It had been more than two years since my family and I had boarded a plane, and in that time, we had added another human to our household. At 2½ years old, Lottie is surely our biggest travel challenge now. After weighing destination and flight options, we landed on Maui. A five-hour flight from Los Angeles seemed doable, and goodness knows we all craved an island respite.
Given the constantly changing COVID-19 regulations, and the fact that I had never been to Maui, I knew working with a travel advisor would be wise. The team at Kara Slater Travel, an affiliate of SmartFlyer, helped us book a one-bedroom suite at Fairmont Kea Lani, located in Wailea and offering a toddler pool, a waterslide and easy beach access. From there, Slater offered the following tips for a successful pandemic-era Hawaiian getaway.
Fairmont Kea Lani has many options for kids, including a koi pond.
Credit: 2022 Chelsee Lowe
Tip One: Book Everything in Advance
Hawaii lifted major pandemic travel restrictions at the end of March, but that doesn’t mean the island’s hospitality industry is running at pre-pandemic capacity. To avoid long waits with the kids, we booked many meals weeks (even months) in advance. This included on-site restaurants at the Fairmont, which regularly had to turn away walk-in diners.
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Regardless of what clients may have heard, now is a great time for families to dust off their luggage and head to Hawaii.
We knew we would be zapped of energy once on Maui, so I reserved a table for four at Fairmont restaurant Ko, where kids eat free off the keiki menu. Later that week, I turned a four-person reservation at on-site Nick’s Fishmarket Maui into a two-person, mama-daughter date with my eldest child. Wherever clients hope to dine on the island, advise them to set calendar reminders to snag a table as early as a restaurant allows.
We took a similar approach to bookable, kid-friendly experiences. Our itinerary included pre-booked visits to the Maui Butterfly Farm and the renowned Maui Ocean Center aquarium, plus The Feast at MokaPu (a luau event at Andaz Maui) and ziplining with Maui Zipline Company. We even commemorated the trip with family photos by Pacific Dream Photography, which offers wildly convenient photo shoots onsite at numerous Maui properties.
To avoid disappointment, book attractions, such as Maui Ocean Center, ahead of time.
Credit: 2022 Maui Ocean CenterTip Two: Skip the Rideshares
When I told our travel advisor team that we planned to use a rideshare app to get from Kahului Airport to the Fairmont, I got a firm email back reminding me that shortages in hospitality extend to things such as Uber drivers, as well. Instead, Slater booked our hotel/airport transfers weeks in advance with Maui Island Taxi, which we found incredibly prompt, friendly and well-priced.
To get on and off the resort throughout our weeklong stay, I rented a car through Fairmont’s on-site Avis desk. I connected with them three months prior to our arrival, and with that lead time, I had no problem securing a sedan. Among my favorite memories of the trip was an easy drive to Iao Valley State Park, where we hiked below pointy, emerald mountain peaks topped with fog and tossed rocks into a crystal-clear creek.
Tip Three: Just Go
Regardless of what clients may have heard, now is a great time for families to dust off their luggage and head to Hawaii. If they plan in advance and arrive with compassion and patience for whatever challenges may arise, they are sure to feel rejuvenated by their time on the island.
Our family certainly found this to be true. Though our toddler was the live wire we know her to be — refusing to sit in highchairs, running toward the resort’s koi pond at full tilt, waking at 4 a.m. due to jet lag — we all still managed to unplug from work and school and heal under the gorgeous Maui skies.
