Travel Tuesdays: Baby-Friendly Maui

 

All this cold & windy weather has me thinkin’ bout the sun!  Ohhhh…that Maui sun.  Last month, we took a trip to Maui for my birthday and Dahlia’s first trip.  We chose Maui because its a good mix between country and city; the perfect place for a baby, we think 🙂 This trip was more about getting ourselves comfortable traveling with the baby on an airplane and relaxing!  No real excursions here, just a little R & R, good food and fun!  See how we did it with my tips on what baby travel essentials to bring, rental items, baby-friendly destinations and places to eat!

Maui Baby Travel Essentials:

1.  Baby Banz Newborn Hearing Protection Earmuff for the Plane Ride

• Why bring it?  Babies ears are sensitive and they could get startled & cry when you depart or land.

2.  Gate Check Bag -$15 (JL Childress Gate Check Bag for Car Seats)

• Why bring it?  This large bag kept our Car Seat from being damaged and discolored.  It also turns into a small handy pouch so it doesn’t add too much extra to your luggage.

3.  Ergobaby Carrier – $115 (We got this as a gift from our baby shower – definitely worth it!)

• Why bring it?  It frees up your hands! Super helpful getting into airplanes and through security.  Also, baby can nap comfortably with mom or dad in the seats without either parents’ arms going numb 🙂

4.  Space Saver Bags – $19.99 

• Why Bring it?  This is my secret to traveling light!  ALWAYS! A friend gave these to me the first time I used them and I’ve never looked back.  On this trip, we had NO checked bags because of these bad boys.  A definite lifesaver and it’s also great to toss dirty clothes in at the end of the trip as well.

5.  Flotation Device – $25 – Speedo Kid’s Begin to Swim Fabric Baby Cruiser w/ Canopy 

• Why Bring it?  It’s reusable!  I spent a lot of time researching something that was going to be safe and used more than once and this was it!  Dahlia loved being in this in the water.  Though the canopy can be flimsy, I felt that the thickness of the canopy blocked the sun pretty well.

6.  California Baby Travel Products – $19.99

• Why bring it?  This kit has everything you need from diaper rash cream to shampoo and sunblock and even jelly mousse (?).  Their products are environmentally-friendly and are well under the recommended 3 oz. for flights, so you don’t have to lug heavy toiletries for baby.

7.  A Manual Pump (for Nursing Mama’s) – $25 – Medela Harmony 

• Why bring it?  This is for piece of mind.  I didn’t want to lug around my heavy pump and if there ever was a time when I couldn’t nurse baby, I knew I’d be able to get her a bottle easily.  Another tip is to keep milk in 2.5 oz. small medela bottles.  I love these small bottles because they aren’t as bulky and even when going through security, they pass the 3 oz. recommendation so you don’t have to notify Security.  Even so, ALL MILK can go through security no matter what size the bottle.

Things to Rent:

It never crossed my mind to rent things, but now that we have a baby, I knew we couldn’t pack the entire house and renting was the next best option.  I wanted to keep baby’s nighttime routine the same even when traveling and renting items like a bath tub & bassinet were very helpful.

• Where to Rent?  I used Maui Baby Rental, they were pretty reliable and delivered all the items to our hotel room and picked them up the day we were leaving!  They had a super easy online rental system that was pretty seamless and inexpensive too!  They have everything you need and packages for more savings as well!  There are a couple of others on the island as well.

• What we rented:
  • Bassinet – $6/day or $40/week
  • Jumperoo – $4/day or $25/week
  • Bathtub – $2/day or $12/week
  • Beach Cabana – $6/day or $25/week

(The husband in our cabana rental on the beach; Baby D in the jumperoo enjoying the view)

Baby-Friendly Destinations:

1.  Your hotel! – So, pick a good one!

• We stayed at the Honua Kai Resort Condos in Kaanapali and spent a lot of time here too.  Again, we did a lot of research on kid-friendly places and this one seemed to top the rest.  It had 3 different pool areas:  one with a lazy river, a grotto-like area with waterfalls and slides and a regular infinity pool with a kiddie pool extension.  We spent a lot of time here because the grounds were beautiful, Duke’s was onsite, they also have an awesome gourmet market that had all-natural food items, & there were other families with kids and babies so they didn’t mind at all if your kid was having a meltdown!  The rooms also had a washer/dryer combo, kitchenette, a separate living space and of course, a huge lanai!  They also have a 24 hour fitness center as well as a spa which I enjoyed very, very much 🙂

 

2.  Baby Beach – http://www.yelp.com/biz/baby-beach-lahaina

• The waters here are very calm!  We picked a spot and put our cabana up and enjoyed the sun and Dahlia even got a good nap in.

