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@Rainbow Sprinkles: Have you been to Hawaii before? I've heard it's SUPER expensive. DH and I have never been. We both really want to go, but we're waiting til we have lots of money to spend because Hawaii isn't somewhere I want to visit on a budget.
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Unlimited drinksssss.
I vote #2
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: Our honeymoon was basically your #1. We had a small condo and a rental car and did soooooo many things. It was AMAZING! But we didn't cook or clean while we were there, haha, so we spent a lot on food! And many of the excursions we went to cost money and we booked in advance, so there was more money. Stuff like a helicopter tour, ziplining, a luau, etc.
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@lawbee11: yes I've been! Waikiki.
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@hotchildinthecity: yes rental car included.
(if we book through costco)
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Option 1! I love checking out local grocery stores, the beach is way more relaxing that the pool, and DH and I get homesick when every single meal has to be eaten out.
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: I've done both, and #1 was my favorite trip BY FAR. All inclusive is nice with a kid, but if it's just me and Dan, I'd pick #1 any day of the week. We went to one of the Bahamian outer islands for our honeymoon, rented a house and a car, and explored the island all week. It was incredible. We found a completely secluded beach--surrounded by palm trees, absolutely no other people for miles, crystal clear water--it was incredible. I really only cooked dinner, since we were gone all day. I packed us a picnic for lunch every day... sandwiches, chips, gatorade/water. So easy.
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Hawaii or anywhere really over an all inclusive any day. All inclusive are just not my style and nothing special to me. It's an "artificial" vacation spot to me. I'd rather be out exploring places and having the option to eat out, especially at local places for authentic cuisine.
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Option #1, but instead of cooking in the room, I'd probably just set a budget and try to eat cheap. We did something similar in Hawaii a few years back and it was my favorite vacation ever.
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We're going to Hawaii and doing #1. I'm really looking forward to exploring! We'll probably eat breakfast at the condo but eat lunch and most dinners out.
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#1 by far, but I am not an all-inclusive relax on beach kind of person so #2 is basically my nightmare vacation scenario. I like being able to do my own thing, and I don't mind cooking, and since I'm not a huge beach person I want it to be a really nice one for the afternoon or two that I do go!!
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@PurplePumps: I've never said it that way, but I guess that's kind of how I feel about all inclusive! We did it for our honeymoon, but the part that felt MOST like a vacation to me was when we took a catamaran to a tiny, secluded island and we actually got to experience the carribean....not just a huge resort and a 200 yard strip of crowded beach.
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#1 hands down. I like being able to explore and go off and do things, get to eat a variety of local food at diff restaurants, etc. all inclusive is nice, but boring IMO. There is no culture, nothing to do but go to the pools, eat, and drink! Some like that, but I think option 1 would be way more fun.
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@Greentea: i definitely think all inclusive would be the best option with kids! I can't imagine packing them in and out of a rental car and trying to explore an island with naps and tantrums and the like....
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They both sound nice to me, but is probably pick 2 so I don't have to cook.
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#1 but I'd eat out for dinner each night!
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Totally number 1! I would want to explore and make the most of being somewhere fabulous. I never feel like you get to know a place with AI's, and that's the main reason I like to travel!
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Option 1!
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I wish I could add a poll on my phone!
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Can I say neither? LOL. We do something like #1 with my family every year - we go to the Cape and rent a house within a couple minute drive/15 minute walk to the beach. It's great for a family vacation, especially with several people in the house and a baby. But not really my ideal vacation.
Half of our honeymoon was spent more like your #2, though the beach was ok, not murky. We went to a Sandals and we were just totally meh about the whole experience. It was like being on a cruise - the food was so-so and not authentic, the music was loud, it was hard to get a good seat at the pool, the excursions kinda sucked.
The first half of our honeymoon was amazing and I would do it again and again. We stayed at a boutique hotel that was very inexpensive, had our own hot tub, and the beach was right across a residential street. The hotel had a rooftop pool with a lounge area overlooking the water. They also had an amazing rooftop restaurant with amazing and local food. Every morning they got their fish from the fish market 5 minutes away. The place was inexpensive enough that for a couple days we rented a car and explored all around the island and we also did a 12 person catamaran snorkeling excursion a different day which was absolutely amazing.
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I love Hawaii. As @lawbee11: said though, expensive. I went with my family in college, and my parents had saved gobs of Visa miles so we could all fly for free. We did a hotel in Waikiki for 4 days and then rented a condo in Maui for 7. Definitely preferred the condo to the hotel. My only trip to Mexico is tainted because I got food poisoning the one night we went into Playa away from the gated community we were staying in (rented a condo).
How far along will you be when you go? Are you bringing W and M?
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Option one, all the way. I think I'd feel cooped up at an all-inclusive resort without a rental car. I like to explore on vacation! Plus, I love having a kitchen when we travel - I prefer not to have to eat restaurant food for every meal.
