Honeymoon In Maui

After a very long flight it was really nice to arrive at the Kea Lani Resort and be greeted by a refreshing glass of orange-pineapple juice and a Lai. We rented a car but wanted a jeep and they told us to come back in two days and one would be available so we did. In eleven days we went through three vehicles (My husband was telling me how to drive a 4x4 and he's the one who got a flat tire in the lava pools!) To this day I don't let him live that one down! After they gave us another jeep (instead of a new tire) we were back on our way site seeing. We saw everything from Haleakala Volcano to the road to Hana, we covered the entire island which took the entire eleven days. Believe it or not us both being certified scuba divers we never set foot in the ocean! We were too busy exploring the island, Hiking and swimming in waterfalls and we even took a Helicopter ride. We would leave the Resort in the morning and wouldn't return until it was dark or close to it!

Quick Tips:

The first two days we ate breakfast at the Resort and if we kept that up we would have been broke by the end of the week! The breakfast cost us each day! I thought they found the goose who laid golden eggs!!! What I recommend is what we did, get in your jeep and drive into town there they have an Ihop and a Denny's Restaurant. We ate at the Ihop and the prices were just a dollar or so higher than the one by our house.

Since we were on the road all day we stopped a the local Super K-Mart (which sold just about everything even Liquor and Beer) and we bought a styrofoam cooler and a bag of ice, some bottled water and sodas then we stopped at Subway and got Hoagies and chips for our trip and we had a picnic lunch wherever the road would take us!

Best Way To Get Around:

Unless you want to spend the entire trip at your resort, you should rent a car or even better....a jeep! There is so much to see on the island and you'll be doing plenty of driving and hiking to see the sites!

We stayed in a suite which was very, very nice. It had a large oversized bathroom and tub with a separate shower a living room with full entertainment center with a 27" TV, CD player, VCR and stereo. The bedroom had a king sized bed and another TV. A balcony overlooking either the Gardens or Ocean, we were on the corner so we had both!

It has two large swimming pools one was two-levels with a water slide and the other was reserved just for adults with a swim up bar. At night they would light the Tiki Torches along the paths and around the pool of the entire hotel, it was really pretty!

It is located right on Polo beach and has a sceanic walkway connecting the other resorts. It has a full featured Spa and Fitness center and also Golf and Tennis.

The poolside grille "The Polo Beach Grille" had great food and drinks!

There are three Chart House Restaurants on the island of Maui, we ate at two of them. One was in Wailea on the Golf Course and the second was in Kahului near the Airport with an Ocean view. We really enjoy the Chart House I always get the Prime Rib King Cut and my husband gets a Filet Mignon and a huge Baked Potato with almost everything on top! Their fresh warm bread just melts in your mouth. They also have a large salad bar and clam bar. We never found where the third one was, If you find out let me know!

Haleakala is a volcano that stands 10,023 feet at the summit. It costs $10 a vehicle or $5 for hikers, bicyclists or motorcycles. The pass is good for seven days. I hear sunset and sunrises are beautiful, but we didn't see any.

On a clear day you can see 115 miles, so check out the other islands! On the summit is a satellite-tracking station and an observation station.

Bring along some warm clothes, something we didn't do! We were in shorts and bathing suits on our drive. It was around 90 degrees at the beach, and as we drove our jeep up the mountain without the roof and windows we felt the temperature change ALOT! Driving through the clouds and around and around the turns it started to get colder and colder with every turn! Luckily we had beach towels in the jeep that we got covered up with. It was in the upper 30's when we reached the summit, Brrrrrr!

The view was great! But since we were so cold we didn't stay up there quite as long as we wanted to.

