Wowie! Maui

While January is one of Hawaii's rainiest months, we had the nicest weather. I think everyone should take at least one day to just sit on the beach and at the pool and "hang loose."

It was also the perfect time to whale watch as the humpback whales migrate here from December to March. Our concierge booked us on the Gemini Whale Watching/Snorkeling Boat. We saw everything from a momma whale with her froliking baby, spinner dolphins (also a baby dolphin), Hawaiian sea turtles, and that fish that's spelled with 30-some letters, the humuhu... whatever.

And, despite the airsickness, I'd take another flight with Volcano Air Tours in a second. The views of the lava flows on the Big Island were a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

And what's Hawaii without a luau? I think it'd be hard to top the entertainers at the Old Lahaina Luau. The costumes themeselves were worth the price of admission.

And, of course, the highlight of MY trip was my birthday! Hau'oli la hanau to me!

Quick Tips:

First tip: Stay at the Sheraton! It's the nicest hotel I think I've stayed in.
#2: If you're going to snorkel more than once, drive into Lahaina and rent snorkel gear for like a day, vs. on the beach at an hour.
#3: Keep your eye out on the ocean when you're on the beach. If it's the season, you just might catch a whale breach.
#4: Black Rock offers some good beach snorkeling, so you wouldn't have to go anywhere
#5: Take advantage of the hotel activities. I learned to play the ukelele!
#6: If you're an East Coaster, prepare to be alseep at 9pm and up at 4am
#7: Hotel food is expensive. Walk to Whaler's Village where there is an...
#8: ABC Store. Which is the traveller's best friend in Hawaii. Stock up on water, snacks, etc., here.

Best Way To Get Around:

It's hard to get around on the Islands without a rental car. The Sheraton Maui charges you an a day fee anyway, and it includes parking, so you're set there. Plus, you're much more mobile and can get into Lahaina, drive the Road to Hana, etc.

If you want to hit the water, I think you should look into a tour with the Gemini catamaran and watch some whales and snorkel.

Perhaps it was the less-than-stellar experience on Oahu, but the Sheraton Maui blew me away with the property design, customer service and all-around relaxed feeling that emanated from the resort. It could be the best hotel I’ve stayed in.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted and presented with the ‘easy-check-in’ attitude and a beautiful orchid lei. Valet parking for our rental car was complimentary on the first day (amen!) so we could easily pull up in front of the open-air lobby and unload our bags.

Since I was there celebrating my birthday, I asked if the Sheraton would be willing to upgrade my room. They were very accommodating, and set us up in an oceanfront room which also looked out on the pool and the well-manicured lawns.

The bellman gathered our bags and escorted us to our room, all the while pointing out some of the hotel features and where they were located (the fitness center, which is included in your resort fee of $18 a day, as is self parking; the guest laundry, the spa, etc.) I’d never had such a detailed instruction to a hotel – it would’ve taken us our whole stay to figure some of this out on our own, if ever.

The pool was uniquely designed, with a keiki (kid’s) pool on one side and the adult pool on the other, connected through "rivers", one of which had a small waterslide and waterfall. They’re quite stringent about hotel guests having identifier bands, and check often to make sure non-guests aren’t using the pool and lounge chairs. As with most resorts, get there early to get a prime spot, but if you’re not picky about where you sit, you’ll find a chaise.

Since it’s uniquely situated on Black Rock it’s a prime beach snorkeling spot, and there’s a convenient rental stand for all your snorkel needs (albeit pricier than you could get elsewhere in close-by Lahaina). Additionally, the Sheraton has a nightly cliff-diving/torch lighting ceremony, with fire dancers on Friday nights.

The Sheraton really promotes the activities it features, from special speakers and ukulele lessons (which were really fun). The concierge desk was a lifesaver in helping me unclutter my excursion schedule and booking us on a great whale watching/snorkeling cruise.

The Sheraton is also a 10-minute walk from Whaler’s Village, a shopping center with a few restaurants and many shops. I will note that the food at the resort is pricy, so either head here or drive 5 minutes into Lahaina for more options.

When I researched my Maui stay, the biggest debate was which Starwood resort to stay in, the Westin Maui or the Sheraton (the Web was split 50/50). Having seen the Westin, I can say that the Sheraton has a prettier design and more of a laid back attitude. The two properties allow you to use each other’s amenities, but I never saw the need to leave the Sheraton. It would be my choice and recommendation to anyone.

I’m not sure how a restaurant can be both international and local, but no one consulted me on the marketing. We had come across DJs on a trip to Hilo Hattie’s for some shopping, and noticed that they were open for breakfast and had a pretty varied menu. So we thought we’d give it a chance at $6 per breakfast.

Our first clue should have been the fact that we were the only ones in the restaurant. Our second clue should’ve been that the waitress was helping the cook.

I ordered scrambled eggs, bacon and a potato pancake, while my mom just ordered pancakes and eggs. Neither one of us was that impressed. The bacon was so greasy it stayed with me for most of the day. The pancakes, while not technically burnt, were pretty dark and charred tasting. The coffee was so bad that an entire sugar bowl couldn’t have saved it.

