“Deciding not to travel with kids because they won’t remember is like not reading books to them because they won’t remember the stories you read.” I loved this quote as soon as I came across it because it validated all of the efforts we put in, as parents, to include our children in big experiences. It reminded me that every adventure shapes who our babes are becoming.
Garrett and I mostly travel with our kids because I think we both inherently know the thousands of benefits. And this isn’t to say that traveling with kids is the right decision for every body or that traveling solo isn’t luxurious, amazing, and also necessary. But our littles’ growing minds get so much out of traveling with us, and if we go in with the appropriate expectations, then the chaos is worth it.
Alba is 6, and River is 4, so I will say, traveling has gotten so so much easier and more enjoyable than it was when they were still in diapers and using bottles. Not only are they more independent, but my own expectations have evolved since becoming a Mama in terms of what a family vacation will look and feel like. I’ve gotten to a point where I expect a trip with our daughters to be as exhausting as it is a good time. Motherhood does that to us, we either roll with the chaos or get rolled over by it. And I used to get overwhelmed by the unpredictability of traveling with little kids, but now I go into it with a mindset prepared for embracing the chaos, and it has made all the difference.
Travel gives our babes a worldly education that is hands-on, opportunities for independence and responsibility, helps them learn to adapt and be flexible, and it expands their small worlds. But most important to us is that it teaches our children they are an integral part of our family, we are a family, and we spend quality time together.
We traveled to Oahu in November, right before Thanksgiving, and we stayed for 6 nights. Our timing felt just right.
We were able to do everything we wanted, and leaving felt bittersweet.
HOTELS
Turtle Bay Resort
Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes.
We only stayed here for one night, and it was our first night, but we spent the rest of the trip wishing we were right back there.
The resort was luxurious and had such an aesthetically peaceful vibe, which makes a trip with littles seem more fancy than it is. And I’m all for that. The pool had a bar, service, and two water slides.
The main beach area had lounge chairs/umbrellas, and if you kept walking around the corner, there was a beautiful beach
with almost no people and tide pools.
There was a breakfast buffet, and the food was alright, but the views were worth it.
And there was a small coffee shop downstairs in the lobby!
Disney Aulani Resort
This was our next stop, and we stayed here for two nights. We stayed in a suite, so we had a kitchen.
This was really nice to get a little break from eating out all of the time!
(And the resort had a convenience type shop in their gift shop, so we were able to get some grocery basics.)
I did not love it here for myself, but I still recommend a couple night stay here for your littles.
It was a disappointment for me in the sense that I expected much more “Disney.”
Instead, it was just dark lighting everywhere, and there were no characters or Disney vibes to be found. Regardless, this was our kids’ favorite part of the entire trip because the pool area was so much fun. There was a lazy river, water park, water slides, and several pools.
And there’s a sand beach and bay right next to the pool area with lounge chairs/umbrellas.
TIP FOR YOU: Beat the check out before 11:00am, or it will be too crowded for a bellman or valet.
TIP FOR YOU: There’s a coffee shop at the pool. It’s under an umbrella across from the Ulu Cafe.
Hilton Waikiki Beach
Unfortunately, Waikiki has changed so much from what we remembered. It was crowded and even felt like Vegas at times.
But they do have a kid-friendly “beach” with no waves that is perfect for littles.
We won’t be back to this hotel simply because it’s so overcrowded.
Valet takes 20 minutes of waiting. Coffee and ice cream lines are 20+ people long. It’s a really cool, inclusive type of resort area, but there were too many people around to fully enjoy it. The beaches and pool were overcrowded too. Maybe it was the time of year we went?
I was initially worried that three different hotels over our trip would be too much packing and traveling, but it was actually very seamless. It gave us different ways to experience Hawaii, and it also gave us reasons and a route to travel the entire island.
As fun as it was to experience all of these hotels and resorts during our stay, we agreed we’ll book an Air BnB next time. I wouldn’t change a thing about what we did because it was our first time back in Hawaii after nearly ten years, so we really wanted the tourist experience. But now that we’ve done that, it’d be nice, next time, to cook some of our own meals and not deal with the hustle and bustle of hotels.
RESTAURANT LUNCH/DINNER RECOMMENDATIONS
Giovanni Shrimp Trucks
We ate this twice, and we loved it. The shrimp trucks were parked with a bunch of other trucks: shaved ice, drinks, crepes, smoothies, etc. And there’s just picnic tables, so it’s first come, first serve.
Uahi Island Grill
This is a restaurant in Kailua, and we stopped here randomly after the Lanikai beach. All of the food was really good!
Garrett and I both ordered garlic shrimp…we couldn’t get enough.
Nicos 38
Live music, bar, all good food. Highly recommend for a good lunch spot near Waikiki.
Alba loves to tip every live musician we see, so we gave the man performing $20, and he asked Alba her name and dedicated a song to her. It was really sweet. Every single thing we ordered was really good! The kids loved the chow mein noodles, which were really sweet and unlike any I’ve had before.
