Dream Vacation

Have some snacks that they love prepared & juice drinks.
Get a coloring books, computer with their fav movie,
go to a book store and get a actvity books for kids , it could be a combo of coloring & connect the numbers or dots.
costco has good selections.
have FUN !

Hi J.,
My daughter was 18mos when we went with 9 of my in-laws,6 adults and 5 kids. We had a great time and the other kids kept them busy at the pool all day, but we also got to take a nap everyday, a must. On the plane we brought a mini DVD player with headphones and watched Tigger 100 times. She loved it and it kept her busy. My sister-in-law tried Benadryl, but it didn't help her kids. On the way home both her and I fell a sleep. Good luck, take lots of snacks they like and toys they like,it's expensive there.

Airplane travel tips: go to the 99 cent store ahead of time and buy them cheap new toys and books to occupy them. Don't let them see it ahead of time. It will be a nice surprise.
Pack a snack. Cereal in ziplock bags work good. My daughters didn't want nuts and it seems to be all they offered so I was glad I planned ahead.
Feed them before you board the plane. Our flight didn't have food which I didn't realize, but luckily we stopped at McDonalds in the airport before hand.
Make sure they go to the bathroom befre you take off and land. My daughter had to go right when the captain said put on your seatbelts we are landing. Well thats like a 20 minute ordeal. Needless to say, she had an accident. Not fun :(

My advice to you is, pack as lightly as possible. Especially for your boys. You don't want to spend half your trip trying to remember where the favorite toy/book/blanket went to. Limit what you allow the kids to bring down to maybe TWO items. My running joke is that 'Mother' is another name for packmule. The more stuff you bring the better the chance you'll end up lugging around a mountain of junk instead of relaxing and enjoying your trip. Especially since your kids are so young, you'll already have to carry around extra clothes/diapers etc.

I once took everything my son loved and a whole bunch of stuff on a five hour flight because I was worried he would get bored. Do you know what he wanted to play with the entire time? The snack box that our lunch came in. I spent the rest of my trip trying to keep track of all our junk instead of having a good time.

Hi J.,
We did this last summer with my then-2 1/2yo and I was 8 months preggers at the time. We went with about 7 other family members. The family really did a fantastic job of keeping my son busy (there were no other kids around). A deck of cards and tons of beach time were the biggest hits. As for the plane ride, we paid a bit more, but flew direct, no changing planes. We took a portable DVD player, coloring books and a few Hot Wheels to keep him busy. He slept for a big chunks of the flights. I also packed a bit light for all of us. We stayed in a vacation rental rather than a hotel so I was able to do laundry as needed. I also only took enough diapers/wipes/snacks for the traveling portions and bought supplies at the nearest grocery store in town. Bring a change of clothes for the boys on the plane. My little guy had a blowout on the ride home and walked around the airport in a diaper and shoes when we got home. Cute, but..... Have fun!! We're hoping to do it again next summer with a 1 and 4 year-old. Let me know how things work out for you. I may be asking you for advice next time :)

Hi
I travel from California to Michigan a lot with kids. I now have a 3 & 1 year old. You've got great advice so far the only thing I would add is about car seats. Even though you don't have to pay for your 1 yr.old I would suggest getting a seat anyways. I know it's a lot of $ but it does help with the wiggles. Also for your 3 yr. old his car seat is too big for the plane. I mean it'll work but his feet will be touching the seat in front so I would check it in & if you want to be able to strap him in better there's a great kids seat belt now. It's at kidsflysafe.com. I think it's totally worth the $! It makes the airplane seatbelt into a harness seatbelt so there's a strap across his chest. As far as packing goes for our carry on luggage we just brought stuff for the kids. Color wonder markers (so you dont have to worry), dvd player, snacks, all that kind of stuff. Oh, 1 more thing. Since there's so many people to help have someone stay behind with the kids & you guys board 1st. You guys get the car seats in place & all that & then at final boarding bring the kids on. That's can be an extra 20 mins they can run around & don't have to be confined to the seat. Also, if you have a connecting flight go online & check out the airport a lot of airports have kid zones now. Hope this helps! Have fun. You'll be fine.

visualize a perfect trip, feel it, and believe it. "law of attraction"

Hi J., I found your request of course after you had taken your trip with your family, I truly hope you had a wonderful time. I too, have traveled with little ones to Hawaii- a few things for your next trip- I usually stay at a condo since it gives us a full kitchen so we don't have to spend as much on food, a washer/dryer so we don't need to over pack. I also bring travel size laundry soap that I find at Target so we don't have to buy it there. I actually own an online travel/entertainment site www.rufortravel.com and you can visit it for great deals, and even put in your name and email info to receive "deals and steals" for your next trip!

