UPDATE AUGUST 2023: This article was written prior to the devastating fires in Maui. The horrors facing the community in Maui are unimaginable as they work to recover and rebuild from one of the most deadly fires in US history. To help Maui in their recovery efforts, please consider donating to the Maui Strong Fund. If you have a trip to the island planned soon, they are asking you to cancel so their valuable resources can be put towards the locals in need.

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Last Christmas, Thomas and I flew to Maui for a week. This trip was originally supposed to be our honeymoon back when our wedding was going to be in 2020, but it was booked for us through a travel agency and when we had to cancel the first time due to Covid, they made us pick a new date. I had never been to Hawaii before, and I can honestly say the pictures don’t do it justice. Maui is so beautiful and has so much to offer – we packed a lot into 1 week, but I there was so much we didn’t have time to do, so I know I’ll have to come back!

Hyatt Regency Maui

We arrived late at night on Christmas Day, picked up our rental car, and drove to the Hyatt Regency Maui, where they gifted us with leis, a bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and some assorted snacks because we had a honeymoon package.

Our room had an ocean view and overlooked the resort. Our room keys were on wristbands, which made it much harder to lose them, especially since they were waterproof and we could bring them in the pool and ocean. The resort had towels on demand from a locked container that you could use the wristband to open (which we took off property several times but always returned).

Our room package included breakfast each morning in Swan Court. The food was buffet style but the view was the real draw. We often had to eat really early as the sun was rising to leave for our activities and the sunrise over the pond with swans was a beautiful way to greet the day.

Day 1

Our first day was our most low-key, as we spent a couple hours by the pool after breakfast. The hotel has 6 pools, one of which is a kiddie pool and there’s also a waterslide for all ages.

Star Noodle

We had lunch reservations at Star Noodle and we kicked the food off on a high note, as this was one of our favorite meals of the week. I’m kicking myself for not writing down what we ordered, but given the rave reviews online, I don’t think you can really go wrong with anything.

In true island-style, there was a chicken walking around near us at the restaurant, completely unfazed by people or the fact that poultry was on the menu.

The Snorkel Store

On this trip we opted out of a guided snorkeling tour and decided to rent gear on our own. We picked up snorkel gear from The Snorkel Store and the staff was incredibly helpful and efficient at fitting us for equipment, figuring out what we needed, and showing us where the best snorkeling spots were. We got all the basic gear and I got a floatation device (which I definitely recommend if you’re not a strong swimmer). We kept our gear all week and returned it right before we left.

Whaler’s Village

After dropping our snorkel gear off at the hotel, we took the free trolley from our hotel to Whaler’s Village. The trolley schedule is posted online and is pretty accurate. Given we went at one of the busiest weeks of the year, there was no parking available at Whaler’s Village, so our options were the trolley or walking along the oceanfront path from our hotel.

Whaler’s Village is a shopping center in Lahaina with stores ranging from gift shops to Lululemon to restaurants. We went to Lululemon and I bought a pair of their limited edition Aligns with the state of Hawaii on the leg. Then we got gelato and walked back to our hotel.

Drums of the Pacific Lu’au

If you’ve never been to Hawaii before, a luau is one of those very-touristy-but-must-do activities (but if you’ve done it before I don’t think you need to do it again). The Drums of the Pacific Lu’au was at our hotel which was very convenient, but you didn’t have to be a guest to attend. They offered regular and VIP seating – we chose regular and saved a few bucks but still had a fantastic view of the stage.

Given we were still in the midst of a pandemic, the food was plated instead of the normal buffet-style. The food was just ok and drinks were included, but we were really there for the show, which delivered the level of entertainment we expected. The fire dancing was my favorite part.

Day 2

Taking advantage of jet lag while it lasted, we had an early breakfast and strolled to Whaler’s Village and back before swimming in the pool and snorkeling in the ocean next to our hotel. It was really convenient to walk straight into the water and be able to start snorkeling. I fully regretted leaving our GoPro in the hotel room because we saw a giant sea turtle so close that I almost accidentally touched it (which you are not supposed to do because the oil from your skin ruins the protective barrier they have).

