I've visited Maui twice, most recently in July 2023. I traveled to Maui in 2014 on my honeymoon and again in 2023 with my young children. 

While I was in Maui, I was a guest at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort And Spa and I simply cannot say enough about this heavenly place!! It is so perfect for a family vacation! 

Animal encounters? Check!

Jaw-dropping architecture? Check!

Several beautiful pools? Check!

Ample beachfront? Check!

We started out our visit with the resort’s penguin presentation at 9:30 am. My two young sons were absolutely enthralled by the feeding of the penguins and the caretaker’s informative talk. Penguins aren’t the only wild creatures in the lobby of this luxurious hotel, as approximately 50 birds make their home in the Hyatt Regency, including cranes, swans, flamingos and parrots. And the true show stopper is the gorgeous tropical gardens weaved in and out of every inch of this resort, including the children’s pool where, admittedly, I spent most of my time. We were seated in two daybeds with gorgeous ocean views. We ate our lunch while we watched the waves crash on the exposed coral on our very comfortable daybed and under shade.

Lahaina Cannery Hula Show

Since Maui is five hours behind our home time zone, I didn’t want to risk taking my kids to a luau since they have early bedtimes as it is. Instead, we attended a free hula show at the Lahaina Cannery Mall and we loved it, especially my 7 year old son! This hula show was on a Sunday at 1 pm, so it didn’t disturb my kids’ bedtime whatsoever!

The show covered dances from several Polynesian islands and it was very entertaining! The show had dancers of all ages, as young as three! The musicians were also very talented. I was so happy to be able to expose my children to this expert exhibition beauty, art and Polynesian culture. 

Food trucks: A parents’ best friend!

The adults in my traveling group (my husband, stepmom and I) wanted to try lots of local foods without having to pay top dollar. Secondly, I’m pretty spoiled by all-inclusive resorts in that I really don’t want to have to cook and clean on vacation. It’s my vacation too and I don’t want to waste precious beach time at a kitchen sink! Maui food trucks were the best solution to both of these conditions! We were able to feed the kids pizza and chicken nuggets in our condo kitchen, then we would order our own food from a local food truck. As another huge bonus, the Maui food trucks are locally owned and supporting local businesses is hugely important to me! Here are a few of our favorite Maui food trucks:

https://sunsoutbunsoutmaui.com

www.happybellymaui.com

https://instagram.com/burgerboyshawaii?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Dolphin Catamaran Tour

We took a dolphin catamaran tour with PacWhale Eco-Adventures in Lahaina. Our 7 year old loved it and listened eagerly to all of the information about dolphins! Since my four year old slept on this tour, I was so glad that I didn’t plan on taking a snorkeling boat tour! I would’ve paid money to sit on the boat, holding a sleeping child, instead of doing any snorkeling!

Snorkeling

We found the best snorkeling at Napili Beach north of the Napili Kai Beach Resort, but it can truly change every day! I subscribed to daily emails from The Snorkel Store, which will send out complimentary daily snorkeling reports. You can sign up for the free snorkel report by email here: https://thesnorkelstore.com/maui-snorkeling-conditions-reports/

As a bonus, the snorkel report includes coupons for snorkeling gear in their store. If your kids haven’t snorkeled before, I highly recommend getting them comfortable with their snorkeling gear in the bathtub at home. It made a huge difference for my 7 year old! My 4 year old still had difficulty, but he was perfectly content to play in the sand at the beach, thankfully.