What is the "right" age for a one-time trip?

[newdeal]

we took our kids when they were 6 and 8 and it was awesome however I would be inclined to say the ideal age is 12 as some of the activities we were interested in you had to be 12 for. That said, there are plenty of other activities so its not a huge problem or anything. Even at 6 and 8 we did a bunch of things and the kids loved it. At 12 they would have a better chance of remembering the trip also but two years later my kids still remember and want to go back (and we would have taken them this winter but live in Canada and can't get out due to COVID). Also my kids were up at 2am Hawaiian time because they usually get up at around 6-7am and we live in the eastern time zone so that kind of sucked. We did dolphin swimming when they were 5 and 7 in Mexico so that would be fine so long as they are old enough (Mexico is a bit more loose on age restrictions lol). We did a couple of hikes which were great, we did Manoa falls and Waimea Valley and it was fine. We didn't do Diamond head because my wife and I had done that on a solo trip and I wasn't sure if they would make all the stairs at that age but if we went back now (they are now 8 and almost 11) we would do diamond head also

 

[jimmymc]

8 and 10 is a pretty good age, maybe 10 and 12 would be a little better. By the time they're teenagers, they might not want to do as many Disney things like Aulani.

 

[happymommy]

I started taking my kids back to Hawaii when they were 3 and 5. We stayed 10 nights at the Hale Koa in Waikiki. Not too long after we bought our Marriott timeshare at Ko Olina, so we started going every other year.

We always chose where we wanted to go on vacation, and they had fun no matter where it was. I never wanted to wait until the kids were older to go on vacations where we wanted to go.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Our first trip, we were 5 and 2 (and 8 months pregnant). Next trip, we'll be 7, 4, and almost 2. My advice would be to go as soon as possible, because you're going to fall in love and want to go back over and over again.

The only thing I recommend *against* would be overnight flights with little kids. That was the only poor experience we had last time. If you're flying to the East Coast, do a daytime flight to California, spend the night in a California hotel, and then another daytime flight back home.

 

[jodistrock]

Personally, I think around the age of 10 for Aulani for the travel time alone. BUT to go to Pearl Harbor my kids appreciated it at a much older age 15 & 17. It was our last family trip before the oldest graduated HS. However, any age is good really. Aulani is the best of places to go!

 

[Lilsia]

My daughter was 16 when we went. She was old enough to do most things and past the age of being a bratty teenager. LOL We live our life in the "now" and we never put off a trip because of the age of our kids. You never know what the future holds. We have been travelling with them since they were very young and have enjoyed each and every one of our trips. There are many that they do not remember, but we do and they enjoyed themselves at the time.