Maui, Hawaii

Day 1 - Monday

We woke up early and grabbed a shuttle from the hotel to the airport to pick up our rental car.  We started our road trip by grabbing coffee and fresh smoothies in Paia and then headed to Baldwin Beach.  We enjoyed our coffee while listening to the ocean waves and taking in the scenery.

The rest of our Road To Hana trip can be found here: Driving The Road To Hana

A few highlights on Day 1 included the waterfall hikes, coastal views, and the black and red sand beaches in Hana. 

We also opted to stay in Hana at an Airbnb.  Spending the night in Hana allowed us to enjoy several hikes and sights without feeling rushed.

Day 2 - Tuesday

We got up early Tuesday morning and hit the road.  Before heading out of Hana we stopped at a local coffee shop for coffee and bagels.  Then it was back on the road past Hana toward the southeast end of the island.

My favorite part of day 2 by far was the The Pipiwai Trail hike at Haleakala National Park.  This 4 mile out-and-back hike was absolutely stunning.  There are many waterfalls to see along the trail, a bamboo forest, and the beautiful Waimoku Falls at the end. 

After our hike we headed back toward Kahului and ended up stopping at Baldwin Beach Park again.  We enjoyed an hour of sun before the rain blew in.  It was at Baldwin that we caught our first rainbow of the trip!

For a full rundown of our hike and the waterfalls, check out The Road To Hana!

We checked back into the same hotel that we stayed in our first night to be near the airport for Wednesday's excursion. 

Day 3 - Wednesday

Early Wednesday morning we headed back to the airport to drop off our rental car, and then we caught an early flight to Honolulu. 

Southwest has cheap flights from island to island.  We flew out early and came back the same day.  Definitely a worthwhile investment!  Our flight left at 7:50am (there is one earlier flight if you want to catch that) and we took the last flight back at 8:30pm that evening.

There are so many amazing experiences on Maui, but I will never forget flying from Maui to O'ahu.  The entire flight took a total of 20 minutes, and there were rainbows and rainstorms that followed us the entire time we were in the air. 

We landed and took an Uber from the airport to Duke's Waikiki.  We had lunch at Duke's (make sure to make a reservation in advance!) and then went out to Waikiki Beach for the afternoon.

We spent several hours basking in the sun and walked over to the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.  We had dinner and ice cream at the Plaza, shopped for awhile, explored downtown, and watched the sunset over the ocean before grabbing another Uber back to the airport.

One thing we didn't have enough time to do in one day was hike Diamond Head Crater.  If we ever get back to O'ahu that's first on my list of to-do's!

However, we did enjoy Diamond Head from a distance while watching the sun set over the Pacific.  That was lovely.

We caught the last flight out from O'ahu to Maui and our hotel provided a shuttle from the airport back to the hotel.  The Maui Seaside Hotel offers free shuttle rides to and from the airport.  For the shuttle, just call the front desk and let them know what time you need to be picked up or dropped off.  We loved having this perk available to us.

Day 4 - Thursday

Thursday morning we checked out of our hotel to head over to the west side of the island: Lahaina and Kaanapali Beach.  Our 45-minute drive took us around the entire south and west side of Maui.  In the distance we saw Kaho'olawe Island, Molokini Crater, Lanai Island and Moloka'i Island. 

In Lahaina we stayed at the Westin Maui on Ka'anapali beach for the remainder of our trip.  The resort staff was amazing, and they allowed us to check in early (right around 11:00am), and when we checked out on Sunday they kept our luggage while we enjoyed the pools and dinner before going back to the airport. 

One of the first things we did when we checked in on Thursday was hit up the concierge staff to book a few activities for the end of our trip.  We booked a Luau for Friday evening and snorkeling for Saturday.  There are so many local activities to enjoy, and the concierge staff was amazing and booking everything for us.

Our resort had several different food and dining options.  For dinner we ate at Hale Moʻolelo.  But there are other options as well!

• Waicoco - an indoor/outdoor oceanfront restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Hale Moʻolelo - a spacious outdoor bar with fun cocktails
• Wailele Luau - an amazing outdoor Luau experience with a buffet dinner and dessert.  Drinks are served with the meal as well!
• Hale ʻĀ - a sophisticated pool bar serving artisanal cocktails and bites near the adults only pool deck.
• Mahele Market & Eatery - grab-and-go style foods!
• Starbucks Cafe



Day 5 - Friday

Friday morning we got coffee at Starbucks and enjoyed it from our balcony while rain showers moved through.  We had an unbelievable show of rainbows for nearly an hour.

