Family of 5 - where to stay in Maui & Kauai?

We are trying to plan a family vacation to Maui and Kauai in August. Looking at all of the websites, books etc... everything looks wonderful. But, looking for advice from experience. My kids are 9, 12, abd 14. Very active but love to just hang out too. Are there any things that are ';for sure don%26#39;t miss'; or ';don%26#39;t waste your time?'; Also, any information on the island hopper flights. I was told that it is cheaper to fly to Hononlulu and then fly to the other islands. Thank you all so much for your help!

Family of 5 - where to stay in Maui %26amp; Kauai?

Will you fly direct from Michigan to Hawaii? Can you arrange to fly into one island and home from another, thus avoiding more ';hops';? The hops are short on flying time but can waste half a day in real time.

On Maui I%26#39;d recommend: Iao Valley, Haleakala (any time of day), the ZipLine, Road to Hana (unless you have some carsickies), watching windurfers on east side, snorkeling sail to Lanai, surfing lessons, and beaches, beaches, beaches.

I%26#39;d look for condos online at vrbo.com (All those hungry mouths!) Either West Maui (NW lobe) or South Maui (SW coast).

Family of 5 - where to stay in Maui %26amp; Kauai?

It usually is cheaper to fly into Honolulu simply because there are more flights going there. The island hopper flights are fairly reasonable and they have ongoing price wars since Go airlines started up a year ago.

You will be better off looking for a condo since virtually all Hawaiian hotels have a 4 person to a room limit unless you had planned on renting two rooms anyway.

As to activites, well there is so much to do it is really hard to say what would be best for you. Perhaps if you could identify a few activites and get opinions on them rather than a broad what is good what is bad question.

You may want to post this same question on the Kauai forum to get additional responses. In August, I would stay on the North shore area - the swimming and snorkeling are great then. I would try to find a place either in the Hanalei or Princeville area. Condos are very affordable and work well with a family - I would check out www.vrbo.com for that. Hanalei is my favorite little town to hang out it and our favorite beach is Ke%26#39;e beach at the end of the road. You could go to the beach every day, or enjoy numerous activities - you can kayak up rivers, go hiking, check out Waimea canyon/Kokee state park (tons of hiking here), do a helicopter ride, view the waterfalls, see Kilauea lighthouse/bird sanctuary, do zip lines, tube runs, atv or horseback riding, eat shave ice, and of course, there are all the water/beach activities. I have taken my kids to Kauai twice and have had the most fabulous vacations of my life there.

I would get the Ultimate Kauai Revealed and Maui Revealed to help you out with details for your trip - they are a great resource, especially the maps. Have a wonderful summer vacation! :)

Assuming you fly into Honolulu you might think about taking a day there and taking the kids to see the Arizona Memorial. It%26#39;s not to be missed in my book, and I think your kids are old enough to understand what happened there. Even better if you get a veteran for the talk.