Plan on losing weight during your Hawaiian vacation! Everything is expensive in Hawaii, so our solution was to skimp on the dinner portions and double down on extreme activities. Hawaii with kids can fit the budget.  We split our dinner, but paid full price for the most amazing Hawaiian experiences.  As a family, we decided we could leave Hawaii without the surf and turf, but not without brushing up to a Giant Manta Ray.

 

WHERE TO STAY IN HAWAII

One of the first questions when planning a family vacation to Hawaii is always where to stay.  You may want the resort experience.  But you will most definitely pay the resort price. Staying in a resort usually means no kitchen, which means eating out for every meal.  When you’re in Hawaii with kids, this adds up quick.  We chose the Home Away/Airbnb option and loved it.  Our requirements were pretty simple.  One, we need a kitchen. Two, parents must have their own bedroom, three, ocean view, and lastly, pool would be nice.

A place like this was easy to find since we planned the trip months in advance. Our favorite trick is to hit the grocery store immediately on the way from the airport to your place.  Get coffee, breakfast stuff, lunch meat, salad, snacks, water/wine, and maybe one dinner.

 

Having a kitchen with food in it solves two problems.  The first and most important for me, is grumpy hangry people.  When we are starving we can’t seem to agree or make any good choice.  Who wants to be on vacation with glazed-over eyes searching Yelp, fighting and confused about where to eat?  Nope. Just drink your coffee and eat your breakfast while you plan the day.  Pack a lunch and go to the beach?  Eat lunch out near the beach and come back home for dinner?   Whatever you decide, it’s with a clear head, knowing how much you will spend.

 

LOVE IN HAWAII

Parents having their own room is the other essential. Listen folks, a resort is nice, but if you can’t be alone when the kids are in bed, what is the point?  Here’s the as promised advice on love: You flew half way across the world for this vacation.  You need time alone to reconnect and fall deeper in love.  Close that bedroom door, get alone, and make it your goal to know each other more intimately than when you got there.

 

EATING OUT IN HAWAII

If you’re anything like me, a lover of really good food, you will go to the best restaurant, but take one look at the price tag and order the “half-salad.”  We love fish, steaks, sushi, poke, all the good stuff.  So, we decided instead of going out to dinner, we would go out to Happy Hour!  Kids, order whatever you want… off the happy hour menu! And just because it’s happy hour we didn’t go crazy with the drinks. If you think you’ll blow the budget eating out, try drinking out.  We decided ahead of time to order just one drink.  If we wanted another one, it would be back at our place. These little tweaks to our eating-out cut our dinner bill in half, but we fully enjoyed every meal!

It might sound like too much planning on vacation. But our goal on vacation is to relax and enjoy each other.  Spending more money than we planned or can afford is not usually relaxing for anyone.

 

ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCES IN HAWAII

We may have skipped the resort and the big dinner bill, but we splurged on experiences.  As parents, when we plan family vacations, we are purposely creating memories and situations that will inspire and shape who our children become.  Our adventures and travels are like a spring board for our kids.  Only up from here.  You thought boogie boarding was awesome?  Let’s take surf lessons and stand up on that board.  Snorkeling is breathtaking, now let’s try a night dive with giant manta rays.  How’s your breath now?

 

We went hiking, kayaking, zip lining. Getting way out of our comfort zone, we swam in cold water falls and let the water pound on our shoulders while we laughed and tried to take a family selfie with the Go Pro.  During our hike in Kawaii we carefully listened to a native Hawaiian lady share the history and legend of the islands. It was magical watching our kid’s round eyes, filled with curiosity, taking it all in.

 

 

RELAXATION WITH KIDS IN HAWAII

The last and maybe most important piece of our “Hawaii with kids” puzzle, was making the in-between moments count.  We played Heads-Up and Uno during long layovers.

 

 

 

While cruising in the car we listened to podcasts.  Every one of us spent lots of time reading, in fact we had to find a book store to pick out more books for the kids. We played all the out dated board games (like the Game of Life) that were left in the places we rented.

 

 

 

Click Here For More Travel Reviews