Waikiki Beach Parasail · Families

Parasailing with kids in Waikiki

Children fly from age 5, sharing a harness with a parent on a tandem or triple flight. The harness goes on while they stand on the boat deck, the crew stays with them through takeoff and landing, and nobody touches the water unless they ask to.

How old do kids need to be?

Five and up. There is no separate junior flight — a child flies the same flight as everyone else — any line length, up to 1,200 feet, on the same canopy, from the same deck. What changes is who is in the harness with them: a five-year-old does not fly alone.

Why kids fly tandem or triple

The flight rules are about weight, not age. A solo flyer needs to weigh at least 130 lb so the canopy stays properly loaded, which rules out solo flights for almost every child. Instead, a child flies tandem with one adult or triple with two, and the combined weight of everyone in the harness needs to land between 125 and 560 lb. Two parents and a small child is a triple. One parent and a teenager is a tandem. You don’t need to do the arithmetic — tell the crew who is flying and they will put the group together on the day. The full numbers are in the weight and age limits guide.

What the crew does with young flyers

• The harness goes on standing on the deck, not in the water. The crew fits it, checks it and explains what is about to happen while the boat heads out from Kewalo Basin Harbor.
• The crew stays with young flyers through takeoff and landing. The line pays out from a winch on the boat, so a child rises gradually from the deck rather than jumping off anything, and is reeled back down onto the same deck afterwards.
• Nobody gets wet by default. The mid-flight dip is optional and only happens if your group asks for it. A nervous child can stay completely dry, which also means they don’t need to be able to swim.
• Captains are USCG-certified and the operation follows the ASTM standards for parasailing. The captain makes the final call on weather and conditions for every flight.

Will they be scared?

Most children are more nervous on the dock than in the air. Once the canopy is up the ride is quiet — there is no engine noise at the end of the line, no sudden movements, and a parent is strapped in right next to them. The parts to prepare them for are the ordinary boat things: the deck moves, it is bright and breezy, and there is some waiting while other flyers go up. Flying as a triple with both parents is the usual answer for a child who wants company on each side.

Planning the day

• Check in 30 minutes before your departure time. With kids, give yourself that margin rather than aiming for it.
• Plan on up to an hour on the boat. The flight itself happens inside that window, and the rest is the ride out, other flyers’ turns and the ride back. Bring water and a snack for the wait.
• Dress for sun and wind. Sunscreen, a hat they can take off before flying, sunglasses with a strap, and a light layer for the boat. A swimsuit only matters if they want the dip.
• Leave the loose stuff behind. Anything that goes up should be zipped into a pocket or tethered. Phones are easy to lose from that height.
• Booking is per flyer, from $75, and cancellation is free. If the weather turns before a safe flight is possible you reschedule at no charge or get a full refund, which matters when you are planning around nap times and a holiday itinerary.

Flights run daily, year-round, weather permitting. Sea and wind conditions on the day can change what works for a given group; the final call is always the captain’s.