Unless you are a glutton for punishment, I’d skip DJs for breakfast. I can’t speak for their lunch or dinner, but one meal was enough for me.

I will say that they tried very hard, and they were very polite and nice, but sometimes, that’s not enough. I say go across the street and get yourself an egg mcmuffin from McDonalds.

It’s a gitchy theme chain restaurant, but we thought we’d give it a try because it sits oceanfront in Lahaina, and we didn’t really want to eat at yet another Hard Rock café. Plus, the menu made us laugh (Lt. Dan’s favorites are listed, as are Jenny’s).

It took about 20 minutes to be seated, but I begged my way to an oceanfront table and watched the last of the sunset. Our waiter was a bit overly enthusiastic, but explained to us the Run Forrest Run! and Stop Forrest Stop! signs on the table. If we post the Run sign, we were ok and didn’t need the waiter. If we needed refills or something was wrong, we posted the Stop sign.

I thought I’d try Mama’s Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, and my mom had fried shrimp. (If you’ve seen the movie, they had shrimp kabobs, fried shrimp, steamed shrimp, shrimp cocktail... ask Bubba for the rest). I also ordered an appetizer of onion rings. All this came to about $40.

Well, the dinner came before the appetizer, my strawberry lemonade came about halfway through the meal, and the waiter didn’t respond to the signs. The food was ok, nothing spectacular. But then, I didn’t expect it to be.

I don’t know that I’d recommend it for much other than its location and a good chuckle.

I had posted on the Web soliciting restaurant recommendations for my birthday dinner in Maui, and one of the most suggested restaurants was Kimos in Lahaina. So I made reservations with a request for a waterfront table (Kimos is right on the beach). The first reservation time is 6pm – which in winter was a little late to catch the sunset.

Good thing I arrived early, because I found out that when the dinner service opens at 5pm, Kimos offers open seating on a first-come, first-served basis in the upstairs dining room. The 6pm reservations start when a table opens up after this first wave. I’m glad I found this out, and told the hostess that it was my birthday, because we got in line just in time to get the last waterfront table. This kind of made me mad that I wasn’t told this on the phone, but it all worked out and we got to eat dinner while watching the sunset.

The menu is a mix of steaks and seafood. With my penchant for red meat, I opted for the filet mignon, while my mom ordered the sautéed shrimp. Each meal came with a side and a ceasar salad, which was really good (many are just too garlic-y). The food, which I can’t say was the best I’ve ever eaten, was acceptable and good tasting. The waiter was very attentive and kept our water glasses full. The staff sang "happy birthday" to me and comped me Kimo’s world-famous hula pie (essentially an ice cream pie with macadamia nuts) with a candle on top.

For the two of us, our entrées and my birthday Blue Hawaiian drink ran about $65 without tip.

I’d recommend Kimos for the ambience and the experience more than for the food, but that was pretty good too. If you just want to give the hula pie a try, you can grab a drink and watch the sunset from the bar area downstairs.

I wanted to pack a lot into a 7-day Hawaii trip, and at first, I scheduled a whole day to go to the airport, take a flight to the Big Island, stay overnight at the Big Island, and spend time in the airport again the next day, etc. But it seemed like a lot of time in travel and not a whole lot of time actually seeing the volcanoes, which was the whole reason for going to the Big Island. THEN I found out that it was a 5-mile hike to even see the lava flows, and that’s what kicked me over the edge to look for an alternative.

Enter Volcano Air Tours. For $375 (look online to join Hawaii travel card clubs and save 10%) you can fly over the Big Island and see lots more than you could ever cover from the road. Plus, there are no helicopter tours from Maui to see the volcanos, they can’t go that far.

Admittedly, the planes are 8-seater propeller planes, so if you have a small plane phobia, it might not be a good idea. BUT they have an excellent safety record, and every seat is a window seat (wear dark clothes so you don’t reflect for better photos). The pilot is very good at narration and making sure everyone can see by tipping the wings and circling the important views.

The plane takes off from the West Maui airport, which is about 3 stoplights north of Kaanapali and the West Maui hotels. During the two hour flight, we saw the coast of Maui, Hana, the rainforests on the Big Island, waterfalls upon waterfalls, Hilo, volcano craters, and most interestingly, the lava flows when they hit the ocean.

Here’s the tricky part. The town of Hilo (at the base of the volcano) is one of the rainiest cities, so what you can see is pretty dependent on the weather. We had the best day when we took our trip, and could really see a lot. Here’s another kicker. You’ll need air-sick medicine. To see the lava flows, and make sure that both sides of the plane get a good look, the pilot takes a lot of sharp turns in the air.

However, knowing what I know now, and if I wanted to see the volcanos, I’d take this trip again in a heartbeat. I’d just take more Dramamine and extra airsick bags with some saltines.

You can’t swing a cat in Maui without hitting a souvenir shop, but Hilo Hattie’s is a bit of a tourist experience in itself, and if you can’t find it there, you’re not going to find it.