After our coffee we hit the gym.  The Westin has a great gym, and since we hadn't technically worked out in days (other than hiking), we were feeling restless to get our muscles moving.

The rest of our day we enjoyed the pools and ocean, and late afternoon we went back to our room to get ready for the Luau.  We went down a little early to stand in line which I recommend doing. 

The Luau was around $180/person, and included an hour long show, musical entertainment beforehand, and our food and drinks were included.  The buffet had an incredible selection of Hawaiian fish and other foods, as well as chicken and beef, noodles, vegetables and fruits, potatoes and rice dishes plus 8 incredible desserts.

I highly recommend taking in a professional Hawaiian Luau if you end up on the islands!

Day 6 - Saturday

Saturday we booked a snorkeling excursion for the morning.  All we had to do was head downstairs toward the ocean, and our trip took off right from the beach! 

We checked in with our guide at 9am and waited until they gave us instructions to board the boat.  While we were waiting it sprinkled on and off and we ended up getting some beautiful beach shots.

Once we got on the boat our guide gave us some fresh squeezed juice and croissant breakfast sandwiches.  They gave us flippers, life jackets and snorkeling masks and explained how to use them.  We traveled entirely around the east and south side of the island to get to a spot where it wasn't raining with calm waters.

During our ride we passed several other Hawaiian islands including Moloka'i and Lanai Island.  The crew anchored the boat, gave us some tips for snorkeling, and then dropped us in!

I've never done anything quite like it before.  Mikael has his diving certification, but this was the first time I had ever spent time looking under the ocean water. 

One of my friends who loves diving once described it as more peaceful than other environment- I can see what she means.  There's something so surreal and quiet when you're completely submerged.

I loved watching the different fish swim around, and I was surprised by how colorful everything was. 

After snorkeling for awhile we got back in the boat to warm up.  The crew served us lunch and beverages while everyone dried off. 

We spent maybe an hour or so hanging out in the same spot while people ate, got back into the water, or just enjoyed the sunshine.  It was another 45-50 minute boat ride back, and the waves were significantly bigger this time.

Back at the hotel we headed to the pool for another hour or so before getting ready for dinner.  We took an Uber to downtown Lahaina where we spent time exploring before our dinner reservations. 

Downtown Lahaina has outdoor shops, bars and restaurants, and we spent time making our way through the area.  We stopped at Lāhainā Banyan Court which is a public square with a historical courthouse, wharf, and Maui's oldest living Banyan tree. 

We slowly made our way down to Pacific'o on the Beach where we had dinner by the ocean.  Our table was at the edge of the patio, and we enjoyed the setting sun while listening to the ocean waves.   

After dinner we headed back to our hotel and had a drink by the ocean while listening to local musicians play music at the Hale Moʻolelo.  The perfect end to the perfect day.

Day 7 - Sunday

Our last day unfortunately.  In the morning we stopped by the front desk to book a hospitality suite to use later in the afternoon.  The Westin has several hospitality suites that anyone checking out same day can reserve if you're not leaving immediately.  We were able to reserve a suite for 3pm in the afternoon, several hours after checkout, and we showered and changed before leaving for the airport.

We made a reservation and then headed down to the bar to catch the Viking/Bills game for a bit while having breakfast.  Skol Vikings!

After we checked out, the valet took our luggage and we soaked up a few final hours of sun.  Finally we said goodbye to the ocean and headed our hospitality suite to wash off and get ready for our last dinner on Maui. 

We walked next door from the Westin to Whaler's Village to do some last minute shopping and put our names in at the Hula Grill for dinner.  Our table was on the beach, and we dug our toes in the sand while the sun set over the ocean.  Bliss.

Then we walked back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage and called an Uber to head to the airport.  Our ride back around the island was dark, and we had a chance to see the city lights as we drove by.  The airport ended up being packed when we got there, so plan ahead!  A lot of people fly out later from the island to the mainland, so the airport was busy.  It took us awhile to get through security and to our gate.  We didn't have much time to spare, so keep that in mind!

And then we flew out and said 'aloha' to the island and our easy, breezy week away from the kids.  We took off around 9pm Hawaiian time, and landed at 7am in Denver, central time.  We had a short layover before flying from Denver to Virginia. 

Honestly, this week was one of the best weeks we have had in a long time.  It was our first big vacation away from the kids, and I thought I was going to be so sad over it, but it felt so good to have couple time.  And we loved doing things we haven't been able to do since having kids.  It was a great bonding experience for us, and reminded us that we were people before we had little people. 

Oh, and we were excited to see our kids too.  They were thrilled to have us back as well.

Aloha, Jessica