Our Maui Vacation with Kids: Everything You'll Need to Know Before Planning Your Trip

We just got back from our family vacation (April 2025) to Maui, Hawaii and it was incredible. In this blog post I’ve included everything you need to know about traveling to Maui with kids, including where we stayed, ate, activities, etc. 

If you are planning to travel to Maui, Hawaii in the future with your children, this blog post is for you! 

*Note: I was not sponsored or paid in any way for this trip. All of the information is my own opinion about things I wanted to share with the Stay at Home Activity Mom community.*

We flew out of the Oakland airport (OAK) into the Kahului airport (OGG) in Maui. For this trip we flew on Southwest Airlines. Once we landed, we took a quick shuttle (you can also walk there) from the airport to Hertz to get our rental car. Then from Hertz, it was about a 35-45 minute drive to the hotel. A lot of the drive is on the coast, so it’s really beautiful! Looking back, we probably could have gone without renting a car but we did use it to drive a short distance to dinner once. My parents also came on the trip and they just took an Uber to and from the hotel, which ended up being cheaper than our rental car. Just decide what works best for your family. If you plan to leave the hotel multiple times, a car probably makes sense. But, the location of the hotel is so great, you might not need or want to leave.

Pro Tips for Air Travel:

• TSA Pre-Check: You don't have to take off shoes, there are typically shorter lines at security, and you don't have to take out electronics from your carry on which makes traveling with kids just a bit smoother!

This tip does require some advanced planning and comes with additional costs. It may not be worth it for all families, but our family does a lot of traveling so the cost is worth it to us for the ease it brings at the airport. 

• Come prepared for your flight (Cue all the snacks and activities for your little ones!) I've linked some of our favorite items for you to check out! I've also linked some of my favorite items for parents when traveling. 

We stayed for seven nights at The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka'anapali. We've stayed at this hotel multiple times now and we always love it! The Westin Maui is truly the perfect hotel for a family vacation. There's so many things to do, the location is great, the pools and beach are amazing, and the views are gorgeous!

Pro Tip: Get a Marriott American Express Credit Card and accumulate points throughout the year. You can use points to books rooms and you get lots of other perks (upgrades when available, priority check-in, etc.) To learn more about the credit card, use our referral link here. We can both earn rewards if you choose to sign up.

We had the Hokupa'a- Ocean View, Larger Guest Room, 2 Queen, Lanai Experience, Balcony room in the Hokupa'a (Beach) tower. 

The room itself is great, with 2 queen beds, a desk, a small built-in sofa, a bathtub/shower combo, and a nice sized balcony. It honestly was a bit of a tight squeeze for 5 of us (we have 3 kids), but my parents and my father-in-law also had rooms at the hotel, so we had other rooms to go to when needed. This room would be perfect for a family of 3 or 4. 

Our favorite thing about this tower (besides the views) is the access to the Lanai lounge. Upgrading to this tower was 100% worth it because of the lounge. 

The private lounge offers complimentary breakfast from 7-9am, complimentary small bites for dinner from 5-7pm, it's own private bar (not complimentary but less crowded), and tons of different seating options (tables, chairs, sofas, etc.). The lounge is open throughout the day too, with a variety of non-alcoholic drinks and snacks for free. It's located up the stairs right near the pool with the waterslides, making it a perfect place to go take a break from the sun, and grab a drink and snack during the day.

Why We Love This Hotel:

• 6 pools
• 2 waterslides + splash pad
• beach access (we even saw turtles and whales from the shore)
• arcade

• on site market (pizzas, açaí bowls, nachos, salads, sandwiches, snacks, toiletries, etc.) and a Starbucks 
• walking distance to Whaler's Village (with great shops and restaurants)
• Parrots, flamingos, and fish on property (my kids got to feed the flamingos)
• The Spa (amazing treatments, plunge pool, relaxation room, & sauna)
• The Lanai Lounge 

Pro Tip for the Pools:

Get out to the pool before 9am if you want a prime spot for lounge chairs. If you wait much longer after that, you'll rarely find multiple chairs together. If you have toddlers and/or kids who will want to do the splash pad and/or waterslides, grab chairs by that pool! 

We had some amazing dinners at restaurants we've been going to year after year! The majority of them were walking distance from The Westin, which made it extra convenient.

Monkeypod Kitchen

• In Whaler's Village (walking distance to the hotel)
• They don't take reservations (put in your name and then shop around the village or take your kids to the outdoor play structure in Whaler's village while you wait. The restaurant will text you when your table is ready).
• The menu has a great variety. They have tons of fish options, but also have pizzas, sandwiches, pastas, etc.
• The mai tai here is unique and a must try!
• Our family rating: 9/10

Hula Grill

• Our family's favorite restaurant! It's so good, we went twice this trip!
• In Whaler's Village (walking distance to the hotel)
• It takes reservations (it's a very popular restaurant so consider making the reservations prior to your trip)
• The crab topped macadamia nut crusted fish was a 15/10!
• Make sure to order the famous Hula Pie!
• Our family rating: 10/10

Duke's

• Owned by the same company as Hula Grill (and Leilani's on the Beach), so the menus are similar, but still worth it to go to them all!
• 2 miles away from the hotel (a 3-5 minute drive)
• Outdoor live music on some nights
• It takes reservations (it's a very popular restaurant so consider making the reservations prior to your trip)
• Our family rating: 9/10

Leilani's On The Beach

• Owned by the same company as Hula Grill (and Duke's), so the menus are similar, but still worth it to go to them all!
• in Whaler's Village (walking distance to the hotel)
• It takes reservations (it's a very popular restaurant so consider making the reservations prior to your trip)
• 2 story restaurant with beautiful views of the ocean from the tables upstairs
• Our family rating: 9/10

Longhi's

• Located in Marriott Maui Ocean Club (a short .4 mile walk from the hotel)
• It takes reservations
• Mainly outdoor Italian restaurant
• Our family rating: 8/10

Wailele Lu'au

• We also ate dinner at the luau at our hotel one night
• Buffet style dinner and all you can drink drinks (cocktails and non-alcoholic)
• This dinner and a show was really cool- they had a fire knife performance that kept kids and adults engaged. Kids also got to go on stage and learn to hula dance
• Professional photographer is there and takes family/group pictures you can purchase 
• Advanced reservations required
• This dinner is pricy but if you are interested in going to a luau, it's a great one
• Our family rating: 9/10 

We didn't go to these places during this trip, but here's other highly-rated, family-friendly things to do in Maui that we've loved over the years:

• Napili Beach (great for snorkeling)
• Makena Beach
• D.T. Fleming Beach Park (grab lunch at the Burger Shack)
• Maui Ocean Center
• Maui Animal Farm
• Launiupoko Beach Park 

Thank you for reading all about our family vacation to Maui. I hope that this blog post helps you plan your next trip to Maui, Hawaii! Aloha! 

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