Maui, Hawaii

Oh where to begin with paradise?

1 week in Maui: What to see, do and eat.

Our 19 hour countdown until we touchdown in paradise began once we hit our first airport of three. Now skipping ahead to the good stuff and our first morning on the island of Maui.

Mom and I rose early in the morning anxiously wanting to explore the whole island, but patience and pacing are key. Stop and smell each flower and embrace the beauty around every corner.

Stay: We stayed in a nice airbnb apartment in Kihei right next to Kalama Beach. This is the best run for your money and a local area with little tourist. It’s about a 20 minute drive from the airport on the south side of the island.

Day 1:

• Whale Center: We started about 9am and headed out to see what the town of Kihei held for us. Upon stumbling into the Whale Museum, we found sea turtles and lots of them!! Most turtles are beached in the early morning getting rest so scan the beaches before the sun rises!
• Kihei Craft Market: Kihei also has a nice craft market where you can buy Maui Gold pineapples and cute flowers for your hair.
• Tip: Poke is a must while on the island. Getting it at any local grocery store will save you money and be better than any stand.

Day 2:

• Mount Haleakala: This is a must while you are here. We did sunrise and the view of the crater is incredible. You must book the sunrise ticket in advance as they only let a limited number in. We left our house about 3am to make it up the mountain in time for 5am sunrise. Sunrise Booking
• Maui Lavender: After sunrise, head over to the yummy lavender field. Note, it does not open until 10am but we stayed in the area to make it. They have yummy lemon lavender bars and beautiful gardens.
• Town of Makawao: As you make your way back down the mountain, head over to this cute little town. Here we went to the oldest bakery on the island. They have the best Malasada, you can get them plain or filled with guava. (It also happened to be National Donut Day).
• Cowgirl Coffee: Grab an ice latte with macadamia milk.

Day 3:

• Hawaiian Shaved Ice: Hands down, best snow cones ever. No worries, they are on every corner.
• Coconut’s: If you have been looking for fish tacos, this is the place to be. Voted best tacos on the island, and they were right. We also got the fish and chips and it was equally as good. The fish were Ono and Mahi Mahi.

Day 4:

• Scuba Diving: We booked a 2 day dive with Maui Dive Shop and they deserve 5 stars. We did 2 beach dives and 2 boat dives the next day. Kristen and Rico did a fantastic job as our dive masters. Two of our dives were at Molokini Crater and Turtle Town.  We did see a manta ray, white tip reef shark and turtles!
• Ohana: Happy Hour 3-6pm everyday. You can’t beat $4 Mai Tai’s along with the best fried calamari. They also have a sushi special during happy hour.
• Tip: Come about 5:30pm to make it to happy hour and to finish dinner with a short walk across the street for sunset.

Day 5:

• Road to Hana: We left about 7am and didn’t make it back home until 6:30. This is an all day drive, but so worth it. With over 600 turns and 50 one way bridges, there is something new around every corner.
• Lunch: About half way through the drive, stop for some roadside lunch. You can’t go wrong with coconut shrimp or the pork tacos.
• Tip: Download the app, Gypsy Guide: Road to Hana. This app was basically our own tour guide. It told us the best things to see, what to skip, where to park, and so much more. This is so worth the $7. It works while your phone has no service and gives you secrets you wouldn’t have known otherwise!!

Day 6:

• Town of Paia: For the best shopping and traditional Hawaiian town feel make your way to this little town. This town is known for the waves and watching the surfers. Sea La Vie was my favorite shop which also had a small coffee counter inside! I did the rose gold latte (made with rose water) with house made almond milk.
• WOWWOW Lemonade: To be honest, this was on every other blog before and I was not that impressed. It’s expensive but cute for sure. I did the açaí bowl and it was yummy!
• Luau: We booked our luau for our last night on the island and it was a special way to end the trip. We booked at Maui Marriott Wailea (5 minute drive from our Airbnb) and wow did they put on a show!! They offered free Hawaiian tattoos, cocktails and flowers for the hair. My favorite part of the meal was the Kalua chicken and coconut sweet potatoes.

 

Hope you all have enjoyed this colorful and hopefully insight post about Maui. Comment and let me know what your favorite things are to do on Maui and where you love to eat!

 

Grace and blessings,

Meghan