Travel to Maui with a Toddler...

Hi there!
I don;t know if the rules are different now but when I took my then 18 month told (less than 2 years ago) to Maui, we checked his car seat and it was checked for free because it was considered a "safety device" and therefore a necessity. We flew Hawaiian and there was no charge. Hopefully the rules are the same now? Have fun!!

Updated

Hi again,
I just checked the Hawaiian webiste and both the stroller (except for joggers) and the carseat can be checked free of charge. If you are not flying on Hawaiian, maybe check their website and see if the rules are similar through your airline? :)

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We traveled to Maui with our toddler at that age. We rented a car seat since that is another piece of luggage you would have to pay for. I would rent a place where you would have a kitchen to cook some of the meals cause eating out is very expensive. Good luck.

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If your son sleeps in his carseat it's worth bringing the one he uses in the car... toddler sleep on airplanes and road trips is priceless. The drive from the airport to Lahaina (if you're staying around there) is another leg of the trip so plan for crankiness and boredom by reserving a naptime until he can get settled into the rental car or have a meal near the airport to break things up a bit. A friend of ours found that it was cheaper to buy the lightest carseat at Target than pay for a junky one through the rental agency but we prefer our Britax marathon so it got lugged to Florida with us last year (we bought a seat on the airplane). We're excited to be bringing a SafeguardGo to Maui with us this year instead now that he's bigger! If you decide to check the carseat and have it in a zippered bag you can always stuff the hollows with diapers and toddler shoes! The airlines do not charge for carseats and you can either check them at the counter or at the gate. Another gal in our M.'s group worked for many years for a major rental company and even she didn't use those often out-of-date and poorly maintained carseats when it was free for her (think pee, kids still in swimsuits or wet towels, carsickness, food spills, ewwww). If you need an in-person visual go to your nearest airport rental car return area and take a look at the pile of carseats flung out of the cars by the employees.

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I'd recommend taking your car seat. It's an additional cost if you end up checking it (or if you weren't planning on getting him his own seat but decide to do so after reading these responses you may have the additional cost of his seat!) BUT it's so worth it. It gives him something familiar and comfortable. Plus you have _no_idea_ what the car rental company's car seats have been through! They are unlikely to have instructions on how to install them, and the car rental company's employees will not help you. Stick with what you all know is comfy, clean, and safe to install.

I'd pay for him to have his own seat and take his car seat on the plane - once again, it gives him a familiar place where he's used to being strapped in. We took our daughter on her first flight at 18.5 months and were very glad we had her car seat for the flight and the rental car.

As far as housing - check out VRBO.com. It's a site where owners offer their vacation rentals directly to you. I am not sure how their prices compare, but you might be able to find a great deal on a house, so it's worth a look. It's secure, so you don't have the concerns of being scammed like you have on Craigslist.

Also, clarkhoward.com has a page on money saving tips for travelers. Here's a link: http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/category/10/104/ There is a lot of information there, some of it irrelevant to your travel plans, but hopefully you'll find something helpful!

Have a great time! I'm jealous! :)

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here are some helpful links for air travel with children:
Airplanes, Kids, and Car seats - what you need to know
Part 1: http://carseatblog.com/?p=6599
Part 2: http://carseatblog.com/?p=6635

Flying With Children (a thorough reference from a M./former flight attendant) : http://www.flyingwithchildren1.blogspot.com/

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We just got back from a three week trip to Maui last night! It's my favorite place to go. I have five kids and have done both scenarios with the car seats and can now say my favorite scenario is bringing our own. We've flown many different airlines and never paid extra to check the car seats. The one thing I haven't done and will be considering for our December trip to Oahu is bringing the carseat on the plane and having our youngest (will be 1 in December) actually stay in it for the duration of the flight. We flew back on Alaska Airlines yesterday and saw several car seats on the plane and although this will mean buying her an actual seat, I'm thinking it may also help in keeping her calm and seated the whole flight since she's used to being bukled in for car trips. We normally fly first class (for us, with the lap babies, the extra space has been well worth the extra cost) so we will have to assess how that will play out but it may be a scenario you would want to look into with your toddler. (my WORST flying experiences are those dreaded months of just-learning-to-walk as they do not want to sit still! :)

we have also stayed in hotels, resorts, condos, and houses all over Maui and I must say, that if you are on a tight budget but still want the ocean front experience, I HIGHLY recommend the Mana Kai in Kihei. They are individually owned (up to) 2BR units that have a bunch if the same amenities as the hotels. And every unit is ocean front! We fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean every night.

