Summer Vacation to Maui

My mom and I visited the island of Maui the summer after I graduated high school. It was a trip for my graduation. We had a wonderful trip, but it was a long flight there. It is an 8- to 9-hour flight from the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, and that is a long time in a plane. We had a rental car when we landed on the island of Maui. It was a nice, new convertible, so we got our stuff and headed on our drive to our hotel.

We stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel in Lahina. Our hotel was nice but smaller than some of the resorts around. The drive to the hotel was great, as the weather and the views were perfect. The island was really neat and so clean. They keep all the medians and areas along the roads racked, watered, and nicely pruned. They were just beautiful. There was also a really nice golf course across from our hotel that actually had overpasses for the golf carts to go over the highway. It was all so neat and nice and unlike things I had seen before. It is a place you can truly sit back and relax.

Everyone in Hawaii seems to be really laid-back and relaxed. The television programs often start 10 or 15 minutes late, as they are not on time schedules there; it is just when they get to it. They often use the expression Hawaiian time, meaning it will be late.

The island of Maui offers a lot of sightseeing. They have a drive that is a narrow road going to many waterfalls. It is supposed to be a beautiful drive, but we did not go there, and I really regret it now. Also, they have an inactive volcano that you can drive to the top of, and they also offer biking trips on it. We did go see the inactive volcano, and it was a really neat sight. I could not believe all the different colors on the soil or the temperature change. When we got to the top, it was quite breezy and cool. There are sugar cane and pineapple farms. They have a national park there, too. Maui is also known for their whale sightings. There are a number of hotels, resorts, restaurants, and golf courses on the island. The beach and ocean were beautiful.

Quick Tips:

See the sights while you are there. I was worried about going to the beach and getting a tan, and now I feel like I missed out on a lot of the sights.

Best Way To Get Around:

I rented a car and would do the same again. It is worth the cost, since there is so much on the island to see and it is pretty spread out.

This hotel is located directly on the world-famous Kannapali Beach in Maui. It is considered the most Hawaiian hotel in Maui. It is not a big, fancy resort like many others, but a really nice place at the same time. It is a smaller hotel, but lots with lots of Hawaiian looks. The staff was really nice, friendly, and helpful. Check-in was smooth and quick, and our room was also nice.

We had a room with two double beds and a nice-sized bathroom. The room overlooked an area that was full of trees and beautiful plants. The room had a television, dresser, nightstand, and table and chairs. The view was good, but I was woken up early every morning by the sound of birds chirping in the trees in front of our room. That is the only complaint with the room, though. The hotel offered daily activities. They had Hawaiian actives, like lai-making and hula lessons.

The hotel has a bar and grill area and also an outdoor pool. The pool was nice but nothing spectacular, just a regular pool. It was also a little shady. The hotel is located directly on the beach, and there is a nice boardwalk between the buildings and beach, so that is neat to walk on and see the wonderful views without getting sandy.

Across the street from the hotel is also a gorgeous golf course. They have paved golf cart paths and even an overpass over the highway. It was the nicest course I had ever seen. There is also a lot to see and do around this area. This area is known for whale-watching, but we were there during the off-season for this.

We ate at the Hard Rock Café two nights while in Maui. This was one of the more affordable places to eat. The location was just a short drive from our hotel and in an area that had shops and other things, too.

The service and food were both good. We were quickly seated and given our menus. There was rock music playing in the background the entire time and many rock items to view on the walls. They also have a gift shop with all the Hard Rock Café items.

The menu has a variety of things. The appetizer section has onion rings, quesadillas, shrimp, chicken tenders, potato skins, nachos, wings, and combos. Then there is sandwich section with chicken, pork, BLT’s, tuna, French dip, and veggie sandwiches. Next is a salad section with chicken salads, Cesar salads, Cobb salads, and house salads. There is a burger section with many types of burgers. They have steak, chicken, ribs, salmon, and combos in the entrée section. They also have a wide range of sides and a dessert menu with sundaes, cheesecake, cobblers, puddings, floats, malts, and more.

They served off the food menu Monday though Friday from 11:30am until 10pm. They had a full bar that stayed open until midnight.

This was a good place to eat, and I would return there again.