This will be a post and run but I'll be back later. DH and I are going to Hawaii in a month for 10 days and we've booked nothing but our flights lol. We're flying in and out Oahu but are thinking of spending a few days on Maui too.
We tend to think we want to just relax on vacation but we get antsy and want to do stuff a few days in. We like hiking so I'm thinking that will be nice. Any restaurant recs? We'll probably end up doing a luau because, Hawaii. Throw everything you've got at me. We're kind of cheap but have expensive tastes. DH has been doing all the research and asking around for recs and I'd like to appear to know something as well. And as I've already proven in my response to what MMM cliche trends I've followed, I trust you all a lot.
Post by turtlegirl on Sept 23, 2014 17:54:41 GMT -5
We just went to Ko Olina in Oahu earlier this year. It was a nice quieter area of the island than Waikiki.
The Monkey Pod Kitchen was a super yummy but inexpensive place to eat.
Laniakea Beach is where the a bunch of turtles hang out and you can see them swimming and laying out on the sand. Pretty cool little half day adventure.
We also went snorkeling our on a tour boat thing that was really fun, but I totally forgot the name of the company. I'll see if I can find it and let you know.
Post by scribellesam on Sept 23, 2014 17:59:49 GMT -5
I've heard from multiple sources that Mama's Fish House on Maui is life-changingly amazing, but haven't eaten there myself. It would probably be a splurge meal.
Post by dragonfly08 on Sept 23, 2014 18:02:54 GMT -5
If you end up on Maui, I highly recommend The Feast at Lele. The food, show, and overall atmosphere were just amazing. Even DH enjoyed it and he usually hates both shows and eating out (so this was a double whammy for him!). We also really enjoyed Ferraro's at the Four Seasons. It was beautiful out by the ocean and the food and service were really good...enough so that we ended up eating there twice during the week.
I remember Duke's being good and reasonably priced for casual dining on Oahu.
If you end up on Maui, I highly recommend The Feast at Lele. The food, show, and overall atmosphere were just amazing. Even DH enjoyed it and he usually hates both shows and eating out (so this was a double whammy for him!). We also really enjoyed Ferraro's at the Four Seasons. It was beautiful out by the ocean and the food and service were really good...enough so that we ended up eating there twice during the week.
I remember Duke's being good and reasonably priced for casual dining on Oahu.
Yes, we had a great time at The Feat at Lele!
I wish I could find our Maui itinerary from a few years ago, but I think it was on my old laptop. I do remember we went snorkeling on the Hula Girl and had an awesome time.
Post by cricketwife on Sept 23, 2014 20:46:48 GMT -5
We spent 15 days on Maui for our honeymoon. We loved it! I can say it was totally DH's idea to limit the trip to just one island. He didn't care which one, but he didn't want to island hop, and I think it was the right call (for us, at least.) It's soooo relaxing once you're there -- even if you do active kind of stuff, that it was so nice not to have to pack everything up and lose a day checking out of one hotel, getting on a flight, checking into another hotel, etc.
I would spend more time in Maui. We stayed 2 nights in Oahu and 4 nights in Maui for our hm. Oahu we did a circle island tour which was really good - went to pearl habor, north shore, Dole, etc. We stayed by Waikiki beach and our hotel gave us passes for free to ride the shuttle - it goes to the mall which was fun to see and they have a ton of restaurants. We did not go to the Cultural Center since we didn't have time.
Maui you will love! We stayed at Ka'anapali beach hotel and I have zero complaints. We did a package with them where we got a rental car - you need one for Maui but not Oahu. It was a clean hotel and the onsite restaurant was good. We also got free coupons for breakfast. We did parasailing thru UFO parasail which is practically in front of the hotel and loved it. There is also a shopping center in walking distance from the hotel. For the Luau we did the Old Lahaina Luau and I would highly recommend it! If we ever go back I would totally go again. We didn't have time to do Road to Hana and that is my regret but we didn't have a full day to commit. We also ate at Mama's fish house? I think. It was a restaurant highly recommended on TK. To me....it was just ok. It's super pricey which I knew about, has a great view but I didn't think the food was worth it.
Also, we flew into Oahu and the airport had a shuttle that took us to the hotel and picked us up when we went to Maui so we never needed a car there.
We scoured trip advisor for rentals last night and I think we've finally settled on one. We're flying into Oahu and landing late so staying at a airport close hotel that night. Then flying to Maui the next morning.
After much deliberation, I think we'll stay 7 nights near Lahaina and plan to really try everything we can in Maui pack into that time. We were kind of limited on places to choose from since we're ridiculous and trying to do this at the last minute and not spend a small fortune. We found a place with in unit laundry, a nice pool right on the beach, and ocean views which were my top three.
Then we'll fly back to Oahu and spend two nights. I want to do Pearl Harbor for sure but what else is a must see? I think I'll head to the library today and try and pick up a few of the guidebooks you all mentioned!
