Two Weeks in Maui, Hawaii

Hello Sara!!

I'm so glad that you were able to book an amazing honeymoon! You two are going to have such an amazing time in Maui! I went a few years ago and I highly recommend going on a whale watch! I didn't think it would be one of my favorite things I've ever done on vacation, but it was! We got to see several whales breaching and it was the coolest thing I've ever seen!

Also, I don't know if you two are planning on renting a car, but the Road to Hana was amazing as well! It's a scenic drive around the most beautiful parts of Maui. I honestly got some of the most amazing pictures. I believe that, even if you don't rent a car for two weeks, you can still rent a car just to do the drive!

You're making me want to go back so bad! I'm so excited for you! Have you booked where you're staying yet?!

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I was researching on YouTube and I know exactly what you're referring to! We are staying at the Royal Lahaina Resort!

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Looks like a gorgeous resort!! We also went snorkeling and (besides me getting a ton of sunscreen in my eyes ) it was so much fun! I've been snorkeling a lot of places and snorkeling in Maui was my favorite! We saw so much

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We've stayed there! It's great! The grounds are beautiful. We had an ocean view room higher up in the tower, and I would drink my early morning coffee totally at peace watching the waves.... Heaven! Some of our favorite activities/excursions include the following. 1) The drive up Haleakala for sunrise. Depending on the time of year, it may well mean leaving the resort around 3 am, but it's so worth it! There will be a huge crowd for sunrise, but it is stunning to see and one of the National Park guides does a cool thing to "announce" the sunrise. If you can, stay for a little bit; the crowd will quickly dissipate after sunrise and you can do as much or as little hiking as you want at the top of the crater. (It will be cold at the top of Haleakala, so take layers that you can put on/take off as needed.) On the way back down, stop for a late breakfast at the Kula Lodge! If you're not completely burned out, drive through the town of historic Makawao on your way to the surf town of Paia. All are a bit away from the usual tourist areas. 2) A helicopter ride over Maui and/or another island is money well spent -- there are just so many beautiful things to see. 3) From the Royal Lahaina, you can walk to Whalers Village. It's just a big shopping/restaurant area, but it's fun to walk around and it's an easy place to pick up gifts to take home, if you want them. 3) The village of Lahaina is also a great place to walk around, shop, eat, etc. 4) We did one of the "snuba" trips and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not much of a swimmer, but was able to participate and enjoy it. We saw tons of sea turtles, etc. 5) We did the luau associated with the Royal Lahaina; we thought it was great and because it's just a short walk from the resort, it was easy to schedule around other things we wanted to do. 6) Near where the luau is held, there is an a small independent restaurant with doors that open right on to the sand. The food (at any meal ) was delicious. We ate there several times during the week and always enjoyed it. Most of all, take time to sink into the relaxed island vibe and you'll thoroughly enjoy. 7) Along that line, we ate at all kinds of local places and tried dishes we hadn't had before and enjoyed EVERYTHING, so don't be afraid to experiment and soak up the local flavors. FYI -- especially since you'll be going from high stress/fast paced jobs, expect there to be a transition as you switch to that island vibe. There were no more than two parties ahead of us in line picking up our rental car after we landed, and it probably took at least 45 minutes. Husband is VERY fast paced and was on the edge of going completely ballistic because he's not used to things taking so long. He adjusted within a day (and several adult beverages...), but it is a different, "we're in NO hurry..." lifestyle. Enjoy!

We did a bike tour where they take you to the top of the volcano for sunrise, then you bike down 25 miles. Highly, highly recommend. It was amazing. I also loved the area by the Sheraton where there is great snorkeling and a cliff jump (if that's your thing, totally do it, it was awesome). Dragon's Teeth and the blowhole on the north shore are off the beaten path a bit and definitely worth seeing. We only spent three days in Maui so we didn't get to do a ton, but these were the highlights. We also didn't get to do the Road to Hana which I'm dying to go back and do.

Any suggestions on travel agents to get the best rate and or deals?

We booked our trip through AAA (resort, air travel, car rental, and a few add-ons). For the day-trips/activities, we just read about stuff in the AAA guidebook for Maui and selected stuff from there. We tried to have ideas of things we wanted to do, but to allow flexibility for when exactly we'd do them. It wasn't hard....

I'm staying at the Royal Lahaina resort as well for my honeymoon in a little over 2 weeks! I'm so excited

Molokini Crater

Leoda's Kitchen and Pie Shop

Road to Hana.

Haleakala Crater

Go Snuba diving. Go Swimming with turtles.

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We have a place called Aztec Travel. They do their bookings through Apple Vacations! I'm not sure if there's something near you like that. AAA might be able to do the same.

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Oh my gosh, thank you so much for your input

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Definitely let me know how it is!!!

That'll be so fun! We are going to Oahu & Maui, for 7-10 days. Can I ask how much you are budgeting for the 2 weeks? In Maui, we are planning to scuba dive (already certified) and snorkel A TON, visit the Maui Tropical Plantation, the Seven Sacred Pools, and Front Street for shopping.

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We haven't really figured out how much we are budgeting for activities and food, but in total, the trip (flight, resort, car) costs roughly $2,500.

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Wow that's awesome! We are budgeting closer to $6,000 for 9 days with flights & resort & rental car & food & activities. You must be awesome at planning haha!

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We've driven ourselves CRAZY trying to find the best deals. Finally, we went to a travel agent and gave her what we wanted and she definitely made the process easier. The bulk of it is finding the best resort for the best price!

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That's awesome! We've done some bargain shopping, so we are planning around $150 per night in Maui for a hotel near the beach.

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I think what makes it hard is finding a cheap ocean view place. They jack up the price sooo bad for that kind of view. If you're in Hawaii, you may as well get a view like that, but then you stop to think, "is it really worth it?"

Watching the sunrise at Haleakala. You'll have to get up before dawn, drive up a windy road. Bring warm clothes, mittens, beanies, the hotel blankie, because it gets cold up there!

Congratulation and much aloha!

We were in Maui last month, and it was amazing! We did a day excursion to the island of Lanai (where we got engaged! ) Ended up snuba diving on that excursion. Left from Maui—I think the company was called Trilogy. It was a fantastic experience. Shout out to Diver Dave and Captain “Turtle”— who was the first person on earth to hear about our engagement!

Other favorites from the trip were popping into all the resort beaches around. It’s not like other places where they’re all closed to the public, many of them are public as well.

Enjoy Maui!