My 12-Year-Old Has Been to Hawaii 14 Times. He Has Opinions.— Ep 107

Owen’s Kid’s-Eye Guide to Hawaii: Acai Bowls, Island Rankings, and Flying Solo at 10

Host Marcie welcomes her 12-year-old son, Owen, to “Hawaii Travel Made Easy,” highlighting his extensive Hawaii experience: about 14 trips, visits to Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island, and a solo flight to Kauai at age 10 to see grandma. Owen shares his February “best acai bowl” mission and picks Tropical Tribe in Waikiki as the winner, recommends shave ice, and says the beach is his must-do every trip. He ranks the islands: Big Island (zip lining on the Kohala zip line), Kauai, Maui, then Oahu. He contrasts Maui as best for pools and beaches and Kauai for food, advises that kids don’t care about long drives for quick photo spots, and urges parents to schedule pool/chill time. Owen reassures families about unaccompanied minor travel and encourages staying in the moment because Hawaii is worth the flight.

00:00 Meet Owen
00:57 Hawaii Credentials
02:15 Acai Bowl Quest
03:24 Kid Approved Activities
04:38 Island Rankings
06:26 Flying Solo
09:43 Parents Plan Too Much
11:07 Five Minute Hawaii Advice
12:08 Wrap Up Resources

Guest: Owen (age 12, Marcie's son)

Who this episode is for: Parents wanting a kid's honest perspective on Hawaii travel, island rankings, and reassurance about unaccompanied minor flights.

What you'll learn: What a Hawaii-experienced kid actually cares about on a trip, his personal island ranking, and firsthand insight into flying as an unaccompanied minor.

Places discussed:

• Oahu (Waikiki)
• Maui
• Kauai
• Big Island (Kohala)

Activities discussed:

• Eating acai bowls
• Eating shave ice
• Beach time
• Zip lining (Kohala zip line, Big Island)
• Flying as an unaccompanied minor
• Pool time

Restaurants discussed:

• Tropical Tribe (Waikiki) — Owen's pick for best acai bowl after a February taste-test mission

Marcie's recommendations: N/A this episode (guest-led kid's perspective; see Guest recommendations)

Guest recommendations (Owen):

• Best acai bowl: Tropical Tribe in Waikiki
• Beach time is a must-do on every trip
• Island ranking: Big Island first (thanks to the Kohala zip line), then Kauai, then Maui, then Oahu
• Maui is best for pools and beaches; Kauai is best for food
• Kids generally don't care about long drives just to see a quick photo spot
• Parents should schedule real pool/chill time, not just sightseeing
• Flying as an unaccompanied minor is manageable and nothing to be too nervous about
• Try to stay in the moment on the trip — Hawaii is worth the flight

Related Hawaii Travel Made Easy episodes: 

• Where I Actually Eat on Maui— Ep 132
• Where I eat on Oahu— Ep 112
• What First-Time Hawaii Travelers Always Overestimate— Ep 121

Related articles: 

• I Took My 12-Year-Old to Maui for 4 Days (February 2026)
• 6 Days on Oahu in 2026: Honest Reviews, Hidden Gems, and a Car Rental Nightmare

About Your Host: Marcie Cheung is a Certified Hawaii Destination Expert who has visited Hawaii 40+ times and spent 20+ years as a professional hula dancer. Through Hawaii Travel with Kids, she helps families plan authentic, affordable Hawaii vacations that respect local culture while creating unforgettable memories.

