Aloha Reader, New episode just went live today. My friend Kim Fidler took her family to the North Shore of Oahu for spring break. It was her kids' first time in Hawaii. She did not start with Waikiki. I sat down with her to get the full trip report — what made her choose the North Shore, what surprised her, what she'd do differently, and whether it was the right call for a first trip with kids. Thirty-eight minutes of real talk from someone who just got back. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, If you've been to Waimea Valley, you already know the waterfall is worth it. The 45-foot cascade at the end of the trail is one of those North Shore moments families talk about for years. But this summer, Waimea Valley is offering something I haven't seen there before. A Sunrise Tour that starts at 7:30am, before the Valley opens to the public. You get exclusive early access, a guided walk through the botanical gardens, and you're among the first people to swim under that...
27 days ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, People assume that after 40-plus trips to Hawaii I sit down and a perfect itinerary just appears. It does not. I still work through the same set of questions every single time, in the same order, because skipping any of them is how you end up with a plan that looks great on paper and falls apart on day two. Here's exactly how I build a Hawaii itinerary from scratch. Start with the island, not the activities. This is where most families go wrong. They find a cool snorkel tour or...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Aloha Reader, Our first Hawaii trip with kids was planned within an inch of its life. I had a spreadsheet. Color coded. Every restaurant researched, every activity slotted into a time block, every drive timed out to the minute. I was so proud of that itinerary. We were going to see everything. We saw a lot of things. We also spent half the trip rushing between them. Someone was always hungry at the wrong time or tired at the wrong moment and the whole day would unravel because we were already...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Aloha Reader, My oldest has been to Hawaii about 12 times. At this point he has opinions. On our last Kauai trip he decided he wanted to do a serious acai bowl taste test. Every morning, a new spot. He kept mental notes, compared textures and toppings, took the whole thing very seriously. By the end of the week he had a definitive ranking. Sunrise Coffee won, if you're curious. That trip is a good example of what Kauai does to people who are ready for it. It slows you down in the best way....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, There is a version of a luau where you sit at a long banquet table under fluorescent lights eating mediocre buffet food while someone on a stage performs a show that feels like it was designed for a convention center. And there is a version where you're sitting outside at sunset, the food is actually good, and your kids are completely captivated by the fire knife dancer. The price difference between those two experiences is sometimes almost nothing. The experience difference is...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Aloha Reader, My youngest and I were sitting at dinner inside Volcano House, the lodge that sits right on the rim of Kilauea caldera, and the lava was glowing through the window behind our food. Not a photo of lava. Not a viewing platform. Dinner. With lava. In the background. I couldn't stop looking at it. Neither could he. At some point we both just put our forks down and stared. That moment is why I think the Big Island is the most underrated island in Hawaii for families. Most people skip...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Aloha Reader, The rental mask fogged up about 90 seconds into our first snorkel at Molokini. My kid pulled it off, declared snorkeling was boring, and spent the rest of the morning throwing rocks on the boat. We tried again two days later with gear that actually fit. She's been asking to go back to Hawaii every year since. I'm not saying rented gear ruined that trip. But fit and visibility matter way more than most people expect, and rental gear is genuinely a mixed bag. Sometimes it's fine....
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Aloha Reader, The first time we did an inter-island flight, I treated it like catching a subway. We showed up about 25 minutes before departure, bags in tow, fully relaxed. We made it. But just barely. And I spent the whole walk to the gate sweating through my shirt, which is not the vibe you want at the start of a Hawaii vacation. Inter-island flights are short (Oahu to Maui is about 25 minutes in the air) but the airport experience is completely normal. Security line, gate, boarding. Budget...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read