Hawaiian Vacation Advice

I understand that you think you have downtime planned in, but I really do not think your list allows for that. Maybe I am wrong - so, my suggestion: sit down with your list and Google Maps and truly plan out sample schedules of each day, 8am to 6pm (or whatever time your children wake/sleep). See how your list fits into an actual timed daily schedule, including travel time from activity to activity.

I think the biggest thing you are missing is, the down time.
Hawaii is so chill, so relaxing and beautiful. Even the most hyper kids respond to the laid back island vibe. We went on a few trips there when our kids were little, and one when they were teenagers. We hardly planned anything. We stayed at hotels, in condos and at a traditional (hales, no TVs or phones) all inclusive resort (that was sadly washed away in the tsunami a few years ago.)
Just relax. Trust me the trip will take care of itself.
Sure, do a luau. And spend an afternoon snorkeling. Pearl Harbor is very cool but if your kids are little they will be bored.
We just loved sleeping in, eating a leisurely breakfast and then spending time at the beach.
On Maui try to get dinner at Mama's Fish House. Expensive but soooo worth it.
Whatever you do don't cram your day full of activities. If you do you are missing the whole point of being there!
Aloha :-)

I love to snorkel and there is lots of it to do in Hawaii. On Oahu, you have Hanauma bay scheduled, which is great. On Maui, if you like to snorkel then you want to drive to Wailea and go to the beach in front of the Marriott. There is a jetty coming out from the beach there that has fantastic snorkeling, and you just walk in with your gear - no boat or guide needed. In my opinion, the snorkeling there is better than at Molokini.

I think your plan for Oahu is good, assuming you will have a rental car. Go to Hanauma Bay on your first morning, before you start to adjust to the time difference. By 8AM the tour buses start arriving and 9AM,most of the fish and turtles are gone. Get your gear the day that you arrive so the next morning you don't have to wait for rental shops to open, and you can get to the bay by before 7AM for the best experience (it opens at 6AM, and if you want any chance of snorkeling with the sea turtles, you want to be in the water by 6:30, in my experience). You'll be done there by 9AM, relax for a while, and do something else in the afternoon. Take 1 entire day and drive around the island. When you do this, you can stop at the Dole plantation, the beaches in the north shore, and end up for the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

On your Maui plan, you are missing sunrise at Haleakala and possibly the Road to Hana (I've never done it because I get miserably car-sick, but it is one of the popular touristy things to do). If you do the road to Hana, download the app to tell you where to stop to see the waterfalls and other cool stuff that I hear is just off of the road.

Have fun!

We always went around spring break and did the whale watch excursions... loved that activity.

We did not schedule ourselves... we did things but we enjoyed the island and exploring.

We stayed at Kapula Bay and K'annapoli.. favorites then went to Lahaina for shopping, beach luau, etc.

We're in Dallas so we flew in to Maui nonstop bith ways. We always booked the last flight out of Maui around 10pm stopped by Mama's Fish House in Paia on the way to the airport for s great send off dinner. Our plane landed back in Dallas around 5:30am. We had a driver pick us up for transportation to/from DFW.

Rented a car in Maui and enjoyed exploring. Our favorite was the whale watching.

Sounds like you are a planner! We've been to Hawaii twice. We enjoyed beach time with the kids the most...snorkling was so enjoyable! We rented snorkel gear for the week and used it daily. The kids also loved boogie boarding. Just hanging on the beach was relaxing! We scheduled a couple things to do that we loved. We did the horse ride into Mt. Haleakala on Maui. We did a lava tube tour where you hike into lava tubes (which our son really loved). We did one dinner with a show/dancing/fire. Our hotel had dancers every night outside by the tiki torches. The other time we went we rented a house that had a pool and the kids all played together in the pool when we adults needed an afternoon break. We enjoyed all the fresh seafood. And we mostly enjoyed just being chill! We did a couple small hikes (along a beach, and to a waterfall). If I get to go again one day I will definitely take the kids to Volcanoes National Park...something I wish we had done!

I love Maui! Looking at the list of what you're planning, I would say to skip the Maui Ocean Center. It's a nice aquarium, but not so different than any other aquarium I've been to. If your time is limited, spend it doing something you can't do anywhere else. I would much rather sit on the beach, snorkel, or swim in the hotel pool.

