A few weeks ago my family packed our bags and headed to Maui for my cousins destination wedding. I’ll be honest, I got on the Maui train really late in the game. Vacationing with kids is not always easy, and I was frustrated because we had determined that Corey couldn’t join us and I was not getting excited.  I knew I’d have a good time when we got there, but I wasn’t looking forward to spending a whole week away from my Fiance and solo parenting. Turns out Corey ended up coming anyway.

That being said, I didn’t plan a whole lot for the trip.  Scratch that.  I didn’t plan anything.  I was all doom and gloom until the very last minute.  While I know most people won’t be doom and gloom, they may not realize that a trip to Hawaii is even more of a major event than you think.  Now that everything is said and done, here’s some dos and don’ts I figured out in preparation for our Hawaii vacay.

Just so you know, this post contains some affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after following one of these links I earn a small (like real small) commission.  Keep in mind that I only link products that I’ve bought and tried and for sure loved!

1// Don’t pass up the chance to go snorkeling

Guys…I didn’t really snorkel.  The reason I didn’t was because I wanted to nap. Everyone who snorkeled said it was the best part of the vacation and I missed out for a nap.  I’m pretty upset about it still, but now I have a good reason to return. Gotta snorkel.  You can rent gear inexpensively for a whole week and take your stuff all over the place.  There are tons of places to snorkel, and I would highly recommend taking advantage

2// Do wear a rash guard and sunscreen

The rash guard was something I actually did plan on.  I bought this Rash Guard off Amazon a couple of days before we left (yay for Amazon Prime!).  It worked really well for me.  I didn’t wear it the whole time, but when I didn’t want to apply sunscreen again to my entire body I just did my face and put my rash guard on.  It kept me from getting totally fried and I still looked cute!  Also I was a crazy person about sunscreen. I applied it several time each day.  No body wants skin cancer.

3//  Don’t skip the waterproof phone case

I am happy every day that I decided to get a Lifeproof Waterproof Case a couple days before our trip.  Again…bad planning. But seriously.  It was so great to have that peace of mind knowing that I wouldn’t damage my phone from all the water that was bound to get all over it.  In fact my niece completely immersed it in the pool without knowing it was water proof and it was fine because it was fully protected by the case. It also means you can take pictures like this without being afraid your going to ruin your phone forever by dropping it in the ocean.

4// Do make plans

Ya’ll I made zero plans.  My only plan was to lay on the beach and splash in the pool and I didn’t even really lay on the beach! I would have more if I’d been a better planner.  We had a few things set up with the wedding group that I participated in, but I know that things would have been a little more exciting if I would have been more open to making plans.

5// DON’T.  I repeat:  DO NOT leave your stroller at home

For some reason I was very concerned about having too much stuff with us and I figured my baby carried would be fine.  Now don’t get me wrong I absolutely love my baby carrier but it was NOT enough.  By the end of the week I was desperately wishing I had brought the stroller or at least rented one from Maui on the Fly (A place to rent stuff for all your Maui baby needs)  By the end of the trip my arms were killing me and I spent so much time trying to keep Clara from running off to places she wasn’t supposed to be.  Take my advice and don’t take a baby to Hawaii without a stroller plan.

6// Do plan out all of your meals

If I had it to do over again, I would plan the crap out of the eating situation.  We were with a HUGE group which made it hard to go get food together and we also probably ended up paying WAY more than necessary for a lot of things.  We were staying in a Condo and definitely could have cooked a few meals, had more snacks and probably more time to play and less time waiting in lines if we’d planned out our food a little better.  Next time we go on a Vacation, I’ll plan the food for every stinking day (with a few back up plans of course)

7// Don’t let the little stuff bring you down 

Look, vacationing with kids is hard.  I mean, is it even a “vacation” if you’re still full time parenting the whole time?  But just because you have to parent doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time.  Vacations don’t always go has planned.  Restaurants have an hour long wait, the snorkeling tour gets cancelled, it rains on the beach day…BUT if you let it get you down you’re going to put a damper on the fun. Keep it light and go with the flow.

8// Do a traditional Hawaiian Luau

This was a really fun part of the whole experience! The food was sorta of eh, but the show was really cool, it was right on the beach, and the kids had fun running around learning about the Hawaiian culture.