Kauai, and Hawaii in general, is a great place for a family vacation, especially if you’re staying at the impressive Grand Hyatt Kauai. However, when you’re traveling with children who are much too small for local and resort activities like surfing, snorkeling, and kayaking, how do you meet baby and toddler needs while still enjoying all the island has to offer? The following amenities at both the Grand Hyatt Kauai and local businesses ensure a great Hawaiian vacation for both adults and kids:
Camp Hyatt: While we were searching for things that would be fun for our three-year-old, we came upon Camp Hyatt, the kids’ camp offered by the resort. After doing a little bit of research, I soon discovered that this was much more than a day care program. Camp Hyatt offers full day, half day, and evening sessions full of fun activities that take your child all over the hotel grounds, including the beautiful pool and waterslide.
“Sure, sure,” you’re thinking. “But my kid will never go for it.” That’s what I thought too—to say that it takes a while for our three-year-old to warm up to new things is an understatement. But he was won over within a few minutes by the friendly, professional staff. Some of the activities offered include making a volcano, feeding the fish in the Koi ponds, “Parrot Talk” (a program led by the Hyatt’s wildlife attendant where kids get a hands-on session with the parrots that live at the Hyatt), and swimming in the salt-water pool. With all that fun and excitement, it’s no wonder our toddler begged to go back the next day!
Tip: Kids are required to be potty trained, and they mean it. Even pull-ups are not allowed, so if you’re child is not fully trained, maybe this activity is best left for the next trip.
The details: Camp Hyatt’s daytime session runs from 9am¬–4pm, then offers a nighttime session from 4pm¬–10pm. Price is $80 for a full day including lunch, or a full night including dinner. $50/$60 for a half session without/including meal.
Complimentary family activities: The Grand Hyatt lobby atrium plays host to a variety of complimentary activities each day including lei making, hula lessons, or ukulele lessons. Very young kids may be not want to stay long, but the river pool and active pool (complete with basketball and volleyball) and water slide (must be 42″ to ride) are only steps away. Parents can trade off, or simply stop by the atrium to take in the atmosphere and show their kids what traditional Hawaiian crafts look like.
Happy Kids Kauai: For those of you with children that are too young for Camp Hyatt, I recommend a nanny service called Happy Kids Kauai. During our stay, we found ourselves looking for a night out, and therefore…a nanny to watch the kids! Happy Kids Kauai enjoys an exclusive contract with the Grand Hyatt, and they provide much more than a typical babysitter. The people who work with Happy Kids provide quality care, often for multiple days during a family’s vacation. They are experts in childcare, carefully screened, and extremely reliable. Rather than simply supervise your children, or rely on TV or video games to entertain them, they play with the kids and provide fun and lasting memories of your vacation while you get a vacation of your own.
We were lucky enough to book Dale Rosenfeld, a former educator who currently runs Espirit De Corps, a riding academy for kids and adults in nearby Kapaa, Kauai. Our kids have very little experience with childcare; our idea of a babysitter is having someone come over after bedtime so that we can sneak out and neither child will be the wiser! So when some events for a wedding we were attending in Kauai required that we have someone come to the hotel and get the kids through dinnertime, bath time, and bedtime, I wasn’t optimistic. But Dale was a true professional. Within minutes, she had our three year old under her thumb, and she was unperturbed by our 10-month-old with an acute sense of stranger-danger. We enjoyed our events, and for two nights in a row, we not only got some time off, but we also had peace of mind knowing that Dale had it all under control!
The Details: Happy Kids nannies require a four hour minimum block of time, three hours in the evening. Other than that, their times are flexible and will accommodate whatever you have planned. Fees were $20 per hour for two children, varies with number of children.
Tip: If you have someone watching your children during meal times, it’s polite to offer the nanny a meal as well. Simple rule of thumb: if the kids are eating, your nanny is probably hungry too!
For more information about a stay at Grand Hyatt Kauai, visit their reservations page. As I disclose whenever applicable, Pit Stops for Kids experienced a portion of the above programs and childcare options listed above complementarily, for the purpose of review.
Kauai is often called the “Garden Isle” of Hawaii, and nowhere is this more apparent than at the Na Aina Kai botanical gardens. Nestled in a residential neighborhood not far from the eco-bed and breakfast North Country Farms, the gardens include 240 acres of gardens, forests, and beaches. For young kids, the Children’s Garden really is a paradise. There are fountains to splash in, a train to climb on, forts and swing sets galore, and even a Navajo village with caves just begging to be explored.
Because there aren’t many playgrounds to be found on the north shore (oh, right, nature is our playground here!), my toddler had a great time in the Children’s Garden. For the very young set, it can be a nice break from the beaches and hikes and can give parents a little break from the constant vigilance that goes with having toddlers anywhere near crashing waves. In short, Na Aina Kai is an oasis within the paradise of Kauai’s north shore.