Aloha Reader, People ask me all the time how I decide what to book. It's simple: I only put my name behind things I've actually done with my own kids. Here's what we actually keep going back to, island by island. On Oahu, we never skip Toa Luau. It's set in Waimea Valley on the North Shore, it's native-owned, and the whole vibe is more intimate and authentic than the big commercial shows. Your ticket includes access to the botanical garden and waterfall, so we always arrive early and make a...
3 days ago • 2 min read
Aloha Reader, We just got back from Oahu and Maui, and before I get into all of it, I need to tell you about 7-Eleven. Because it's going to come up and I want you to be prepared. Hawaii's 7-Elevens are not like the ones at home. They make a mochiko chicken musubi that I first had when I was pregnant with my oldest, and I have been going back ever since. It is one of the best snack deals on the island and I will not be taking questions. If you see one, stop. Okay. Now the rest of what we ate....
8 days ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, I just got back from a trip and I'm already fielding planning questions... which honestly, I love. But before I jump back into everything, I wanted to share something I've been sitting on for a while. I've been getting a version of the same message for months now. "Is there any way to get more than an hour with you?" Honestly? I get it. Some trips are just... a lot. You're planning two islands. You have a grandparent who uses a walker and a 4-year-old who needs a nap by 1pm....
10 days ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, If you're the one behind the camera on every trip, this one's for you. I have been on 20+ Flytographer shoots around the world (8 of them in Hawaii) and I am a huge fan. Like, I will tell anyone who will listen how much I love this service. Because here's the thing: I take approximately one million photos of my kids on every trip, and I have almost none of myself actually in them. Flytographer fixed that. But what I didn't expect was how fun the shoots themselves would be. On...
15 days ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, Every single trip to Hawaii, I see the same thing: a convertible pulled over on the side of the road, top still down, rain coming in, one adult frantically Googling how to get it closed while the other tries to shield the kids. It's funny until it's you. Don't rent a convertible during rainy season. That's just one of the car rental mistakes I see families make over and over. Here are the others worth knowing before you book. Waiting too long is the big one. Rental inventory in...
17 days ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, If you're in the middle of planning a summer Hawaii trip, one of the first things you need to lock down is where you're staying. Prices go up fast and availability disappears faster. So today I'm sharing my actual favorite hotels on each island, the ones I personally recommend to families and have either stayed at myself or know really well. Let's go island by island. Oahu The Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach is where we stayed in February and I came away genuinely impressed. The...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Aloha Reader, Something funny happened last week. Within a few days, several different people reached out and asked me basically the same thing: "Marcie, can you just look at my itinerary and tell me if it's good?" So I built a service for exactly that. Starting now, you can submit your Hawaii itinerary for a full review. I'll go through it, flag anything that concerns me, answer your itinerary-specific questions, and send it back to you within 48 hours. It's $50. This is a great fit for you...
24 days ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader! I'm just going to be upfront with you: Hawaii is not cheap, and the numbers have gone up. If you've been Googling "how much does a Hawaii trip cost" and getting estimates that feel surprisingly low, it's probably because those articles are using old data. Here's what the realistic picture looks like for a family of four in summer 2026. Flights This is where a lot of families get sticker shock. The old benchmark of $450 to $900 per person roundtrip that you'll still see in a lot...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Aloha Reader! I got a version of this question a lot in February: "We have 10 days in Hawaii. Should we do one island or two?" Sometimes it's "should we do Maui or Oahu for our first trip." Sometimes it's "we really want to see both but we're not sure we have enough time." The wording changes but the underlying question is the same. How do we make sure we're making the right call on something this big? Here's the honest answer: it depends, and the things it depends on are really specific to...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read