The Maui in my mind was a lush, tropical place with waterfalls, clear blue water perfect for snorkeling and an abundance of friendly, "aloha" spirit. The Maui I encountered was very much the same, I'm glad to say.
BF and I took a short (5 days and nights) trip to Maui at the end of July. It was my first time there though I've been on neighboring Oahu several times.
Though we initially resisted, we couldn't help but fill our itinerary chock full of activities. Many of them were of the "must do" variety such as:
- Road to Hana drive: Loved it - so picturesque with lots of great waterfall spots
- Visit to Paia: Fun to walk around and shop in. Do stop at Anthony's Coffee Company to pick up lunch for your road to Hana drive.
- Molokini crater snorkel tour: Could've passed on this - there were free spots we found that had better snorkeling than what we experienced on our tour which wouldn't have cost us the nearly $90/person.
- Haleakala summit to watch the sun rise: Wish there weren't quite so many people as it takes away from the spiritual experience of seeing the sun rise, but it was still beautiful. We cycled down the mountain and made a stop at the Kula Lodge for a tasty breakfast.
- Pa'iloa black sand beach in Waianapanapa State Park. The sand, more like small pebbles were a little uncomfortable under foot but was still very cool to see. Waves at the small beach are strong, so exercise caution.
- Maui Swap Meet: Fun, lively swap meet. Many stalls selling a range of items. We brought home jars of Maui made jams and jellies. Yum!
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| Haipua'ena falls (on the road to Hana). Great for a dip! |
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| Three Bears Falls - on the road to Hana |
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| Sun rise at Haleakala |
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| Biking down Halekala |
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| Black sand beach |
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| Honolua Bay |
