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Hawaii 10 things to do in Hawaii with Kids If you are hunting around looking for your next family trip and wanted to go somewhere that was warm, easy and overseas, then take a look at the things to do in Hawaii with kids. We were there recently and thoroughly loved our week of sun drenched fun filled days (and nights) on O’ahu, the main island.
Best time to go to Hawaii Because Hawaii is blessed with year round great weather, (O’ahu’s temperatures range from 26°C to 31°C all year long) you can really choose just about any time to enjoy the island. If you wanted to be guaranteed perfect dry, sunny days, the best time to visit Hawaii is April-May and September-October. The dry, summer season runs from April until September, but June to August is very busy (and more expensive) tourist season. We’d recommend planning for an Easter break in April or the Brisbane September school holidays for a balance of well-priced accommodation, dry sunny days and minimal crowds.
The best things to do in Hawaii with kids Because we spent our week in Waikiki, we have only covered the best things to do on O’ahu, the main island, but if you wanted to go to Maui or any of the other islands, there are even more things to do!
1. Beach time The most obvious (and free) thing for families to do in Hawaii is to chill out at the beach. There are no private beaches in Hawaii, which means you can chill out at any beach that you like. The beaches are clean and the water is delightfully warm, often late into the evening. For your reassurance, some parts of the Waikiki beach have lifeguards on duty. A lifeguard tower is located on Central Waikiki Beach near the Waikiki Police substation (2425 Kalakaua Ave). The Hilton hotel on Duke Kahanamoku Beach hosts Waikiki’s only
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saltwater lagoon, which makes a safe, swimming spot for little ones. You can hire peddlos and little canoes and this was one of our favourite beach hangouts during the week we were there.
2. Parasailing If you have older kids, you may like to take them out parasailing in Hawaii. We went out on the water from the Koko Marina with a company called Hawaiian Parasail. When you parasail with this company you can get picked up from your hotel and dropped back at no extra charge! You also have the option of choosing which length of line you want ie. how high you want to go up. We chose the mid-range length, but I suspect that they are much the same. There are many tour companies to choose from, read the reviews of each and see which best suits your family. We enjoyed the one we chose; the staff were efficient and friendly, and we were able to buy photos of our flight on a USB afterwards. For us, parasailing was a definite bucket list item!
3. Snorkelling with wild turtles Easily the highlight of our time in Hawaii was the trip we took snorkelling with the wild sea turtles. We took a tour with Ocean Joy Cruises and was definitely worth the investment. They take you to the unspoiled Wai’anae coastline where wild dolphins, turtles and other Hawaiian
Your Local Families Magazine April / May 2020 www.familiesmagazine.com.au