Luxury Hawaii travel planning
Get To Know Wild Palm 21°N
Hawaii should feel like a vacation long before you land.
Wild Palm 21°N is a luxury Hawaii travel planning agency specializing in thoughtfully designed vacations for families and multigenerational groups. Because planning Hawaii isn't just about choosing a beautiful resort.
It's knowing which island fits your family. Which beach works for little swimmers. Whether you actually need a rental car. Which room category is worth the upgrade. How much is too much to fit into one day. And when everyone will be happier if you simply stay at the pool.
I bring together firsthand destination knowledge, thoughtful recommendations, trusted travel partners, and all the little logistical details so your family can experience Hawaii without you having to manage the entire trip.
Our Mission + Vision
Better Hawaii vacations start with better planning. Wild Palm 21°N was created for travelers who care about where they stay, how they spend their time, and how their vacation actually feels once they arrive.
My mission is simple: to make Hawaii easier to experience well.
- Designing vacations around your family–not someone else's “must-do” list.
- Recommending islands, resorts and experiences based on fit rather than what happens to be trending online.
- Creating itineraries with enough structure to make the most of your time and enough breathing room to actually enjoy being in Hawaii.
- Helping families experience the islands with curiosity and respect for Hawaiian culture, communities and the places welcoming us.
- Building long-term relationships with clients so each trip becomes easier to plan than the last.
- Being your advocate before, during and after travel so you're never left wondering who to call when plans change.
Because luxury isn't doing more. It's having someone make the right decisions easier.
Meet Kristin
I know you can plan Hawaii yourself.
Founder + Luxury Hawaii Travel Advisor
That was never really the point. You could spend nights comparing Maui resorts. You could read 17 articles about Oʻahu. You could ask Facebook which island is “best for kids,” scroll TikTok for restaurants, open approximately 42 browser tabs and build a spreadsheet comparing ocean-view room categories. And eventually, you'd probably put together a pretty good vacation.
But when you're already the person remembering the school calendar, booking the appointments, keeping track of everyone's schedules and making approximately 400 decisions a day – should your vacation really be one more thing you have to manage?
That's where I come in. I'm Kristin, founder of Wild Palm 21°N, a Luxury Travel Advisor and Hawaii Destination Expert specializing in family and multigenerational travel. I've experienced Hawaii as a traveler, a mom and an advisor – which means I look at a trip differently. I notice the resort layout. The beach conditions. How far your room might be from the pool. Whether that incredible excursion actually makes sense with a three-year-old. How long you'll spend in the car. Whether island hopping will add to your vacation or quietly destroy everyone's mood by Day Four.
Those details matter. My job is to understand how your family wants this trip to feel and then build the pieces around that. The right island. The right resort. The right room. The experiences worth leaving the pool for. And an itinerary that leaves space for the moments you never could have scheduled. That's the difference between booking Hawaii and having Hawaii thoughtfully planned for you.
Our story
How Wild Palm 21°N came to be
Hawaii was never going to be just another destination. Over the years, my travel business became increasingly connected to Hawaii. More Hawaii clients. More island research. More firsthand travel. More conversations with families trying to figure out which island, resort or experience was actually right for them.
And the deeper I went, the clearer it became: Hawaii deserved my full attention. Wild Palm 21°N was created around that idea – a travel brand dedicated to doing one destination exceptionally well and helping families experience the islands in a way that feels effortless, personal and intentional.
Today, I specialize in customized Hawaii vacations for families and multigenerational groups, combining resort expertise, destination knowledge, itinerary design and hands-on concierge support into one seamless planning experience.
Because your family vacation shouldn't feel like something pulled from a search result. It should feel like it was designed specifically for you.
Our values
What guides every trip
A few principles that keep the planning intentional and the vacation effortless.
Intentionality
01More isn't always better. The best Hawaii itineraries leave room to slow down, swim a little longer, stop for shave ice and change the plan because everyone is having too much fun to leave. Every recommendation should earn its place on your itinerary.
Expertise
02Beautiful photos tell you what a resort looks like. Experience tells you whether it actually works for your family. My recommendations are shaped by destination knowledge, professional travel relationships, ongoing education and firsthand perspective–not what's ranking highest in a search.
Connection
03The best vacations give families something increasingly hard to find at home: undistracted time together. My job is to remove the logistical noise so you have more space for the part you'll actually remember.
Curiosity
04Hawaii is more than beaches and resorts. I want families to experience the landscapes, history, food, people and culture that make these islands unlike anywhere else–and especially to give kids the chance to experience something beyond what they already know.
Respect
05We are guests in Hawaii. Travel should support–not overshadow–the places we visit. I encourage thoughtful travel, respect for Hawaiian culture and local communities, and experiences that help families understand the destination they're fortunate enough to visit.
Advocacy
06You're not just purchasing a reservation. You're hiring someone to look out for your trip. From choosing the right resort before you book to navigating the unexpected while you're traveling, you'll know exactly who is in your corner.
Credentials
- Certified Hawaii Destination Expert
- Travel Leaders Network member
- ASTA Member - American Society of Travel Advisors
- CLIA member
- Virtuoso benefits access
- Traveled all four major Hawaiian islands firsthand
- Based in Mokena, Illinois (Chicago suburbs)
Client Experiences
“We had a wonderful trip for my 40th birthday celebration to Oahu and Maui thanks to Kristin! Planning for a party of 18 across two islands is no small thing, and everything was planned perfectly with thoughtful suggestions made based on our preferences. On Oahu, she handled our resort selection and set up a group snorkel excursion that was fantastic. She also gave us great recommendations for restaurants, beaches, and itinerary options that worked for a large group without packing our days completely full, which we really appreciated. On Maui, she planned a luau for our group and a Road to Hana tour. The one vendor we used for transfers was very unprofessional and hard to work with, but that was out of her control. We will definitely be using her again for our future family vacations that require a lot of planning. Thank you, Kristin!”
see full review here
Your family's Hawaii story starts here
Ready for Hawaii, handled?
Tell me what you're dreaming about. I'll help you choose the right island, find the right place to stay and create a vacation that feels effortless from the moment we start planning until you're back home scrolling through the photos.
Less researching. Less second-guessing. Less carrying the entire trip in your head. More Hawaii. More time together.
Wild Palm 21°N
Luxury Hawaii travel planning for families + multigenerational groups
Last updated: September 2026