The winner of the gift card is Jennifer, who said she would use her $100 to visit Vail. Thanks for participating everyone!

A visit to Hawaii with kids is one of my top travel dreams. And when I have a travel dream, I like to make a travel plan to have on hand, just in case. Happily, Preferred Family, the sponsor of today’s post, has a website that lets me both dream and plan in one handy spot.

The Preferred Family website’s Three Days In… feature offers a dream-worthy list of destinations from Tokyo to Capetown each with its own list of family-friendly hotels, itineraries, and insider tips to help insure a great vacation. This past week when my Facebook stream filled up with traveling friends on family vacations in Hawaii, it got me thinking about how great it would be to go there. So I swung by the Three Days in Honolulu page to see what I might find.

My seven- and ten-year-old boys are both foodies who love to sample local treats, so I was very happy to learn that we could get some coconut pancakes with macadamia nut syrup at the Diamond Head Market and Grill in a quiet local neighborhood without any of the tall buildings you’ll find in nearby Waikiki. And my younger son is just crazy for animals, so after a yummy breakfast we could easily head over to see the 500 species of sea plants and animals at the Waikiki Aquarium before getting out on the quiet beach at Malaekahana State Park.

Another fabulous suggestion here for my animal-loving boy? An evening tour of the Honolulu Zoo, where kids can learn about what the animals do after dark.

The tips listed at the end of the three itineraries are really helpful to and include suggestions for local foods to sample (when visiting Hawaii with kids they suggest musubi or spam sashimi) as well as practical information about things like were to get a cab or go for emergency healthcare, key for families with kids of all ages. I know for sure that I’d bookmark this page on my phone before we headed on a trip to Honolulu.

The other things that you’ll find on each of the Three Days In… pages is all of the Preferred Hotel Group’s Preferred Hotel and Resorts for that area, which offers you an easy way to scan the places you might stay, including the specific things that make it family friendly and any special offers the property is running. If were to visit Honolulu, I’d definitely be looking at the Kahala Hotel and Resort, where we could visit dolphins in a private lagoon and ride in an outrigger canoe. (It’s a five-star hotel, but hey, this is my travel dream so why not?)

I love these guides because they offer an easy overview of family-friendly things to do and places to eat in a specific destination – they make a great jump start for travel planning and definitely offer ideas you’d want to try. But don’t take my word for it – check them out yourself and enter to win a $100 Visa gift card from Preferred Family.

To enter to win, visit Three Days In…, choose a destination that you’d like to visit and think about the answer to this question: What restaurant, activity, or attraction listed there would you most like to check out and use your $100 to visit?

While you’re there, you might choose to click on the big blue Facebook Like This button or follow Preferred Family on Twitter at @PHGFamilyTravel. Then come back here, answer the question in comments, and let me know where you chose to follow them in social media.

To enter, leave a comment below answering the question by 12 a.m. PST Friday, March 9, 2013. The contest is only open to residents of the United States who are 18 years or older. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to claim the prize before another winner is selected. Additional rules listed below. Good luck!

You can learn more about the Preferred Family program and website here. And see the stories of my stays at two different Preferred properties:

The Kitano Hotel: A peaceful New York City oasis for families

Luxury comfort, and fun for families at Topnotch Resort and Spa

I was compensated for this post by the Preferred Hotel Group and participate as a blogger in their Preferred Family program. You can always count on me to share when a post is sponsored and also my honest opinions.

Photos of the palm trees and of the kayaks courtesy of Sarah_Ackerman on Flickr. Other photos courtesy of the Preferred Hotel Group.

Contest rules

A purchase or payment will not improve your chances of winning. Void where prohibited. This sweepstakes begins on March 4, 2013 and ends at 12:00 a.m. PST on March 9, 2013. The prize is provided by Preferred Hotels Group.

By entering, a participant agrees to release, indemnify, and hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, and each of their respective Officers, Directors, Employees, Agents and Representatives from any liability (including without limitation liability for any property loss, damage, personal injury, bodily injury, death, loss, expense, accident, delay, inconvenience or irregularity), cost and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable outside attorney’s fees and costs) that may arise in connection with: (1) the entrants participation or inability to participate in the Sweepstakes; (2) typographical errors in these Official Rules or any Sweepstakes promotion materials; (3) acceptance or possession, defects in, use, misuse, or inability to use any prize (or any component thereof) (except any product warranty applicable at the time of sale); (4) any change by Sponsor or any other person providing any of the components of a prize due to reasons beyond Sponsor’s control or as otherwise permitted hereunder; (5) any interruption in or postponement, cancellation, or modification of the Sweepstakes; (6) human error; (7) incorrect or inaccurate transcription, receipt or transmission of any part of an entry (including without limitation, the entry information or any part thereof); (8) any technical malfunctions or unavailability of the site, network, computer online system, computer equipment, software or internet service provider utilized by Sponsor or its parent, subsidiaries or affiliates or by any entrants; (9) interruption or inability to access the contest, any contest-related web pages or any online service via the internet due to hardware or software compatibility problems; (10) any damage to entrants (or any third persons) computer or its contents related to or resulting from any part of the contest; (11) any lost or delayed data transmission, omission, interruption, defects, or any other error or malfunction; (12) any wrongful, negligent or unauthorized act or omission on the part of Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries or affiliates or any of their Agents or Employees; or (13) any other cause, condition or event whatsoever beyond the control of Sponsor, its parent, subsidiary or affiliate. Each winner hereby acknowledged that Sponsor has neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guarantee, expressed or implied, in fact or in Law, relative to any Prize or component thereof.