Do you have a travel bucket list of places you one day hope to visit? If so, Hawaii should definitely be at the top of that list. I promise you there is nothing like it. My husband and I got the opportunity of a lifetime when a family member gave us the most amazing gift and shared a week of their timeshare at any destination with us for our wedding present. I mean seriously, it doesn’t get any better than that. I will forever be grateful. Of course, we chose Hawaii. I have had so many people ask me how it was and what it’s like. If you’d like to know, keep reading and you’ll get to hear all about it!
Where to stay
Kahana Falls Resort, Maui
This resort was the perfect little place to stay for two. It was within walking distance of so many restaurants and activities and was right across the street from the beach and let’s be honest if you’re vacationing to a beach, walking distance is a must! The rooms are cute and cozy and come featured with all of your usual hotel amenities including a mini fridge for all those nice cool drinks after a day out in the hot sun 😉 It was nice and clean and the staff was always super friendly and helpful. One day they even hosted an event that you could attend where you could see all of the many activities that were offered. I already had everyday pretty well planned out and booked up lol but we decided to check it out anyway! It was so informative and I enjoyed getting to hear about all of our options. Some of the other amenities at this resort include an out-door pool, a hot tub, a game room, and a fitness room for all of you gym rats that can’t go a week without hitting the gym! The landscape surrounding the resort and the waterfalls going into the pools were so beautiful! We were very happy with our stay here and would definitely stay here again.
I have linked the resort as well for your convenience, just click here or on the resort name at the top
Where to eat
I don’t know about you, but I just love food. Haha You may think I’m crazy, but one of my favorite things about traveling and going new places, is getting to try new restaurants. I am a planner (one of the many things about myself that drives my husband crazy lol). When I say planner, I mean I plan activities, along with a place to eat for each day of the week so that we stay busy the whole time and try something new any chance we get. For the majority of our trip we stayed we were in Maui so we will talk restaurants there first. Like I said before, our hotel was within walking distance of several restaurants so we chose to just stick with close by places for most of the week. If you are one of those people who doesn’t like to try new things, you’ll be very happy to know that there is a McDonalds very close by, which is what we had the first night we were there. We really did it big this night lol For our second night we decided to walk to a Sport’s Bar called Dollies Pub and Cafe. They offered pretty much anything from pizza’s to burgers and even quesadillas . I decided to go with the quesadilla and it was delicious, my husband got a pizza with some crazy toppings and he seemed to enjoy it as well. It was a very busy place so we just took our meal to go because we aren’t big on crowds, but if you like sports, beer, and good food then Dollies is definitely your scene. If you are a sushi lover, then you must stop in and visit Miso Phat. (cute name, right?!) I got the dynamite roll and it was so good. The price was a little steep, I think close to $20 for 8 rolls, but they do have a lot of other different, much cheaper options! If you set out to just find a really good burger on vacation, I definitely recommend going to Cool Cat’s Cafe, these burgers were some of the best burgers I’ve ever had! We stopped in here on our last day, just to kill some time and man am I glad we did! I got the Jailhouse Rock and it was so good and the price was very reasonable. The staff was also super friendly here. This is definitely one of my favorite places we ate in Maui, so definitely stop in and check it out! Plus it’s right on front street, which is full of shopping, live music and a beautiful view of the ocean!
Another one of my favorite meals would have to be the night we went to the Luau. They have several different luau’s to choose from, but we decided to go with the Old Lahaina Luau because we were told it was the most traditional and that’s exactly what we wanted. It was such a fun experience! You pay one price up front which includes all you can eat/drink and the show. Upon arrival, they would put a lei around your neck and show you to your seat. Once seated they would offer you your drinks or appetizers. Before the actual luau starts they have little booths set up so you can walk around and you can buy souvenir’s like carved coconuts. You can actually stand there and watch them make these which I thought was pretty cool. They also had a place were you could learn a traditional Hula dance. Would you believe I actually convinced my husband to do this with me?!? It was so much fun! My only regret is that we didn’t get a picture. The show and the food was amazing! A luau is definitely a must while in Hawaii.
I don’t have many recommendations for Oahu because the majority of our trip we stayed in Maui. We did, however, take a interisland flight to Oahu for a night because there were some things we wanted to do there. So I will tell you the only place we did go was to The Shack. It was your average sports bar, spiced up with some Hawaiian decoration and amazing food. I got a burger, of course. If you can’t tell already, I love my burgers! haha I had a jalapeno burger and nothing beats a burger with a little bit of spice. It was tasty.
I have linked all websites for restaurants so you can easily access their menus. Just click on the restaurant name 🙂
What to do
Now for the fun part. There is literally so many things to do and so much to see in Hawaii. There is absolutely no way you can get it all done in a week, but let me tell you we tried our best!
