We chose to go to Hawaii
Our first destination was Maui . We stayed there for a week and enjoyed catching up on our rest. Among our activities, went to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise and ride bikes down the mountain and we took a tour on the Road to Hana.
HOTEL:
As part of our wedding gift, a family member booked our stay at Maui Sunset (TA Review). These condos are both owner-occupied and time shares. Our unit was an ocean view. It was a very nice room decorated with floral wicker furniture.
There is an activities desk on site that helps you plan your stay and book activities. They have an informal information session every morning and serve juice, coffee and pastries. There are also tennis courts on site.
ACTIVITIES:
1. Independent Snorkeling - While sitting through a discussion of things to do on Maui , our hotel rep mentioned a secret place where locals go to snorkel. It's called "the aquarium" or "the fish bowl." She gave us a little bit of directions and we headed out to find the place. It was an amazing place to snorkel, but the area has been closed off to keeping the area preserved.
2. Snorkeling Tour - We went on a guided tour to the most popular snorkeling and diving spot in Maui , Molokini. It's a crescent shaped island off Maui 's southwest side. We decided on Maui Magic as our catamaran after having several options. We got on the boat at 8 am and they had coffee, juice, and pastries for us. We pulled out of the harbor and headed south to find some spinner dolphins. Maui gets a lot of wind, so the day will determine how far south the boat will take you. The crew found a couple of dolphins to follow for a short while.
We then headed to Molokini. They docked us for about 45 minutes to snorkel around. There were several other catamarans there. The water was deep, so what you saw was fish up against the side of the Molokini. There were quite a few fish, but it wasn't the greatest snorkeling.
After Molokini, the crew took us to a place between the harbor and Lahaina to snorkel and eat lunch. This area was known for sea turtles and we were the only boat in the area. We snorkeled there for about an hour and a half and had lunch. The crew grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. There were also free drinks all day, as well as beer. We didn't see any turtles while in this area.
We headed back to the harbor and on our way back, we got to see several sea turtles swimming in the open water. We were docked shortly after noon.
I recommend this catamaran and crew. They were all very friendly. This catamaran cost more than others, but I think it was worth what we got out of it.
3. Road to Hana Tour - We ended up taking a guided tour on The Road to Hana. The road consists of 50 some miles of sharp curves and one lane bridges. We thought having someone else drive would allow both of us to enjoy the scenery instead of focusing on the road.
The company we went with was very good and we highly recommend them. Our driver was very nice and informative. He talked almost nonstop from the time he picked us up from the hotel to when he dropped us off. After being picked up from the hotel, we were taken to a place to get some juice, coffee, and pastries. Once in Hana, we stopped to eat a provided chicken plate lunch. They also provide beverages all day; water, juice, and soda.
You also get to see the Maui Winery on this tour. The road to the Seven Sacred Pools was damaged from an earthquake when we were there in November 06, so instead of making a circle around the island, we had to back track to get back to Kihei.
The drive itself is beautiful, full of vegetation, waterfalls, and cliffs. We saw rainbow eucalyptus trees and awesome bamboo jungles. You can pull off to the side of the road and get out and walk around to see things. Our 12-passenger tour van made a few stops, but not as many as we would have liked. We decided we should have driven the road ourselves, made several stops, and stayed the night in Hana before driving back the next day.
If this is something that you plan to do, make reservations for rooms in Hana early. If you plan to make the drive in one day, make sure you leave early in the morning, so you are back before it gets dark.
4. Bike Down the Volcano - We got up at 2:30am to be driven to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise and then bike back down the volcano. It was very cold and windy at the top, but it was a neat experience to see the sun rising above a Volcano crater.
The bike down was ok. We were in a group of 8-10 people and rode down single file. They put the lighter people in the front; therefore, those in the back had to brake down most of the way. We were also wearing a helmet and couldn’t really look around at the scenery very well. It was exciting at first biking down, but the excitement wore off after about 10 minutes.
I still recommend doing it for the experience unless you don't want to get up that early or want to ride a bike. There are different tours where you don't get up as early, but you don't get to see the sunrise. You could always drive up to see the sunrise on your own.
Second week on Maui
RESTAURANTS:
Sarentos - Our hotel rep recommended this restaurant for a romantic dinner. We were on our honeymoon, so we wanted some place special. The restaurant has free valet parking. You have to make reservations in advance to reserve a table on the rail to get a good view of the sunset (5:30pm in November was our reservation). It's an open air restaurant, so you can view the sunset and feel the breeze while eating. The food is a little pricey, but the food was really good, the service was spectacular and the atmosphere even better. Definitely a place I'd recommend for a nice romantic dinner.
Sansei - We were really hungry and wanted to eat early. We got here right before it opened at 5:30pm and there was already a line starting to get inside. We sat at the sushi bar and thought the food was pretty good.
Other restaurants we ate at but don't remember details on the experience: Stella Blues, Cafe O'Lei
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