KAUAI 2022 | Hawaii Travel Guide & Tips for Traveling with a Baby

Aloha! We just got back from Kauai a few weeks ago and since I didn’t put together a blog post when we went in 2020, I wanted to put one together this time. Since we had an infant with us, it was definitely more of a laid back trip, but I will be including some baby travel and sleep tips, where we stayed, and things to do in Kauai that we did on our last trip.

This was our second time on the island of Kauai. We went in 2020 with Conor’s family (just before the pandemic). I shared a VLOG from the trip as well. Conor and I also went to the big island (Hawaii) and Maui for our honeymoon back in 2017. Each island has their own pros and cons, but we love each of them in different ways. Kauai is more rainy with lots of vegetation, but we stayed near Poipu (which means ‘hole in the sky’) and it hardly rained on each trip. If it rained, it was done very quickly. It’s such a beautiful island.

Where We Stayed

We stayed just near Poipu in the town of Koloa. In 2020, we stayed just down the road and we loved the location. It’s very close to a little harbor with a great beach and isn’t too busy! Just up the road from the harbor is the Spouting Horn Park blowhole. The vacation rental we stayed at was in the Parrish Kauai Collection. They have lots of rentals in Kauai that are various sizes based on needs. Since we stayed with Conor’s family, we were in a larger home both times.

Kauai Kai is where we stayed in 2020. It was a great place with a huge open kitchen and pool. The views were great and we loved how close it was to the harbor. Plus it was tucked back on a side street so not noisy with too much traffic.

Hale Ilikai is where we stayed this year. It’s a little older of a building than the last one, but we loved the layout. It had 3 separate areas for all 3 families to stay and especially with Layla, we didn’t feel like we were bothering anyone if she woke up crying. There is no pool, but it does have a hot tub. Plus, there’s still a great ocean view and a huge lanai that we spent so much time on. The only downfall was that it is on a busier street, so a little more concern for the kids.

First Time Traveling with a Baby

I have to say, I was VERY nervous to be traveling with a 6 month old, especially on an 8 hour flight, but she did AMAZING! We had one 1.5 flight from Madison, a 3 hour layover in Denver, and then an 8 hour flight to Kauai. The things that saved us on the flight were my blow up My Brest Friend Pillow – this helped with feedings and naps and buckles around you to stay secure. The downside was that it does not breathe at all, so with my body heat and Layla’s, it did get HOT! Some planes are cold, but I feel like all of the planes I’ve been on lately were warmer inside. I nursed Layla on the way up and down which seemed to help with the pressure change. We also brought along some teething toys, but Layla was more interested in an empty water bottle and pretzel wrapper! We spent as much time as we could walking up and down the aisles and Layla was infatuated with all of the people. For naps, I brought a thin muslin blanket to cover her eyes to help get her to sleep. It also worked great to prop my arm up during feedings. It was super helpful to have Conor and his family there to pass Layla off while getting in and out of the seats. I know I wouldn’t have done as well if it was just me.

 

As far as stroller/car seat, etc. we ended up gate checking the car seat and stroller and then baby wore her through the Madison airport. We made sure to let the flight attendants know that we needed the stroller/car seat with us on the layover. It was super helpful to have that for the Denver airport so we didn’t have to baby wear her the whole time. Next time, I think we will rent a carseat at our final destination and take a smaller stroller for the airport. Ours was just fine, but it was unnecessary to have the carseat with us until we arrived in Kauai.

Baby Sleep Travel Tips

As far as sleep goes, Layla slept so well on this trip. Probably because of all of the sunshine, but I believe another part of it was the slumberpod. We used it for the first time on this trip and I show it in the vlog as well, but it helps darken the sleep space for them. It has a slot for the camera and a slot for a fan. We also put the sound machine in there. She slept through the night almost every night other than a few – but she started teething, so if she hadn’t, I’m sure she would’ve continued to sleep well. I do have a $20 off coupon code with slumberpod – KELSIEKRISTINE20 is the code, but it can only be used on their website. The link on the collage below is for Amazon and the code won’t work on there.

We rented some baby items for the trip, like the pack n play, baby swing and high chair.

 

One additional item we like to use for baby sleep, but can’t link it above is the Tubby Todd Organic Chest Rub. We use this as part of our bedtime routine every night! Get 10% off anything on their site with this link too!

