Hawaii is a destination we have been looking forward to bringing Harper on pretty much since we became parents. We had originally planned to visit last fall, but a combination of restrictions and life got in the way and we decided it would be better to postpone and reschedule our trip for the spring. Finally, the trip we have been anticipating for months had arrived, just in time to celebrate Matt’s birthday.

If you have every been to Hawaii, you already know how it seems to have an unearthly relaxing sense to it from the moment you step off the plane. I am not kidding when I say we waited almost an hour for our checked bag and were barely phased. Harper on the other hand ate all of her snacks and then had a mini-meltdown on the floor in baggage claim — but still, much more relaxed that we would have been if we were anywhere else. We stayed in Kihei for 6 nights and explored all around the island, re-visiting a couple of places I wanted to share with Matt and Harper and finding a few new adventures as a family! I’ve planned to share our trip in a few posts, so stay tuned.

We took two trips to Makena Beach during our stay in Maui. The first time I brought my camera but forgot the memory card — super disappointing but we got to truly focus on experiencing that day fully. Later on in the week we went back for a second visit because this beach was so beautiful I needed to document it! Thankfully we had sunny weather both days and were able to get a bit of time in the water with Harper before the shore breaks got too big!

Makena Beach State Park was about a 20 minute drive south from our Airbnb in Kihei. My favorite part about this beach is it felt more secluded and wild than the resort style beaches in Wailea, just a few minutes north. It’s $10 to park and there are two different parking lots, one on the north end and one to toward the southern end of the beach. We parked in the north lot the first day and the south lot our second visit but spent both days toward the south end of the beach. There were plenty of trees for natural shade so we didn’t need to bring much with us — just towels, some sunscreen, a few snacks (toddler life) and water!

Harper and I walked along the beach and eventually made our way into the water. She has no fear when it comes to waves or getting splashed! All smiles and giggles! Matt and I took turns swimming and then joined forces to build a sand castle with Harper. In the process of sand building and tearing down, we buried the lower half of her body in the sand which she also thought that was awesome (haha). It was so special to get outdoors, enjoy some much needed time together, and make memories we’ll hold onto forever. Even though we know Harper won’t necessarily remember this trip, we hope one day in the future she will be able to look back on these photos and feel a semblance of how beautiful these days were. More adventures to come!

Maui’s Beautiful Makena Beach