Hawaii - Big Island, Big Fun

Even with a macadamia nut allergy, you can travel safely to Hawaii.

Relaxing in Hawaii

We were invited to a wedding in Hawaii, and my first thought was, "Amazing, I'm so glad Jim is getting married!" My second thought was, "How will my son be able to travel safely OVER ALL THAT OCEAN to get there?" Jim is as close as family, so my parents and my brother and his family were also invited and attending. That meant that there was nobody to even consider leaving the kids home with while we went on the trip. Of course the kids wouldn't have been very happy about that, anyway!

Ten hours flying time, crossing half the Pacific with food allergies? Terrifying the first time, but surprisingly easy.

Travel Strategy

As soon as I decided we would attend the wedding, I looked at flights. For me, it isn't worth it to wait and hope for some savings. I feel much more comfortable if I can choose our seats strategically, which means booking early for the most seating choice. Click here to read about my airplane seating strategies.

First, I researched non-stop flights to Hawaii from the east coast. Taking a non-stop flight is always less stressful, because you only have to clean the seats on one flight, and if you can get the first flight of the day, you are already starting out much better off than after someone has been snacking in the seat on a previous flight. There were no non-stops to the Big Island, but if we were willing to drive to New York's JFK airport, we could get a morning non-stop to Oahu, then take a smaller flight from there to Kona. That was good enough for me, because the connecting flight was less than an hour long, so my son wouldn't need to eat a meal or even a snack on board, and we could just wipe down the seat and avoid eating completely.

Unfortunately, when I contacted Hawaiian Airlines, the only carrier offering the non-stop flight from JFK, I learned that they offer no assistance to folks with allergies. As of 2019, they will not avoid serving nuts near you, they won't ask passengers not to eat nuts, and they don't offer anything that is guaranteed to be allergen free (not that we would eat it, anyways.) They don't commit to letting you on early to clean the seats, either. Not feeling great about their official policies towards allergic passengers, but I still felt we could handle it safely without their help.

I was able to book a row of four seats, placing Luke inside, so that he would be buffered by our family. The airline did end up letting us board early, but it was such a big plane and boarding took so long that I would have had enough time regardless. Please click on this link for my tips on preparing the seat for a safe flight with food allergies. We brought along plenty of food for the trip, including items that needed to be kept cool, by bringing ice in baggies from a fast food restaurant's drink machine at JFK. (As you probably know, you can't bring cooler packs through security). We bought his drinks after security as well, as we do not use airline ice in his drinks at all. Click here for my tips for eating and drinking safely on your flight.

Long story short, with a lot of preparation, we had no issues at all on our flight. Ironically, the asked shortly after take off if there was a doctor on board. My husband is a doctor, so he made himself available to the flight attendants. There was a passenger suffering an allergic reaction from food consumed at the airport! We ended up sharing our medications with the passenger, who had not packed any for herself. Our assistance put us in the good graces of the flight attendants, who kept us well supplied with cans of delicious guava juice for the rest of the flight.

Once in Hawaii, since still the United States, eating out and shopping were very similar to home. Some places were very accommodating, and others were not, just like at home. I was worried about macadamia nuts, but although celebrated, the nuts were by no means in everything. It was completely worth the effort to go. We had an amazing time, creating special memories with our family and our extended family and friends. Also, I taught my son yet again that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING but eat certain foods. I was so impressed at his own level of caution. For example, when Hawaiian Airlines tried to hand him a warm moist towel, he politely refused one because he didn't want to wipe his hands with anything that wasn't a prepackaged wipe, possibly contaminating them.

Click here to check out our Big Island itinerary!

Unafraid to explore new lands! Mauna Kea cinder cone hike near the Onizuka Visitor Center.

Menu for the "The Rim" inside Volcano House, right next to the caldera.