Hawaii??? Good for little ones?

[BebeBelge]

hi! we are thinking about Hawaii for a holiday this year. DS is 9 months and DD is almost 3yrs. Can anyone recommend which island to go to and if it is good for kids in general? Would really appreciate any advice. We would like a nice hotel or even better self-catering attached to a hotel with good kids pool and on the beach. Also, do you need to hire a car to get around or is public transport an option?

many thanks!

My first reaction is that it's a long way. Surely the Carribean or even California would be very similar but much less flying.

Hi, sorry, i should have said. The travel time is not really a factor as it is an 8 hour flight from where we live and, to be honest, anywhere we go will be at least a 5-6 hour flight.

Where would you be flying from?. I ask that as a direct flight would be preferable in any event.

Oahu is the main and busiest island in the Hawaiian Islands chain (the other islands are much quieter). The Waikiki beach area is in the main hotels; you could look at somewhere like the Embassy Suites (the one situated on Lewers Street is a short walk from the beach) or the Hilton Hawaiian Village which also has a kids club, a nice sized pool and is on the beach. Two for you to look at anyway, read the tripadvisor.com reviews as well.

The Bus (thats the name of the public transport bus service) runs from Waikiki and goes to many towns and places on the island (a bus runs from Waikiki up to the Sea Life Park). There is even a bus that goes up to the North Shore but it can take around 60-90 minutes each way depending on traffic.

Ah I see bebebeige I assumed you'd be flying from Uk!

I can only comment on Oahu as I haven't been to the other Island. Waikiki has loads of nice hotels right on the beach. The bus service is really good but it's worth hiring a car for a couple of days at least to explore the North Shore and visit Pearl Harbour.

Hi. Just in case anyone comes across this in the future - we went to Hawaii in the end. We spent 10 days on Maui and 2 days at Waikiki beach. Maui was amazing and perfect for little kids in terms of shallow safe beaches, and plenty of things to do. Eating out is expensive so we were glad to have gone self-catering. Activities also v expensive but so many beautiful beaches and nice walks to do/ national parks that are free so you can avoid spending cash quite easily. Waikiki was good to see but not really a good destination with young ones. Although there is one section of beach that is walled off to create a calm shallow area. We would love to go back when the kids are even older and are able to snorkel etc.

Hi, thanks for taking time to give feedback on your trip. It's useful.