Maui Travel Tips and Favorites

Maui Travel Tips and Favorites:

Last January, we visited beautiful Maui. We were celebrating our 15th year of marriage. We loved every second that we spent on the beautiful Island of Maui!

It is definitely not a cheap vacation, and we knew we probably would only be going once, so we made sure to pack in all of the beautiful scenery, yummy food, and fun activities that we could in our week on Maui.

We used the “Ulitmate Maui Guide” book for a lot of the ideas and eating spots. It was helpful, but we wanted to relax too…we were super busy the first few days and rested the last two (we were really lazy the last two days).

I’m so excited to share some of our favorite stops, eats, and activities on Maui with you today. It’s hard to describe in photographs and words how breathtaking this island is. Maui is magical!

Staying In Lahaina

We stayed in Lahaina at the Marriott. We loved the beach nearby and hammocks.

You can walk all along the beach, and are in walking distance to shopping and restaurants.

You can find fun beach side places to eat along the way.

There are umbrella and beach chair rentals along the way, and fun poolside/beachside grills. We loved spending a couple of days just being lazy, laying in hammocks, reading, and enjoying yummy food!

You can find a lot of beach equipment rentals too along the beach. It was so peaceful and relaxing, and not too crowded.

Lahaina Town

Lahaina Town (Downtown Lahaina). We loved spending some evenings in Lahaina town. Such a charming street full of fun shops and yummy food. We loved this at night with the street lit up. Save this for night so you can enjoy all the island beauty in the day!

We enjoyed Dole Whips and found some cute souviners for the kids. There are also a few yummy restaurants on the main street. Dinner at Prison Street Pizza in Lahaina Town was one of our favorite meals in Maui.

Catamaran Trips

We love a good catamaran trip, especially with snorkeling!

We took the Gemini at 11 am (perfect time) for snorkeling and whale watching. It was the best day, and probably my favorite activity during our week in Maui. The Gemini has snorkel gear and a yummy lunch! The crew was so much fun and showed us a great time! Try their POG drink (yummiest juice), it stands for Passion Fruit, Orange Juice, and Guava! We were on the boat until around 4 pm. We saw sea turtles while snorkeling at a coral reef. On the way back to the Island, we were able to see a lot of whales! The winter months in Maui are great for whale watching.

Road to Hana

This is a must do when you visit Maui! It will make you nervous at times! You will travel around on a very narrow and winding road. But the scenery is beautiful. Gorgeous waterfalls, lush trees and plants, beautiful beaches, fun hikes, and yummy treats along the way.

Start Early! Off by 8am. Buy the Cd tour at a local gas station before starting out on the road to Hana. We loved stopping at overlooks, waterfalls, the black sand beach and other beaches, and food stands. We tried banana bread at Aunt Sandys on the Keanae Peninsula (they also have gorgeous views, and old church, and a random mini horse Haha!)  Expect rain! It is a rain forest side of the island so it rains off and on. Bring changes of clothes, towels, water bottles, snacks. And make sure you have a full tank of gas.

The road is super narrow so drive slow…we were driving back in the dark and that was scary.

We tried toffee macadamia nut toffee and coconut ice cream along the way.

We got caught in a rain storm Waimoku Falls and Oheo Pools (seven pools) but it was beautiful. This is after you reach Hana so keep going if you want to go to these pools and falls that are also part of Haleakala National Park.

This is a great resource:

http://roadtohana.com/sights.php

 

Haleakala Summit

NOTE:  (If you go to the summit, save your receipt for the National Park entry…it will get you into Waimoku falls and Oheo Pools.)

We drove up in the afternoon to the Haleakala summit to watch the sunset. Bring a jacket because it is really cold at the top. Leave when there is a lot of daylight to see the Maui countryside as you drive up. The sunset is so amazing! It was scary driving down the summit in the dark…a narrow road and drop offs. So just drive slow. We loved stopping in different spots to get sunset pictures. I know there are tours for the sunrise…but we weren’t waking up at 3 am! HA!

Either drive up for the sunrise or sunset. There are tours for the sunrise.

https://www.nps.gov/hale/index.htm

Places we loved to eat:

Dukes Beach House in Lahaina (Best macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syurp)

Leilani’s in Lahaina

Prison Street Pizza

Kaanapali Grill (fun live music at night)

We also ate at the Marriott Pool side Grill

Leilani’s by the Sea is in Lahaina is so yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We ate at the top restaurant during the sunset one night. They have the best fish tacos (and I don’t love fish but I loved these)

There are so many other places to eat along the beach that we didn’t try.

A Costco is right by the Maui airport, for food and snacks.

There are grocery stores and fast food options in Lahaina.

We heard great things about Mama’s fish house on the North Shore. Brian’s parents love it. We didn’t try it though.

There are so many other things to do and see. But remember to relax and just take a few days to be lazy in between all of the exploring fun!

 

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