In case you missed that much needed trip to Maui this year, I have some good news for you. We’re teamed up with our friends at Trekaroo and The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas to offer a free family beach week on Maui!

One lucky family will win a 5-night stay in a one-bedroom ocean view condo. The Westin has also thrown in a day at their kids club (ages 5-12) and a surprise welcome treat!

As a mother of two children, fun and educational family activities are always a top priority. Giving my children experiences that will last a lifetime is an amazing feeling, and I’m so lucky to be able to live on Oahu where there are so many family focused activities to choose from.

The island’s safe environment, tropical beauty and accessibility make almost anything possible. With so many options from the town and country …

You really don’t know what it means to get wistful about a destination until you’ve come home from Hawaii. You’ll try to put your finger on what’s triggering such an emotional response, recalling the islands’ perfect amalgam of beauty and warmth and kindness, but that’s only part of it.

Why you’ll yearn is so intangible, in a way almost private, that you’ll end up telling those who’ve never been that they just have to be there to know. The votes have been in for a long time. Hawaii is paradise.

There’s no shortage of things to do on Maui and the best part is that some of the most fun and adventurous outings are FREE. From the numerous beaches, to our hiking trails, to free walking tours of our historic towns, you can have fun and not break the bank. We also have TONS of paid activities from parasailing in the summer, to whale watching in the winter. Yes, being bored on Maui is hard to do.

The weather on Maui is warm year round. Winter brings more rain showers (and rainbows) along with cooler temps while summer is generally hot and dry.

There are many exceptional hotels in Hawaii but there is one in particular that seems to have cult status with families, Kona Village on the Big Island. One of the few inclusive-style accommodations in Hawaii, we’ve had the family-friendly hotel review on Ciao Bambino for a while now. Even though I personally interviewed the family that wrote the review, I didn’t really understand what made the hotel so special.

I do now.

Where else can you take a kid to see a real, erupting volcano?

It’s safe – Kilauea Volcano is sometimes referred to as the “drive-in volcano” – and it’s interesting. Enter the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, located near Volcano Village, and take the 11-mile Crater Rim Drive, which circles Kilauea’s summit caldera and craters. You can see the eruption at Halema‘uma‘u Crater, learn about lava at the Jaggar Museum, peer into steam vents, smell sulphur banks, walk through Thurston Lava Tube, and hike Devastation Trail …

Kauai, known as the Garden Isle, is draped with lush tropical rainforests and cascading waterfalls, all surrounded by sapphire seas. But don’t just stand back and look! Dive in and enjoy what the island has to offer: hiking, swimming, and kayaking is plentiful for active families.

There’s a lot of history here, too. You’ll find Hawaiian cultural presentations at various venues around the island, giving you and your ohana (family) the chance to try their hand at dancing the hula or weaving lauhala.

Maui for the holidays—what could be better? Especially coming from a very snowy Boston. It was just what our family needed the week after Christmas. It took us only a few minutes after we landed to forget about the long flight from Boston. The warm air, sunshine and palm trees made us feel a world away.

This was our biennial family trip with my father, siblings and children, all in, there were 17 of us. We rented a beautiful home right on Kaanapali Beach and were set to relax. What I love about beach vacations is that there are no intense itineraries to worry about.

Before babies and traveling with sippy cups, I lived in Maui for two years. My best girlfriend and I decided to have a “surf bum” year after college. We surfed, golfed and enjoyed this incredible island …

This picture was taken at Shipwreck Beach on the island of Lanai in Hawaii. We had rented a jeep for the day and decided to drive out in search of this beach we heard was gorgeous. We grabbed some sand toys …