When my mom passed away, I began my love affair with writing. My focus: manifesting your best life and covering all topics I can personally attest to- dream job, marriage, divorce, infertility, grief, and even creating the best vacation. There is a linear process, that I learned in my finance & software career, that you can apply to just about anything in life. This is my most recent piece on, “Why can’t a family trip feel like a vacation?”
After a particularly difficult recent trip to San Diego with all of our four children, I decided I would try harder to make our upcoming Hawaii trip an actual vacation vs. a family trip. Part of the process was a perception change. I was expecting San Diego to be perfect and stress-free. We had rented an incredible penthouse on the beach, only a short one hour flight to get to paradise, and even hired a company to bring all of our baby items to us so we wouldn’t have to lift a finger. The trip was still very hard, even though each kid had a great time.
Here are some things I learned that I applied to our recent trip to Hawaii:
Start with bringing as little luggage and baby gear as possible. As we were planning to sightsee, I took the time to call the Fairmont and they set up a taxi with a car seat for us. I am already sipping my coffee at 5am, with an extra large grin due in large because I wouldn’t have to have my hands full, lugging a giant car seat through a congested airport.
Know it won’t be perfect. All that I can control is how I act when it gets bumpy. Take a deep breath, breathe in the ocean air, then react.
I personally need to workout every morning. It changes my entire mood and outlook. I am going to make it happen every morning.
Keep the kids fed. This means breakfast start time is a priority.
Make time for romantic time. This is hard, but definitely makes for more relaxed parents. Yes, we were making out under the sheets in a room with our toddler. Don’t judge us!
When the family bickering starts, head outside. There is nothing a pool or ocean can’t cure. My two big kiddos were at each other the first morning. I told them to go to the beach. I also told them there is absolutely no swimming unless they are swimming together. I sent them out for one hour, and I came down to best friends playing in the water.
Less is more. I had no plans in Hawaii. This made for a stress-free and schedule-free four days. I can’t tell you how much we all needed this.
Pick a kid-friendly hotel. As many of you read my recent piece spotlighting the Four Seasons in Maui, it was Heaven, but not as good as the Fairmont for kids.
Scratch the long meals! Room service, beach dining and market visits rule.
No electronics. It’s hard. Very hard. But the fact that we were completely checked-in made a huge difference for pure family time.
That’s it! You are ready to have a fabulous vacation with the kids. Let’s go!
I will say, a lot of effort and research went in to picking the right hotel. The Fairmont in Maui has a waterslide and a swimmable beach. Enough said!
Fairmont ensured we had a perfect trip from the pre-planning until we headed home. The customer service was top notch, as they aim to make sure your vacation is ultra-relaxing and that you don’t have to lift a finger.
Here is our itinerary. I highly recommend copying this and giving yourself four full days.
Call the Fairmont before you arrive for any cot and pack n’play needs.
The Fairmont will set-up MJ taxi service so you don’t need to rent a car or bring a car seat.
When you wake up in the morning, set up your chairs. We would typically start on the beach and then head to the pool.
We hit the gym every morning.
Big breakfast is key. The buffet rocks. Chris was hands down an amazing guy and the best server! Kids with full tummies are WAY more fun!
Sand toys are in the market, along with sun screen and yummy food.
Scuba gear is available for free for one hour down at the beach.
Boogie boards are available to rent and body surfing is so much fun.
We sat right where the ocean hits the sand and built massive pools and hot tub holes every day. Hours of entertainment.
Time for the pool. We would get the four chairs by the waterfall daily. This allowed us to be right by the water slide, when our three year old would come racing down the chute.
Order your cocktails in actual pineapples. This is available for kids, too.
Between pool & beach, make time for quiet time on your balcony. We would let the kids refresh and it made a big difference.
Head to the lobby every single day! My favorite food at the Fairmont was hands down the sushi in the lobby. I found time to get a roll and cocktail there daily. The lobby was just redone and it’s pure bliss. There is live music, swings, and high quality sushi and cocktails awaiting you.
Every day at 5pm you should be at the beach. The locals are there, weddings taking place, dreamy weather, big waves, and truly no better place to be. Catch the fire lighter there running around lighting up the property with his torch, a well known Hawaiian ritual. My kids loved chasing him each sunset, as he ran the property with his fire torch.
Hang with the roosters and chickens. No joke, it was probably our kids’ favorite activity at the Fairmont.
Take the five minute shuttle to the mall. Get yummy sushi and poke bowls from Island Gourmet. Go sit in the ❤️ of the mall and enjoy the people watching.
The Fairmont market & cafe Makana was the best casual bite. They showcase Lappert’s ice cream, have yummy pizza, good poke bowls and awesome açaí bowls. It closes at 8. We were there at least once daily.
We tried a fancy Fairmont restaurant Ko. It was good. It was also $400 dollars. If you don’t want to have such a pricey meal, it’s not right for you.
That’s it! Each kiddo voted it as their best vacation ever. It was also our easiest trip ever. Thank you to the Fairmont for being a one-stop shop and allowing us to prove to ourselves that a family trip can absolutely be a vacation! Though there were some much-anticipated hiccups along that way, the memorable moments and the quality family time spent together was just what we were all craving. Until the next vacation…..