Clothing & Swimwear

I packed pretty light on this trip, mainly because we had a LOT to pack for Layla and we probably overpacked with it being our first time traveling with her, but we’d rather have too much than not enough when we traveled so far. Below are a few collages I made of items I brought with. I kept it pretty simple since it was a low-key trip.

For Layla at the beach, we packed 2 swimsuits. We had no idea how much she’d be in the water, if at all, but we did have her waist deep for about a half hour one day. It took her a few tries, but eventually she enjoyed the water.

 

 

Since she was just over 6 months old on this trip, we can now use sunscreen on her. Mineral sunscreen is what is recommended for babies. We brought the Tubby Todd Mineral Sunscreen and used it daily! Get 10% off anything on their site with this link. They have sunscreen sets too!

Things to do in Kauai / Travel Tips

Since this was a pretty low-key trip, we didn’t really do anything touristy like we did our first time in Kauai. We did make it to a few local spots and a waterfall this year, but listing all of the things we have done or can recommend on the island below. Keep in mind when traveling to the Hawaiian islands, nothing is all inclusive and things can get expensive. When booking your stay, I suggest booking ocean view if you can. If you’re traveling all this way, then you might as well wake up looking at the ocean, am I right?

Helicopter Rides – we went on the helicopter ride in 2020 and it had the most amazing views of the island that you won’t get anyway else. We flew with Blue Hawaiian, but there are a lot of options on the island, all flown out of a spot just near the airport in Lihue.

Snorkeling – we did a snorkel tour in 2020, but honestly it wasn’t that exciting. There isn’t much coral reef to see, but it was still a great experience.

Paddle Boarding – we rented paddle boards both times we’ve came (as well as boogie boards for the kids) and they were used a ton! I sadly didn’t get to go on them this year, but maybe next time.

Beaches – keep in mind that Hawaii has a lot of volcanic rock, so you may not have a beach close by that has sand. We were in an area that had a small beach, but the larger Poipu Beach was nearby as well. There are a few others in the area too! It’s a great way to spend part or all of the day!

Golf – Kauai has lots of golf courses ranging in prices. Conor golfed at a few back in 2020 and I went with him to the municipal course for one of them. In Conor’s words, he would not suggest it to anyone. It’s cheap and affordable, but not worth the time. His favorite and fairly decent priced course was the Puakea Golf Course. I went with him in 2020 to that one as well and the mountain views are extraordinary! He played that course twice this year and they just did some renovations as well.

Food – Kauai has lots of great food joints around the island. We loved Kauai Juice Company – they have some fun juice concoctions and some fun hot sauces that they sell. This time we mainly stuck to eating at the house, but when we did go out it was to local food carts in old Koloa. They have a great coffee cart there too! At the local market, they also have amazing acai bowls that we’ve gotten multiple times. Another area for food is the Shops at Kukui‘ula in Poipu. They have some spots to eat, and an amazing ice cream shop that we frequented on our 2020 trip. On our last day, on the way to the airport we went to Duke’s Kauai. Great food and great atmosphere!

Waimea Canyon – We saw the canyon on the helicopter, but we also took a day trip up to the top in 2020. The drive wasn’t bad at all and the views were amazing! There are some windy turns going up, so keep that in mind if you get motion sickness.

Wailua Falls – we stopped here this year on our way to the airport and it was pretty, but nothing super amazing! It sounds like you can also do a hike to the falls and get a better view, but we just saw it from the road above. It was easy to get to and from the lookout area and not too crowded either.

Queens Bath – we didn’t make it here, but this is another blowhole up near Princeville on the north side of the island. It was recommended by many, so I wanted to note it!

Kauai Coffee Company – you know I LOVE me some coffee so in 2020 we had to stop by here! It’s a cute little place and you can sample lots of coffee. You can also grab some to take home, which we did in 2020, but we realized they sell the same coffee in some smaller grocery stores in Madison so we skipped it this time. Our favorite roast is the Coconut Caramel Crunch.

I have also heard they have zip lining on the island – that would be super fun! Another suggestion would be to do a sunset cruise. We haven’t done one yet, but we’d like to. The sunsets in Hawaii are out of this world.

I hope this post helps with your baby travels and/or your travels to Hawaii in the future! As always, thank you for reading/watching! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

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