Learn more at hawaiitravelwithkids.com

Connect: @hawaiitravelwithkids on Instagram | Book a Consultation

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Transcript

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0:01

My son asked to be on this podcast a while ago, and I kept saying soon. Soon, partly because I wasn't sure what angle to take. Partly because he's 12 and I didn't know if he'd actually deliver. And then I thought about it. This kid has been to Hawaii 14 times. He flew solo to Hawaii when he was 10 years old. He spent our entire February trip hunting down the best acai bowl on each island. He has made instant friends with pool strangers on every single trip and never once asked any of their names. He owns more Hawaiian shirts than most adults will ever own in their lifetime. So yeah, he's ready today. Owen joins me on this podcast, and honestly, I think you're gonna love him. Welcome back to Hawaii, travel Made Easy. I'm your host, Marcie, and I have a very special guest today. My son, Owen, is here. He's been asking to be on the podcast for a while, and today I'm finally making it happen. Owen, welcome. I don't get paid enough for this. Okay. I want to start by establishing your credentials because I think people need to understand who they're actually dealing with here. How many times have you been to Hawaii? Uh, I went, when I was solo flying. Um, I went with my mom a like a month ago to, um, Maui and Oahu and, um. In total, I think that I've been around like 14 times. 14 times. He's 12 years old. For, for context, most people I talked to have been to Hawaii once or twice and are planning their second or third trip. You've completely lapped them. What islands have you been to? You? I've been to Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the big island. And which one have you been to the most? I've probably been to Kauai like six times. Yes. And there's a reason for that. My mom, his grandma lives on Kauai. So Owen has experienced Kauai both as a tourist and as a kid going to visit family, which means he's seen parts of that island that most visitors never see. You've been there more in a local way, at least a little bit. All right. It feels warm and calming, not having to do everything at once because you get to do it at a slower pace. Yeah. Okay, so I have to go straight to the acai bowls because you talked about this for weeks after our February trip. Tell people what your mission was. Um, my mission was to find the best asai. We searched and searched and searched all over the islands that we went to. And, um, we just kept eating them. Well, and then did we find a winner? Like do you have a definitive answer of what's the best acai bowl that you tried? Well, it was probably Tropical Tribe and Waikiki because it was just really good acai bowls. Nice. Um, that is genuinely useful information. Acai bowls are everywhere in Hawaii and they're not all created equal. And I'll say if you're traveling with a kid who has food opinions, leaning into that is actually a great trip planning strategy. Give them a food mission. It becomes the whole trip. Tropical Tribe was one of his favorite spots. What else did you eat on the February trip that you would tell another kid to go to? Shave ice in Hawaii is really good. Almost wherever you go. And, um, just acai bowls 'cause they're really tasty. Awesome. Okay, so let's talk activities. You've done a lot of trips. You've done a lot across a lot of trips. What is the one thing that you would do on every single Hawaii trip if you could? I would go to the beach because the sand is really soft and it's just a nice place to be. Now I wanna ask you something that might get me in trouble. Has there ever been something that I made you do on a trip that you absolutely did not want to do and it ended up being great? Uh, the photo shoot that we did because I got to climb rocks and just go around the beach and it was really fun. Yes, I was immediately thinking of the, that photo shoot as well. Um, that is a super honest reaction. We always do Flytographer photo shoots when we travel, and I wanted to update my photos for my blog and for Instagram, and so I roped him into doing a 60 minute photo shoot and I knew he was not super interested, so I told him he only needed to do some of the photos, but it actually flew by. We did an hour photo shoot and it was a lot of fun at the end. We both couldn't believe how quickly that time went by. Yeah. Okay. The island rankings, you can actually compare these with some authority, so I wanted you to rank them. Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Big Island. Um, I think number one is probably the big island 'cause it has a lot of stuff to do and um, it's just like a fun place to be. Is there anything specific on the big island that you like to do? Um, go zip lining. Oh yeah, that was really fun. We did the Kohala zip line. Yeah, that was, was fun. And that pretty cool. And we had to wear those gloves and everything. Yeah, it was legit. Yeah. And then number two is Kauai. 'cause I get to visit grandma and it's a nice place to be. Number three is Maui. 'cause it's a good place to relax and like just chill. And number four is probably Oahu because. It is fun, but I feel like there wasn't as much stuff to do. Oh, interesting. Because I feel the opposite. I feel like Oahu has so many things to do. Hmm. All right. What about Kauai versus Maui? So you've been to both a bunch of times from a kid's perspective. What's the actual difference between those islands? Well, Maui is really good for pools and beaches. And Kauai is good for food. Oh yeah. 