Traveling has always required some level of flexibility, but traveling during a pandemic only emphasized this. We had originally planned to do a zip-line tour on this day, but there had been a storm that knocked out one of the lines, so they called and rescheduled us to a couple days later. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough staff to make that tour happen either because so many people had called in sick with Covid.

Maui Bee Tour

After zip-lining was cancelled, we scrambled to find a new activity, as we aren’t good at laying by the pool for an entire day. Almost everything was fully booked (as expected the week of Christmas) but we came across the Maui Bee Tour. It didn’t have many reviews and I’m scared of bees, so we didn’t really know what to expect.

This turned out to be such a hidden gem. We were the only people on our tour and the owner gave us the tour himself. He had built the entire property by hand on the west side of the island after his colonies collapsed on the east side and it was stunning. This recent rebuild was also the reason for so few reviews online as he’d only re-opened a couple weeks before. He did such a good job of explaining how bees make honey, what he has to do to take care of the colony, etc. We suited up in bee suits and got up close and personal with the worker bees. Afterwards, we had a honey tasting paired with crackers and cheese on the honeycomb-shaped veranda that he built overlooking the island.

Learning more about bees has made me so much less scared of the ones I encounter now as I know they are just worker bees on a mission for pollen. It was a fascinating tour that also empowered me and made me more confident. I cannot recommend this experience enough.

As we were leaving, we bought a jar of honey (which can come back in a checked suitcase) and the owner recommended we go to Leoda’s Kitchen & Pie Shop nearby. Unfortunately, the line was insane so we opted for smoothies next door.

Paia Fish Market

Another recommendation from the bee tour was to eat lunch at Paia Fish Market on Front Street. It’s walk-in only, no reservations and you can pick the type of fish and the style you want it cooked. We had heard that the Opah fish was amazing, but we had to just take peoples’ word for it because unfortunately they were out of that when we got there. I ordered the sautéed salmon with Cajun rice and it was delicious.

Afterwards we walked around the Front Street area, which has lot of cute local shops and got ice cream before heading out.

Nakalele Blowhole

I hadn’t come across the Nakalele Blowhole in my research of the island, but Thomas had been when he’d come to Maui as a kid and insisted we go. Located on the northern tip of Maui, it’s a short drive from the resorts in Ka’anapali, but it can take a while if there’s traffic. After we parked, it was a short hike town to view the blowhole, which erupts as the waves crash underneath it. It’s beautiful but also very dangerous, so you need to keep a safe distance – several people have been killed when they’ve gotten to close and been sucked into the hole as the water recedes (thankfully not when we were there!).

The drive to/from the blowhole is very scenic, so we stopped several times for photos on the way back.

Maui Brewing Co

We didn’t have dinner reservations so we headed to Maui Brewing Co, where there was a 45-minute wait. After we got seated, the service was pretty slow and the food was only fine. I wouldn’t waste your time (or your limited number of meals) here.

Day 3

Sunrise at Haleakala

If I’m going to wake up at 2:30AM to see the sunrise, it had better be the most beautiful sunrise of my life… and it was. We had booked the Skyline Hawaii sunrise Haleakala tour which picked us up at the trolley stop at our hotel at 3:10AM. Our driver was very knowledgeable and gave us some background on the mountain, what to expect, where to stand for the best view, etc. and then let us doze off until we got to the top of the mountain at 5:45AM. We were one of the first buses to arrive, which allowed us to snag the best spots (which are by the visitor center not the very top!). While Maui is warm year-round, the top of Haleakala sits above 10,000 ft, so it’s significantly colder than at the resorts. Luckily, the tour provided jackets for us to wear which helped us stay warm enough as we waited for the sun to rise.

