Aloha! My husband and I love going to Hawaii and it has been 7 years since our last trip in 2008. We have been longing for about 6 years for soft sandy beaches, lush tropical landscapes juxtaposed with black volcanic rocks, and beautiful flowers tantalizing our senses. Memories of gentle waves washing over my feet, swimming in the warm ocean, and feeling small while viewing starry skies over the infinite ocean allowed my mind to be calm and peaceful. This post was updated with minor edits and I deleted a restaurant that is no longer in business (May 2023).
Disclaimer: Please check that all ingredients are suitable for your allergies and be sure to ask your medical care team regarding any allergy related questions (I do not share medical advice). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Overcoming Our Travel Fears
Hawaii is more than just a vacation destination for our family. It’s where we spent our honeymoon and 1 year anniversary. It was our first vacation with our two very cute and sweet little babies. We went with our friends to celebrate her miraculous recovery from an accident. It’s a place to be carefree and relaxed, but how does one be free of care and manage food allergies at the same time?
Maui is such a beautiful place, I could be at the airport parking lot in a swimsuit, hat, and flip flops, take in the coconut trees, flowers, scenery, and just be happy. Seven years is too long and we won’t allow food allergies to hold us back anymore. If you don’t want to read anything else, be sure to check out tip #5 at the very end for the most important travel tip.
Travel Arrangements
We have a terrific travel agent, Miranda Chin (Beyond Hawaii), and I count on her for helping me to book a travel package at the best price possible while I figure out exactly what we want, where we want to stay, amenities needed matched up with hotels that offer the amenities we need within our price range, and with consideration to what activities we want to do to determine which part of the island we want to stay at.
Hawaiian Airline Allergy Policy
At the time I booked our travel, Hawaiian Airlines seemed to be the best airline choice. We have flown with them before. Their crew members are very professional, the flight is comfortable and on-time, and they have great service with a meal included. I did check their published policy about traveling with food allergies which seemed reasonable: macadamia nuts in first class and pretzels in economy. Since I originally blogged about this trip, Hawaiian Airlines has updated their allergy statement:
“If you have a nut or other severe allergy, we want you to understand the risks of air travel. We are never able to create an allergen-free environment. Any meals or snacks served onboard may contain nuts, and passengers seated near you may carry on nuts and consume them onboard. We do not make announcements or alter in-flight food and beverage service to accommodate guests with allergies. We encourage you to review any health concerns with your physician prior to travel…Please advise the gate agent if you would like to pre-board to sanitize your immediate seating area.” Their statement also advises to bring your own foods and medications.
Prior to our departure, I called the airline to confirm that they noted our children’s peanut and tree nut allergy and was informed that we may pre-board either with the families with children or with people who need extra time or assistance to board. We need the few extra minutes so that we can wipe down our seats, tray tables, and armrests as well as visually inspect the seat pocket, the floor, and under the seat cushions for obvious food residues without getting in anyone’s way before stowing our carry-on baggage and seating ourselves.
On the day of the departure, I spoke with the gate agent about our children’s nut allergies and the agent asked if we had epinephrine (yes), our own food (yes), and if our children had reactions to airborne nuts (yes, history of airborne reactions to peanut, not sure about other nuts). They declined to make an announcement that there are passengers with nut allergies on board because they couldn’t stop others from bringing on their snacks with nuts, which wasn’t what I requested. Instead, they suggested that I speak with the passengers around us to create our own buffer.
Longing for Allergy Friendlier Skies
While the Hawaiian Airline staff members were professional and polite and flew us safely between home and Hawaii and back, their attitude about food allergies seemed indifferent. Any food allergy safety issues were completely up to us: bring your own epi, bring your own food, make your own announcement.
I wasn’t impressed especially in contrast to our previous trip to Washington DC with Virgin Airlines. I blogged about our experience with Virgina America upon our return, when there was at least one Virgin staff member on each leg of our flight who was empathetic and helped us with by making an announcement (and not serving nuts multiple times to every passenger on board).
After I had booked our flights, I learned that Virgin America will begin offering flights from the mainland to Hawaii beginning in December, 2015. While they do not have a formal food allergy policy, I have greater confidence in Virgin’s stellar customer service which has been a delight. Since I originally wrote this post, Alaska Airlines and Virgin merged.
