gobeach

Hi,
My wife and I are planning a week's vacation in Hawaii with our twin 5 year olds in September or October, leaving from the San Francisco bay area. Nothing to adventurous, mostly keeps the kids entertained at the beach or pool and the occasional hike or sightseeing activity. We have seen some good deals on package tours (air+hotel) to Maui. Can anyone recommend any tour companies and hotels? Will a package tour be cheaper than booking air and hotel separately?

Also on the activity side, what would be good for young children? They just started learning swimming this summer, can barely put their heads in the water. Can they snorkle? If not, what else can they do there?

thanks in advance,

Eric

delor

First of all, why do you want to put your kids in a germy, urine and chlorine filled pool when they can swim in a gorgeous ocean that is calm, shallow and full of fun critters to watch in goggles? If you want pools, take a cheaper trip in California or Vegas.
If you want to go to Hawaii and get past POOLS AND GERMS in Maui, I highly recommend the Maui Prince at Wailea (Makena area).They have a pool and it might be cleaner than the huge hotels, but avoid chemicals and .....beach it!
The Prince is on the south west shore, an older hotel (no water slides or wedding chapels) and has a fantastic beach ALL TO ITSELF (it doesn't share the beach with other hotels OR CONDOS ALL VERY IMPORTANT, the others do).If you snorkle in the morning (very important everywhere in Hawaii as wind comes up around noon and the water can cloud up) the snorkling is fantastic and kid friendly.They have snorkle rentals, etc, but I recommend stocking up on arrival out of the airport at Costco (boogie boards that are cheaper to buy than rent for the hour(About $40 vs $5 per hour X days of your visit) and you can bag them up at the airport and fly them home) and Safeway with kid toys for the beach to buy, also available at the hotel. Sea turtles (they are calm but don't touch, against the law) fantastic fish, and the sand crabs keep kids occupied for hours, especially when they drop treats down their hole. You can only take so much sun, so after a couple hours max, throw them in the car and head for the aquarium at Maalea harbor. Fish (and sharks!!!) swim in tubes over their heads and lots of other fun stuff. Head to Lahaina for the day and visit Kaanapali beach (a zoo!) and do a shopping visit to Whalers Village.Nice but..
The Shops at Wailea near the Maui Prince are bigger and more fun. Reataurants that are family friendly, too.
Lots of road trips on the island, but judging the age of the twins, you have easy duty with a couple day swims (wear them out and have a lovely dinner for 2 as they snore after stuffing themselves in the booth seating you reserved at your restaurant or an early supper at the Prince in the Hakone (Japanese) or Prince Court restaurants. Also Many other restaurants close by in the area that serve early and are kid friendly.
Costco and Safeway are in the area (Costco is just outside the airport. Ask anyone who works there. Load up the refrig for snacks.the Prince has refrigerators that are empty (no overpriced mini bar stuff) A romantic dinner for 2 on your hotel terrace (take a candle) with the kids out cold in bed is always a great option!
Check www.princeresortshawaii.com for their Prince club sign up and good deals or Costco travel, Aloha airlines, American., united, etc. We have stayed all over Maui for 40 years and still go back to the Prince for the aforementioned reasons.Fantastic for families, not as crazy as the Kaanapali area and really fun.
Check it out!
Aloha

Suzie

We've been to Kaanapali in Sept and November and because it's off season there were not many people on Maui at all. We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Resort which is next door to the Hyatt and our 2 kids had a terrific time. There are two pool, one is a pirate ship with a sandy bottom and the other one has a water fall and a slide. The pool cafe offered a deal where you purchase a mug and during your stay you can fill it with soda or coffee for free. The cafe also has lots of food choices for kids and adults. The restaurant Va Bene was fantastic which was unexpected. It's also ocean side and we ate there twice. Since it was off season we had great service.

We did venture to the Hyatt next door where we had stayed the time before and the kids did mention that they wished we had returned there.

My sis and her 3 kids stayed at the Westin which is closer to Whalers Village and they had a fantastic time. They liked the pools and the beach. The beach in front of that hotel is very nice.

All three hotels are within easy walking distance to Black Rock for snorkeling. We found that not all young kids are comfortable snorkeling in the ocean. We practiced snorkeling in our pool before we left but there are no fish in the pool. Some young kids may be bothered by swimming with or so close to fish. It's a tough one to predict.

We took them on a snorkel tour with Four Winds which was a really fun trip but our DD had to look through the window on the kick board rather than use the snorkel gear. They also have a slide which they really liked. The boat trip to Molokini was more than just for snorkeling for us so we all had a great time.

We arranged our hotel and flight separately. Pick up Maui Revealed from the book store. It's a great book to have when you are planning your vacation and for when you get tehre.

offlady

There is a beach in Lahaina called "baby beach" that is protected by the reef and don't get the large rough waves like Kaanapali, making it somewhat safer for smaller children.

Also, after going to the Maui Ocean Center (aquarium), you may want to consider the adjacent Sports & Water park. It is small, but perfect for your children's age. They have one-person boats you each can ride and shoot water from the water pistols mounted on the boat. You don't actually go into the water. But everyone will get wet from everyone else's water pistols so wear swimsuits. There is also a mini golf course, rock climbing and a snack shop.

As for hotel pools, I think they would enjoy the children's pool at the Marriott in Kaanapali. I would be cautious of the Kaanapali beach for non-swimmers, both little and big people.

ohanaman1

Try Pleasant Holidays for some pretty good prices from the West Coast. If you seach them in this forum you will pull up a ton of threads. We have been taking our kids to the various Hawaiian islands since they were babies and rest assured, you will have plenty to do. My little boy was fairly frightened of snorkelling so we rented a boogie board with a viewer/mask built into it. He then would float looking down at the fish and it was great. Fyi,we always take a variety of small plastic sand toys for sand castles etc.Have a blast!

h0b0

I don't know if it's in the budget, but the Grand Wailea has a fantastic kid's area.

squidboy

Fairmont in Wailea is great for kids. Pools, beach and they have an acitivities service for kids.