3.  Wailea Beach via Kihei

• If you’re not staying in Wailea venture to the beauty of Wailea Beach and stop by Kihei for breakfast or shopping before spending the afternoon here.

4.  Lahaina Front Street

• Good for walking with baby and also good local shopping.  Lots of baby-friendly restaurants as well.

Places to Eat:

Note:  So, here’s the gist on my diet.  I am currently nursing Dahlia and she cannot have much dairy; it upsets her tummy, which means I cannot have dairy myself.  Note my food choices may be a little bit different than the norm, but hey, we all have our differences.  The places we ate were all amazing nonetheless and we were able to take baby D to all of them as well.

1.  Star Noodle – 286 Kupuohi Street, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 96761

• This is the hot spot in Maui right now.  Former Top Chef Contestant, Sheldon Simeon, used to work here and I’m sure is the reason it’s risen in popularity an though Chef Simeon doesn’t work here anymore, the food is still yummy – ALL OF IT!  My mouth waters just thinking about the garlic noodles. They are a must!
  • Tip:  The wait is long, but apparently, if you plan on being there in 45 mins. call it in and put your name on the list or you could be waiting a while.  Also, we noticed a lot of people also do take-out.

• • What we got:  Steamed Pork Buns, Garlic Noodles, Filipino Bacon & Eggs, Brussel Sprouts, Special of the Day, & Malasadas

2.  Poke at Tamura’s Fine Wine & Liquor  – 226 Kupuohi Street Lahaina, Maui 96761

• The Bellman at our resort told us about this gem of a place.  How did he know we love Poke?! We loved it so much that we went here twice on our trip, and I would’ve gladly gone back everyday if I could.  The building is kind of unassuming, but when you walk in, you feel like you’ve just discovered Maui’s best kept secret IN A LIQUOR STORE. 🙂
  • Tip:  Get there earlier in the day rather than later, they may run out of poke flavors
  • What we got:  The poke bowl – choose 2 flavors and comes with brown rice if you want (SCORE!) for ~$9.  We tried many different kinds, but my favorite was the Sunrise Poke (pictured below). MMMMmmm…

3.  Happy Hour at Migrant at the Wailea Beach Marriott – 3700 Wailea Alanui Dr, Kihei, HI 96753

• This is where Chef Sheldon Simeon now is.  Since I am a fan of Top Chef, I had to go here.
  • Tip:  So, I say go to Happy Hour, because the regular prices are pretty ridiculous – no one should ever pay $40 for a Tonkatsu!  So yes, Happy Hour is your best bet with Chef Simeon’s most popular dishes on this menu anyway.
  • What we got:  “KFC” – Korean Fried Chicken Wings, Hand Cut Steamed Fat Chow Funn, Pancit Noodles.  Food was good but not great :(, the view at sunset was lovely though.

4.  Slappy Cakes – 3350 L Honoapiilani Rd #701, Lahaina, HI 

• For some reason, I really, really liked this place.  Maybe it’s my love of pancakes and tropical fruit, but I felt like this was a really good find.  They have only 2 locations in the U.S. and I may be going to Portland to get me some more Slappy Cakes pretty soon 🙂
  • Tips:  None here; there isn’t a long wait, no problems with the baby and an extensive menu for everyone’s needs.
  • What we got:  Chicken Fried Bacon (gasp, i know!), the Slappy Salad with chicken, DIY Pancakes with taro batter, bananas, macadamias and lavender honey.

 

5.  Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice – 3350 L Honoapiilani Rd #701, Lahaina, HI 

• Super smooth and creamy shave ice – similar to Waiola Shave Ice in Oahu
  • Tip: Even if you come here during closing, they will still take you if you are in line! 🙂
  • What we got:  A Large, doh!  It was wayyy too big, a regular should be fine for 2 to share. Flavors:  Mango, Guava & Pineapple. YUM!

Thanks for reading and ALOHA! Brrr…..