Honeymooning in Maui

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Maui is arguably the most popular island in Hawaii -- and for good reason. Maui has it all: unbelievable natural beauty and splendor, some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, fantastic surfing, an explorable volcano, shopping, great restaurants... Need I continue?

My husband and I spent 7 days in Kauai (see Honeymooning in Kauai), which was a garden paradise. Going to Maui from Kauai was quite a shock! Maui is hopping compared to Kauai -- in Kauai, oftentimes it would be just me and my husband and maybe a handful of others at a beach, hiking, in a restaurant or a store. In Maui, there are people milling everywhere. We had to wait to get into restaurants, stood in lines to purchase items, etc. It was a little bit like easing ourselves back into reality while still in paradise.

While it was still high tide, we were able to do a little bit more swimming in the ocean, although it was still quite dangerous. February is peak whale watching season, which was definitely a highlight of the trip! Whale watching was high on my list of things to do and while I was disappointed by not seeing any in Kauai, Maui definitely did not disappoint. We had an ocean view from our hotel room and saw about 3 whales playing close to the shore on our last day in Maui. It was fabulous!

I had never been snorkeling before, and I wasn't terribly keen on it (I have an irrational sharkphobia). However, my husband really wanted to try it, and Maui is known to have some of the best snorkeling in the world, so we decided to go. I loved it! We took a sailboat charter to Molokini, which is a small crescent-shaped sunken crater that protects snorklers, coral, and fish from the tide. The visibility is amazing -- as this was my first time snorkeling, I can't compare it to anything. However, I loved everything about it! My sharkphobia dissipated, partly because the water was so clear that I would have been able to see any sharks that were approaching from over 100 feet away, and also because I was so fascinated by the coral and fish that I didn't have time to be scared!

I also loved going to Lahaina and walking around the town. There's a huge banyan tree in the center of town that amazed both me and my husband -- it has to be seen to be believed. It occupies as space about as big as a city block and it's all one tree. As the tree grows, the branches dip towards the ground and "plant" a new tree. And the cycle continues. Definitely worth seeing!

We did do the sunrise at the summit of Haleakala. I'm glad that we did it, but I wouldn't do it again. It's one of those things that is worth doing once, in my opinion. We woke up at 3:30 am to drive up the volcano, got there about 5:00 am and waited (I slept in the rental car) until about 6:00 am for the sun to rise. Man oh man, was it ever cold! I had on just about every single thing I had in my suitcase (we had been forewarned) and I was still freezing! The sunrise was beautiful, but my coldness and fatigue slightly suppressed my delight. It was great driving down the volcano though, watching the rising sun kissing the island. We went back to the hotel room and crashed for a few hours before starting the rest of the day :)

Quick Tips:

DO bring warm clothes (like long johns and wool socks) if you are planning to see the sunrise over Haleakala. You might feel silly for packing them, but you'll be glad you have them. The summit is over 10,000 feet above sea level and it really is cold.
DO go snorkeling at Molokini. It's extremely relaxing and fun!
DO go to Maui during whale watching season (Nov - May)! It was an awesome experience to see these enormous creatures. And if you do go during whale season, DO get a room with an ocean view -- it's worth it!
DO eat Hula Pie!!! :) Save room at dinner and split it with someone!
DO drive the road to Hana before noon and make sure you have a full tank of gas. We went in the late afternoon and most of the waterfalls had either dried up or were just trickling. DO NOT buy gas in Hana (if you can at all help it)-- we paid .50/gallon (because we were running on fumes).

Best Way To Get Around:

You definitely need a rental car on Maui. Our rental car was a Dodge Neon, which was servicable, but a small letdown after our Jeep Wrangler. We certainly weren't able to offroad safely. I think either a Jeep Wrangler or a convertible would be the best vehicles for Maui -- when you're driving the road to Hana, there's so much that's above the road that you miss when your car is covered.

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We stayed at the Royal Lahaina, which is right on Kaanapali Beach. The first thing we noticed is that we had to pay $9/day for parking! The entry way is fairly spacious and filled with a dark wood, which feels authentically Hawaiian. Everything was clean and well kept.

