We did it. We successfully took a real family vacation earlier this month to Kauai. My husband and I had been talking about going to Hawaii for years now figuring that we needed to take advantage of living on the west coast. We have mostly spent our vacation time and money visiting family in the midwest and on the east coast. I was committed to making Hawaii happen before the triplets turned 2 and would need their own plane tickets, so I started scouring the internet for cheap fares. The perfect fare from Reno popped up and I jumped at it!
Images like this are reasons why I wanted to take these babies on a Hawaiian vacation
After much research and internal deliberation, I decided on Kauai as it seemed ridiculously beautiful, somewhat mellow, and small enough to not feel like we had to seem a ton of things with triplets in tow. I figured we could book a house near a beach and try to walk most places – that way there would be an element of relaxation. Seriously, anytime you load triplets in the car, it feels like work! We rented a fantastic place in Ha’ena on the North Shore of Kauai off AirBnB that literally couldn’t have been more perfect for 14 month old triplets.
Triplets enjoying drinks on the spacious lanai at our rental.
Kauai – go. It’s unbelievable. It has the perfect climate. You can swim, hike, snorkel with sea turtles, or just nap in a hammock. Hanalei Bay is probably the best beginner surf spot I’ve been too (summer only likely). The boys flourished in their new surroundings becoming more adventurous at the beach each day. Adjusting to the time change lets you wake early and see some incredible sunrises.
A bonus of the time change with early wake up time! Sunrise and a DOUBLE RAINBOW!
We didn’t do everything perfectly, but overall things went smoothly and here are some of my top recommendations.
1. Buy these zip car seat bags and pack a few more things in with the car seats. We used NRS cam straps to strap our Inglesina high chairs to the seats with a baby blanket. All airlines allow you to check a car seat and stroller per child with no charge.
Triplets after dinner in our clip-on high chairs we packed from home
2. If you rent a house, ask them to borrow pack n plays for you. If not, look for some baby rental spots in the town your visiting. Craigslist is a good spot to look.
3. We brought our own car seats, high chairs, and hiking backpacks to carry babies. We gate checked the hiking backpacks. You can pack some extra things in the backpacks. We can’t recommend the Osprey Poco enough! We have THREE!
The backpacks were useful for trekking to secret beaches and the Napali Coast hike!
4. We hit Costco when we got into town and stocked up on food for the week and bought a wagon. We figured that if we didn’t like the wagon, we could take it back before we went home. We liked it though and checked it as a stroller on the way home.
The wagon proved to be super useful!
5. Bring a stuffed toy for each kid to snuggle with on the plane. Also, feet pajamas keep airport germs off more of their bodies and encourage sleeping!
Babies hanging out in SFO
6. Buy a few new books (indestructibles are good because they pack small) and some toys at the dollar store and pull them out on the plane.
7. Download some videos on a kindle or ipad. My kids wouldn’t wear earphones, so I just played it off the ipad and it was loud enough on the plane that others couldn’t hear it.
8. Snacks, duh.
9. Carry on extra clothes for accidents, extra clothes for adults too.
10. Bring extra bottles, sippies or straw cups, pacifiers and a few extra adults if you can swing it!
11. Pack some simple baby proofing stuff for your rental – plug guards, hair ties, zip ties, and cam straps were amazing and versatile.
12. If you have any space at all left in luggage, pack it with diapers and wipes. It just saves you a stop when you get there and money if you’re going to a place like Hawaii!
13. Make memories and have the time of your life!
Everyone is having fun in paradise!
Meghan Kelly Teles! 