Maui is my favorite Hawaiian island; it's an island you can get away from all the hustle and bustle and enjoy nature.
Accommodation:
We stayed at Maui Kai in Kaanapali condos, right on the beach. Sadly, the water has rose over the years and taken all the beach with it, but if you walk down 50 meters you will find lots of beach.
Things To Do:
1. Road to Hana
In my opinion, this is the highlight of Maui. The Road to Hana is a 64 mile winding road that takes you to hidden waterfalls, food trucks and food stands, black sand beaches, and lava tubes. You will need all day to explore here, a couple days would be even better.
TIP: Bring a jacket (it's usually sprinkling on and off here) and clothing you don't care if you get muddy.
PRO TIP: Rent a convertible, it's the only proper way to see the beauty of Hana!
There is a giant lava tube on the way to the Road to Hana, but you have to pay $12. Instead, there is a FREE one, but the entrance is a little tricky to spot. Its just a hole in the side of a mountain at mile marker 23.
Somewhere on this stretch of Hana, there is an unofficial tent set up on the side of the road that says "BBQ Ribs." (they also have chicken) We stopped and boy am I glad we did, it was delish!
The Hawaiian family dishing up the food was wonderful too. We discovered his name was Leo and he used to be a lineman at ASU back in the day.
At mile marker 32.2, you will arrive at Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach. Watch out, the waves are huge!
2. Snorkel
We booked a snorkel excursion that left at 6 in the morning and took us to 2 snorkeling spots (one was Monokini Crater) by boat. The spots were nice, but not the best I've ever seen (the best is in the Caribbean). I saw a few fish, a baby squid, and a giant sea turtle though!
The excursion included breakfast and lunch, which had a nice selection of burgers, dogs, and chicken.
This tour was done by the Pacific Whale Foundation and I recommend this tour because they use the money to protect the ocean.
3. (Another) Luau
We went to the best luau in Honolulu called Paradise Cove (see previous blog). This one was at the Hyatt Recency and not nearly as great. All that was included was dinner and a show. Unlike Paradise Cove that had actual activities like canoeing, tribal tattooing, lei making, etc.
The only factor I liked better about this luau compared to Paradise Cove was the variety of food and dessert. However, the food doesn't even come close to as good as Paradise Cove's food.
4. Church on the beach
Back in 2008, we stumbled across this church on the beach and now in 2018, we got to attend again. It is called Calvary Chapel Westside. You can even spot sea turtles surfacing behind the pastor as he speaks. Great vibes!!
Food:
1. Da Kitchen
If you want some traditional Hawaiian food, you have to try Da Kitchen! Yummy and the portions are huge!
For appetizer we ordered the "Fried Spam Musabi," two thumbs up!!
The top bowl is the Loco Moco and the bottom is a mixed plate. Basically a bunch of meat and rice goodness! We had leftovers for dayssssss.
2. Ululani's Hawaiian Shaved Ice
Supposedly the best shaved ice on the island, and "they" were right! This place adds a scoop of ice cream in the middle, why didn't I think of that!?
I got a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream with half peach, half GOP (Hawaii's special drink mixture: guava, orange, pineapple). YUM! And they definitely don't skimp on the juice!