Caveat: Nuts Every Hour
On our Maui bound flight, we pre-boarded, wiped seats and trays, and spoke with our neighbors. Crew members started off by rolling out their carts of snacks to sell, including lots of macadamia products. Then they served drinks and a snack (an almond cookie). Then it was time for lunch, spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and two chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Nuts, nuts, and more nuts. Both of my sons had runny noses when the nuts came out. It’s not normal to react to any food that one did not ingest but a runny nose is better than anaphylaxis!
On our San Francisco bound flight, I gave the boys antihistamine and a decongestant before leaving the hotel and another decongestant right before boarding. We lined up to pre-board when they made announcements for families with children ages 2 and younger and those who need special assistance. Imagine all the looks we received from frazzled parents with babies trying to cut in front of us in line.
Bring your own epi, check. Bring your own food, check. Make your own announcement, check???? Considering our flight to Maui, it seemed futile to speak with our neighbors when the airlines might distribute snacks with nuts to everyone multiple times, talk about nut enabling. They rolled out their snacks for sale cart but most people had their own stash of chocolate covered macadamia nuts on board. Snack included a cracker mix with almonds. Lunch consisted of three marble sized meatballs with white rice, salad, and a chocolate cookie.
We’re really thankful that nasal congestion was the only symptom, which cleared up after we arrived. Overall the flight with Hawaiian was great as a traveler but as a family with food allergies, it wasn’t a positive experience nor was it terrible. There’s a lot of room for improvement and I hope for more awareness and education about food allergies to help those with food allergies fly safely. Airline safety and food allergies is a complicated political issue.
Traveling and Going Through Security with Peanut Patches
My son’s peanut patches are normally stored in the refrigerator. We’ve been told that it’s okay to store them without refrigeration for a few hours but I prepared for unexpected delays. I pack the patches with an ice pack, left them in the fridge until the last possible moment, and set many alarms and reminders to take them with us. I want the therapy to work and wouldn’t want to be away from home with a questionable supply of peanut patches.
Even though my ice has a hard shell, the gel inside was already slushy by the time we arrived at the airport and went through security and I forgot to declare it as we went through security which resulted in additional screening. On our way home, I told the TSA agent in advance and he visually checked everything and we were on our way. I recommend familiarizing yourself with TSA’s policies about traveling with medically necessary liquids and other items in any case.
Home Away From Home:
We wanted to stay in the Lahaina area on Maui’s west side in a condo with a full kitchen and ocean views. I did not want to pay a premium for luxury (we’ll spend most of our time off property), or a resort (takes too long to walk to and from the pool, parking lot, everywhere), or a large property (avoid noise, crowd). We ended up staying at Maui Kai, a beachfront property with views of Lanai and Molokai, located about 20 minutes north of Lahaina. It was everything we hoped for and even better.
We were adjacent to a large resort and we could faintly hear Hawaiian music on their luau nights, the best background music ever. The hotel has a nice DVD and Blue Ray collection of movies to check out and the poolside cabana has a BBQ, a ping pong table, and many board games for check to borrow, an in room safe, free wi-fi, and laundry facilities. We lucked out and ended up in unit 905 which is beautifully decorated, well appointed including a full kitchen. We were so happy with our little bit of heaven on earth.
Stocking up on Groceries
Near the airport:
We picked up our rental car and went straight to Costco for groceries. However it seemed my children were eager to try local foods rather than the exact same foods we can eat at home. I bought just enough food for a few easy meals at the hotel until we could orient ourselves: Maui Gold Pineapple, Sun Noodles ramen, chicken and cheese ravioli, Golden Island pork jerky, and some additional fruits and vegetables. As we drove around the airport area on subsequent days, I noticed that there is also a Whole Foods Market in the area and another organic healthy food store called Down To Earth. I did not visit either stores but thought it’s worth mentioning as options to check out.
Local stores:
There’s a Safeway at the Lahaina Cannery Mall and we shopped there a few times. The produce was mostly familiar with some local produce such as taro leaves, papaya, and very green apple-banana, and there were quite a few familiar brands to make shopping easier. I bought a bottle of Aloha Shoyu Teriyaki sauce to make my broiled teriyaki chicken thighs and it was a delicious, quick, and easy main dish a couple of times. Our unit had an electric rice cooker so I also bought short grain calrose rice, Yamamoto nori sheets, and Turkey Spam to make spam musubi for our beach days. I obviously did not have a musubi mold with me but was able to figure out how to make some crudely shaped musubi with foil and a plastic food container.
