Family Fun: Hawaii Style

I married into a family who loves to go to Hawaii. Now, by "loves" to go to Hawaii, I mean that they forego other vacations and go to Hawaii almost every year. I once asked my husband while we were dating if they ever did any other vacations, and he told me that one year they did try a road trip — to Death Valley. Ha! You guessed it. That didn’t go well, so back to Hawaii they went.

Needless to say, I have had "suffer" through the years and go to Hawaii (insert sarcasm). Maui is a very special place for us and holds lots of wonderful memories.

One interesting fact to know about my husband and his family is that they are highly frugal. So, it threw me off at first to learn about their ongoing vacations to Maui. However, then I learned some of their secret sauce. They had a friend who had a place there and would let them stay in her condo. So, that helped with the cost. Then I learned that my amazing mother-in-law would pack a majority of their food and just bring it with them. She would literally pack things with dry ice. This was, of course, before the days of having to pay for extra bags.

I have learned from her Jedi master ways and found lots of money-saving tips to make our frequent Hawaii trips more affordable. Meal planning is definitely a big part of how we save money on any of our vacations. However, one big money saver is the fact that we don’t go on a lot of the “touristy” excursions. We love chilling on the beach, enjoying the fun pools, hiking on trials, snorkeling right from the beach in front of our hotel, and more.

However, there is one exception to our no-excursion rule = Trilogy.

My husband’s family has been going on Trilogy snorkeling excursions for years. Now, it has become a family tradition for us as well. Their snorkeling adventures are incredible! We don’t do it every year, but we always recommend it to friends and family when they are planning their Hawaii vacations.

When the kids were younger, we’d leave the babies behind with a babysitter or one of our family members who was staying back. However, on our last two trips, we’ve brought everyone with us on our amazing snorkeling trips. They really make everything so easy for families. The crew is always wonderful and so helpful. They have all the gear onboard and even cook for you...more on that in a bit.

We usually do their Molokini excursions, however, we went to Lanai on our last trip. It was spectacular! Since my mom's birthday was coming up, we made our adventure her gift. She loved it. We all loved it. They know the best spots to take families. Lots of great photo ops, too. So, be sure to bring an underwater camera! 

One of my favorite things about Trilogy adventures, aside from the spectacular snorkeling, is the food. Seriously! It’s so good. I always feel so spoiled when we are eating on the boat — and this time on the beach in Lanai. You will not go hungry. We started our morning with warm cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit, and on our way back had chips and homemade salsa — and ice cream (my kids wanted me to be sure to mention the ice cream). Their lunch is so popular that they post the recipes on their site because so many people ask for them.

Just ask my kids, any year we add a Trilogy trip to our agenda in Hawaii, they love it! The only other thing that has come close to being their favorite Hawaii moment was when a little octopus washed up on the beach by our hotel. That was pretty fun. I'm pretty sure they think they rescued it. Now we joke that it was the octopus from Finding Dory since our octopus friend was missing an arm…or is it a leg? It was missing one of its tentacled appendages.

All to say, if you are ever planning a trip to Hawaii, be sure to plan on taking a fun excursion on Trilogy! It will be the highlight of your vacation. You can thank me later.

Oh, and fun fact, the owners love the Lord! They are a Christian, family-owned company. In fact, our captain on our last trip to Lanai was a youth pastor at one of the local churches in Maui. He was also a surfer, so my husband was extra excited to talk with him.

Be sure to tell them that the Clovers recommended you try them out. They may even give you an extra cinnamon roll! (I’m pretending I’m just that special and ignoring the fact that they will give you all you want!)

*This is a strategically planned sponsored post. Meaning, that we love Trilogy so much that I asked them if I could write a post about our trip in exchange for a discount. Thanks!!

*All these amazing pictures were taken by the onboard photographer, Aaron Griffith, from Island Dream Productions. (The first family picture was our own picture from this trip to Maui.)

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