Reporting Live from Maui

At this point every time I visit somewhere new I feel like it’s my new favorite place….I’m starting to think every place is my favorite place as long as I’m there with Seth. So I will certainly be adding Hawaii to my long list of favorite places. It’s beautiful. The weather is fantastic. The views are unreal. And the foooood. Wowowow…I didn’t think it would be possible to have the best pasta, cinnamon roll, chai tea, lemonade and banana bread on an island in the pacific, but here we are.

So here are my deets for when you are reporting live from Maui, Hawaii!

Where to stay:

Where you choose to stay will depend on what you want to do while you’re in Maui. Want to have a week of worrying about nothing? Then maybe opt to stay at a resort that has restaurants, pools, and beaches readily accessible. Want to save some money and check out several beaches on your trip?? Maybe an inland Airbnb is the best option for you. We stayed at an Airbnb on the northwest side just above Lahaina. We weren’t beach front, but we were literally across the street, so it wasn’t a big deal. Our Airbnb could sleep up to six people, had a full kitchen, a back patio and a grill. It was the ideal situation.

Things to do:

-snorkel: Snorkeling is a must in Maui. The water is crystal clear and the whole cast of Finding Nemo is just hanging out. The week we were visiting we went to 6 different beaches and they were all great for snorkeling and exploring the ocean. My favorite place to snorkel was Black Rock Beach.

-Visit Nakalele Blowhole: the blowhole is on the north side of the island. You will take the scenic route through the lush coast of Maui to a dirt parking lot off the left side of the road. If you’re lucky to most interesting Man in Maui will be there with this red car and blue tent to sell you homemade banana bread, passion fruit butter, macadamia nut cookies, and the best tasting lemonade you’ll ever have in your life. All with a little show from the mongooses that live in the area he has trained to come out when he calls them. If you’re not lucky then you’re just going for a hike to the blow hole with no treats to look forward to after. From the parking lot you will walk to the edge and then follow the path up to the light pole. Once you are there you will walk down the other side to the rock formations and the blowhole. It was really windy there, so I would plan accordingly!

-Haleakala National Park: when planning your trip to Maui put an asterisk by this because it is a must. Haleakala is a volcano on the south west side of the mountain. You drive up the windy roads to the park entrance where you will pay your entrance fee or show your fancy National Park Pass like me. Fun fact: the pass is $80 and you get your money’s worth by your third park visit, so it’s worth it if you like visiting National Parks. The park takes you up winding roads above the clouds. Along the road there are spots to park and hike along the marked trails.

At the very top of the 10,000 ft summit is an observatory and is the perfect place to capture some pics! This is my warning to you that it is colder than you think at the top of the summit, so pack a sweater and pants to keep you warm. The best time to visit is for sunrise and sunset (we didn’t do that but I suggest you do if it works for your timeline).

-Road to Hana: TBH, we did not do this during our trip to Maui, but it is a very popular thing to do while visiting the island.

-Bamboo Forest: On the road to Hana there is a bamboo forest trail that you can check out! We didn't take the road to Hana or visit the bamboo forest so I don't have any specific tips to share!

-Lahaina Town: Lahaina Town has a restaurants and shopping to check out on your trip to Maui!

-Max and Chillax at the beach....now this is an obvious one...soak up all the beach days you can while visiting! Don't forget to take the two most essential beach day items...sunscreen and a Tommy Bahama chair.

Beaches:

We visited all of these beaches while we were in Maui...and honestly they were all beautiful, so it's hard to even pick a favorite.

-Olowalu Beach: This beach is right off the main road, you just pull up and park where ever there is room. I didn't snorkel here, so I can't speak to that but I did work on my tan lines and read a book here. 10/10 beach. On our way back to the condo we stopped at the Olowalu Smoothie Truck for some fresh fruit smoothies.

-Kamole Beach Park II: I would bet money that this was Seth's favorite beach...it was a 40 minute drive one way to get to this beach, but it had some great snorkeling. Annnnnd we found a cinnamon roll shop across the street that had some life changing cinnamon rolls...they were divine.

-Kapalua Bay: We had to park across the street and walk down the path to this beach, but it was worth the walk. This beach was probably the most crowded beach we visited...and of course out of all the beaches we went to, this was the one where the clasp of my top wasn't secured correctly....and it popped off...in front of everyone... and I screamed. Literally yelped because I was mortified. I then went and snorkeled and honestly thought about swimming over to Molokai so I would never have to see anyone on that beach again.

-Honolua Bay Beach: This beach was cool because you had to go on a little hike through the forest to get to the bay. The snorkeling here was top tier for sure. The beach is completely rock, so keep that in mind when packing things to go. I would not plan to lay out here and work on your tan.

-Black Rock Beach: If I HAD to pick a favorite....it would be this beach. The beach was gorgeous...the snorkeling was great...AND there was a huge rock formation you could climb and jump off of. We paid for parking at the Sheraton and walked down the path to the beach...there is free parking but the spaces are limited and tiny.

-Pohaku Beach: This was the beach just down the road from us. I loved getting my chai tea in the morning and walking over there. It was never really crowded and the water was the bluest here.

Eats:

Here are my favorite places we grabbed bites from in Maui!

-The Cinnamon Roll Place

-Hawaiian Village Coffee

-The Pour House

-Maui Brewing Co.

-Sonz Steakhouse

-Olowalu Smoothie Truck

It's been a hot minute since I shared something on here...but I am back! And will be back again next week! And the next week! Until I inevitably take some vacation days from this blog and come back....lol thank you for joining me on this weekly report! See ya next time, xoxo Ris 🦋