Natural Store:
If you end up in the Honokowai area (west side), be sure to stop by at the Farmer’s Market of Maui, which is a natural food store and deli. They have a lot of allergy friendly, organic, and natural brands (such as Pirates Booty, Lundberg, Late July, Lukes, Glutino, Mary’s Gone Crackers, Van’s Crackers, Happy Baby, San-J, Eden Organics, Straus, Alexia, Made in Nature, and others). Also notable, the Farmer’s Market of Maui also has the best local tropical produce such as passion fruit, pineapple, papayas, mango, and apple bananas. We did not try the smoothie bar or deli foods. They don’t seem to have a website but their address is 3636 Lower Honoapiilani Road, across from Honokowai Park, (808) 669-7004) and another location in Kihei, which we did not visit.
Other stores (with caveats):
Maui Kai is right across the main road from a strip mall with a Times Supermarket, we didn’t look carefully at the products available but it’s a convenient location and we mainly went there to buy non-food items (underwater camera, foil, etc.). It didn’t seem like they carried as many national brands so we did most of our food shopping at Safeway. If I had more time I would look at their weekly online ad to get a feel for what brands and products are available. Foodland is another supermarket chain that I noticed while we were driving around. If one has sensitivities to food coloring, preservatives, or other food chemicals, I think that one will have more selection at Whole Foods Market, one of the natural stores, or Safeway.
We also stopped by at the Olawalu Juice and Fruit Stand. It’s a little roadside stand under some trees, adjacent to some place with shaved ice and boiled peanuts and maybe a bar. The only reason I mention the fruit stand is because I bought the most delicious dragon fruit with bright magenta flesh, which we’ve enjoyed in Hong Kong but never in the US. The ones with the magenta flesh are so much tastier and sweeter than the ones with white flesh. It was $5, $7, or $10 each depending on the size, but there is no way to determine objectively their size or cost as you shop, so buyer beware. I did not buy any other fruit as there were many flies landing on sweet or soft skinned fruits such as papaya or mango and doing what flies do to fruit (or maybe they were twerking on the fruit, not sure).
Ono Eats (Yummy Food)
Ono means delicious and we definitely ate well. Generally our family prefers to try the local food over chain restaurants. We avoided Asian fusion restaurants because of the extensive use of nuts on their menus and we weren’t comfortable with the risk of cross contact. About two months before our trip, I checked AllergyEats, Yodish, Yelp, and asked friends in support groups for their recommendations. Then I checked the restaurant’s menus online and followed up with a phone call or an email. I cooked every breakfast and packed a lunch for us on our beach days. We did enjoy a few meals out.
Aloha Mixed Plate:
Aloha Mixed Plate is located right behind the Lahaina Cannery Mall. They do not use peanuts and tree nuts on their menu except coconut shrimp was one of their specials that night. They have a good variety of food on their menu, traditional luau fare such as kalua pork, lau lau (pork belly wrapped with leaves), as well as some Korean and Chinese favorites. We ordered the ahi poke as an appetizer and it was very good. The seating is outdoors and the beach is within view. I recommend calling during non-peak hours to discuss any concerns about other allergens. We did not check or order from the dessert menu.
Old Lahaina Luau:
Old Lahaina Luau is located right next door to Aloha Mixed Plate and might be owned by the same company. One would think that a buffet is off-limits for food allergies, but the Old Lahaina is worth considering. They were able to provide me with an extensive allergen menu that included every ingredient for every item on the buffet. Per the document I received, the only item we needed to avoid was a macadamia nut crusted fish filet. They flagged our reservation and allowed our table to go through the buffet first, thus minimizing the risk of cross contact. I have some great posts and videos of our time at the Old Lahaina Luau but the host at the imu pit asked the guest to post a picture or a video on Instagram, so go check out Nut Free Wok’s Instagram feed. 😉
Aside from food allergy concerns, this luau is truly wonderful and a worthwhile family experience. Upon checking in, we were greeted with orchid leis and a mai tai (or non-alcoholic drinks) and were shown our seats. One can walk around and enjoy the various crafts and activities, take group or family photos with a professional photographer, enjoy live music, or watch them fetch the roasted pig out of their underground oven called an imu. The food is tasty, the staff is friendly, and the live entertainment fabulous. I recommend booking one month in advance, we didn’t and discovered that they were sold out for the next 3 weeks, fortunately they do keep a waitlist.