I used the Revealed books too and found those to be very helpful. In Oahu I'd make a trip to Dole and North Shore. Must have ice cream at Dole! (unless you are a pineapple hater). We also went up the side of this mountain that had a great view of the whole island - can't remember what it's called since it was part of our tour though. I'd honestly consider a tour if you are there a short time. Ours was from about 630-4 so was a long day but it was so nice to have everything explained to us and it was very reasonably priced.
Post by fortmyersbride on Sept 24, 2014 19:27:13 GMT -5
Like at pugz said, we're going to Maui in November, so it's good to see all these recs! Since I'll be rather pregnant when we go, there probably won't be much in the way of adventure and excursions, but I am excited for the restaurant ideas
I'm going to Maui and Oahu next month too! Although we are taking the toddler. I'm saving these recs to look at later.
We're doing Maui with toddler and infant in February, so I'll be curious to hear what you enjoyed doing. We went when DD1 was 11 months, but rarely left the resort because her naps were so long.
Post by elocrates on Sept 24, 2014 21:00:37 GMT -5
After seeing your updated itinerary, I'd add another vote for Pearl Harbor while on Oahu. The rest of the time on Oahu I'd fill with a hike up Diamond Head and/or a visit to the North Shore (huge waves, pretty neat, watch out for the undertow). Don't have much additional to add for Maui. Have fun!
Okay this thread is old and probably covers a lot of what's above, but most of it is probably still applicable... Have a blast! Hawaii sounds awesome right now!
Cuatro was by far my favorite restaurant in Maaui, a and probably one of my favorite restaurants I have eaten sat a anywhere. If you don't mind eating early everything is 25% off before 6. Cheeseburger in paradise is a cool lunch spot. You feel like you are eating in the ocean!
If you like hiking you would probably enjoy the road to Hana. I loved it! Great hiking a and waterfalls at the end, sand the black sand beach was awesome as well. Our hotel did free canoe rides in the ocean and that was a also really cool. We saw so many sea turtles.
I thought the Luau ( old lahaina) was way overrated. The food was not good at all and the performance was not great either. It's efficiently run and in a pretty area, but I have no other positives to say about it!
I enjoyed the Old Lahaina luau, FWIW. It's supposed to be the most authentic one, but I've never been to another luau so I have nothing to compare it to.
If you hike Diamond Head, go early. It gets really, really hot up there! We went first thing and I was so glad we were coming down the mountain when the heat of the day started!
For Pearl Harbor, also get there early. It's free (don't get sucked into one of those bus tours that charge... I know too many people who did that), but it gets booked fast.
We also really enjoyed the Road to Hana. We got a CD at one of the gas stations (I think I read about that in Maui Revealed) and it was worth it! Lots of little hikes and waterfalls!
Enjoy! I don't think it's possible to have a bad time in Hawaii no matter what you do!
We went to Old Lahaina luau one year, Feast at Lele the next. They are different experiences. I'd say Feast at Lele is a bit more "classy" if you can describe a luau as classy.
I liked Pearl Harbor a lot. We were in line by 4 or 5 am. I don't exactly remember but it was early. I want to say 5 am because the first tour was at 8? Anyways, we were among the first 10 people in line. We we wanted to get the first tour and be on our way and it worked out.
A lot of the places where we ate have already been mentioned above.
If you want to do the Road to Hana, look into Kihei Car Rental. They will rent you a jeep that allows you to go around the entire island. Their other cars are also older but cheap. I had no shame rolling up to our fancy hotels in a Nissan Sentra that sat mostly unused in the hotel garage for days. More money for umbrella drinks and delicious seafood. Except I was pregnant and having serious seafood aversion.
We went to Oahu for our honeymoon. Did the luau at Paradise Cove, which was awesome, went to Pearl Harbor, did a sunset dinner cruise on a catamaran, did the Lost (TV show) Adventure Tour around the island, and my favorite day by far was the day we rented a Jeep and drove around the island. We stopped at Diamond Head State Park, Hanauma Bay, a popular surfing beach that I can't remember the name of right now, the Halona Blow Hole lookout point, and we considered visiting the Sea Life Park but it didn't get great reviews, so we passed. We stayed right on the main drag in Waikiki for the week, and we loved how busy and bustling it was.
Post by 7costanza on Sept 25, 2014 10:26:57 GMT -5
You can reserve your Pearl Harbor tour in advance online, but it fills up fast. I booked ours for the end of October in like April and some time slots were already full.
No kids? Go out to fancy dinners and sit on the beach and drink umbrella drinks!
This is exactly what I'm thinking! It's like a second honeymoon, after knowing exactly how to appreciate it since we've had three kids in five years of marriage. But, I know we'll get bored, we did last year when we just planned to do nothing in Maine/Vermont/New Hampshire.
Our place on Maui is walking distance to a brewery apparently. That was mentioned in one of the reviews and it was the tipping point in choosing that location lol.