Married on Maui and went back last year with our family. Loved eating at the Aloha Plate (right next

Oh, just editing these pictures makes me miss Maui so much. *sigh* After our three days in Oahu on spring break we island hopped to Maui for another four days of bliss. "Maui No Ka Oi" in Hawaiian means "Maui is the best" and it's a phrase tossed around by Maui residents a lot they take pride in the beauty and community of their island.
We love Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island too, each has its own unique discount travel accessory beauty, yet we find ourselves returning to Maui the most because for us it offers everything we want to do, see, and taste when in Hawaii.
I say the same thing each time we arrive in Kahului in Maui: "this is my favorite airport in the entire world!" There are two main places the tourists discount travel accessory stay, and where most of the hotels are: the Ka anapali/Lahaina area on the west side or down south in Kihei/Wailea (however there are plenty of accommodations all over the island). We prefer Kihei the most because it's a kick-back super casual community and we enjoy hanging out on those beaches best.
We always take a day trip up to the Ka'anapali area for shopping and a great lunch on the beach it's a tradition to buy Matt a new Hawaiian shirt on each visit and there is some great shopping at Whaler's Village an open air mall with boutiques specializing in local apparel and accessories. Matt loves to collect maps so he always ends up searching around at the Antique Map shop too.
There are two great places to eat on the beach, Leilani's and Hula Grill where you can sit with your toes in the sand, they're right next to each other and both serve great island style food and mai tais, and the Hula Pie at Leilani's is died-an-gone-to-Maui divine!
Lahaina stays awake and filled with nightlife as afternoon discount travel accessory turns to evening which is fun the torches come out and the lanterns are lit it's great to explore for a few hours, especially if you're an art lover since there are so many galleries here in town.
Any first time visitor to Hawaii must attend a traditional luau for a feast and entertainment and the Old Lahaina Luau is one of the very best. We experienced it years ago, but I popped in to see the setup once again on this most recent visit, before all the attendees arrived.
One misty afternoon, we took a whale watching trip from the Maalaea Harbor the humpback whales come to Maui to have their babies and you can see them in the waters December through April it's unbelieveable to see them popping up around the boat, oh hello massive ocean creature!
On our last day, we took a drive north to a favorite little windsurfer town of Paia. We always stop at the Paia Fish Market for the freshest fish sandwiches. It's a cool little hippie style town you have to pass through on the road to Hana, with cute shops and art galleries, and it's worth strolling around to walk off lunch.
About twenty minutes past Paia town (about ten minutes past Mama's on the road to Hana) is a really great stop: Twin Falls. This is an easy but adventurous hike to several waterfalls and you'll pass plenty of island foliage along the way.
1) Driving up to the Haleakala volcano, hiking into the crater at the National Park, and watching the sunset in the freezing cold bring jackets and blankets! discount travel accessory (There are also "bike the Volcano" sunrise excursions too.)
2) Driving the road to Hana and visiting all the waterfalls, beaches, bamboo forest, and then swimming in the "sacred pools". We stayed out in Hana for a night on a previous trip which broke up the journey and made the long drive more enjoyable for us. (The locals say make the trip around the other side of the island but the rental car companies don't like it so they don't tell you about it!)
Favorite places discount travel accessory to eat: Sansei in Kihei (also Kapalua) for unique and super tasty sushi (we went twice) and the Lahaina Grill for a splurge (totally amazing discount travel accessory food) also Ululani's in Lahaina for shave ice! The Coconut's Fish Cafe in Kihei has excellent fish tacos and sandwiches, and the best mai tais are at MonkeyPod in Wailea -but watch out, they're strong!
You could spend a month in Maui and not do or see it all, but the thing you don't want to miss each night is the sunset, no matter where you are. Crowds of residents and tourists pause and gather to witness the sun disappear over the horizon even the sand on the beach reflects the color of the sky as the day ends.
Kate you brought back great memories of our honeymoon in Maui. All your pictures are gorgeous as usual. We were there a little over 6 yrs ago and we want to go back one day soon. Such a great place to visit and unwind .but you never want to leave. We also went to Kauai. A week on each island was amazing, but we really did love Maui. Now I have some new places to explore the next time we go. :)
We love Maui and are excited to go back in just 2 short weeks. We re staying near Lahaina this time as we were at Kihei on our last trip. If you haven t tried the Kihei Cafe, it s a must. Very casual patio seating just across from the large beach park. Their pancakes are massive and I ve been craving their Moko Loko since I left the island a year ago. We also loved the wood fired pizza place in Paia.
