Family Vacation Central

In an effort to better understand the demand and consumer habits of individual travelers and family vacationers, Rentalo.com; the leading online vacation rental and lodging directory, conducted market research studies on Hawaii vacation rentals and lodgings. These vacation rental analyses have been made publicly available to offer industry experts insightful information regarding the needs and habits of those in search of vacation rentals in Hawaii. The study was performed on the website’s database of 5,551 opted-in travelers who visited Hawaii from July 2008 to January 2010.

Family Vacation Destination: Kailua Kona

The study data showed that Kailua Kona visitors like to compare offers from different lodging types. 63.52 percent of the travelers who inquired on Kailua Kona vacation rentals also accepted to receive offers from bed and breakfasts, and hotels. Read the rest of this entry »

I found the following information from Stacie Haight Connerty who is a writer for the Examiner.com

Hawaii is a gorgeous place for any family to visit for vacation.  The fiftieth American state, Hawaii consists of the islands of Hawaii (the Big Island), Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau, plus many smaller islands and islets.  Of these islands, the Big Island, Maui, and Oahu are probably the most popular vacation destinations for family vacations to Hawaii.

Here are a few ideas to get you started when planning your Hawaiian vacation:

Surf Family Style

During your family vacation to Hawaii, you can get surfing lessons on Oahu’s north shore from Surf Hawaii 4 U.  Professional surf instructors can teach your whole family how to surf while on your vacation to Hawaii.  Group lessons with at least three people participating start at $300 for a three-hour surfing lesson.  So catch a wave, cause surf’s up, dude! Read the rest of this entry »

On a day that we rented a car in Oahu we went to the Dole Pineapple plant and took a tour. This was a great way to spend a few hours but we had to battle against the heat in the middle of the island.

The trip to Dole was one of the great side trips on Oahu that we wanted to do. The big things at Dole are the tour of the plantation and the biggest maze in the world. There is also a train ride but we didn’t do it, the kids were too hot and tired by then.

Tour of the  Dole pineapple plantation

The tour of the plantation is either a walk around by yourself or you can follow around a tour guide. We followed the tour guide and he was great. We learned about the growth of pineapples, the history of Dole and how to pick pineapples the guide was a real cool guy that let us know lots of stuff and loved to ask and answer questions.

The worlds biggest maze

The pineapple maze is huge and a lot of fun. My daughter and son went with me but my poor 4 year old son was just too hot and gave up. My daughter and I finished the maze in about an hour and a quarter and it was a lot of running around and getting lost. There are two ways that you are able to do do the maze, with a little map which helps a lot but is still difficult, or just freeform which is super hard and is a way that you can become a legend at the maze. The record time for the day and all time is listed at the maze and when we were at the Dole Pineapple Plantation is 30 minutes or so…really tough. This is cheap to do as well as the tour and I thought was a lot of fun for the family although it can cause a bit of fighting (No not this way that way instead).

Dole is great and is a pretty cheap trip for the family. $4 for the tour and $6 for the maze per person but I think that you get a lot of entertainment for the money.

Eating in Hawaii is a bit of a battle. For most people the food is either too light, like shaved ice, or way to heavy like burgers at Chilis.

There is no shortage of food to be had in Waikiki. There is the famous Perrys Smorgy on Kuhio Drive that has a different buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is said to be good once on a trip but twice may be a bit much. There is everything from low end fast food to some of the best restaurants in the country.

Traveling with kids means that you may have to eat some fast food although I do know of a family whos kids got sick on a trip from eating nothing but McDonalds. The best bet is to vary your meals and try to eat like you do at home.

First of all try to eat a great meal for breakfast. We found that the IHOP on Kuhio was a little too much food for the kids and if you can not bring it back to the room for later or tomorrow then the food is mostly wasted. Actually the best meal to eat out is dinner because if you have a lot of leftovers it is easy enough to bring back to the hotel and huck it into the fridge.

Lunch for our trip varied a lot. If you are at the beach it is easy enough to find a hot dog and hamburger but on some days when we got out really early the kids were drained and wanted to get back into the hotel room for a nap and some quiet time by the pool. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the strangest tourist events I have seen is the movie on the beach in Waikiki. There is a giant screen setup on the east end of Waikiki beach and they play movies for free for anyone that wants to watch.

The event is called Sunset on the Beach

The movies are not often the newest movies but are usually good movies and the place you are seeing them is great. You get to the beach, called Queens Beach and sit around and watch the sunset and as soon as it is dark enough the movie starts.

Did you want popcorn or food while you are watching the movie? No problem, there are food vendors around and of course there is a lot of food in the neighborhood anyway, it’s Waikiki.

The movies are free and are sponsored by local businesses and organized by the Hawaii tourism bureau.

To find the spot just look for the area pictured above by walking east along Waikiki Beach until your are past the kiddy pool and you will see the stands and screen frame.