Joey’s Kitchen
I ran out of good ideas and my husband suggested Joey’s Kitchen, located in the food court of Whaler’s Village. When I called Joey’s Kitchen, they told me that they don’t use any nuts on their menu unless it’s requested and I was puzzled by how can one request a nut dish in a restaurant that doesn’t have nuts on the menu. When we got there, I spied a large jar of peanut butter which they use to make an off the menu peanut butter jelly sandwich for those who don’t want something on the regular menu. I wish that they would believe in their menu, especially the dishes that they make well, and get rid of the just-in-case jar of peanut butter.
They serve kalua pork and lau lau but we didn’t try those entrees since we had recently dined at Aloha Mixed Plate and planned to go to a luau later. My husband and one son ordered ordered Chicken Katsu and while my son liked it a lot, my husband thought it was average. I ordered fish tacos with a sweet and spicy coleslaw, which was edible but not great. One son ordered beef short rib and his meal looked the best. We still had an appetite for more food and I went back and ordered coconut shrimp and pancit (very good and off menu), and halo halo (shaved ice dessert with fruit, milk, beans, and jellies).
Seascape Ma’aalea Restaurant (inside Maui Ocean Center)
One son really wanted to go to the Maui Ocean Center and there’s really very few dining options in the area. We’ve been there with friends on our last trip and thought they very accommodating and careful even though they have nuts on their menu so we decided that it would be okay to go again. The staff let us know that their fries are made in a shared fryer with other foods containing nuts. One son ordered beef short ribs and the other son ordered a cheeseburger, no fries, and an order of potstickers. When the waitress came back to check our order, she mentioned something about a gluten free bun and I can’t be sure whether I told her regular bun or not, but in any case we ended up with a gluten free bun and an extra $4 charge for the gluten free bun. Perhaps they were being over-cautious and helpful but should you decide to eat at the Maui Ocean Center, be specific that nut free does not necessitate gluten free foods and extra charges if your diet does not restrict gluten.
Jamba Juice & Bubba Gump:
On our very last full day in Maui, we walked up and down Front Street to explore and to find a restaurant to have lunch. Along the way, we were hot and thirsty and stopped in a Jamba Juice for a smoothie and much to our delight, they had two different varieties of dragonfruit smoothies on their menu, yummy.
We checked out the menus and talked with hostesses or waiters at a few restaurants on Front Street and finally settled on Bubba Gump because there were very few dishes with nuts on the menu. Our first waiter seemed uncomfortable with handling our food allergy order but fortunately a different waitress took over and checked our orders to make sure our children’s meals were free of nuts and all traces. We had a very nice meal overlooking the ocean.
Homecooked Meals Were Relaxing
Overall, I felt that dining out nut free to be a mentally exhausting process with lots of research and many hazards to avoid. The mental effort necessary for dining out was much greater than the physical activity to grocery shop, cook, and clean at the condo. I had my easy recipes in my head, safe ingredients on hand, and just went into autopilot mode and enjoyed the ocean view as I cooked. I had peace of mind about our meals and my family could shower and unwind, win-win. My family was great about helping out so I wouldn’t be exactly like the mom in this funny piece courtesy of The Onion: Mom Spends Beach Vacation Assuming All Household Duties in Closer Proximity to Ocean.
I felt most comfortable with Aloha Mixed Plate and the Old Lahaina Luau in terms of nut allergies and our food preferences. Iron Imu was definitely a safe nut free restaurant to dine in but it’s Texas style BBQ, not Hawaiian food. If you don’t crave Asian inspired island foods, there are are other chain restaurants besides Bubba Gump on the island such as Outback Steakhouse or Ruby’s Diner.
Other Random Tips (in no particular order):
#1 You Will Need Extra Sunscreen
Be prepared to use lots of sunscreen and reapply often. We like to use Vanicream products because they are hypoallergenic and our dermatologist recommended sunscreens that use zinc oxide and titanium oxide as main ingredients due to some skin sensitivities. Plus we also use their moisturizer to help control my son’s eczema.
We ended up checking in one suitcase because the 4 ounce tubes are too large for carry on luggage. We slathered on two tubes of sunscreen and it still wasn’t enough even though we were already sunburned enough and still had half a week left of our trip. We didn’t know where to buy more and there wasn’t enough time to have some shipped over. Luckily for us there’s a Walgreens drugstore in the Lahaina area that carries Vanicream products, including their sunscreen ($20/tube at Walgreens, $10-11/tube at home!!), which is a great option to know if you happen to run out of sunscreen. You can order extra tubes for your bags or ship them ahead of time to your hotel using my affiliate links:
- Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream
(for skin care in the evenings) - Vanicream Sunscreen SPF 50 4 Oz (Pack of 2) – Vanicream’s SPF 50 sunscreen does not contain oxybenzone (benzophenone-3) and/or octinoxate which are banned in Hawaii to protect coral reefs as of 2018. Their SPF 35 product does contain octinoxate, which is banned.