The sun came up at 6:54 AM and it was worth every penny and the early wake up call. We stayed until 7:10AM before boarding the bus again and driving down the mountain. We’d driven up in the dark and hadn’t realized how scary some of the switchbacks are – we were very grateful to not be driving ourselves in the dark while sleep deprived.

The tour included breakfast at Kula Lodge, which featured both a great view and amazing food, before we were driven back to our hotel. We got back around 10:30AM and promptly napped until 2PM.

Dinner Cruise

We walked to Whaler’s Village and boarded a catamaran for a sunset dinner cruise. It was overcast so the sunset wasn’t great, but we had an amazing time. This excursion quickly turned into a whale watching tour, so we actually cancelled the whale watching tour we’d booked for later in the week. Whales can be seen in Hawaii only at certain times of year, so do your research before booking a trip to see them. Our captain was super knowledgeable about whales and we learned a lot. The food on board was also solid, but not phenomenal (but they were feeding ~50 people, so what do you expect?).

Day 4

Road to Hana

Another early morning wakeup, we set our alarms for 5:30AM in order to be on the road by 6:30AM for the Road to Hana, allowing us to get in front of most of the traffic.

The Road to Hana is a 64.4 mile stretch of road that connects the town of Hana on the western side of Maui to the eastern half of the island. Only the road along the north-west side of the island is paved, so to drive the Road to Hana, you follow the same route each direction. You can either choose to make the entire roundtrip journey in one day like we did or stay for the night in Hana. If you can get an early morning start, I think one day is totally fine. The joy really is in the journey in the Road to Hana, as there are countless places to stop and explore. There are also guided tours along the Road to Hana, but I recommend making the drive yourself so you have more flexibility. I also recommend bringing a roll of toilet paper with you, as most of the bathrooms were out.

Here’s a quick rundown of where we stopped:

Twin Falls Hike – this was our first stop but it was raining heavily when we got there and we ultimately decided not to do the 1–2-hour hike given the weather conditions.
Waikamoi Ridge Trail – this was billed as a 0.5-mile walk, but it was definitely longer and more of a hike. Given the weather, it was very muddy and we didn’t think the views were worth the effort. There were also fallen trees from a recent storm that we had to carefully climb over. We were glad we’d brought towels from our resort to allow us to dry off.
Aunty Sandy’s – a MUST stop! They are famous for their banana bread and we picked up a couple of loaves and ate them while enjoying the amazing views nearby. Be sure to follow them on social media, where they post if they unexpectedly need to close. There are also bathrooms near Aunty Sandy’s (bathrooms are few and far between on the Road to Hana!).
Halfway to Hana – we stopped here for shave ice but there was a $10 minimum for credit cards and we didn’t have cash on us, so we got a loaf of banana bread too. The internet is torn on whether Halfway to Hana or Aunty Sandy’s has better banana bread. I recommend just getting both and forming your own opinion.
Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside Park – we stopped here to look at the waterfalls. You can also swim at the bottom of the waterfall, but it looked cold and it was raining so we heeded the flash flood warning signs and didn’t swim.
Lava Tubes – we hadn’t planned to see these, but we saw the signs and couldn’t resist. The entrance fee was $15/person and you’re given a flashlight to walk through the Lava Tubes, which had really incredible geologic features.
Bamboo Hale restaurant – we stopped here for lunch around 1:30PM and it was pretty busy, but the food was good and it was one of the only sit-down restaurants we came across on the Road to Hana.
Black Sand Beach – Maui’s famous Black Sand Beach is located on the Road to Hana. You do need reservations to get in. We weren’t sure what time we were going to arrive, so we bought parking reservations for every time slot that day when they opened up 2 weeks in advance.
Hana – we arrived at Hana around 3PM and drove around the town, which is really quite small. Once we were done, we drove back without stopping and got back to our hotel at 6:30PM. Most things were closed as we drove back, so I definitely recommend making all of your stops on the first half of the drive.