You didn't mention what island you were going to but, if you are going to Oahu, some of the places you might want to go to are as follows: The Children's Museum need Ward Warehouse. Check out the hours because they are only open a few hours a day. Get there when it opens because you will want to stay the entire time. There are areas for the toddlers and everything can be touched and played with. :-) There are children size firetrucks and outfits, stores, and other types of jobs so the kids can have a great time. There is a treehouse with books, books on tapes, etc. and a giant comfy couch. Small houses for each culture and outfits to wear can be found further up in the museum. Definitely bring your camera because you will want to take these photos!!

Places where you can stay the day and not rush to get out are great. The zoo is in Waikiki. Stop somewhere for some local food and take it with you and a goza (straw mat) you can pick up from Longs Drugs or ABC Drug store. It is cheap and you can throw it away when your trip is done. Buy a styrofoam chest at Longs Drugs and throw in ice from the hotel room and some drinks, baby formula, etc. You can throw away the chest when you leave the islands.

The beaches are free and look for the shallow areas. If you go away from Waikiki, you can drive along the north shore and stop are places where there are pocket of water along the rocks and your son will like to catch small crabs on the beach and put them in paper cups. Your husband and son can dig in the sand and make deep holes and built seats in them and pretend they are a car. There are places to wash near the beach. Your sons will be so tired from digging that you should have some free time while he naps!

The locals love children and you won't have to worry about travelling in non-tourist areas. I am a local and even though I now live on the mainland, one of my favorite memories is how a woman helped me wash the sand off my 3 year old daughter because I didn't have a bathing suit on with me. My daughter then didn't want to leave the shower! Hawaii no ka oi! (Translation: Hawaii is the best or as the lady from Maui would say, "Maui no ka oi!"

Have fun and try not to stress out. Anything you need you can get in Hawaii. There are 2 Costcos on Oahu and a Sam's club. If you are on the Big Island (Hawaii), there is 1 Costco.

As a local as to where they would suggest you can visit. They will be happy to make suggestions.

J.

Aloha J.

Wow, you are brave! I travel yearly FROM Maui to the east cost alone with my 2 small children. If you are traveling on the plane with all of those people, you should be fine. Most people would be thrilled to get away from small children, so ask the gate agents and flight attendants to seat you next to or near your party. They will usually help you out to get seats near each other. That way, the chair that you will be kicking belongs to another toddler!! Check the guidelines to make sure that you pack snacks and drinks that are "legal" from the NTSA standards (fluids must be in small containers no larger than...) The plane ride is one of those things that you dread for weeks, and then it is time to do it and it gets done and you are tired, but still alive. It will not be as bad as your nightmares about it.

Once you are there, I hope you are staying at a resort, because that is the way to go with small children. Anyplace that has a beach and a pool, food, interesting things to see (exotic birds and Koi ponds. etc) that require as little transportation as possible for the children. Then, I say, you adults take turns watching the kids at the hotel while the adults go off and play - go snorkeling, volcano watching, etc. without kids. The cliffs and waterfalls of the islands are beautiful, but they lose their beauty if you have a deathgrip on your toddler's pants while he struggles to look over the edge!! It sounds like you'll have 4 kids and 10 adults, so you can leave 2-3 adults with the kids and the rest can go off.

I live in Maui, and I can tell you about the stuff there is to do here. If you'd like to contact me, feel free... let me know where you are staying and for how long and I'll let you know the fun stuff to do!

Pack sun protection for the kids - I use a "rash guard" which is a swim shirt for my kids, less sun exposure and it still looks beachy and fun. Those beach shoes are great too, beaches are not always sandy, some are rocky and kids can't resist climbing on those rocks!

Enjoy your trip!