- List of common drug-store brands of reef-safe sunscreens that are sold in Hawaii, you will need to check for nut allergies
- List of drugstore and locally made reef-made sunscreens that are sold in Hawaii, you will need to check for nut allergies
- And because we had a bad allergy experience with sunscreen while on vacation, you need to know a few Latin roots to be sure you avoid your known allergens.
(for skin care in the evenings)
– Vanicream’s SPF 50 sunscreen does not contain oxybenzone (benzophenone-3) and/or octinoxate which are banned in Hawaii to protect coral reefs as of 2018. Their SPF 35 product does contain octinoxate, which is banned.#2 How Not to Look Disheveled on a Beach Vacation
I couldn’t figure out why but my hair became frizzy and crispy, not smooth, shiny, and silky like it is usually. My little TSA friendly little bottles of conditioner ran out quickly and I ended buying a full sized bottle of conditioner to help me out so that I don’t end up looking like a disheveled sunburned lady with crazy hair in our family photos. And BB cream with sunscreen saved me even though I’ve been using it for a few years, I could really see how it evened out my facial redness due to too much sun and gave me additional sun protection.
#3 Favorite Beaches:
Our favorite beach is Kapalua Beach, there’s a little public parking lot adjacent to Napili Kai Beach Resort. It’s a very nice beach with calm waters in a sheltered bay for snorkeling, facilities but no lifeguard. It’s a very popular beach so be sure to go early.We also went snorkeling at Molokini and if you are short on time or cash, skip Molokini and snorkel at Kapalua. We swam with a sea turtle which followed us as we backed away and saw many schools of fish amongst the coral at Kapalua.
If you have time to take a little car trip and beach hop, DT Fleming Beach is near Kapalua and is a very nice beach with lifeguards, amenities, and lots of parking. Going a little further north, we also found Honolua beach. It is one of the prettiest beaches ever but down a long flight of stairs, no facilities, and no lifeguard. We also made it out to Ka’anapali beach by the black rock behind the Sheraton hotel but were scared by the waves and ended up at Kapalua for a second time.
#4 UV Swim Shirts:
If you have sensitive skin or are prone to being sunburned, I highly recommend wearing a UV protection swim shirt. Get one for each family member.
#5 Protect the Epi and Keep Them with You
Tip #5 isn’t quite random and may be the most important one for a family with food allergies. It didn’t take long for someone in my family to lose their balance on a rock, fall into the water with Auvi-Q in their waist pack. Waterproof the epi ASAP with a special waterproof pouch or at least double bag them in zippered plastic bags.
The ambient temperature is also very hot so be sure to protect them from the sun or excessive heat. Everyone in our family carries a set but on our beach days, one of us kept all of them in an empty insulated bag inside a backpack or a cooler, out of the sun, under a sun umbrella. On the other temperature extreme, keep your epi with you in your carry on bags, never in checked baggage because 1) you might need it and 2) the cargo hold area might be very cold.
Always carry at least two autoinjectors, we never know what could happen so it’s best to be prepared and safe.
#6 Bring Hand Wipes
I used to bring pack household disinfecting wipes with disposable gloves and an extra bag to seal up the used wipes and gloves in order to clean our airplane seat area thoroughly. However, I once heard a man exclaim, “It smells like bleach” really loudly and I felt so embarrassed about causing someone else discomfort. This time around I carried an extra package of Wet Ones, suitable to use as hand wipes, which I used to disinfect our area without bothering other people.
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Hi Sharon! We are leaving for Maui in a couple weeks and love this post. Do you have any suggestions on where we could get ice cream or fun treats? My son has peanut allergy. Also, we can share more on your son’s peanut patch?
Thank you so much!!
Aloha Lan! I hope you have a great trip, I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to you. I imagine you might have already come back from your trip. Ice cream and frozen treats are so tricky to find nut-free, maybe you can ask at a shaved ice place or buy popsicles (safe, familiar brand) from a grocery store? I wrote an epilogue re: my son’s peanut patch experience in this post https://nutfreewok.com/food-allergy-life-experiences/ but you search nut free wok peanut patch you will find other articles with general information.
