ALOHA

Aloha Lovelies,

I am so excited to share with your my most recent trip to Maui, Hawaii!! It was such a refreshing, adventurous, and exciting escape from reality. My girl group and I did/saw so much that we sacrifice our sleep but it was worth it!

Destination: Maui, Hawaii

Duration: Saturday, May 29th, 2021 - Saturday, June 5th, 2021

Flight: Hawaiian Airline

Departure: San Diego, CA

Arrival: Kahului, Maui

Houston: VRBO Haleakala Shores #A-411 Spacious Updated Unit, 1 Block from Kamaole Beach II (Kihei)

Car Rentals: Turo - Jeep

We all met in San Diego and flew out from the San Diego International Airpot 3225 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101. We chose to fly out of here because one of our friends lives in San Diego and it would be a great meeting ground because of how much cheaper and shorter the flight is from the west coast. We booked our flight 3 months in advance back in March 2021. I would highly suggest giving yourself a couple of months to plan and mostly to reserve all your bookings (especially for a group of 3+). We booked our housing in March aiming for a group of 5-6 girls and at that time we were already limited in the options (this also depends on your budget - we aimed for $350 a person for the whole week ). We utilize Airbnb and VRBO and ended up booking through VBRO.

Our VRBO housing was amazing, it had 3 Queen/Full beds which were perfect for 5 girls, 2 full bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a balcony. Our balcony faced the beach, and despite all the trees, we watched the sunset and saw parts of the ocean. The kitchen was fully stocked with appliances including the best thing ever… A RICE COOKER. The rental company that owned the VRBO unit provides a lot of beach accessories such as foldable chairs, a standing umbrella, coolers, etc. The standing umbrellas truly saved us during our beach days. The interior was decorated very nicely and beach vibes. The complex was within walking distance from the beach (less than a 5-minute walk). There was also a community pool and a parking spot was reserved for one vehicle. (Pictures below of the house are from VRBO page - it looks exactly like the image)

We did a mixture of cooking at home and eating out. A lot of restaurants in Hawaii are booked way in advance. I would highly recommend you looking up restaurants and placing reservations months in advance (tbh 3+ months would e best). We did not look at restaurants till a month out and were only able to get one restaurant that we wanted for the whole trip.

Moving onto the vehicle, we rented a Jeep from Turo. I would always take caution when booking from Turo, please make sure to be very detailed and have communication all through the text. I have heard good and bad stories, it never hurts to be extra detailed in case of any incidents. We were very lucky that the Turo renter was a very nice man who ended up dropping it off for us early and at the airport and the checking out process was great. There were no reports done and everything was smooth. Please please please get a Jeep. I am so grateful that we decide on Jeep! It was great for driving and maneuvering around Hawaii as certain areas especially on Road to Hana required a bit off of roading. The topless Jeep was a win for scenic views and overall great road trip vibes.

Onto the day to day itinerary:

Saturday (Arrival to Maui, Hawaii)

Saturday morning we arrived in Maui at 10:00 AM (HST) and we first met with our Turo driver at the airport to pick up our Jeep. Afterward, we stopped by a food truck park down the road. We each bought something different from different food trucks and shared it all family style. All the food was great, we had burgers, poke, lunch platter with various meat but one of the staple dishes was the shrimp plates from Geste Shrimp Truck. Righ by the airport there is a Costco (only Costco on the island), I would highly recommend going grocery shopping there. We wanted to however our VRBO check-in was not till 3 pm. We ended up heading towards Kihei where we were staying and doing our grocery shopping at the Safeway nearby. I would highly recommend each person bringing a reusable water bottle and buying a gallon (or 2) of water per person. Once you finish the gallons i would recommend refilling them at water stations (.25 a gallon) throughout your stay. It is much cheaper to do so versus having to keep buying gallons/water bottles each time you run out.

We really wanted shaved ice and stopped by Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice (ended up going back later in the week.. SO GOOD. They have so many flavors. I did the mango, guava, and passion fruit with macadamia nut ice cream on the bottom and Hualapai cream on top.)

We spent the evening at Secret Cove Beach Maui to watch the sunset, I would head there at least 45 minutes before sunset to enjoy the beach and get all your pictures in. Once the sun begins to set it will get dark quickly. Secret Cover Beach is such a beautiful small beach tucked away with a great sunset and sunrise view. I would highly recommend spraying bug spray prior as there are a bunch of mosquitos in the area.