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@Mrs. J: no, it would be kid free and for 5 nights! We've been tossing around the idea of a vacation for MONTHS (I posted a while back about some Maui hotels), but I think we've finally decided that we will just babymoon solo before #3 comes! My DH is very conservative so it's taken a long time for him to decide if we should vacay.
My friend just got back from Mexico and she had horrific food poisoning.
she got campylobacter from undercooked chicken. 
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: I would choose #1. U could still explore and enjoy Hawaii and eating out without breaking the bank. unless u are going to dinners that cost $200 a night
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: oh no! It was pretty awful, and I was breastfeeding DS, who was only 8weeks at the time. blah. Could you do a compromise in Maui? A few days in a hotel and a few days in a condo? The best of both worlds? I think the food will be better
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@BabyMats: I've never been to a dinner that expensive in my life!
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: Can you make #1 work with eating out for dinner?
I love exploring and trying all the local food (and I love Hawaiian food!) so I would try to make #1 work budget-wise if it were me. Having to cook on vacation does not sound like a vacation to me!!!!
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@sunny: yeah, I could live on spam and rice so we could eat for cheap.
One of the condos (booking through costco) is really cheap because it is actually a drive from the beach, but it is right on Front Street in maui so it would be super close to all the dining. And it has beautiful, serene pools. If we had a car, I wouldn't mind having to drive to the beach...and that would give us a lot more money for eating out and other things since this condo is so cost effective.
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: honestly I think that is ridiculously expensive but I have had people come out and visit and that was the kind of dinners they wanted every night
needless to say we bowed out of dinner the entire time -
I would rather do the #2. Having to walk back to a condo to cook most of my meals when im out on the beach or in town and surrounded by resteraunts I cant eat at does not sound like fun.
Not being able to drink all I want, and having to cook and clean dont sound that good either.
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My DH and I went to Maui for our babymoon, but we stayed in a hotel instead of a condo. We splurged on a couple nice dinners but otherwise mainly ate on the cheap. I'd go with option #1 but plan to eat dinner out a couple nights and cook at home a couple nights (if it's only two of you, there shouldn't be THAT much cleaning). Get cereal and fruit and hard boil some eggs for breakfasts, and sandwich stuff for lunch. Heck, if you're feeling really lazy, get some disposable dishes, haha. Just be aware that parking sucks in Lahaina so definitely stay somewhere walkable -- you don't want to have to drive 10 minutes from where you're staying and then spend 30 minutes circling.
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@PurplePeony: do you think a rental car is necessary in maui? I really want to see the seven sacred pools and the road to hana....but, I wonder if it's pretty easy to book a group van or something to see them?
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I go with number 2 simply because having to cook for my whole vacation isn't really a vacation.
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: definitely necessary if you want to get out and about. The airport is a 30-minute drive from Lahaina without traffic and taxis aren't cheap, and I don't really remember seeing any group excursions to Hana...but it's something you'll want to do at your own pace anyway. There are some yummy cheap(ish) eats in Hana, too!
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#2, I don't want to cook on vacation, I want to eat and drink and not worry about having a bunch of cash to go to restaurants/stores/ect.
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Definitely #1! We did this last year (with the kiddo too and not Hawaii). We ate in for breakfast and lunch most days and did dinner out. Lunch was easy peasy sandwiches and fruit and chips. Breakfast was either cereal or eggs. DH enjoys cooking so it's not really a big deal to him. Also, since we were at the beach it was nice to be able to do laundry and not bring all the sand back with us. Our condo was right on the beach though, which was amazing.
We've never done an all inclusive, I think I could be okay, my DH would hate it.
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: Not sure if it's in your budget, but we stayed here for our honeymoon:
http://www.astonmauikaanapalivillas.com/
It has studio apartments, but it's also part of the hotel system, so the beach is right there and there are pools and the hotel restaurants. But it also has it's own little kitchen if you wanted to cook for yourself. We LOVED it.
Also, if you do go to Maui, check out the book Maui Revealed (http://www.amazon.com/Maui-Revealed-Guidebook-Andrew-Doughty/dp/0983888736/). It has so many tips of things to do and places to visit. Because of that book, we found these tide pools that are just a little hike from the road. We were the ONLY ONES THERE. It was AMAZING and one of our favorite parts of the trip!
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I would pick option #2. For the amount of days I think that would feel more like a vacation and most relaxing. No cooking, or worrying about budgeting food/drink costs. Hawaii would be nice, but more busy it seems. Not all "all inclusive" are the same ol. You obviously get what you pay for and therefore we love going to a little more "higher end" resorts. We just booked the Beloved Resort in playa mujeres since will be going with LO next month, and its a boutique resort. Something like that might be worth spending a little more towards if your budget allows.
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I'd chose #1. I don't mind doing some cooking myself.
(if we book through costco)
she got campylobacter from undercooked chicken. 
needless to say we bowed out of dinner the entire time 
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