You have to make reservations for the dinner and show. It gets very crowded. The Luau is held right on the beach in Lahaina, so be prepared to see a beautiful sunset.
The huge pig gets cooked in a large pit on the beach made out of rocks and large leaves. The only thing, I didn't like looking at it right before we had to eat. The food was very good except for the Poy, which the server told me was something like our potato. Well it wasn't!! It tasted awful! More like paste.
The show was wonderful, They made it into a story about the islanders with dance and fire! It's something you have to see at least once when your in Hawaii!
While we were there we bought a basket and a head band made out of palm leaves, that was made right in front of us.

This was expensive, but a once in a lifetime chance. It costs $145 per person for about a 40-45 minute round trip flight. It was beautiful and Im glad we did it!

Once you get in the helicopter everyone puts on headphones so you can hear the pilot and there is also soft music playing in the background. I felt like I was in Jurassic Park when the helicopter came to a huge waterfall and got right along side of it as we followed it to the bottom!

The ride we went on took us to Haleakala Crater (volcano), Seven Sacred Pools, The Hana Rain Forest, to see alot of different Waterfalls and the Beaches and Valleys along the North Shore.

This is a very beauitful and popular place and a great place to do some hiking. We visited this place more than once during our stay, this was our swimming hole instead of the ocean. Those of you who don't like salt water will love this because it's fresh mountain water coming from the high elevations of Haleakala. Yes the water is very cold so get nice and hot hiking the trails! I thought someone was putting ice cubes in it!

There are more than seven pools and after the water runs through one pool a waterfall attaches it to another than to another until it finally reaches the ocean.

In one of my pictures you will see a very high bridge, the locals have painted a large red "X" on the bridge. The "X" is where your supposed to stand before you jump off the bridge into the one pool. I would have hated to be the one to find the right spot before the "X" was there! It's a very high jump and there are shallow spots and a lot of boulder size rocks under the water.

The Iao Valley State Park has numerous trails for hiking. In the main part of the park the trails are paved so they are accessible to every level hiker, but where the paving ends, footpaths lead on into the thick greenery. The further you go the less well traveled the trail. The park is small only about 6 acres, but with all the trails it seems bigger.

The Iao needle is 1,200 feet tall. There was a battle fought here in 1790 called the Battle of Kepaniwai.

This is definately a must do! Take my advice start out in the morning and when your on the road to Hana don't turn around and go back the same way, continue going in one direction only! With all the stopping and hiking or even picture taking you won't be back until dark! At least we weren't!

We started out on Route 36 or 360 (same road) up by the airport by Paia. It's a road that travels along the coastline. From Paia to Hana is only 52 miles, but these miles pass through a variety of Maui's rain forests, winding through 617 hairpin turns and crossing 56 one lane bridges!

There are many places to stop along the way to go hiking or to swim under a waterfall so bring your camera and alot of film! One place to stop is only about 11 miles past Paia, but you have to do some hiking. It's called "Twin Falls." It's the north shore's most popular waterfall at about 60 foot tall. The mile marker goes to number 16 but then it starts back at 0 so if your going by them pass #16 and go to #2 mile marker. If you're just going by miles it's around 18 mile mark. You'll probably see a few cars parked there. Follow the trail and it will take you to the waterfall and lots of scenery.

Pack a lunch and tank up your car in Paia, I don't remember seeing any gas stations along the way. They have a few places to eat in Hana, but we packed a lunch and ate at the seven sacred pools which is about 40 miles past Hana.

Hana isn't the attraction the entire road is, around every turn is a kodak moment! Remember when you cross one of the 56 one lane bridges slow down or stop and look for a waterfall, there's a good chance you'll find one!

As I said before don't turn around to go back to your hotel, It's faster if you just keep on going one direction! The road number change but you'll never turn off. Take Rt 36 or 360 then it turns into 31 than 37 and that will take you back towards the airport. Get a local map to get you back to your hotel a little easier.

Watch out for cows crossing the road past the seven pools, we had a few who wanted to take a rest in the middle of the road! If you go off road just be careful (as my husband will tell you) the lava can get very sharp on tires and puncture them! What a place to get a flat tire in the middle of no where!