You’re given a shell lei and a hearty "Aloha" when you enter the store, and your senses are overwhelmed with Hawaiian print shirts. If you’re looking for an original print, this isn’t the place to look, plus, you’re going to pay a lot more for the more unique prints. But if you want something to take back to Uncle Fred, and he doesn’t mind looking like a Hawaiian waiter, you’ll be good to go. But seriously, there are some less obnoxious clothing choices as well.

For the gitchy souvenir, you won’t find better than Hattie’s. I thought they had a lot of items that wouldn’t break the bank. For example, my mom bought these cute wooden pineapple spoon rests packaged with either macadamia nuts or Kona coffee for only $2.25. It was Hawaiian, it was cheap, and it was cute. I found a really nice photo frame that was Hawaiian but more classy than obnoxious. There are also a lot of scrapbooking stickers and layouts, plenty of really nice postcards, and some stuff you might not think of (pineapple chapstick?).

The prices are pretty reasonable, and there’s even a pretty good selection of jewelry. I didn’t think the t-shirts were the best I’ve seen, but then, I’m pretty picky about my t-shirts.

Don’t forget to get your parking validated, and you’re good to go. Then, you can take your purchases up and down Front Street in Lahaina and see that you couldn’t have gotten anything better in any of the other souvenir shops.

Every tourist that sets foot in Hawaii should have a luau experience. Ours was the Old Lahaina Luau in Lahaina, about a 5-minute drive from the Sheraton Hotel in Kaanapali, which was recommended to us by our travel agent.

After spending 15 minutes in search of a parking space (we ended up across the street in a dirt lot) we were greeted with a drink (your choice of mai tai or juice), a lei, and a jovial staff. ("The drinks are free, and so are the men", I’m told. Woo hoo! I’m never leaving!)

The $80 ticket price includes your choice of seating (traditional ground seating, which is closer to the stage but hard on the butt, and table seating, which is still hard on the butt but more civilized), all-you-can-drink and a Hawaiian buffet dinner, plus the show. The show itself is worth the price of admission, as the performers are awesome at what they do.

Good thing, because if you paid that price for just the food, you’d be a bit disappointed. But then, I’m not much of a buffet person - it’s hard to cook that much food for that many people and do it well. The menu included the pig (make sure to watch the ceremony where they did it up from the pit where it’s been cooking all day). Mahi-mahi, Tahitian chicken, steak, and of course, you have to try the poi. (bleck).

The drinks are good though – and I’d recommend the lava flow, which is essentially a pina colada with strawberry syrup. There are servers assigned to your table to make sure you feel welcome, that your drinks are plentiful and your plates are cleared. He also brings you the best part of the meal – the dessert (or as our server called them, our "Scooby Snacks").

The show is essentially a hula history of Hawaii. The costumes are colorful and bright, the performers enthusiastic and the whole production highly entertaining. The women especially loved the all-male ‘shake your booty’ dance. The hula dancers were awesome – how can they shake their hips like that? The show lasts about an hour, and the performers loiter around afterward to accept the many compliments and take pictures with the guests.

It’s touristy, but it’s fun. Everybody loves a hukilau! Don’t expect to come away full, but you can expect to come away entertained and if not well on your way to plastered, comfortably tipsy.

Before coming to Maui, I had booked some excursions on my own. A snorkel trip to Molokini and a separate whale watch with the Pacific Whale Foundation. Not that either trip would have been bad, but with only 4 days in Maui, I felt that I was a bit overbooked and didn’t leave myself much time for pool and beach relaxing. The concierge at the Sheraton Maui had my solution, combine the two trips into one.

Enter the Gemini, which departs from the beach in Kaanapali in front of the Westin hotel. (Many of the boat trips leave out of another harbor which is a half hour drive away) For $121 a person you get a hot lunch, a great crew, some snorkeling, and all the marine life you could hope to see (especially during whale season, which is December to March).

No sooner had we boarded the boat and gotten our safety instructions than the boat was turning around to follow the path of a momma whale, her baby and her male escort (not the father, interestingly enough). Boats aren’t allowed to approach the whales within 100 feet, but that’s not to say that the whales can’t come to the boat. The baby whale was so playful and breeched (jumped out of the water) 5 or 6 times. The Gemini crew says it’s a proven fact that whales are fans of Motown – they are auditory creatures and communicate with sound. So our voices and the tunes we were playing may have made them curious enough to pop up and take a look.

After the whales went down for a dive, we headed towards our snorkel destination, the marine reserve at Honalua Bay. I’m told that the snorkeling here is much better than that at the sunken crater of Molokini, in that it’s much less crowded – we were the only boat there. On the way to the bay, we were treated to a few more whale sightings, some playful spinner dolphins who live and feed just outside of the bay and a group of Hawaiian sea turtles poking their heads up out of the water.

The snorkeling itself wasn’t the best I’d ever seen (that would be the Great Barrier Reef for me) but I did see a lot of variety, especially a first for me – a sea snake. I didn’t get lucky enough to snorkel with a turtle, but a few lucky SOBs did.

I don’t think we could’ve gotten more sightings for our money, nor a better crew. The captain was informative and funny, and the crew were ready to help a novice snorkeler like my mom get her feet wet, so to speak. Bring money for tips (which we didn’t even think of) and a souvenir hat or shirt.