Maui with Kids Itinerary

Where we stayed:
Hyatt Regency Maui

Would I stay here again?
Yes, but mainly for the swimming pools. The pools are open 24 hours and stargazing from the adult hot tub was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced (you could clearly see the Milky Way and five planets, not to mention thousands of stars). The view of the sunset from the pool at the timeshare condo's next door was absolute perfection. Best in Maui I'm sure. Doing the stargazing telescope tour with a NASA astronomer from the top of the hotel was amazing! We got to see Saturn!

The beds were not comfortable, our room was dated. If we stay here again I would get a club room so you get access to the lounge and some "free" food. (Which we didn't know about till after)

Other contenders for future Maui stays are the Aston Mahana resort or the Honua Kai Resort. We found that with kids, a resort with cool waterslides is a must. I would 100% stay in the Ka'anapali area again. The weather is the best on the island here, and yes just a few kilometres can make a huge difference in weather patterns here. There is a reason most of the resorts are in one place!

Day 1 - hang out at the resort, take the Ka'anapalli beach walk to Whaler's Village shopping center.
Day 2 - Maui Ocean Center (best gift shop on the island) and Polo Beach Park in Wailea
Day 3 - Lahaina and Atlantis Submarine
Day 4 - Kahekiki Hwy coastal drive and Iao Valley State Monument 
Day 5 - Road to Hana, Garden of Eden.
Day 6-8 at resort, go to Whaler's Village again.
Day 9 Haleakala dormant Volcano and Leoda's Pie Shop
Day 10-12 at resort, did the Luau dinner and show one night
Day 13 drove the oceanside highway that surrounds the volcano
Day 14 fly home

My personal top #3 experiences in order:
1. Haleakala Volcano
2. the Garden of Eden Arboretum
3. Iao Valley Monument

What we would do differently next time:
1. Stay for much shorter time period. Probably 4 days max.
2. Check out the Dole Plantation
3. Kealia Coastal Boardwalk and Bird Sanctuary at Maalaea Bay
4. Explore the Kula area a bit more
5. Go back to the Garden of Eden Arboretum and plan for more time here

What we would not do again:
1. Road to Hana
2. Stay longer than a few days

What surprised me about Maui:

• How much we didn't enjoy the beaches! Intensely hot sand, 30km winds and huge waves might make for good surfing but did not make for an enjoyable beach experience. We tried out a number of different beaches but just didn't enjoy most of them. The beaches were beautiful to look at from a distance, just didn't enjoy actually hanging out at them most of the time - especially not during the day. The evenings for sunset was nicer.
• How early sunset came. Given it's location near the equator, it was pitch dark by 6:30pm in summer. Not complaining though - the night sky is the most beautiful on earth here!
• How expensive the food is. We knew it would be bad, but $9 water bottles was just too much.
• How delicious the food would be. I loved the Asian influences. The best things I ate were Poke (which is a soy marinated raw fish), the sweet bread made with purple yams, and Oxtail soup. For people who prefer less than exotic foods, they also offer a nice selection of comfort foods like macaroni potato salad and "Loco Moco" which is white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. Of course the fresh pineapple is a must too!  The best snack food I ate in all of Maui was at the farm stand at the end of the Hana road. Mango shortbread and homemade ginger ale - uhmazing!
• The cool birds - from Egrets on the golf course to wild roosters in the desert and wild pheasants running across the road on our way up the volcano.
• How much the elevation would affect us. We got sick to our stomachs more than once while driving around, sometimes it was due to the twisty roads and sometimes it was due to the elevation. Ironically the one time I expected to get sick (on the way up to the volcano), we were perfectly fine. Bring Gravol with you, they don't sell it in Hawaii!!
• How old the airport and all buildings besides the resorts would be. As expensive as Hawaii is, a lot of it is run down and most of the people living here do live in poverty. At the Hard Rock Cafe they had a suggested donation to the local food bank as an option right on the menu.
• The wind turbines - renewable resources are important here!
• No ceilings and no doors! So many buildings are open to the elements here, including the airport and hotel lobby's. 
• The humidity. I think we just got "lucky" since some hurricanes were passing by not far from the islands this week (which is very rare here) but it was intensely humid for most of our stay.
• How perfect the weather is in Kaanapali! Hardly a rain drop, even when a hurricane was passing by. We would see storm clouds in the distance up in the mountains, but they never made it to the hotel strip along the water.

Hyatt Regency Pools

Garden of Eden Arboretum

Iao Valley Monument

Sunset from the pool