Day 5

Moana Glass

Along with the bee tour, this was the other last-minute addition to our itinerary after zip lining fell through. We drove up to Kahului for a glass blowing class at Moana Glass and got to choose what to make from a variety of options at different price points. Thomas and I chose to make a fish for about $300, which was priced per item not per person, so we made the one fish together. I was nervous that ours would come out nothing like the perfect examples, but the instructor did a great job helping us and ours turned out beautifully and now sits on display in our living room.

A couple important things to note about glass blowing is that you need to wear cotton clothing and closed toed shoes for safety purposes. Also, you aren’t immediately able to take your creation home, as it has to cool in a kiln or it will shatter. We had a 9AM class and had to wait until after 3PM the next day to pick it up. Thankfully, they packaged it up really well and it didn’t break in our suitcase.

Grins2Go

A free service our hotel offered was a 4×6 printed portrait from Grins2Go. This was absolutely not worth the time to get dressed up and smile for an image that is worse than what we could take with a self-timer on our iPhone, but you live and learn. They obviously make their money in trying to upsell you on photo packages, but we weren’t tempted.

Ulalani’s Shave Ice

Shave ice is Hawaii’s version of a snow cone and while they are pretty similar, shave ice is definitely better. Lucky for us, the best shave ice of our trip was located on our resort’s property at Ulalani’s. It is independently operated from the hotel and found right near the main pool.

Massages

Our resort had a Marilyn Monroe Spa and we decided to splurge and get our very first massages. This was super relaxing and afterwards, we got to sit in a room and eat free snacks while listening to the waves crash on the beach below. I had no frame of reference for massages, but I left feeling extremely relaxed, so I think it did its job.

Down the Hatch

We had dinner at Down the Hatch on Front St in Lahaina, where I ordered a lobster grilled cheese that blew my mind. This restaurant was really busy and the food was excellent! Afterwards, we got shave ice next door, where they had artificial, natural, and sugar free flavors as well as “adult shave ice” options with alcohol.

Day 6

Maui Pineapple Tour

The Maui Pineapple Tour was definitely among the top excursions. We boarded a bus and were taken to the pineapple fields to learn about how pineapples are grown and why Maui Gold Pineapples (which are only grown and sold in Maui) are sweeter than other pineapples. We did get a couple of pieces of pineapple for free picked fresh from the field. At the end of the tour, they gave us 3 pineapples in a TSA ready box to take home at the end of the tour. If you’re going to do this tour, I recommend planning it for the end of your trip and be prepared to consolidate bags on the way home to make room for this extra box – we packed one of our backpacks into a suitcase to save space.

After the tour, we bought some freshly cut pineapple and a pineapple soft serve from the food cart right outside the tour location because we couldn’t wait until we got home to have some. We also briefly (and I mean 1-2 minutes briefly) checked out the Makai Glass Gallery located next door to the Pineapple Tour building before heading to lunch.

Hali’imaile General Store

On the pineapple tour, we got a recommendation to eat at Hali’imaile General Store, which is located just across the street. We got there at 11:30AM and didn’t have reservations, but they were able to seat us at the bar – I definitely recommend making a reservation in advance though as they are very popular! The Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi was that day’s local catch and it was absolutely phenomenal – one of my favorite meals of the trip.

Haleakala Round 2

We were already in the general direction of Haleakala, so we decided to drive up to the top ourselves. We paid the $30 for the entry pass (which was good for 3 days) and it took us about an hour each way to drive up and down all the switchbacks. It was chilly and really foggy, so there was no view at the top and it made the drive a bit sketchy, but we did get to see Nēnēs and silver plants.

On the way back, we tried to go to the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm but they closed early at 3PM instead of 4PM as listed online because it was a holiday. We picked up our glass fish and headed back to the hotel.