Thank you very much Sharon as your detailed information is very helpful. My family and I are planning a trip to Maui and my daughter has peanut allergies. I appreciate your time in sharing your experience. I will also check out your website.
Sincerely,
Shika
Aloha Shika! Please let us know about any of your recommendations when you come back from your trip. Have a great time.
We love Maui and have been twice with our PN/TN allergic kid. I just checked Aloha Mixed Plate and they do use nuts now! They have one salad with almonds and a Chinese chicken salad with peanuts! I remember we went a few years ago and they didn’t have it! Going to check out the Luau you went to this time. Thanks for the post!
Oh no, thanks for the update about AMP! That’s so disappointing to read that they’ve added nuts to their menu, I hope they will be extra careful in how they handle allergens.
Oh–we did recently do a few food challenges and were able to determine that my son is not allergic to almonds or macadamia nuts, which is going to be a HUGE help in Maui!
We are heading to Maui in July with a peanut, tree nut and sesame seed allergic 12-year-old. I can’t wait! But I’m so glad to have all of this wonderful info. I’m just ramping up on my own research now. We are staying in a house in Paia. I’ll check back in after the trip to report our highs and lows.
🙂
Aloha, Amy! Have a fun trip, I hope you and your family have a great time. I think that grocery store we went to has another store near Paia.
Great suggestions! I find it more peaceful to cook for my family as you did, but being in Hawaii in just a hotel room, is very challenging. I’ve been told to bring an epi for every 15 min you’ll be in the air. For us east coasters to Hawaii that’s 4 epi/hr x 12 hrs?? Have anyone ever hear of that?
Hi Ruby, I hope you’re able to find some comfortable accommodations. I think your question about how many epi autoinjectors to bring is a great question to discuss with your allergist who knows your situation the best and can advise what precautions and other emergency meds to bring with you. Be sure to review your emergency care plan with your doctor. Have a safe and fun trip.
This is such a helpful guide, Sharon! We have been to Maui three times, but never with children. Your guide gives me hope that we could do it someday! It also really took me back – we visited so many of the places you mentioned! Love the Aloha Mixed Plate. 🙂
Wow Sharon, I don’t know that I could add anything to this – it’s such a thorough guide!
My husband and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon 16 years ago and LOVED it, but this was before kids and food allergies made an appearance in our world. I’m always blown away by all the details you provide, Sharon. So much time, effort, and education go into each of your posts that we all get to benefit from. Thank you for that! If we ever go back to Hawaii (it’s soooo far for us), I know just where to go for great allergy info!
Thank you, Sharon, we are visiting Maui now and I was so happy to find your post! We have had great dining experiences with PN, TN allergies this trip at Monkey Pod and Manoli’s, both in Wailea. Heading to Lahaina today!
Aloha, Jenny! Maui is my favorite place in the world. Thanks for your suggestions in the Wailea area, we didn’t make it down there this time around because we didn’t know of a safe place to dine!
Thank you SO much for this post! We are headed to Maui at the end of the year with my 2 year old daughter who is allergic to peanuts. We rented a condo so we can do some meals in but love sampling local foods so it’s wonderful to have these recommendations! When my daughter was first diagnosed, it felt like our world became so small and now we’re beginning to open back up and try be brave and explore and travel like we had always imagined we would. I look forward to following your blog!
You’re so welcomed, Sharon! It’s my pleasure to share what worked for us. Have fun on your trip, I wish we could go back again soon. I would love to know what restaurants that you find are accommodating. Enjoy and travel with your little one (with a lot of preparation and planning!), it gets harder as the kids get older because they start to have places they need to be too! 😉
OMG I’m gonna cry! You made our dream seem to be a reality now! I lived in Hawaii as a child and my husband and I were married on Maui over a decade ago. We wanted so bad to take my son back there but were afraid with all the nuts and flying with nuts. We ate several times on our honeymoon at Aloha Mixed Plate and Bubba Gumps and actually had our reception luau at Old Lahaina Luau. To think that we could actually feed our son at both of those places is truly amazing! I think we will wait until Virgin flies there! Sharon, thank you for writing up your travel tips! You made me feel like I can do it! And thank you Lori for your tips as well!
Thanks so much for sharing, Brenda! Your comments make me feel great about telling our story and sharing our experiences to encourage others to live life with food allergies fully but with safety measure and precautions in place. You are one lucky lady to have such wonderful memories in Maui and can share them with your son some day soon. Enjoy planning your trip and have a fantastic time. Let me know how it goes for you and add any other allergy safe discoveries you find.
