Listen. Traveling with kids is not easy. I’m not here to tell you it is. Or to tell you if you just do xyz it’ll be so much easier. Quite honestly, it’s a lot of work. But since we all work hard every other day of the year, why not work hard on a beach in Hawaii, amiright?

My husband was a little more hesitant than I was to take our 8 month old and 4 year old to Maui. He reasoned it was just going to be so hard, and we wouldn’t enjoy ourselves at all. I’ll get to the part that he was right about later. For now, lets just enjoy these memories, shall we?

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My feelings on traveling with my kids is this: I stay home with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I’m always with them. They’re always a lot of work. I love these munchkins to death, but man by the end of the day, I’m exhausted. So why not be exhausted in Hawaii? While I can enjoy a little time on a gorgeous beach? And my children can have a life experience of swimming next to sea turtles? Or pushing elevator buttons like mine still talks about. You know, it’s the little things…

First things first, you need to make sure you have all the flight essentials for kids. Check out this reel on Instagram highlighting lots of fun stuff you can grab from the Dollar Tree. We also make sure we have plenty of snacks. When you think you have enough snacks, make sure you grab even more. You’ll never have enough.

Next, before you leave for vacation, you need to prepare. Matching swimsuits are a must. Some of our favorites for the girls are Sunguard Swim – they have so many cute matching suits. And we also had to have a mama & me matching set too, this trip we got them from MooRoo Swim.

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We have been staying in an Airbnb in Kihei and we love the location. There’s a beach across the street and several restaurants right next door to the complex. We love that we can just walk to everything we need. There’s a convenience store a few doors down as well that carries just about everything. The one we stay in is small, but this complex has so many available of all sizes. There’s a pool for the kids, but we’ve only been in it once during all of our trips, because: beach.

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Tips for Traveling to Maui with kids:

• Bring an umbrella stroller if you have toddlers/babies: It’s so much easier to get them around, especially because you will have lots to carry to the beach.
• DON’T bring your car seats. We never travel with our good car seats, and instead opt for renting them from the car rental place. This year, we did bring along a foldable booster seat for Sawyer that we borrowed from a friend (to save $$$). We never travel with our own because they get so beat up in the airplane, and we don’t want ours ruined.
• Make sure your Airbnb has beach essentials: chairs, umbrellas, coolers, beach toys. If not, grab them at Walmart when you arrive and get groceries.
• We also brought a pool float and some small beach toys with us in our suitcase. We grabbed a bucket and some sand toys at Walmart.
• Right next to the airport is a Walmart, Target, and a Costco. Plan accordingly upon arrival to stop there and grab all the groceries you’ll need. I planned meals ahead of time and had a list ready to go, we were in and out of Walmart in 30 minutes. Side note: plan meals ahead. Food is expensive in Hawaii and anything you can bring with you is a good idea (think pasta and dry meals).
• Bring lots of sunscreen and hats. We also opt for long sleeved swimsuits because the chances of them getting sunburned is much less. Nothing ruins a vacation like a horrible burn on the first day.

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Things to do in/near Kihei:

• Cinnamon Roll Place: Trust me. Get in the line, and get frosting. Their lattes are good too.
• Monkey Pod: It’s just a short drive away. The burger is amazing, but it’s the Mai Tais that they’re known for. Bonus if you’re not the sober driver that night (plan ahead mamas).
• Beach Street: It’s a little walk up shop that has everything from coffee to shakes, shave ice to acai bowls, and even breakfast/lunch sandwiches. Everything we tried, we loved.
• Safeway: This is going to seem a little weird, but every night we got poke from the Safeway deli in Kihei. We ate it while watching sunset on the patio, and it was heavenly.
• Maui Fish’n Chips: They have amazing fish ‘n chips! But the poke isn’t as good as the above mentioned Safeway.
• Prison Street Pizza: This is NOT in Kihei, it’s in Lahaina, but it is 100% worth the drive (or just schedule a little day trip and have it while you’re there). It’s great pizza, New York Style, and it rivals the pizza we’ve had in Manhattan. Something else that’s a bonus: It’s not expensive! Yay for affordable meals in Maui.

Tips for Beach Days with Babies:

• Lots of hydration: if they’re nursing, you’re in luck. If not (as our case), extra bottles. If they are old enough, lots of water bottles too. Ours likes to suck on the bottle itself, especially if it’s cold and coming out of a cooler.
• Depending on age, pouches with pureed fruit.
• Watermelon, strawberries, or blueberries (mashed).
• Bring one of these pacifiers to add ice (or fruit) to. It will keep them hydrated.
• We brought this portable high chair with us. It’s definitely a cool thing to have, but we didn’t end up using it as much as I had hoped (to make it worth packing and bringing with).
• Just remember they will need to sleep a lot, so either be prepared to bring them back up to your condo, or hopefully they’ll nap right on the beach!
• Remember that they’ll eat sand. Lots of sand. Don’t stress, it’s normal and all babies do it.

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Sea turtles are everywhere in Hawaii. The first time we visited I remember making a list of the top beaches I’d be most likely to see ONE, without realizing I would probably see a couple every single day. This beach across from our condo is no different. At least 3-4 sea turtles swim by every day, just floating around the swimmers. It’s so fun for the kids to experience.

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We vacation to sit at the beach. We don’t spend our days running from one adventure to the next, and our kids get to just relax. That’s what vacations are for right? Remember that your kids don’t need fancy things to have good life experiences. Just being in Hawaii is an experience, and one that they’ll treasure for years to come.

If you visit Kihei in the early Spring, you’ll also get to see a LOT of whales breaching. All day long they breach off the coast, and then towards dusk they come in closer.

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I know Quinn won’t remember this trip, but she’ll always have these photos of her and her family enjoying Hawaii and spending this time together. For my mama heart, there is nothing more important.

The longest trip is the one going home. But now we are patiently awaiting our next trip! And for those of you who were still waiting to find out what my husband was right about, you can breathe now. He wasn’t right about anything. 😉