One Week in Maui

There is so much to do and see in Maui, besides just lying on the beach! We visited a total of 11 beaches in our one week there.

Here are the places I recommend seeing the most:

Beaches (in order of favorite to least favorite):

• Kaanapali Beach: Super clear, calm water

• Napili Bay: Prettiest water, but got really crowded

• Big Beach: Beautiful water and sand

• Makena Beach: Good for snorkeling and seeing turtles at the cove

• Wailea Beach: Beautiful sunsets

• Po’olenalena Beach: Has some shade and lava rocks

• Koki Beach: Red sand beach along road to Hana

• Hana Bay Beach: Black sand beach along road to Hana

• Kamole I, II and III Beaches: Good for surfing or outrigger canoeing

Road to Hana:

Definitely set aside a day to do the Road to Hana if you’ve never done it before! It is a super long day but so worth it! It was about 8hrs round trip of driving for us from our condo, not including all the stops we did. I found this blog online that was really helpful in planning. The roads are really small and windy, so I took a Dramamine beforehand since I am prone to car sickness. We downloaded the GyPSy Guide Maui app since there is no phone service most of the way there. It guides you through with GPS and narrates the history of Maui with all the best stops! If you want to visit the Waianapanapa State Park, make sure and reserve it online a few weeks out. We stopped at the bamboo forest, rainbow eucalyptus trees at the Ke’anae Arboretum, Nahiku Marketplace, Hana Bay Beach, Koki Beach, Hana Town and the Seven Sacred Pools. We also did a few turn-offs to see viewpoints and waterfalls along the way.

Upcountry Maui:

We spent an afternoon in Upcountry Maui and thought it was beautiful and a unique area to visit! We went to Ali’i Kula Lavendar Farms and there were amazing views of the whole island. We took some photos in the lavender and then got a lavender tea and some goodies from the gift shop. We then drove to Grandma’s Coffee House, which is known to be one of the best coffee shops in Maui! After that we drove to Maui Wine and did a wine tasting of their amazing pineapple wine! It’s actually made of fermented pineapples instead of grapes, so it wasn’t too sweet and is probably the best white wine I’ve ever had! Definitely brought back a few bottles.

Snorkeling:

There are so many places to snorkel in Maui and see beautiful fish and sea turtles! We did one tour through Seafire Snorkeling that took us out to Molokini Crater and another spot where we saw a bunch of turtles. We thought Molokini was a bit overrated since we saw just as many fish and sea creatures as other free spots along the beach. Some other great snorkeling spots were Makena Cove where there's a bunch of turtles or Kaanapali Beach.

Sunset sail:

My brother and I booked a surprise private sunset sail for my mom’s birthday gift, and it was probably the highlight of the vacation! We booked it through Shadowfax Sailing and they were so accommodating! It was just us two, the captain and two crew members, and we had a great time getting to know them along our sail. They played Hawaiian music, served us appetizers and champagne and smoothly sailed along the coast out of Maalaea Harbor. It was so fun and relaxing, and we got some amazing photos as the sun was setting!

Shopping:

Visit Shops at Wailea and some boutiques in Paia- Boutique Aloha, Mahina Boutique, Pearl Butik, Simmer, Maui Girl.

Sunrise at Haleakala Crater:

This was another thing on our list we ended up not doing, but I got a lot of recommendations for! We decided not to do it since the drive sounded pretty daunting (windy, cliffside roads with low visibility in the dark). I was also worried about dealing with altitude sickness since it’s the highest elevation gain in the shortest amount of time in the world (10,000ft above sea level)! However, if driving on small roads and at altitude doesn’t bother you, it looks like an unreal experience to watch the sun rise above the clouds!

Probably the most important part of this blog post right here!! Maui has the most amazing food, whether at an expensive restaurant with a view, or a cheap food truck, you really can’t go wrong! We got groceries to make easy breakfasts at our Airbnb and sandwiches for lunches at the beach. We also went to a local farmers market to cook some fresh Ono fish with Maui onions and purple sweet potatoes for dinner one night.

Here are our favorite spots:

• Mama’s Fish House: Reserve super far in advance! Amazing view and food but pretty pricey $$$.

• Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice: We went here twice and it was so good. Get macadamia nut ice cream on the bottom.

• Miso Phat Sushi: Fresh fish, great for takeout/picnic on the beach.

• MonkeyPod: Go for happy hour and get the Mai Tais. They were the best we’ve ever had!

• Coconuts Fish Cafe: We also went here multiple times for takeout, amazing fresh fish and fish tacos.

• Hula Grill: Requires reservations far in advance, beautiful view and live music, amazing crab-topped Mahi Mahi.

• Baya Bowls: Food truck with delicious acai bowls.

• 5 Palms: Nice sunset view for dinner, fresh fish.

• Kihei Caffe: Authentic Hawaiian breakfast dishes. Long line but worth it!

• Thai Mee Up: On our way to the airport, we stopped at the food truck with the best Pad Thai I’ve ever had.

• Akamai Coffee: Another great coffee shop, we took some beans home with us.