Hi Sharon,
So many wonderful tips here! It sounds like you had lots of terrific dining experiences. I will revisit this page if we return to Maui in the future. It’s been eight years since we were on that island and our visit was up mountain and in Hana. Wish I could remember the places PF, GF places but, undoubtedly, they’ve changed! I had a laugh at your mention of that Onion article — an easy trap to fall into! — and your reference to managing unruly hair. I normally wrestle with my fine, lifeless hair but in Hawaii I rolled out of bed and it was curly and beautiful. I long to return to Hawaii for many reasons. Some days, I just want to have a head of easy curly hair again!
Thanks, again, for the great suggestions. I hope your return comes much sooner!
Thanks, Karen! It was our first time to take the road to Hana as well as going through the upcountry area on the way up to the peak of Haleakela. So amazing and gorgeous but we didn’t do any research about places to eat in those areas and just packed our lunches and lots of snacks. Since the locations were so remote, we didn’t want to take any chances.
Aloha, Lori!! I’m glad you had such a great trip! I love your additional suggestions for restaurants, swim shoes, keeping spare epi in the hotel room (we do that too), and your opinion about the Hyatt’s luau. I called them as well and they were also very nice about emailing us information about allergens. And I’m so glad I’m not the only one struggling to look presentable in such a beautiful location. 😉 Thank you, Lori, for taking the time to share a comment, you made my day with your kind words and feedback.
Our Maui trip was just coming to an end when I read your blog – literally – I turned on my phone as we taxied back to our gate on our arrival back home, and your post popped up at the top of my FB feed! This would have been so helpful in our planning stages, but we found many of the same things on our own.
Airlines… we fly Alaska Airlines frequently. They do not serve any peanuts, but they do have CC items, and there are almonds in some of the tiny snack packs in purchased meals. Their kids snack pack for purchase has many safe items – Old Wisconsin turkey sticks, Pirate’s Booty, Mott’s Apple Sauce, and a few other items. The granola bar is CCed. I _think_ that there might have been a macadamia nut treat that was passed out with drinks, but I can’t remember exactly. We have never asked for an announcement to be made, because we have been flying for years without incident, and because they don’t serve peanuts, so it lessens the concern a bit.
We stayed at a condo resort on Kaanapali, and it was wonderful to be able to cook breakfasts and a few other meals in our room. We enjoyed eating out, but feeding 5 people for 3 meals a day gets pricey. We went to the Safeway you mentioned several times, and were able to find familiar brands to make safe food back in the room. Our complex had several BBQs by the pool, and each day these would be scrubbed by the staff. We BBQed a few times on their grills.
Overall, I found that almost every service person we spoke to, was able to speak knowledgeably about allergies. We are only peanut allergic (two kids – 10 and 13), and they eat almonds and hazelnuts. I wish that we would have tried macadamia nuts before we left home, because that would have made things a lot easier. I’m not worried about them, but we didn’t want to try them while away from home. We noticed some obviously unsafe places that had nuts/peanuts on many dishes, but many restaurants had no obviously listed peanuts, or only macadamia nuts on a few items. We ate at Joey’s Kitchen as well, had Shaved Ice at the kiosk next door (YUM!!), ate at the Hula Grill Barefoot Bar (they had macadamia nut fish, and some nuts on salads, but I felt that they answered my questions well for CC issues), and one of the walk up food places in a hotel (Marriot? I can’t remember now!). We went to Maui Tacos after going snorkeling at Kapalua Beach. When we drove to Haiku on the north side of the island to go zip lining, we stopped at a little place called Hana Hou Cafe with a sweet couple running it. They had nuts on the menu, but they assured us that they could make the BLT and Kahlua Pork without CC, and we liked them so much, that we went back on our last day before going to the airport. We also went to Cheeseburger in Paradise. (Side note: we go to restaurants at home on a regular basis, and we will eat at restaurants if we feel like they have good practices in place. We avoid places that have lots of nutty items on many parts of the menu, but if it’s only salads or desserts, or if it’s just a garnish, it helps us feel that it’s easier to isolate them. This works well for our family).
