I have a lot of friends who are Hawaiian from my work in the theater. And so, rather than going in chronological order in my blog, I am going to blog about what is necessary. The topic for now is our Hawaiian trip with our children.
We went last December because we really wanted to see the whales. This time I was not alone and had my husband to help with the travel. Makes life a lot easier and there are still "things" that need to be organized It was high season for Hawaii, but a great place to check for affordable pricing is Travel Zoo. We did it all on a budget.
1. Airline Tickets: We were able to get a great deal with Hawaiian Air. They were having such amazing specials! How do I know? I subscribe to Travelocity via email and when I see a special, I immediately check to see if the airline website has a better price. Sometimes the prices are better and sometimes they are not. This time, Travelocity had the better price. So, with that we had an 8 day stay flying on Hawaiian Air and staying at the Sheraton Keauhou.
2. Research: Before I purchase anything, I do my research on the airline and hotel accomodations. It helps to read reviews as well. You find me opening up several tabs so I can compare Travelocity with Expedia and Orbitz. However, the reviews on these sites gives me a great opportunity to see what I am in for. Please do your research!
3. Airline: Hawaiian Air was fantastic! When travelling with children, airline comfort and ease is so important. The airline is similar to Virgin America where everything you purchase is via credit card. They don't accept cash so it's important to know this because you don't want hungry children and no easy access to your credit card. The monitors on the back of every seat was nice for the kids. Knowing what to bring on the flight for the kids is critical to make a long trip less stressful (previous blog).
4. Hotel: The Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa was excellent. The beds were comfortable. We did not have a view of the ocean, but we thought our view from our lanai was beautiful with the lush trees and to the left was the Bay. There was daycare onsite, the swimming pool had a large lava tube and other swimming areas and sprinklers for the little itty bitties, free pool toy rentals, the restaurant was delicious and had a great kid's menu with special discounted pricing (kids eat free with adult meal), family movie nights with popcorn and drinks under the beautiful Hawaiian sky and finally a great place where just below the hotel you can look over the edge of the Bay and see the Manta Rays get fed. The Resort puts the lights on in the water and when the Manta Rays see the plankton, the action begins. You will find a lot of other divers from the boats swimming with the Manta Rays. It's very exciting and the kids absolutely loved it! Finally, the rooms had mini refrigerators. I know this is really important for families as snacks are a staple for those moments when the children get hungry. This was a big plus to the resort.
5. Car Rentals: Our car rental was suppose to occur right after we arrived; however, the rental company ran out of cars on the Kona side and so they had to get some from the Hilo side (long drive). So, they were kind to bring us to our hotel and stated they would call us as soon as they had a car available. Here's a side tip: Don't get all upset because you didn't get your rental car when you thought you were going to get it! Don't raise a stink! I could see they were doing their best to get cars to people. Some people were on such a tight schedule that the were "freaking out"! Remember people, you're in Hawaii and it's Hawaiian time...no worries. It'll all come to play. Sure enough, the next morning while we were relaxing by the pool after breakfast, the rental called and stated they were driving our car to us at that moment and to meet them at the front of the hotel in 45 minutes. Perfect, eh? We knew we wanted to rent a car because we had plans to drive to the Hilo side and visit Volcano National Park so we found that the Sheraton only charged their guests $10/night for parking which is very affordable compared to the other resorts. Sheraton really keeps the ohana in mind.
6. Snorkel gear rental: My husband and I have been to Hawaii a few times and we have always rented from Snorkel Bob's. We like them, there are a lot of them, it's easy and quick. They also had gear that fit kids. Price? $9/week. We put them in the trunk of the rental car and whenever we stopped at a beach, we all had our gear ready to go and head out to snorkel.
7. Grocery/snacks: We found the closest WalMart and stocked up on little snacks (drinking water, crackers, etc). I am not sure if the Longs' in Hawaii have been converted to CVS or not, but we loved the one on Oahu at the Ala Moana Mall so we looked for one near the Sheraton on the Big I. Sure enough, we found one and they have some great Hawaiian snacks i.e. Lihi Mui powder (dip your gummy worms in it..yum!), hurricane popcorn, etc. We also found them at WalMart as well, but it was a further drive to the WalMart. We took the free shuttle from the Resort to the little "mall" where Long's and L&L's BBQ were located along with some other great restaurants.
8. Snorkeling: One of our kids favorite beaches was also one of the most popular. I could see why because the break was really far out and therefore, the water was very calm. Kahaluu Beach is the beach where you will find a lot of children. We all went snorkeling there and the kids were able to see another world underwater. Also, we saw honu! Yes, the turtles are an endangered species so you can't touch them, but our kids floated in awe and sat in awe as the honu climbed near the shore to feed on the algae (see if you can find the turtle in the first picture). Because there are more people at this beach than others, the shore was a bit beat up due to constant wear. However, it was a nice place for families (showers, snack truck, BBQ's). I think it was about a mile from our resort. The Keiki pools was another place we were going to go, but a local told us that it was even more crowded than Kahaluu and she suggested another area. We had to hike a little to it, but it was worth it. I don't know the name, but it's near the old Kona airport. When we arrived there on another day, there was no one there. The kids had the whole place to themselves. What a retreat!
9. Dolphin swims: We went with Sunlight On Water for our dolphin swim excursion. You start early in the morning (around 7am) and you are done by about 1pm. They were so kid-oriented! Their philosophy was to educate the children and let them experience the dolphins so they learn about conservation. This was really a different philosophy from other excursions. Some other excursions wouldn't allow kids or highly discouraged them. Not Sunlight On Water, they talked with the children about the dolphins, what to do when they saw them, how to swim with them, and the boat had a hot shower, restroom (which did not consist of a bucket), and food for everyone on the boat.
**seasickness tip: our youngest gets motion sick really easy, so our pediatrician suggested children's bonine and to administer it the night before and then one in the morning after a light breakfast. It worked like a charm!
10. Luaus: We went the the luau that was at our resort (Firenesia by Island Breeze). It looked like it was rated #2 after the one at the Fairmont (The Orchid...or something like that). What I saw as the difference in price (significant difference) was just the food. My husband and I had gone to a lot of luaus whether they were for tourists or for locals. However, we wanted our kids to enjoy a great show. The food was wonderful. They had the staple i.e. Kalua pork, rice, poi, salad, but also some other favs that my kids enjoyed like the choices in soup, bread, desserts, etc. One thing that we did pay a little extra on was the preferred seating. Our kids are, well, kids. They aren't tall enough to be looking over or at someone's head. The preferred seating got us seats up in the front, juice or soda for the kids and grown-up juice for the adults. We were served our drinks rather than having to stand in line for the drinks. It was really lovely and let's just say a lot less stressful. The kids loved the show and the food. At the end of the luau, no worries about carrying tired children from car to room because it was at our Resort. A quick jaunt back to our rooms and the boys were snoozing from a full day. Now that is the most satisfying feeling for all parents.
For those of you looking for great eats throughout the state of Hawaii, check out my girlfriend's website My Aloha Vibe
More to come! About Volcano National Park.
