Here’s a “not so secret” secret about me…I love traveling with my kids. Now, don’t get me wrong I LOVE traveling without my kids too, but it’s just two completely different travel experiences. Before we jump into this headfirst, I want to drop a little disclaimer here…all couples should take trips without their kids. You read that right but reread it if you need to let that sink in. It’s no secret that traveling costs money and can at times be more of a luxury than a necessity. What is a necessity is getting that quality time with your partner where you don’t have to be “mom & dad” or “mom & mom” or even “dad & dad” or hell just “mom”. My wife and I plan at least 1 trip away (usually somewhere hot with a beach and unlimited drinks) to disconnect from the world, relax, and focus on each other as people, not parents!
Now that we got that disclaimer out of the way let's get back to Hawaii.
Traveling with kids to Hawaii took tons of preparation but was worth it! Keep in mind that we live in Florida so our travel day from Florida to Oahu (Honolulu) was about 12.5 hours long. Here are some handy tips that got us through two plane rides with a 3-year-old and an 11-year-old:
Snacks – Pack all the snacks! With all the traveling we do as a family, I have learned that you can take all types of sealed snacks through TSA. I try to pack the boys' favorite snacks like rice crispy treats, fruit roll-ups, applesauce pouches, yogurt pouches, pringles, cookies, gummy bears etc. I also bring their spill-proof water bottles so that I can fill them once we get through security. My boys get “hangry”, so snacks are everything! My boy moms can relate to how fast they can make food disappear.
***Always double-check TSA requirements for airports in the states/countries you are traveling through***
Entertainment – Depending on what airline you are taking, and which plane you get, will determine what kind of entertainment you’ll have while in the air. Make sure you have extra activities ready if you board that plane and the horror hits you when you don’t see those magical seat TV monitors! I always make sure I go to my local Five Below (it can be any store you prefer; I prefer Five Below & Dollar Store) and get activity books. My 3-year-old is obsessed with stickers and at Five Below I can get themed reusable sticker books for $3.00. They don’t take up a lot of space and it keeps him entertained! I also pack quick things like colored pencils, paper, and a small coloring book. These things go in their bookbags!
Another MUST is a little heavenly gadget I found on Amazon. It’s called a “URTRY Universal Airplane Tablet Holder”. This has become one of my sacred travel essentials! It’s a hands-free mount that’s compatible with most iPads, Galaxy Tabs, Kindles, and larger iPhones. It costs less than $20.00 and saves you from the crisis of not having a plane that has TV monitors. This is essential for kids and adults now that I think about it! I started with a smaller version that only holds phones, but the kids started fighting over it so now we have both. FYI the smaller one was also brought on Amazon for less than $15.00. Don’t forget to download movies & shows to your devices beforehand in case your plane doesn’t have Wi-Fi or just has crappy Wi-Fi.
We have arrived in Hawaii and once that plane lands on that beautiful island you realize every minute of the last 12.5 hours was worth it! We landed around noon (island time), so our room wasn’t ready yet. This gave us a little extra time to ensure we got ourselves situated for the next 8 days but a lot of the preparation happened weeks before even leaving Florida! No, I am not some crazy lady with too much time on my hands…this was the farthest and longest trip we had taken as a family, so we needed to have a plan. Listen to me when I tell you this plan made all the difference. Here are some ways we prepared:
Plan Activities – like most tropical locations, Hawaii tends to be busier in the summer months. Unlike some other tropical paradises, Hawaii requires reservations for many of its excursions. We reserved the activities we wanted to do 6 weeks in advance. Even 6 weeks in advance there were certain things already fully booked. We opted with a Go City Pass which ended up saving us hundreds of dollars! It gives you very detailed explanations of each activity, age recommendations, what to bring and timeframes!
Create An Itinerary – My wife thought I was annoying when I pulled out my Dollar Store prong folder with plastic sleeves. I did this so I wouldn’t go crazy trying to keep the activities, flights, and everything else in order. This was so I wasn’t double-booking anything and every confirmation email with instructions on what to wear, where to meet, transportation, etc was printed and ready to go! It helped me not to have to think about it once it was done.
Stock Up – This tends to be slightly harder when you’re in another country but while we were in Hawaii we found the local Walmart & Target and went to stock up for the week! We had a room with a full kitchen, so we brought drinks, stuff for quick breakfast (frozen waffles, fruit, eggs, breakfast sausage, muffins, etc.), and snacks! This way we started each day with a big breakfast and then ate out for lunch and/or dinner. Some of you are probably reading this thinking “No way in hell I'm cooking on vacation” but I honestly don’t mind it! We were able to bring snacks to all our planned activities and the beach. The resort pool was the only place we weren’t allowed to bring in outside food & drinks. The Bloody Mary I ordered at the pool made up for that rule.
PACK THE TUMBLERS!!! – This is an annoying one, but I am still going to share it because I still did it even though I initially was not. It is the most annoying thing to try to figure out how you are going to pack some sort of tumbler for everyone. You don’t want to pack it in the luggage because let's be real, between a Yeti and a Stanley cup I don’t know which one is heavier! In reality, they can both be used as weapons! With that being said, you want to avoid the embarrassment of an overweight bag at check-in and the nightmare of possibly having to rearrange things at the airport. Everyone in this house had to suck it up and put their cups in their bookbags…including the toddler! Not everyone was thrilled with my plan but they all cooperated. Anywho, this headache was worth it because remember that store run, we did where we got drinks? Well, we filled our cups all week long and took them EVERYWHERE (except the pool insert eye roll). Saved money and had cold drinks all day!
We spent 8 days on the beautiful island and even though it was heavenly, and I didn’t want to leave, we were all missing our home and fur babies. Even with it being such an amazing trip, there were still hard moments. I mean HELLO we are still traveling with two kids, but I wouldn’t change a thing. For all my mommas out there debating if they are ready to start traveling with kids or had a bad experience and said, “never again”, I am here to tell you do it. Take the trip, wherever it may be and enjoy the good and bad that may come from it. This isn’t just the era of their childhood, it’s also the peak of your motherhood.
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