Maui...Most Awesome&UniqueIsland￿

Taking the road to Hana drive. It's the most scenic and breathtaking road I've ever been on. Best of all it's free!

Quick Tips:

Avoid the timeshare salespeople that pass themselves off as activity bookers and information booths.

Best Way To Get Around:

A rental car is your best bet. Parking is not an issue and usually is reasonably priced in areas like Lahaina. The hotel areas are spread out in different sections of the island and you will want to be able to leisurely see all there is to see.

The Aston Maui Lu is a nice budget hotel. It's located in Kihei where it tends to be less expensive than places on the island such as Ka'anapali. The hotel is divided into two sections. There is oceanfront and oceanview. The oceanfront rooms are located on the beach across from the street from the main hotel. The oceanview rooms look like old apartments to me. They do not keep the outside of the oceanview rooms up as well as they do the oceanfront. Stay on the oceanfront side and you will be very satisfied. Our rooms had a mini-fridge and coffemaker. They give you enough coffee for one night, so buy some of your own to avoid the pricey hotel coffee charges.

Our room was on the ground floor and had a sliding glass door that practically opened up on the beach. Unfortunately, I would not recommend swimming at the hotel beach because of the danger of undertow. Our friends that were traveling with us had a room on the second floor of the oceanfront rooms. Their room had a sliding glass door that opened to a small patio. The hotel has a swimming pool and two tennis courts on the oceanview side. There is an activity desk at the front desk to book tours and events. The hotel is about 10 miles from the airport and has a grocery store nearby to pick up any items you may have forgotten. The staff was very friendly at check in. We did not see many staffmembers on the oceanfront side except for the housekeepers.

I wish I could of taken Charley's home with me. This restaurant was recommended to us by our friend who is a local. It's not a well known place among the tourists for breakfast, but that makes it easier to get a table. I made the mistake of ordering the omelet. This omelet was about the a foot long and full of such good things like mushrooms and tomatoes. I also ordered a Macadamia Nut Pancake. I don't know many people who order one pancake but at Charley's a pancake is the size of a dinner plate. Smothered in coconut syrup, I thought I went to heaven.

The location is great for the day you do the Road to Hana drive. Paia is the first town you come to on the highway making it a great place to have breakfast before getting on your way. There aren't many restaurants along the Hana Highway so if you fill up before the drive you probably won't have to stop. Bring a pack lunch from the Paia Trading Co. across the road from Charley's. YUMMMMMY!!!!

I give the Hula Grill an A+ for the best service on the island. Our waitress was unfaltering when serving our picky friend. Our friend must have been a food critic in a former life, because she loves to send food back. The only fault our friend could find at the Hula Grill: the potency of the wasabi for her sashimi. Our waitress found her the hottest wasabi she could find in the kitchen and did it without the least bit of hesitation. I personally would of at least sneered a bit at her.

Anyway, I had the foccacia sandwich. Very good sandwich with tons of fillings. The price was under $10 and very reasonable for a beachfront restaurant in Ka'anapali. The speed of the service was fast and this may have been due to it appearing to be a slow time at the restaurant. The Hula Grill offers seating practically in the sand and spectacular views of the ocean. This is a favorite for tourists to have dinner and watch the sunset.

Maui is a great place for fresh seafood and Lahaina Fish Company is a great place to order it. The restaurant is always busy and we waited at least a half hour to be seated. The wait is worth it! We were seated on a open air deck looking over the ocean. The crowded restaurant is noisy but gives you the feeling everyone in the restaurant is enjoying themselves. Our waiter soon arrived to take our order and he reminded of someone who might be a waiter in the evening to support his true life as an aspiring actor by day. Since the restaurant was busy and fearing we may have to wait awhile for our entree, we ordered tons of appetizers. My friend and I shared the generous helping of Ahi Katsu sashimi ($12.99). The sashimi covered the entire plate and was seared to make it scrumptious. My boyfriend and another friend shared the peel and eat shrimp appetizer ($9.99) which hardly left room for the entree. I chose not to order a dinner entree and ordered more sashimi. Our friends were only able to eat a small portion of their dinner and into a doggy bag it went.

The Maui Tropical Plantation Tour was recommended to us by the activity desk at our hotel to allow us to kill time for hotel check-in. We were also pleased to find out the tour is FREE! This tour takes you around the grounds on a sort of jerky tram. It takes you through the working plantation and the native guide narrates the entire way providing information on the vegetation you are seeing. The plantation grows 15 different types of crops and arrays of orchids. The guide even stops to do a demonstration on how to remove the husk on a coconut. After the tour you can enjoy a Hawaiian buffet style meal for less than $10.00. I steered clear of the Poi. Also, there is a huge giftshop to pick up tons of souveneirs. The plantation is open 8:00am to 7:30pm everyday. The telephone number is 808-244-7643.

The Road to Hana is 110 miles and 617 curves of spectacular views. It takes you around half of the island and takes at least 8 hours to fully enjoy it. My recommendation is to bring a pack lunch from the Paia Trading Company. Paia is one of the first towns on the Hana Hwy. Then just follow the highway all the way to the end. You can end the tour at Hana or continue on the dirt road. The rental car agencies make you sign a waiver not to take this road. Shhh...don't tell them we did. If you do go on the dirt road make sure you have an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive vehicle because its a pretty rugged road. In Kahului you can rent cassette tapes that narrate the highway. We chose not to get the tape simply because we wanted to just go at our own pace. There are places along the way to stop like the Seven Sacred Pools and Charles Lindburgh's grave. There are places to hike and places to relax. You cannot miss the red, black, and brown beaches. **Last tip** Make sure you have a full tank of gas and extra food. There are not many facilities along the way and you don't want to get stuck!

This was our first trip to any of the Hawaiian islands and of course your want to go to a luau. I didn't realize that you must get a good recommendation for one or you are going to be disappointed. At the Royal Lahaina Luau we were forced to wait in a huge line just to get in after paying for parking. After you have made it through the line and had your picture taken (1st on the list of things they try to sell you) you are seated sardine style in plastic lawn chairs. Then you wait and wait for the show to begin. The cultural aspects of the show are very well done, but when they have a fashion show to try to sell you Hawaiian clothing I was disgusted. Thank goodness we were seated so far away from the stage I could barely see it anyway. The food wasn't that great and the herd of people trying to manuever in the small space made it even worst experience. Take my advice and run away from the Royal Lahaina Luau. It has made me never want to go to a luau again.