Three Days In Maui

If you ask someone “If there was any place in the world they could visit, where would it be?” many people will say Hawaii. My dad happened to be one of those people, and so after he retired he took my family on a trip to Hawaii during my college spring break. Originally, we had planned on a cruise around the islands, but our cruise was canceled due to Covid. So instead, we planned a trip for three days at Waikiki Beach and three days on Maui. Here is everything we did those three days in Maui. This is part two of the blog titled Three Days in Oahu.

Maui Day 1:

We landed in Maui around noon or so on the fourth day of our trip. We rented a car and drove to Kaanapali Beach where we stayed at the Kaanapali Alii resort. Kaanapali Beach is ranked one of the top beaches in America, and we discovered our resort was just one of several resorts stretched out across the beach. We really enjoyed this beach as opposed to Waikiki because we did not feel clustered in a tourist area, but rather spread out in a community of families, travelers, and people simply looking to enjoy a vacation. We felt that Kaanapali Beach provided a more relaxing atmosphere than Waikiki (but we still loved our time in Oahu).

After we checked into our condo, we were starving so we went to the first restaurant we could walk into without waiting which was the Hula Grill Kaanapali. We definitely enjoyed our meal here, it was one of the more expensive meals we had during our trip. After dinner, we spent the majority of our time exploring the local shops (a mix of luxury brands, ABC shops, and little tourist boutiques) and enjoyed the sunset. We also spent some time in our resort pool planning our next day.

Maui Day 2:

On our second day we decided that we all just wanted a relaxing beach day. We rented a bougie board and took turns attempting to ride the waves. We spent the day switching between the ocean and the pools at our resort. We did make breakfast at our condo early in the day, but we skipped lunch because we had reservations for The Old Lahaina Luau.

According to our travel agent, The Old Lahaina Luau is the best Luau in Hawaii, and it did not disappoint. When we arrived at the Luau, my mother and I received Flower Leis while my father and brothers received Kukui Nut Leis. I wish that we had arrived a bit sooner at the Luau because there were a lot of local artists that were selling their art prior to the dinner.

The Luau experience was definitely a highlight of our trip. The Old Lahaina Luau is situated right on the water which offered a perfect sunset view. The staff was incredibly friendly. The drinks were endless and since I was not 21, I was able to order the virgin version of the Hawaiian cocktails they offered. The five course meal was served family style instead of buffet style due to the pandemic restrictions at the time. The show was both entertaining and authentic if you are looking to learn more about Hawaiian culture and history. I highly recommend this Luau if you plan to visit Maui.

Maui Day 3:

Our last full day at Maui was arguably more exhausting than our hike up Diamond Head on Oahu. Since we rented a car, we decided to embark on the Road to Hana. The Road to Hana is a journey along the Maui coastline containing 620 hairpin turns and 59 bridges (many of them being single-lane). If you are someone who gets motion sickness easily, I recommend taking a Dramamine or motion sickness relief pill before you begin your journey. I thankfully do not get motion sick very easily, but the rest of my family does, and taking Dramamine helped them the majority of the trip.

If I could take the Road to Hana again I would in a heartbeat, but there are some things I would do differently. For starters, I would definitely pack more snacks and water. While I think it would be cool to experience the trip with a tour guide, not all tours allow you to make all the stops and see all the sights the journey has to offer. The one place my dad was hoping to see but we were unable to stop at was the Waianapanapa State Park which is famous for its black sand beaches. Because of Covid, we needed to make a reservation to access the park which we were not aware of unfortunately.

Another recommendation I would make if you make this trip is to stop at the Nahiku Marketplace. This marketplace was about six miles before we reached the Road to Hana and had a few local food stands and shops selling local art and souvenirs. I heard that some of the vendors change periodically, but if the vendors who sell ribs are still there I HIGHLY recommend trying their ribs. To this day I still think about how tasty they were and wish I could have them again.

Something my family and I talked about was that if we had more time we would have liked to stay the night in Hana. Although we took out time and used the Guide Along Maui - Road to Hana Tour app which gave us a lot of great places to stop and history, we wished we did not feel so rushed to get to Hana and back. The Road to Hana is an all-day trip, so we stopped at as much as we could but almost nothing on the way back. If you have the time you should make a stay overnight in Hana, spends some time in the town, then either hit all the spots you missed on the way up or take the back road down. If you do decide to take the back road down instead of the main road, just be sure that if you rent a car the rental car company does not prohibit it as many of them do.

When I get the chance to return to Hawaii, I would love to visit one of the other islands, learn even more about the culture, and try more amazing food. If I had to choose between Maui or Oahu, I would probably choose Maui as the island feels slower and less crowded than the hustle and bustle of Honolulu. However, I would love to experience the slower sides of Oahu as I know they exist. If you are planning a trip to Hawaii soon, I hope you found this article helpful in mapping out your trip!