation rental (VRBO)
Book a rental car
Schedule a shop at Costco and Walmart after you arrive to stock up on groceries and alcohol!
Make reservations at any restaurants so that you avoid long wait times
Buy your family pack of tickets for the Maui Ocean Centre online to save
Love, Kiki
These were really good tips. Collapseable wagon is a fab idea. Where did you get yours?
Hi Kiki,
Great tips for a family trip to #Maui! You hit the nail on the head when you talk about the condo / apartment vs hotel for the kids. The separate bedrooms, kitchen and laundry (which means less to pack and thus fewer bags so less airline fees!) are great keys!
My tip (yes, it is selfish) is a condo searching site called, http://MauiOwnerCondos.com. You can find some of the same condos as on VRBO or other directories, but no portal fees or additional fees to the renter – just the nightly rate plus tax.
Glad you had fun on Maui. I also heard that a trampoline park is coming to Maui soon too – that should be fun for the kids in the rain.
Next trip come check out the South Side! 😉
Aloha – Matt
Gosh I would love to go there! It looks so beautiful!!!!!!!! Great tips! I’ve never uSed VRBO!!
Looks like a fabulous trip! Next time we take a family trip it’s definitely going to be all-inclusive!
I lived in Maui one summer and loved it but I missed the comforts of Home. I was so so so broke the entire time I was there and my roomie was cray! I worked in Kahului at an apartment complex. It was not what I expected but I loved so many parts about Maui.
Magical Maui! One of my favourite places to go on vacation. So relaxing.
Looks like you had a wonderful vacation with your family
Lyndi xo
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Looks like a dream trip! We went for our honeymoon. I would love to take the kids.