When researching honeymoon destinations, I knew I wanted to go somewhere that we could hang out on the beach, but also have other experiences. I was scrolling through and kept seeing Hawaii advertised. Originally, we were in between Maui and Kauai, but in the end, picked Maui based on other reviews and blog posts I read. I have traveled to many places at this point, but wow, Maui is my favorite place I’ve ever been to. It exceeded all expectations I had. I don’t say I will travel back to one place multiple times because there are so many beautiful places to explore in the world, but I can say, without a doubt, I will continue to visit Maui as often as I can.
Fun
Road to Hana
Road to Hana is a scenic drive on the northeast coastline of Maui. It’s about 52 miles and while that doesn’t seem like a lot, the roads are winding most of the way and it would take a typical tourist 2-4 hours to drive it one way without stopping. They say you should split the drive into two days, but you could squeeze most stops into one, however, you have to be on the road early because you’ll want to be back before it gets dark. We started before 6 am to get a head start to try and hit most of the spots and before it got too crowded.
Before you start your journey, you’ll want to download the app Road to Hana Maui GyPSy Guide it’s currently $6.99 on the Apple App Store but so worth it. This app will go along with your GPS and it’s similar to having a tour guide in your car. It will tell you stories, local tips, and driving instructions so you don’t miss anything. We learned so many cool things from this app and it was great to know when stops were coming up.
Along the way, you can stop at waterfalls, grab banana bread (you won’t regret it!), a bamboo forest, the coolest rainbow eucalyptus trees, black sand beach, and more.
I’d recommend checking out the website http://roadtohana.com to learn more about the stops to decide which ones you’ll hit! Some are visible from the road and an easy drive by. I’d also recommend having a convertible car of some sort. We rented a jeep and it was perfect!
Food
Mama’s Beach House
Let me start this off by saying I did not eat fish before this trip. Mama’s Fish House changed this with one meal. It is amazing.
Before you do anything else for your trip to Maui, you need to book reservations for this restaurant. They fill up months in advance. I booked our reservation a couple of months before our wedding and all dinner slots were filled and only lunch was available. That’s fine for us, but next time, we’d love to do dinner. Reservations can be made here.
Their menu changes every day as the fishermen go out and catch fish daily for the restaurant. They receive a variety of fish like Mahi Mahi, Ono, and Opakapaka. The fish are caught, brought directly to the restaurant where they are processed and served within 24 hours. The menu lists the name of the fisherman who caught the fish and the location where they caught it.
We ordered Grandma’s Shrimp Won Tons for our appetizer, I ordered their prawns and Danny ordered a fish special for our meals. Danny asked me if I’d like to try a bite of his fish, more than likely thinking I’d say no, but once I tried it, we ended up switching plates. It was delicious. We also had dessert and I immediately understood the hype of this restaurant. The food was amazing, the view was incredible. What more could you ask for? However, one thing to know before visiting is this is a pricier restaurant, but definitely worth the splurge.
Experience
Scuba Diving
At our Airbnb, we had a good bit of pamphlets of things to do around Maui. One night on our honeymoon we were looking through them and came across a brochure for scuba diving.
Now I had never actually considered scuba diving. I love the ocean, but I also tend to be a bit of a control freak, and relying on an air tank for my breathing was something I had to get used to the idea of. After some consideration, I thought eh why not try the beginner class and let’s see how it goes.
I called Shaka Doug with Shaka Divers and a couple of days later met him at one of the beaches. We took our lesson on how the equipment works, hand signals, what to do vs what not do to, etc. Next thing you know we were putting on the wet suits and equipment, which is much heavier than one may think. When you scuba dive, the goal is to feel weightless underwater so you have to wear additional weight so you don’t float but not too much so you don’t sink.
We headed off the beach to the water where we practiced sinking to the bottom in the shallow water. When I say we, I mean Danny because back to what I mentioned earlier about being a control freak, I was not having it. I freaked out. There was no way I was letting myself sink to the bottom to hang out. Shaka Doug realized after a few freak outs and Danny looking worried that he was just going to have to roll with it so he grabbed my hand, and we started swimming instead. Much better.
We headed to deeper water, and by deeper, 25-30 feet is the deepest you can go when you do a beginner course. Within 5 minutes, Doug looked back at me and signaled me to move in a calm matter because the first thing I would think is a shark, but a turtle flew by me and it was awesome. We kept going and adjusted to the breathing and saw so many neat sea creatures like eels, different fish, etc.
Once we were out and more comfortable before we turned around, Shaka Doug motioned for me to come to look at something. At this point, I was trying to remember the hand signals and only a few seconds went by until I realized it was a shark. It was in a cave so Doug crept closer to get us some cool photos and then it started swimming. Take it from me, it’s hard to freak out when you’re 20+ feet underwater, and you see a shark.
We headed back to Shaka Daves minivan, which I forgot to mention is where we stood to learn about scuba diving for an hour before we got in. He grabbed a Costco sized cornflake cereal and fed the chickens. Chickens are the equivalent to squirrels on Maui. We got our photos and went on our way.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Not with just anyone though, but I would definitely go with Shaka Doug again. This man knew his stuff. It was incredible to see the amazing reefs that sit right off the coast. So, if you’re interested, check out his website here.
Education
You can’t visit Hawaii and not attend one of the local Luau’s. We chose The Old Lahaina Luau on one of our last nights on the island. It’s an evening of traditional Hawaiian cuisine, music, cultural dances and demonstrations. You can choose to sit at a table, or the more traditional route which is a mat on the floor with a table close to the ground.
The Luau starts off by explaining the early migration of the Polynesians across the Pacific. It moves into ancient hula dancing, which was a way of communicating with the Gods, and it is accompanied by chanting and traditional implements. Ancient Hula Dancing is performed with respect to their ancestors.
The dancers finish with modern Hula which is influenced by immigrants and tourism. Hula dancers tell their stories through their graceful moves, subtle eyes, and hula hands.
Other recommendations:
Airbnb is the way to go. We stayed at the best Airbnb in Kihei and I would highly recommend anyone stay at any of Tracy’s Airbnbs. If you’re interested, send me a message and I can get you in touch with her. Check out my blog post all about Airbnb by clicking here.
Kihei Cafe has a great breakfast. Try the Loco Moco dish with pork. You won’t regret it.
808 Grindz Cafe also has a great breakfast. Get the macadamia nut pancakes with thee mac-nilla sauce. I still crave it to this day.
Go to more than one beach. One of my favorite parts of Maui was the different beaches. Some are great for surfing, some for swimming, some for snorkeling. They all have unique features.
In Danny’s words “eat all the banana bread. Stop at every banana bread stop on the road. It may be a lot of stops, but it’s worth it.”