RESTAURANT BREAKFAST RECOMMENDATIONS
Boots and Kimos
This is a MUST DO BREAKFAST STOP for the macadamia nut pancakes. We were worried about crowds, so we ordered ahead for take-out to eat in the trunk of our car, but it surprisingly wasn’t even that crowded. It all worked out, though, because we ended up finding a farmer’s market that we walked over to nearby right after our trunk meal.
Liliha Bakery
The breakfast was good, and there’s a bakery with everything delicious! We tried a few things to bring back to our room, and we even got some goods to bring back to friends and family from here. If you dine in, they serve this red jelly with their biscuits. It’s sooo good. We bought a couple jars to bring home as gifts.
Surfer’s Coffee
I loved this coffee stop in Wahiawa off Kamehameha Highway. The coffee is good. The atmosphere is good.
Farmhouse Cafe
This 100% organic, gourmet brunch spot was a treasure find as we were headed out for the airport. The food is European cafe and hits the spot if you’re looking for a quality, hole-in-the-wall brunch.
SNACKS AND DESSERT RECOMMENDATIONSZ
Kahuku Fruit Stands
These are roadside fruit stands off the Kamehameha Highway. They’re also right across from the Kawela Bay Beach, so we stopped here after a long beach day. This was actually one of my favorite stops on our trip. They had such a variety of fresh fruit, fried bananas, sugar cane, banana bread and more.
Shimazu Shaved Ice
So many flavors! The location and seating isn’t great, so you’ll probably want to take it to-go.
Matsumoto Shaved Ice
This is a big tourist spot in North Shore. It’s not the best shaved ice, but it’s good, and you can definitely make an activity out of hanging out in the area. There was a grass area for the kids, and there were some nearby shops.
Wholesale Unlimited Snacks
There’s multiple locations, but this is where you want to go if you’re looking for all the good Hawaiian snacks and candies.
We stopped here after Farmhouse Cafe (there is one walking distance) before we headed to the airport.
Li-Hing Sour Patch Watermelons…
Wailua Shaved Ice
We didn’t make it here this time, but it’s still my favorite shaved ice there is.
SIGHT-SEEING AND TO-DO
Kailua’s Farmer’s Market
We came across this farmer’s market walking distance from Boots and Kimos, and it was so amazing that we almost wished we had eaten Boots and Kimos a different morning! The market had amazing products that you just don’t get here in California.
Go hungry and ready to snack!
We got coffee, fruit bowl (amazing), fresh sugar cane juice, and some crystal beads and power bracelets.
Makapu’u Tidepools
This can be a hike, but we did the free parking off the side of the road. It was one of my favorite spots! We went at dusk, and it was breathtaking. The kids could have played here for hours with the ocean life. Several other kids were running around with hand nets.
Lanikea Turtle Beach
This North Shore beach is known as Turtle Beach. Turtles like to bask in the sun on the shore here, and we got lucky enough to see a bunch swimming in the surf, and one washed up on shore just as we got there. There is a small parking lot right across from the beach.
Kawela Bay Beach Park
This was the most secluded beach out of the ones we visited. Garrett and the girls swam by a turtle out in the water here!
It’s in the North Shore and across the street from some delicious fruit stands. We parked along the street and walked through a canopy of trees to get there. The water was really calm.
Lanikai Beach
This is the beach you dream about when you picture your Hawaii trips. It’s white sand, blue waters, and absolutely beautiful.
You have to park in the residential area and walk down one of the access trails. It’s pet and kid-friendly.
Alba and Garrett were out snorkeling on their own, and they got lucky enough to swim right near a sea turtle!
We bought the girls boogie boards, which was so worth it for them to be able to swim out in the deeper waters comfortably. At the end of our trip, we gave the boogie boards away to another family with two little boys.
Aulani Resort Luau
Garrett and I both agreed this luau probably had the best overall “show” of any luaus we’ve been to. It was an entire story with so many performances. As far as an authentic atmosphere and the activities that were offered…meh.
There was temporary tattoos, taro pounding, flower bracelet making, and ukulele lessons.
The kids got these huge bento boxes for dinner; they were perfect and a lot of food.
TIP FOR YOU: I highly recommend this luau for anybody with kids because almost everybody there has kids,
so we felt comfortable letting them run around. And the girls even made a friend at our table!
Dole Plantation
This was one of those tourist stops that I could have done without. But of course, it was our kids’ favorite! They will probably remember the maze experience for the rest of their life. It was a scavenger hunt, and they were running throughout the plantation trying to complete it.
TIP FOR YOU: Try the amazing pineapple cashews they sell.
Save this post for a future trip to Oahu!
And if you subscribe to my newsletter, check your email for some quick tips on traveling with littles.
Please comment below any places that I missed or recommendations of your own.
And don’t hesitate to reach out if you want any more details.
XOXO
We loved traveling with our oldest daughter and hope to do so with the new baby soon (once she can tolerate the car seat longer than 10 mins 😭). We brought her everywhere with us and made it a point to take 1-2 trips per year, even if it was just somewhere close by. Although they may not remember all of our trips, my husband and I will. Seeing them experience and thrive in new environments makes it all worth it.
I’m excited for all the future vacays for your family with the two girls! It’s so fun when they’re old enough to play together (and fight together lol).