Hawaii: Three for the kids . . .

Beaches, volcanoes and dinosaurs . . . oh my!

1 Hit the beach

If there's one thing you need to do before anything else in Hawaii it's this — get yourself to the beach, stat. With some of the most beautiful sandy stretches in the world, you're spoiled for choice, whichever island you choose. Oahu has plenty to choose from, including the famous Waikiki Beach, but families might want to head to Ala Moana Beach Park, west of Waikiki. Protected by a reef, the waters are calm enough for the smallest swimmers. On Maui's west coast, Puunoa Beach (Baby Beach) has shallow waters perfect for the little ones. Kauai is also a good island for kids to learn to surf and snorkel in a safe environment. And at Poipu Beach, on the south shore, you might see endangered Hawaiian monk seals.

Ala Moana Beach Park. Photo / Getty Images

2 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Witness the power of Kīlauea — one of the most active volcanoes in the world — in the

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

. It's been continuously erupting since 1983, with its lava flowing into the ocean and its glow lighting up the Halema'umau crater at night. You could take a day trip to the park, but there's enough to do to spend several days here — with plenty of hikes through lava tubes and rainforest, a museum and art centre, and a junior ranger programme for kids to complete. Overnight camping is possible in two campgrounds in the park and one has cabins available for rent. The park is also very accessible by car, with a chain of crater roads that passes scenic points and volcanic craters.

Photo / Getty Images

3 Kualoa Ranch

There's so much for kids to do at this sprawling 1618-hectare working cattle ranch on Oahu's eastern coast. For a start, some of their favourite Hollywood blockbusters have been filmed there — think

Jurassic Park, Jumanji

and

Godzilla

, among others. You can take a tour of some of the most famous spots, but be sure to rewatch Jurassic Park before you leave to add to the excitement. Over time, the ranch has grown into a one-stop adventure shop — there's ziplining, ATV tours and horse riding, for a start. There's also plenty of fun to be had at the ranch's Secret Beach, with kayaks, rope swings and stand-up paddleboards available.

Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii. Photo / 123RF

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