Old Lahaina Luau:
Several months ago, my husband emailed several luaus and asked about allergens. We were so impressed with the 45 page PDF they emailed him with full ingredient lists of everything down to the ketchup and spices used. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that we needed to make reservations in advance, and especially as a family of 5 (their tables seat 8), there was nothing available the week we were there. I had no idea that we could be put on a wait list! We went to the Drums of the Pacific at the Hyatt. They only had a small spread sheet that said that a fish dish, and several desserts had “nuts” (they were all macadamia nuts when I asked). We ate safely there, but the show wasn’t as good as I had hoped (for example, taking the pork out of the IMU was done on the side of the stage, while we sat at our seats where we couldn’t see a thing, and it was paraded through the tables, and then SNAP the buffet was served! Which means that THAT pork was obviously not the pork that we were eating).
Your other random tips:
Sunscreen! Wow! I had no idea how much sun screen that we would go through. My three boys and I rarely burn because we’re fairly dark already, but my caucasian husband does. I wear sun screen, but I usually just put it on in the morning, and leave it be. The sun in Hawaii is intense, and after our first day of putting it on once, and then going about our business, we all came back to the hotel in varying degrees of red! There are no sales on sunscreen anywhere! For a funny aside – I wear a different facial sun screen with a higher SPF, and a BB Cream (with sunscreen as well), and then use a spray on the rest of my body. By the end of the week, I had weird splotchy designs on my neck, because I’d put the face sunscreen on my face and neck, not worrying about where it ended. My collar bone is several shades of tan and I look like I have a weird disease :-).
Yes… bring lots of hair conditioner. The salt water, wind, and sun screen that inevitably gets into your hair made my straight, normally nice looking hair into a mess. I can understand dreadlocks now!
Beaches… we stayed on Kaanapali, and it was absolutely wonderful. We also went to Kapalua for snorkeling. I was glad that I had brought swim shoes for me. The rest of family didn’t think they were necessary, but they all had cut up feet from the rocks/coral at the various beaches where we played.
Epipens (or Auvi-Qs). With two kids with food allergies, we usually carry a total of 8 devices when we go on vacation. Each kid has two that they are responsible for, and then my husband and I have two each that we keep on us. We had a little ice chest with a gel pack in the bottom to keep them cool at the beach all day. We left half at the hotel for backups, so the boys each had their normal two on them. On a previous summer vacation, we had all of our devices in an ice chest, and had a failure with numerous ziplock bags, and ended up soaking ALL of our devices. It was quite a nuisance to have to refill our prescriptions away from home in another state that year. So now we keep some in the room, and some with us, so that just in case we accidentally leave something in a car/the ice breaks free from the cheap generic ziplock and everything gets soaked/or other random failure, we still have good devices with us. I’ve been wondering about vacuum sealing our devices in plastic to keep them water proof, but don’t know how easy it would be to tear the bag open in an emergency… My kids use a Running Buddy pouch to carry their Auvi-Q’s now, but I think that I’m going to force each kid to have at least one set of cargo pants/shorts. When we went ziplining, I was afraid that the pouches would fall off while they were up high. Dad followed us along on the trails below, so it wasn’t a big deal, but I want them to be as responsible for themselves as possible for future days.
Yes to baby wipes. We use Wet Ones too. Each kid has a pack on them, and I bring extras in the suitcase.
Overall, this has been my favorite vacation ever! We had never been to Maui before, and had only been to Oahu for a short 4 day vacation with a 20 month old. I don’t know why it’s taken us this long to go to Maui, and I’m so glad that we were able to take our kids to someplace so magical. We are already trying to plan out how we can make this happen again in the near future.
Thanks for sharing so many wonderful posts that are so applicable to my Chinese peanut allergic family. It is very much appreciated!
Love this – would not have thought that traveling to Hawaii with nut allergies could be so do-able. Also surprised Jamba Juice is safe ?
I always ask at Jamba Juice if they can accommodate someone with a peanut allergy and ask if they can avoid cross contact and wouldn’t mind washing the blender again and assembling the ingredients from the back. Usually they store the PB in a refrigerator away from the other ingredients and I also check that the ice is clean and free of food debris. If I have any doubt, I leave. Jamba Juice corporate has been very supportive about any concerns I raise with them.
Thanks for the helpful tips! My husband and I absolutely love Maui and dream about taking our food allergy kids there some day! I am so glad Aloha Eats is pn/tn free!! Their food is delicious. So glad to hear that it was a wonderful safe trip!
Thank you, Eun! We had a great time and I hope Aloha Mixed Plate will not add any peanuts or tree nuts to their menu so that future visitors with food allergies may enjoy their food as well.