Japengo

For our last dinner of the trip, we decided to splurge and eat the Japengo, which is a Japanese restaurant located at our resort. The food was fantastic, but definitely not cheap. We aren’t sushi-fans, but they have plenty of other delicious options.

Overall tips:

Getting chairs at the pool can be hard unless you go early and drop a towel/your stuff on it.
Bring a ratty old pair of sneakers to hike in and then just throw them away at the end of the trip and open up suitcase space for souvenirs. Our sneakers were disgusting after the Road to Hana, and we were happy to toss them.
Definitely rent a car. We used it every day. The downside is paying for hotel parking fees (at our hotel it was $25/day for self-park).
There was a ~$40/day resort fee that they charged us when we checked out, so be prepared for hidden costs.
Factor in tipping into all excursions and bring cash. We often tipped about $10 or more per excursion.
Bring bug spray! Especially for things on the east side of the island which is more of a rainforest. We were religious about it and still got a couple bug bites each.
Bring leave-in conditioner – the saltwater and chlorine are not kind to your hair.
Download Maui on Google Maps ahead of time for offline use since a lot of the island doesn’t have cell service.
Prioritize restaurant atmosphere over quality of food. All the food has been fine/good but most weren’t incredible. The views and ambience are key. I also chose the local options on the menus as much as possible to enjoy the local flavors I can’t get at home.
Definitely check what days/time different places are open as they are often closed when you wouldn’t expect them to be. Also know some places may close early for whatever reason. This was especially important for returning snorkel gear and picking up our glass fish.
Know what the cancellation policies are for different excursions so you know what you can modify if needed (ex. we cancelled the whale watching tour 1 day before).
Leave extra room in your suitcase for souvenirs! We were very glad we checked a bag on the way here so we had lots of extra space. Just be careful not to go over weight limit (we were at 48.5 lbs out of 50 lbs!).
Whale watching season is November-May (peak is in February) so there’s rules about what can be done on the water during those months (ex. no sails on sailboats, no jet skis, no fly boarding, etc.)
The airport is about 45 minutes away from Kaanapali where most of the resorts are, so factor that drive in to your travel to/from the airport.

Other Activities

There are so many activities to do on Maui. I could come back over and over without repeating any activities. Here’s a few that we considered but didn’t have time for.

Helicopter tour
Submarine tour
Zip lining
Molokini crater snorkeling
Snorkeling at Black Rock
Surf lessons
Leoda’s Kitchen & Pie Shop
Cocoa tour/ chocolate tasting
Biking down Haleakala
Maui Ocean Center aquarium
Lavender farm tour
Fly boarding (can’t do during whale season)

Ways to Save

Maui is an expensive place to visit, but there are some ways to bring down the costs:

Not visiting during peak season. We went during the most expensive week of the year because that’s what worked with our schedule, but it was pricey.
Not having an oceanfront room (although it’s super nice and a fun splurge if you do). Also, Airbnb would be cheaper than the resorts and you can cook your own food, but you lose pool/beach access, unlimited pool towels, housekeeping, etc.
Not having maid service every day – our hotel offered $10 food credit or 500 Hyatt points each day you skipped it.
Doing the sunrise on Haleakala on your own instead of as part of a tour. However, there are ~30 hairpin switchbacks going up the mountain and no guardrails in the park (low key terrifying even in the daytime), so having someone drive us early in the morning was really nice. If you DIY it, you need reservations to get into the park between 3AM and 7AM (can be booked online). No reservation needed after 7AM.
Rent snorkel gear and go out on your own (like we did) instead of doing an official tour.
Doing fewer excursions and spending more time at the pool/beach.
Cross check excursions prices between websites. For example, TripAdvisor wanted to charge us $10 more per ticket for the bee tour than the bee tour’s official website. This is usually because TripAdvisor charges the businesses a fee so they have to compensate for those lost profits with higher prices on the platform.
Flights to Hawaii are often expensive, but we were able to save a nearly $1000 because we have the Southwest companion pass, so my ticket was free.