Sunday

Our original plan was to wake up early and see the sunrise at Haleakala Mountain BUT tickets sold out too quickly and we were unable to get it. If you can I would try to get the tickets. TWO DAYS before the day you want to do the sunrise hike will have to go onto https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/253731?tab=booking to try and reserve tickets. Have it on every device because there is a limited ticket amount and they get reserve ASAP.

We ended up still waking up at 4:30 AM to do the sunrise hike near the Waihee Trail Park however, there was an accident that blocked the only rode up. We ended up driving to a nearby beach (Waiehu Beach) to see the sunrise which was still very beautiful. After sunrise we stopped and did a quick hike at the Lao Needle (Parking fee), there were so many tropical plants and it was such a beautiful leisure hike in the morning. On the way back, we stopped at Mcdonald's for their Hawaiian breakfast platter which consists of, fluffy white rice, spam, and Portuguese sausage. It was honestly a very fulfilling and tasty breakfast that I could see myself eating every day. Once we got back to our VRBO we cleaned up and got ready to go sightseeing/shopping. We headed to Lahaina which has a shopping strip consisting of small shops, restaurants, art galleries, and much more. We spent most of our midday there shopping and ate lunch at Paia Fish Market at the end of the shopping strip.

We took the rest of the day to chill at the beach near our VRBO (Kamaole Beach Park) and just had a relaxing beach day before the start of our adventurous packed week.

Monday

We took our time in the morning to sleep in a bit and get ready for the day. We begin our day with the Waihee Ridge Trail. This is a hard trail with minimum shade going upwards. There are parts of the hike that are steep and can be strenuous. Pack lots of water, a face towel, and sunscreen!! The morning that we went was cloudy, which was great for hiking since the sun was covered but not so great for the view. Once we reached the top the cloud began to disperse and the view was awesome! The hike overall took us about 3 hours up and down. Afterward, we actually stopped by Barnes & Noble and grabbed a couple of books then headed home to shower and relax. We had dinner that night at Coconut Fish Cafe - the fish tacos and fried coconut shrimp SMACKS. We got 4 orders of the shrimp basket and each got fish tacos!

Tuesday

In the morning I went to our neighboring beach (Kamaole Beach Park) to see the sunrise around 5:30 am and then headed back to our VRBO to finish up some work. I did leave in the middle to grab some delicious bakery treats from Komoda Store and Bakery. They have the tastiest bakery items, we got one of everything and they were all really good. I did have to wait outside for about 30 minutes but you can also order online a day or more in advance for pick up. Around 1 pm we headed to a local snorkel rental to grab our rentals and snorkel at the beach near us. There are a ton of snorkeling rental shops in Hawaii, it is best to just rental locally. It was $20 for a 24-hour rental! That afternoon when we went snorkeling at the beach near us it was super windy and the waves were very high and rough. We did not see much fish and ended up just swimming in the ocean. I would research the area that you are wanting to snorkel at and try non-beach locations. However, my friend went snorkeling the next morning before our rentals were due and had such a great time. She went to Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve (Tip: be there early as there are not a lot of parking spots)

In the evening we headed out towards Haleakala to see the sunset. I would suggest mapping your location to the Haleakala summit to know what time you need to head out. The drive up to the top does take some time, keep that in mind that you need to map up to the summit and not just to the entrance. I would allow yourself 30 minutes before sunset to already be there to settle in a spot and have some time to make small stops going up. It is such a beautiful drive and you will want to make stops to take pictures and enjoy being above the clouds. We stayed 30 minutes after sunset to watch the stars, it does take about 30-45 minutes after the sun has fully set for all the stars to being to come out.

I would highly recommend getting the Shaka Guide Tour App - he is a great virtual tour guide to have on your ride to sunrise/sunset for Haleakala as well as for the Road to Hana. It is not free but it is super worth it as he guides you through the drive and shares facts/stories. (https://www.shakaguide.com/islands/3/maui/tours)

Haleakala Sunset Packing List (optional):

• LAYERS OF CLOTHES (it’s cold once the sunsets, even in the summer)

  • Tshirt/long sleeve

  • Sweater

  • Jacket

  • leggings or two

• Foldable chairs

• SNACKS

• Picnic mat

Wednesday

Wednesday was our SURFING day. Spent the early mornings finishing up on work and then we packed our coolers and beach set-ups for the rest of the day. We reserved our surfing boards and had them dropped off at the beach that we picked for surfing. We went surfing at Breakwall Lahaina.

