Maui, Maui, Maui. I absolutely love this island and wish I could have stayed longer. After arriving we stopped at Leoda’s for lunch, which was simple and delicious. We also grabbed a couple pies [yum!] because Thanksgiving was the next day. My favorite was the banana cream pie. After settling in at The Ka’anapali Beach Hotel we set of to see a luau at The Royal Lahaina. This was a ton of fun and made for a great first night on Maui.
We woke up and decided to explore so we jumped in the jeep and took off north from Ka’anapali. Driving around Maui is kind of funny because every tourist/traveler we came across was using Fodor’s Maui Revealed book to find all the good spots. We drove until we got to Nakalele Blowhole where we decided to hike down to see it in action. I highly recommend this because it’s not only unique and cool, but also a beautiful view of the coastline. Not to mention, super windy.
We then kept going on HI-340 and stopped for banana bread and a massive shaved ice from Lorraine’s. She sells the fresh bread out of her garage and has seating for tourists and bikers that come to relax for a bit. After grabbing this snack we continued on. As you go the roads get more and more narrow and at some points there is only enough room for one car to pass, which can make you nervous if you don’t want to fall off the side of a cliff. We continued this drive by making a large circle around the West Maui Forest Reserve back to the Lahaina area where we grabbed dinner. This is definitely a tourist area with many shops and restaurants. We were also somewhat underdressed because most people were dressed for an evening out while we still had our swimsuits on under our clothes.
The next day we decided to explore the famous Road to Hana. If you’re going to do this route you should pack a cooler and start early in the morning to allow enough time to stop and hike at more than one spot. There are too many hidden spots to count and each one is uniquely beautiful. Some have very limited parking, which is another reason to start early. We drove all the way to Hana before heading back the same way we came. We stopped to see a few more waterfalls before catching the sunset at Ho’okipa Beach Park where we also had the privilege of seeing some sea turtles resting. We then decided to freshen up before dinner this time. We ate at Lahaina Fish Company, which was so incredible delicious that I didn’t even take pictures. We ended up trying a couple different entrees and an appetizer that we split so we could each try the different flavors. [This is my absolute favorite way to dine out]
The next day was our last so we relaxed on the beach [finally] and ventured to beaches close by. This was perfect because we could lounge in the sand or swim in the ocean, but had the entertainment of the surfers to enjoy.