The Old Lahaina Luau in Maui is a fantastic show! I highly recommend it and it is generally considered to be the best luau on the island. The food, the dancing, and the atmosphere are all wonderful. It's truly worth the money. Book early - it does sell out. Before the show, you can check out the famous Banyan Tree in Lahaina - the kids will love it.

Snorkeling in Molokini is great, so definitely keep that on your itinerary.

We did the sunrise at Haleakala but I honestly didn't feel it was worth the 3 a.m. wakeup call. I definitely wouldn't want to do it with kids - it is so cold and so early.

I have stayed in both Wailea and Kaanapali. With kids, I definitely prefer Kaanapali - the water is much calmer. You can just walk right into the water and snorkel on your own. If you do stay down in/near Wailea, the Big Beach in Makenna is really nice and also good for snorkeling, I think.

Have fun! I'm jealous just thinking about it...

I live here, in Honolulu, with my husband and daughter. So I feel I can give you some advice. We're not native, we have been here for 2 years now, and we've done several of the Oahu attractions that you're mentioning. Can't help you at all regarding Maui.

But:

Diamond Head: It's a good hike. The view at the top is quite amazing, but frankly, if you only have 4 days here, that will take up a good chunk of your time (driving out there, making the climb to the summit). Yes, it's awesome to say you hiked up an ancient volcano, but most people hike it because they love the challenge of hiking and they love seeing the ocean from the top.

Kualoa Ranch: if your kids like Jurassic Park, there's lots to see and do there, but it's kind of touristy. Not the real Hawai'i, although if you want to zipline etc, a lot of people like it.

Polynesian Cultural Center: a great place to spend a day. There are 6 or 7 islands represented, and each one is filled with native dances, foods, ceremonies, etc. The Tonga male dancers are so impressive. The show in the evening (Ha, Breath of Life) is unforgettable. It tells a story, with dances, island chants, fire twirlers, and it's all very professionally produced and acted. But don't plan to spend just 2 or 3 hours. Each island family and tribe will journey down the canal within the Center and dance and sing and perform. It's very family friendly, and entertaining as well as informational and educational. The Samoan men climb the most amazingly tall coconut trees and then demonstrate their abilities to machete the coconut open right in the palm of their hands, while amusing the audience with wit and humor.

Luau: Any luau that you go to, whether it's at the Hale Koa hotel, Germaine's or the Polynesian Cultural Center, will be very similar. You can buy premium seating tickets, which give the adults a mai tai or other alcoholic beverage or two (if desired), better seating, better view. Or you can sit in the back but you'll have fewer benefits (premium gets each visitor greeted by a hula dancer with a lei or necklace of shells). However, it's a bit cruise-ship-like. A very enthusiastic master of ceremonies will get the entire audience shouting "A-LO-HA" in unison. He'll make a spectacle of introducing the "king and queen" (actors elaborately dressed). Then, of course there's lots of food, served buffet style. It's good, lots of pork, salmon, poke, and lots of unfamiliar foods (coconut jelly, etc). And then there are lots of hula dancers, fire twirlers, drummers, etc. We've been to all three luaus, with visitors. They are fun, and audience-interactive, and really entertaining, but they are contrived for visitors, just keep that in mind. But so many people consider attending a luau part of their first island experience. It's easy to include the Polynesian Cultural Center luau as part of your day, after seeing the island demonstrations, before attending Ha! Breath of Life. But that's pretty much a full day. You can simply visit the islands, and leave. There is a cafeteria there, with pure American foods (chicken tenders etc, without a show, just for getting something to eat).

The Byodo-In Temple is one of my favorite spots on this entire island. After the crazy traffic and the rush of downtown Honolulu and the crowds of Waikiki, the temple is a welcome quiet place. It's important to understand that it's a sacred site. Quiet respect is demanded. Children are not to run around or be loud. Shoes are removed when walking through the temple itself. There are about a zillion koi fish to feed but you must purchase a small bag of proper food, not just throw bread. There are paths to walk on, a massive gong to ring, and quiet spots to sit. There's a small gift shop but no food or anything. It's a sacred site, and there are several different cemeteries there (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc) and they are quite different from each other. Very beautiful and restful spot.

Dole Plantation: skip it, in my opinion. Touristy. Gift shop, pineapple maze, regarded by most locals as a desperate attempt to continue keeping a closed plantation financially afloat. It's a major attraction for Asian tour groups and they come by the hundreds. Which is fine, but it's always over-crowded and not worth the time. We actually drove past there yesterday. We thought we might swing in to get something to eat but the parking lot was more than full. People had parked in "no parking" areas. There were swarms of tour groups taking pictures in front of the main building. We took one look at the crowds and left.

