I've visited Hawaii more than 40 times and I know ALL the tips and tricks for planning the ultimate Hawaii family vacation! I offer free Hawaii planning email courses. I also send weekly emails on Fridays where I share my top things to do in Hawaii with kids, the best family resorts in Hawaii, and my ultimate packing lists! Mahalo!
Going to Hawaii this summer? Here's what's actually different.
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Aloha Reader, Someone emailed me last month asking if she should just skip Hawaii this summer and take the kids to Disney instead. I told her absolutely not. But I also told her the truth. Summer Hawaii is a different animal. And if you go in without knowing what you're walking into, it can feel overwhelming fast. Here's what I mean. Hotels that cost $300 a night in May are $450 in July. Sometimes more. Popular beaches are packed by 9am. Hanauma Bay sells out days in advance and you have to reserve online the second the window opens, 48 hours ahead. Dinner at anywhere worth eating? Book those before you even book your flights. None of that means you shouldn't go. Summer is when a lot of families don't have a choice. School's out, schedules finally line up, and some of our best Hawaii memories have happened in July. You just have to plan differently than you would in, say, February. A few things that actually make a difference: Early June is a sweet spot. The crowds and prices creep up as the summer goes on. The first two weeks of June feel almost like shoulder season compared to late July. If you have any wiggle room in your dates, protect that window. Get to the beach by 8am. I know that sounds rough on vacation. But the difference between 8am and 10am at a popular beach in summer is genuinely shocking. We pack a real breakfast, get there while it's still quiet, and are usually packing up right as the crowds arrive. Book your car now if you haven't. Summer is when rental inventory tightens and prices climb fast. I always book through Discount Hawaii Car Rental It's consistently saved us money compared to going directly through the big chains. And if you haven't nailed down your hotel, don't sit on it. Expedia has package deals that can help offset the summer premium. It's worth checking before you book anything separately. I wrote up a full breakdown of what summer in Hawaii actually looks like — specific beach strategy, what to book in advance, and why I still go every chance I get even knowing all of this. If your trip is coming up and you want to talk through the details, I have a few consultation spots open this month. We can cover everything from which island makes sense for your family to what to skip entirely. Talk soon, Marcie |
Aloha! I'm Marcie with Hawaii Travel with Kids
I've visited Hawaii more than 40 times and I know ALL the tips and tricks for planning the ultimate Hawaii family vacation! I offer free Hawaii planning email courses. I also send weekly emails on Fridays where I share my top things to do in Hawaii with kids, the best family resorts in Hawaii, and my ultimate packing lists! Mahalo!
Aloha Reader, People assume that after 40-plus trips to Hawaii I sit down and a perfect itinerary just appears. It does not. I still work through the same set of questions every single time, in the same order, because skipping any of them is how you end up with a plan that looks great on paper and falls apart on day two. Here's exactly how I build a Hawaii itinerary from scratch. Start with the island, not the activities. This is where most families go wrong. They find a cool snorkel tour or...
Aloha Reader, Our first Hawaii trip with kids was planned within an inch of its life. I had a spreadsheet. Color coded. Every restaurant researched, every activity slotted into a time block, every drive timed out to the minute. I was so proud of that itinerary. We were going to see everything. We saw a lot of things. We also spent half the trip rushing between them. Someone was always hungry at the wrong time or tired at the wrong moment and the whole day would unravel because we were already...
Aloha Reader, My oldest has been to Hawaii about 12 times. At this point he has opinions. On our last Kauai trip he decided he wanted to do a serious acai bowl taste test. Every morning, a new spot. He kept mental notes, compared textures and toppings, took the whole thing very seriously. By the end of the week he had a definitive ranking. Sunrise Coffee won, if you're curious. That trip is a good example of what Kauai does to people who are ready for it. It slows you down in the best way....