Enjoy your trip. Maui is a very special place on earth. ;)
aloha!
R.

1 mom found this helpful

We went to Europe with my son and having the car seat was a big pain on the plane. We got him his own seat, but the chair was too confining for him because the tray table couldn't be lowered the way his seat fit in the airplane seat. On the way home we checked it and made him a little nest between us so he could actually lay down. It was free then, but the airlines weren't charging for every little thing either.

On the other hand, I rented a car locally once and reserved a car seat, but when I got there there was no car seat. They were out and it wasn't "guaranteed."

Don't forget you can take the stroller through security and check it at the gate!

We traveled to Hawaii when my daughter was 15 months old. We actually brought her car with us because I have heard some horror stories about rented car seats. We did have to check the car seat in as a piece of luggage, however, did not have to pay for it. We flew on United. I would also suggest getting a place with a kitchen. Hawaii is very expensive. Good luck!

First of all, get your baby some airplane ear plugs if you have time. I'm not sure of any stores that have them, but they are available thru onestepahead.com. They keep the pressure comfortable so that your baby's ears are not poping and hurting during the flight. Also, take your own seat. Traveling is going to be a little stressful for a little one since kids tend to feel safer within a routine and anything he may need that you can take will be a good idea. Familiar things will be comforting. As for food, since you may not be in the condo a lot, get lots of small snacks. My daughter is crazy about the gerber veggie dips, they look like puffy cheetos but they're in ranch, cheese or tomato flavor. Also, fruit bars are a good idea, there's a brand with a gator on a blue box and they are the perfect serving size for wee ones. Gerber smart sips would be a good idea too, nutricious and they don't have to be refridgerated. The main thing is to go and have fun. Enjoy your trip and your baby will too. I hope all this was helpful. Have fun!

We took our daughter at 2 yrs old and had a blast. We did take our car seat along. We rented a car while there.

However, daughter is now 15 and the "rules" of the airline were quite different then. We also upgraded our seats to and from to First Class which was great. I strongly recommend that if you can. Also we booked the flight home late at night, leaving Maui around 10pm and arriving back to DFW around 5:30am. We got to sleep on the way back. The way out was fun because there was a lot of activity in our group with making your own sundaes, etc. We have been again in First Class and it is still very nice and well worth it.

We ALWAYS book dierctly with our airline of choice (American and Southwest) and hotel of choice (hilton's).... I am ok doing that because I've been doing it 20+ yrs and know where to look.

I am not a fan of the discounters because you are not always assured the quality you think you get. We avoid discounters unless it is an emergency and there is no other way.

We stayed at Ka'anopoli and loved it. We had a mini fridge in the room and that was all we did. The hardest part for us was the time adjustment and we woke up so early raring to go with nothing open. LaHanina (sp) is a great shopping area, lots of people.

We go in early spring and go out on the whale watches which are awesome.

Enjoy your trip!

We go to Maui just about every year. It is so fun to go with the kids!

Kaanapali is a really nice area. We booked a great condo via craigs list, it was the Marriott Maui Ocean Club (really great toddler pool w/ a pirate ship) and ended up being $800 for five nights. Normally it is about $350 a night! Sometimes you can also get great deals if you agree to hear the time share presentation. Not too painful and well worth the savings you get.

Kihei is nice and less expensive than Kaanapali. Lots of condos but they are almost always individually owned so you need to make sure the unit you get has air conditioning and ASK TO SEE SEVERAL PHOTOS or you never know what you will get no matter how nice the property is.

The rental car companies charge a lot for kids seats, they may or may not "reserve" it for real, and they can be kinda crapy. I preferred to bring our own.

Alaska Air has some really good air fare deals from Oakland Airport too.

ALOHA!