First up, Maui. Our first full day in Hawaii, we definitely took advantage of the sightseeing opportunities by booking a bus tour called the Road to Hana. There are several different bus tours that take you on the Road to Hana, but I was told that the one we chose, which is through the company Valley Isle Excursions, was the only tour bus to actually take you around the entire island. A lot of the other options would take you half tour bus and then half helicopter ride, but I wanted to be right down on the ground exploring and seeing everything there was to see. And let me tell you, there was so much to see. The Valley Isle Excursions Road to Hana Tour bus only seats 12 people so that kept the group very small, which I loved! You are literally with this group of people for nearly 12 hours of your day, so you get to know them and chat with them and basically become like a little family on this excursion together. The excursion also offers breakfast, all you can drink ( non-alcoholic beverages), and a picnic for later in the day all included in your cost. The price may seem a little high, around $160 a person, but I promise you it is worth it. These road are quite scary and I do not recommend driving them yourselves. The tour allowed us to sit back and enjoy all of the waterfalls and roadside sites there were to see. Another must do while in Maui.
I linked the website for the tour bus company for your convenience, just click here or on the tour bus name 🙂
Another day we woke up bright and early to catch the sunrise at Haleakala National Park. Valley Isle Excursions also offers a tour for this excursion, but we decided to brave this one on our own. I’ve never in my life seen anything like it. It was breathtaking. You are literally above the clouds. In order to see the sunrise you do have to make a reservation online for $1.50 each vehicle and pay an entrance fee once you arrive at the park of $25. Totally worth it in my opinion. The photos above are some I took, but trust me when I say these picture do not do it justice. Now be warned, if you choose to watch the sunrise, please dress warm. People told me this and I thought they were crazy because well its Hawaii, but it was freezing. It was so cold I could barely feel my fingers by the time we made it back to the car. If you choose not to dress warm, at least pack some extra clothes in case because I can almost guarantee you will need them.
Details for reservations are linked for you, you can access the website by clicking here or on the park name above 🙂
That same afternoon, we decided to do some exploring on our own. We loaded up in our jeep (which we rented for the week and it was the best decision ever, so obsessed lol) and hit the road. I had seen pictures of the Heart Shaped Rock in Maui so I definitely wanted to go check it out and had also heard people talk about the blow-hole, which I thought would be really cool to see and it totally was. These two landmarks were right pretty much right beside each other which was very convenient. Getting to go and visit these were absolutely free, so definitely take advantage of it while you are there.
Next up we have Oahu
We got up early one morning to catch an inter-island flight to the island of Oahu. Once we arrived we realized it was much different from Maui. It was much more commercialized and not as much natural beauty, but don’t get me wrong, it was still beautiful!
Our first day in Oahu, we went to visit Pearl Harbor. If you are into History, then you will want to make this one a priority. It is pretty much an all day experience, so I would plan to be here for most of the day. Depending on which tickets you purchase, you will get to see several other partner sites like the USS Arizona Memorial, The Pacific Aviation Museum, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and the Battleship Missouri Memorial. We purchased the Passport to Pearl Harbor so that we would get access to all of these sites. I wouldn’t exactly classify this as a fun experience because so many people lost their lives and it was such a devastating attack, but it is interesting to learn about the history of it.
Details and packages are linked in the website, you can access it here or by clicking Pearl Harbor in the paragraph above.
That afternoon, we did have some extra time so we decided to do some sightseeing in Oahu. I had researched things to do and had read about Diamond Head, which is one of the most famous and visited landmarks in Oahu. It was once an active volcano, but now it is used as a tourist attraction where you can hike up to the top of it and see the extinct crater and a lookout point. So if you are into hiking and love the outdoors, don’t forget to check it out. Since this is a state park, it does have an entry fee per vehicle which is $5.
I have linked the website for basic park info for you to access, click here or on Diamond Head above.
Now I’m gonna tell you what could possibly be the most scary thing I have ever done. If you know me personally, you know I am not a great swimmer so I do not like water and you also know that I am somewhat claustrophobic so keep that in mind as I tell you about our next activity. Underwater Scooters. Yes, Underwater! I had found this opportunity online at Island Water Sports and I told my husband we had to do it. I can’t tell you the times that I considered backing out of this, but man am I so glad that I didn’t. It was an experience unlike any other. Being down in the water with the marine life, being able to stick your hand out and touch the fish or feeling them scrape up against you, it was incredible. We even got to see a sea turtle! Thankfully we didn’t see any sharks. I would probably have had a panic attack haha This is a two-hour experience that you don’t want to miss! It includes snacks and refreshments if needed for around $99 a person. Some of you may be wondering, what in the world is an underwater scooter, I will attach the link so that you can check it out for yourself. It was such an amazing experience and it definitely forced me to overcome some fears that day!
The link for Under Water Scooters can be accessed by clicking here or on Island Water Sports above.
I could literally go on and on about this trip to Hawaii, I could talk for hours and still probably not get to say everything I needed/ wanted to say. To sum it up, if you ever have the chance to go to Hawaii, don’t let it pass you by, take it! It is unlike anything you will ever see. If this tells you anything, I absolutely love traveling. I could travel for a living and love it. My husband, however, is more of a homebody and could really do without traveling at all, but I even catch him making comments about WHEN we go back and that makes me so incredibly happy! If you read this and still have more questions, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will definitely answer it if I can! Also, leave me a comment of some of your favorite places you have been, I’d love to hear about it and possibly get ideas for future trips!!
-much love, emily