Hale'iwa is a pretty little village, nice for walking around. Lots of shave ice, shrimp food trucks, little shops, etc. Hale'iwa Joe's is a popular and delicious restaurant. Kids will like shave ice (don't say "shaved ice", it's just shave ice!) and they'll probably be amused by all the wild chickens roaming around, but it's more for adults who want to shop, have a drink, wander a quaint little town.

Pearl Harbor, in my opinion, is the main thing that visitors should see. What an amazing place. You'll never forget it. You get a ticket for the free ferry from the Park to the Arizona Memorial. The ferry is free, but it's by ticket only, and you must be at the ferry dock at your appointed time. Most people show up fairly early (8 or 9 am). Don't worry if your ticket isn't until 2 or 3 pm. There's so much to see and learn. There's an extensive museum with the entire story of the attack. There are large scale models of ships. And there's the Bowfin submarine, which does cost a little money, but it is so cool. You can touch things, operate wheels and buttons (of course, they do nothing, but you feel like you're operating a submarine). My son is in his late 20s, and he thought the Bowfin was amazing. It's stunning to see how close quarters the submariners lived and worked in. Then when it's your ferry trip time, you are escorted into a small theater where you are shown a movie about the attack with real photos and videos, told in wonderful detail. You are told that you are about to board a US Navy ship (the ferry) and must obey the sailors in charge. And you're told that you are about to go to the Arizona Memorial, which is the final resting place of 1,100 Americans. It is a sacred site. The ferry ride is very brief, and you are escorted onto the Memorial, where you can look down and see the sunken ship, the oil drops that still escape to the surface after 76 years, and then you see the memorial wall. It's sobering and inspiring. Then your Navy escort will gather everyone for the ferry ride back, after an appropriate amount of time. There is a gift shop, and a place to get hot dogs and similar snacks.

The North Shore is beautiful, but it is often extremely crowded. If you purchase a ticket for a snorkel adventure, and get a bus, you might have better luck finding a safe place to stake a spot on a beach.

The Ka'ena Natural Reserve on the westernmost part of Oahu is a wonderful hike. We hiked it yesterday. It's quiet, no dogs allowed, it's an albatross protected area, you can get right down to the sea and splash in it in spots, or you can do the hike. It's not difficult, but it is rocky in parts. But it's not a climb. There are no trees - it's lava rocks, mountains, low brush, waves and salt air, and no food or facilities. It is raw nature, much as Hawaii used to be. Wear good hats and sunblock and pack water and snacks. There are lots of places to sit and just watch the sea which stretches as far as you can see.

If your kids are young, they might like a cruise (pirate, whale watching, turtle watching, etc). They'll be aimed at tourists, but they can be fun. We have not been on a major cruise with lots of people. However, we did book a private deep sea fishing trip with Aikane Sportfishing (just us 3 plus our son who was visiting for Christmas, from Texas where he lives). It was so nice. Just the 4 of us plus the pilot, and two deckhands. We brought a picnic lunch. We saw humpback whales and sea turtles. You don't physically man the poles and reels (this is big stuff, huge reels, massive poles) but it's exciting, and so nice to go out 15 or 20 miles out to sea.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions!

I'd scale back some - having traveled with kids and having been to Maui, you really are trying to pack alot into a very short period of time. The jet lag alone is going to wreak havoc on everyone's system (I think it is just 2 hours, but you will be surprised). On top of that, there is the getting ready and getting to each event. I overplanned my trip to Venice/Greece/Turkey like this and still regret it to this day.

I'd pick one structured thing on the 1st and 3rd days in Oahu and on the 2nd day in Maui, leaving 2 free days in Oahu and 2 free days in Maui (actually, with traveling on the first and last days of each, not even 2 days each). Leave the other days open for beach/sightseeing, but open to change with no real itinerary.

As far as a "must do" - the Old Lahaina Luau was definitely the highlight of our trip! My mom and I traveled to Maui a few years ago for the oceanfront marathon and we did two structured activities - the luau and we did a snorkel with the sea turtles. Other than that, we just spent most of our time walking around/driving around and stopping and it was an unforgettable trip!

Good luck!