Hawaii for Children or Toddlers?

A TripConnect Family Traveler asked on Hawaii -  A good vacation for children?

We have a mixed set of answers. Some users are saying to hold off until the kids get older. The flight is too long and some of the attractions may not be appropriate or accessible to very young kids. The other school of thought is, if you want to go and then make it happen! You might not be able to go hiking or take helicopter rides, but there are other things that can still make this an enjoyable vacation. Plus, it's hard to see all of Hawaii on one trip so maybe take the young kids to Maui and wait till they're older before going to the Big Island.

Maybe taking the young kids is a blessing? There are so many tour providers at Hawaii that want to sell you helicopter rides, snorkeling trips, bike adventures, etc. It's hard to say no to these activities to the older kids. If you want to watch surfers on the North Beach or take a lazy drive to Hana, then going when the kids are  younger may be a blessing.

The Big Picture

Do you pick your destinations for what is good for your kids, or, do you pick the destination and steer your itinerary to what will be interesting for your kids and realistic for you to manage and enjoy?

Comments

[Posted on Nov 6, 2006 2:32:24 PM by Lisa]

I guess it depends on how old the children are and how long the flight is. From the East Coast, it's probably too long for kids under 4s. I noticed that one poster referenced WeJustGotBack.com in a discussion about Hawaii. It's an excellent site, and right now on the home page happens to be a great article about family-friendly active tours of Maui... they do tend to skew a bit older, and boy, do they look like a blast.