In addition to the hotel tower are cottages that are located around the property. We stayed in the tower, but the cottages seemed like they would be good for families. They were very close to the beach and pool area. Our hotel room was clean, if not spacious. We got upgraded to an oceanside room (gotta love the honeymoon special) -- which was terrific. We unfortunately did not have a kitchen like we did at our timeshare in Kauai, so we went to the Walmart in Kahului and stocked up on some granola bars for breakfast and other snacks.

By far the best feature of the Royal Lahaina was the location -- Kaanapali Beach is fantastic and literally right outside of the hotel. There are two pools available for guests to use -- they were a little small and nothing to write home about, but they were clean and there were beach chairs that were available. However, the pools are disappointing when compared to the pools at the Sheraton, which is next door. Actually the Royal Lahaina is a disappointment when compared to the Sheraton! If you can't afford to stay at the Sheraton (we couldn't), walk through it. It's gorgeous!

All in all, the Royal Lahaina is in a great location, is clean, and is serviceable. If you can remember that you don't go to Maui to spend time in your hotel room, it is perfect.

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We went to Hula Grill the first night we were in Maui. It's located in Whaler's Village, right on Kaanapali Beach. We watched the sunset as we ate -- the view couldn't have been more perfect. It was fun to people-watch (something that we couldn't do in Kauai). It was basically a bar atmosphere; they had live music, sports on the tv's at the bar and typical bar food (sandwiches, salads). It was fairly inexpensive, if you stuck to the sandwiches.

I got a hamburger, my husband got a chicken stir fry, which was surprisingly good. My hamburger was very good -- it may have been that I was starving, or it was really good. It was probably a combination of both. Both of our meals were served with macaroni salad, and I had french fries. We decided to order the Hula Pie and we were shocked and delighted! It was a slice of pie about 8 inches tall, with an oreo crust and macadamia nut ice cream with hot fudge drizzled on top with a dollop of whipped cream. YUM!!! We were both in pain walking back to our hotel room... But it was worth it!

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After our disappointing experience at Kintaro in Kauai, I was eager to go to another sushi restaurant to get a better experience of the fresh fish that Hawaii has to offer. My husband, who is not the sushi aficionado, was more reluctant. We saw that Kobe had both teppan-yaki (which is when about eight people sit around a table and have a Japanese chef cook the food at the table) and sushi, and after a little bit of prodding, my husband agreed to go.

The restaurant is very big, with the sushi bar to your left and the teppan-yaki tables to the right. We went fairly early and there was no wait. We sat with six others at a generously sized table. I ordered my sushi (I was conservative, only ordered tuna and California rolls) and we sat down to watch our talented chef cook our chicken and beef entrees. The sushi was fast and fresh (the rolls were tight - loosely rolled sushi is one of my personal pet peeves). The chef was entertaining, flipping pieces of vegetables and eggs (with the shells on) into various crevices of his chef's attire (i.e., hats, pockets, etc.). The food was good, not great, but we knew we were paying more for the atmosphere and entertainment than for great food. Overall, it was a good experience, and my sushi craving had been allayed at last!

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After we decided to go snorkeling at Molokini, we had a multitude of options from which to choose. Did we want to go on a sailboat or a power boat? Did we want a BBQ lunch or a deli lunch? Did we want a large, medium, or small boat? This is where Maui Revealed really came in handy. They had reviewed a bunch of these snorkeling boats and provided a concise summary of the ones they liked the best. Based on their review, we decided to go on the Paragon, a medium-sized sailboat. It was a great decision!

The ride to and from Molokini was almost as enjoyable as the actual snorkeling. It was fun to watch the crew members sail -- you could tell they really enjoyed what they did. It was smooth sailing (no pun intended) from the island to Molokini. There is a trampoline at the front of the boat that you can sit on and get water splashing up at you -- which was nicer on the ride back than the ride there. There was a light continental breakfast available, as well as a deli lunch that you could eat either before or after you snorkeled.

On the way back, the crew was more than happy to assist us in spotting whales and other sea creatures that we otherwise would have missed. I was disappointed when we had to disembark. Definitely one of the highlights of the trips -- both the sailing and the snorkeling.