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!
What sells out first in Hawaii every summer
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Aloha Reader, I got an email a couple weeks ago from a mom who'd been planning her July Maui trip for months. Flights booked. Hotel sorted. She just hadn't gotten around to the luau yet. She wanted to know which one I'd recommend. I pulled up availability. Sold out. All of them. For her entire week. That's not unusual for summer Hawaii anymore. The window between "I should book that" and "it's gone" has gotten a lot shorter. If you have a trip on the calendar between June and August, some things cannot wait until you're on the ground. Here's what I'd lock in right now if it were my trip.Your hotel, if you haven't already. Summer rates are only going up from here. I send most families to Expedia for packages because the deals are almost always better than booking the hotel and flights separately. A luau. Do this today. On Maui, the Feast at Mokapu and Old Lahaina Luau are the ones I recommend most and they fill up months out in summer. On Oahu, Toa Luau books fast too. Don't wait until you land thinking you'll sort it out. Your car rental. Summer is when inventory gets tight and prices get ugly fast. Discount Hawaii Car Rental is still my go-to for finding the best rates, and it takes about two minutes to check. Hanauma Bay if you're doing Oahu. It's the best snorkeling on the island for families and reservations open 48 hours in advance at 7am. They go fast. Put a reminder in your phone now so you don't miss the window. A helicopter tour if it's on your list. The Big Island and Kauai tours are legitimately bucket-list level. They're not cheap but summer slots fill up. If you've been on the fence, get off it. Road to Hana tours on Maui tend to book 4-6 weeks out in summer. If that's on your itinerary, now is the time. 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....