'cause the food on Kauai is really good and Maui's like the right temperature to like just chill by the poolside or go for a swim. Yeah, I agree with that. Um, I love that answer because I get the Kauai versus Maui question constantly from families, and I have my adult take on it. But the kids' eye view is this completely different conversation. He's focused more on the pools and the food, and I'm usually focused more on the activities and the photo ops. Okay. I wanna talk to you about the solo flight because I know a lot of parents listening to this have either thought about it or on the fence about letting their kids fly alone, whether or not it's too Hawaii. You flew to Kauai by yourself when you were 10 years old. Walk me through what that was like. Well, I went with my parents to the airport, and after that. Um, they or, um, my parents brought, went with me to the gate and then they left and I had a bunch of snacks. And after a while when we started boarding the plane, uh, flight attendants helped, or, yeah, flight attendants helped me know where I was, and it was just a nice experience. And then what was it like when you landed on Kauai? I was helped out by some nice for flight attendants, and then I saw grandma and then I went with her. And we went to where she lives and went into the pool and then wasn't there sort of a funny small world story for your flight back home? Yeah, we loved eat, we liked eating at this one breakfast spot, um, that was really near where my grandma lives. And on the way back, uh, the owner was one of the flight attendants. That was such a small world. Uh, I saw my son hop off the airplane surrounded by flight attendants and they're all just laughing and talking like they're best friends and I thought it was such a, a funny coincidence, um, after I found out how they knew him. Um, so for parents who were thinking about this, this unaccompanied minor travel, what would you tell them? It's not too scary. Um, once you actually like go there, it, the thought itself is scary, but when you actually like, try it, it's not bad at all. That's awesome. That's really good insight. Um, and I know most people listening are probably not sending their kid solo to Hawaii because that's usually a, um, uh, more of a family trip kind of destination or with friends or something. But we just did that because you have family there. Yeah. Um, but for anybody listening who is thinking about it for any other kind of travel to visit family, maybe, um, it's really good to know. Mm-hmm. Um, and what would you tell the kid who's nervous about it? Like if a 10-year-old came to you and said, I have to fly alone. I'm scared. What do you say? Don't be. There's plenty of nice people to help you. Like even the people next to me were helping me and asking me if I needed anything. And they gave me extra cookies and stuff, which was nice. Nice. And I wanna let people know that I gave Owen a phone to borrow during that trip so that he could always communicate with us. And that made me as a parent feel a little bit more secure, that we could always be in contact just in case. Um. I think what you're describing is one of those experiences where you come out of the other side a little different, like it built something, and that's kind of what Hawaii does in general, right? There's stuff to do there that just sticks with you. Okay, so I've got a few questions for the families who are planning trips and listening right now. Honest answers only. What do parents pack or plan that kids actually do not care about at all? Parents pack photo spots into the trips. Going to waterfalls, going and climbing up mountains and just going to these random places for like one to five photos. And it's always like a really long car ride and it's not that fun and it, yeah. Okay, fair. And on the flip side, what do you wish parents knew to plan that they usually miss or forget? Um, sometimes parents forget to pack in. Like if you're at a hotel with a pool, like chilling by the pool or just chill time in general. 'cause sometimes you're like, oh, I need to get this done. I don't have that much time here. And then you get really stressed out. Um, but then you end up not having any time for yourself and just like sit. To chill there. Yeah, I think that that is a good point, and it's something I bring up in consultations a lot when I see these really overpacked itineraries. And I think especially when there's kids involved, gosh, I bet those kids are gonna want an afternoon at the pool at least once. So I'm glad that you brought that up because it is really easy to forget to basically schedule the unscheduled time. Um, last question, and this is a big one. Your best friend is going to Hawaii for the very first time next week. You have five minutes to tell them everything they need to know. What do you say? There's beautiful scenery and stuff everywhere, but don't get too ahead of yourself 'cause you wanna stay in the moment because otherwise you're just gonna focus on what's gonna happen next. And that's not as fun as if you just stay in there and think about like what you're currently doing. Yeah, that's a good point. And what about the people that, uh, don't really wanna do the airplane ride to get to Hawaii? Well, if you fall asleep then it goes by really quickly. But Hawaii is worth going on the plane ride for however many hours long because it's a nice place to be. Everybody there is nice, and it's just a great place to be. Would you like to go back to Hawaii? Yeah. Excellent. Um, Owen, thank you so much for being here. You were everything I'd hoped you'd be, and I'm so proud of you. Nuh. If this episode got you excited about bringing your family to Hawaii or going yourself, I have everything you need at Hawaii Travel with kids.com, under my Hawaii resources tab. That's where I keep all my trusted tools, favorite booking links and everything I talk about on this podcast. One stop for it all. And if you're currently staring at a map of the Hawaiian Islands going, but which one? That's exactly what my consultations are for you and I get on a call and we figure out the right island, the right itinerary, and all the decisions that feel overwhelming when you're doing it alone. When you're doing it alone, you can book at Hawaii Travel with kids.com. Under Hawaii Travel Consultant, I have 60 and 90 minute options depending on where you are in your planning. Thank you so much for listening to Hawaii Travel Made Easy. If this episode made you smile, share it with someone who's planning a trip or someone who just needs a 12-year-old to remind them that Hawaii is 100% worth it. I'll see you next week. Aloha.