7 Tips for Traveling with a Toddler to Hawaii

Want to escape Tokyo’s winter and go on a holiday to Hawaii? Yes please! Guest blogger Anna Dirksen tells us all about her recent stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. Thanks so much Anna!

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1. Airport

There are a lot of overnight flights available from Tokyo to Hawaii. For us, this was the best option as we weren’t sure whether we could keep our toddler amused and in her seat for an 8-hour flight. We booked the bulkhead seats, laid down some comfy blankets as a makeshift bed on the floor and our daughter slept almost the entire way.

2. Transportation

You can find lots of places in Oahu where you can rent car seats, strollers, high chairs and cribs so you don’t have to pack them. We were initially going to rent a car seat and stroller from Paradise Baby Co. since you can pick up the rentals and drop them off at the airport. In the end, we had space to bring a light umbrella stroller with us from Tokyo and we booked taxis with car seats already installed, through services like SpeediShuttle and Charlie’s Taxi.

3. Hotels

Most of the bigger, well-known hotels have very baby and toddler friendly services, like cribs in the room, high chairs in the restaurants and changing tables in the restrooms near the beach. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort, which offered free toys at their restaurants and had lots of water areas and activities for young kids.

4. Swim Gear

We brought sunscreen, swim nappies and swimsuits with us but in Honolulu it was really easy to find places to buy all of these goods (which was great for us as we quickly ran out!). We also found that many local stores carried these.

5. Changing Tables & Nursing Rooms

It was rare to find a dedicated changing table/nursing room area for babies. Instead, most of the changing tables were found in ladies restrooms, either in the main area or in the toilet stall generally reserved for wheelchair access. We didn’t see many nursing areas so, if you happen to still be breastfeeding when you’re traveling, it might be worthwhile to bring a nursing cover if you need to breastfeed and feel uncomfortable doing it out in the open.

6. Food and Restaurants

There were lots of great restaurants in Oahu and it was easy to find places with high chairs and booster seats. There were also lots of full grocery stores and local convenience stores, which carried lots of varieties of food. One of the most common chains is the ABC Store. This store also carried a small selection of pharmacy items for kids, like Tylenol flavoured medicine.

7. Jet Lag

Japan is about 19 hours ahead of Hawaii so we were a little concerned about how jet lag would affect our daughter’s sleep. She normally goes to bed at 7pm and sleeps straight through to 6 or 7am. Due to the time difference, we found she stayed up an hour or two later and woke up a bit later as well, which worked out nicely for a lazy vacation schedule.