Boy do I wish you went to Maui this time last year! My hubby and I went there this past October for our long-awaited honeymoon and I am glad we waited. It was glorious! We stay in Lahaina and didn t really explore too much which I m sad about but we loved where we stayed. The flights from the east coast are very long but again, worth it.
We went the Feast at Lele for the luau and it was terrific. We also took the north route to the airport and talk about adventure. It goes down to 1 lane total and all the road guards are gone. It was scary at times but such fun in our convertable. It has been decided that we will retire there someday and I can t wait!
Thanks so much for sharing your trip. We go to Kauai every 3 years with extended family and started 22 years ago. So many wonderful memories and each trip we discover new things and delight in the old ones!
Thanks for sharing. We went back in 2009 and just fell in love with Maui. We did a lot of what you listed. discount travel accessory We are headed back at the end of June and can t wait to do new things and some old things. Our kids absolutely loved swimming at the black sand beach on the road to Hanna so we will be doing that again. We also continued on past Hanna and that was a sight to see. Such extreme difference. Well worth it. June can t get here fast enough!
Your pictures are absolutely amazing! What a fantastic time. I ve only been to Hawaii once (Oahu and the Big Island) and I m *dying* to get to Maui. This makes me want to move it to the top of our travel list!!!
I LOVE Maui! We rented discount travel accessory a condo near Lahaina (I think it was called Kanapali) and it was absolutely discount travel accessory beautiful. We d highly recommend it. Maui has been one of my favorite Hawaiian islands that we ve visited.
discount travel accessory My parents have a place there and I can t wait to go for ten days in June!!! I started getting hungry as soon as you mentioned Hula Pie and then I got thirsty when I saw the pics of the Terralani! It s our favorite sunset booze cruise!
Our absolute favorite find is up the mountain on the way to Haleakala. The Kula Lodge has the world s best prime rib. They cook it in an outdoor oven all day long and if you get up there right before sunset, you have a 180 degree view of the island. Gorgeous discount travel accessory and delicious!!!
My husband and I are headed to Hawaii this summer for the first time. We will visit Oahu and Maui. I love all of your suggestions and will certainly visit some of these places! Thanks for the ideas :o)
You have almost all of my favorites listed!! Love the Paia Fish Market and Mamas too. There are so many neat little discount travel accessory carts along the road to Hana that we loved too. One had fresh banana bread, one was weaving hats or bowls out of palm fawns. Such a great vacation discount travel accessory there! discount travel accessory I am jealous! We haven t been back since I was pregnant with my oldest who is now turning 8! Must get in another trip soon.
We have so many similar pics from Maui! We stayed at the Westin next door to the shops at kanapaali. Loved it! We ate at Leilani s almost every night. I like casual food so we tended to live off the burgers and nachos they serve downstairs. The Westin had the most awesome pool ever! My favorite part was the road to Hana because that s just not something you see where I m from (TX).
Your pictures look divine! We re actually moving to the beach soon, and this is making me very excited! Not only do we get to redecorate, but I m now thinking of sea greens, light blues and the palest pinks. We ve lived in California discount travel accessory for many many years without having been to Hawaii. Will go soon after your gorgeous trip!
My husband is in the Air Force and was passing back through Hawaii from a deployment. He was able to pre-arrange for him to be left behind so we could meet up on Oahu for 7 days then continued our vacation with 5 days in Maui and 6 days on the Big Island. Maui was by far our favorite part of the vacation. We stayed in the Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea (for free since he had saved up enough Hilton points from traveling so much with the AF). We loved waking discount travel accessory up early to see the sunrise on Haleakala above the clouds. We were also able to kayak near the humpback whales (too close for comfort) and snorkeling with sea turtles. discount travel accessory We can not wait to go back. I m so glad to see you had a wonderful time, too!
Married on Maui and went back last year with our family. Loved eating at the Aloha Plate (right next to the luau grounds) in Lahaina watching the boats while stuffing our faces! Coconuts was amazing as well. And the whale watching was breathtaking. We could see them from the balcony at the Westin. Also shaved ice with the scoop of ice cream in the bottom pretty much the most delicious thing ever. Planning another trip soon and thinking about one of the other islands, can t wait to hear more about the Aulani resort.
Oh my. Gorgeous pictures! I live over on the East Coast and it s quite the trip from here but I would lov