I would highly recommend getting lessons, we did not get lessons and it was rough… I honestly surfed for about 2 hours and we had it for 4 hours. I spend the rest of the time reading on the beach and taking pictures haha I am definitely wanting to retry it again with lessons as it does look like a lot of fun! (https://islandsurfboardrentals.com/)

In the evening we checked out The Shops at Wailea, it is a nice outdoor shopping center with high-end brands and restaurants. (FUN FACT: Luxury items are discounted in Hawaii, the price tags are 20% lower than the retail price online. Hawaii state tax is only about 4%… if you are wanting a luxury bag save it for your Hawaii trip to get) After a bit of shopping we headed to Miso Phat Sushi for dinner. Their sushi rolls were really good, we ordered:

• TNT Roll

• Joy Roll

• Miso Phat Roll

• Miso Scary (Spider Roll)

we each got our own nigiri and sashimis.

Thursday

THE ROAD TO HANA DAY… woot! Overall this is best done in two days in order to see as much as you can as there are many stops. It can be done in one day if you start super early and skip out on some of the small stops. HIGHLY recommend getting the Shaka Guide for Road to Hana as he lists every attraction’s stops (small and big) along with each of the towns along the way. He also provides you GPS instructions along with music, stories, and facts about the locals and the land. There are a lot of articles about Road to Hana that you can read on your own if you do want to “DIY” or just learn more and know what to expect (https://www.hawaii-guide.com/maui/sights/road-to-hana). The drive itself is super winding and can be narrow/steep on a two-way street. Please be cautious when driving and slow down on all the turns and curves as there are times you can't see around the curve. Do be mindful of the road and who is driving on the opposite way as you have to take turns passing by parts of the road.

We aimed to head out at 5:30 and start at the end and move forward. This way we could save the front attractions for Friday and not have to drive all the way in then. We drove in and made a stop halfway to get banana bread, THE BEST bread I have ever had. There are also tons of fruit stands that you will see along the way but I would still pack snacks and a lunch ( there are restaurants in the small town). They weren’t many fruit stands open on Thursday but on the weekend there should be more as that is when there are more people visiting. We started first with the Pipiwai Trail and aimed to leave there by 3:30 to make it to our reservation for the Black Sand Beach (they close at 6:00 pm and are very strict with it as locals live nearby). You have to reserve your ticket time prior (https://www.gowaianapanapa.com/carts). The drive back home for us was 2 hours so we did have to drive a bit in the dark, I would suggest trying to leave Road to Hana earlier than 6. Driving through the mountains can be dangerous at night, earlier the better before the night begins.

All of the stops that we made on Thursday in Road to Hana:

• Venus pools

• Wailua falls

• ‘Ohe’o gulch (7 sacred pools)

• Halfway Banana Bread shop

• Pipiwau Trail

• Bamboo forest

• Waimoku falls

• Black sand beach

Friday

Friday morning we begin pacing our bags early in the morning for our second visit to Road to Hana. This day we took it easy and only did the Garden of Eden Arboretum. Prior to arriving at the Garden of Eden, we stopped by Paia bowls and each got an Acai bowl for breakfast. They were so good!! It is a vast land of tropical plants and great views, you can drive and walk as there are stops along the trail within the Arboretum.

We spent the midday in the town of Paia shopping and checking out the small stores.

We head back home around 3 pm to get ready for the dinner reservation we had by the beach. We dressed up and headed to Pacific’o. We were able to secure this reservation a month in advance and got a table outside on the beach. It was honestly such a beautiful time eating as the sunset on the beach. The food was amazing and unique with every dish. I would recommend this place if you are able to get the reservation in time.

Saturday (Departure - San Diego)

We slept in a bit and spend all morning cleaning the VRBO and call and then headed to the airport as our flight was at 12:50 pm. The line was longer than we expected but thankfully we made it in time. I would give yourself a 2-hour window as the Maui airport is smaller and travel into Maui has increased over the months.

COST BREAKDOWN - 5 PEOPLE (these can vary depending on the number of people in groups as well as activities/food)

Total Flight Cost (w/fees): $418

Housing: $1,753

Car: $824

Gas: $204

Food: roughly $1,200 (groceries/snacks/restaurants)

Snorkeling: $62

Surfing: $141

Black Sand Beach: $36

Lao Needle Trail Parking: $30

Arboretum: $60

Road to Hana: Has a vehicle fee but we had a pass that we borrowed from a friend - check the price before going