Aloha, my loves! It has been one heck of an awesome 2018 for us. We started the year by going to Maui, HI. As I mentioned before, Hawaii has always been a dream vacation for me and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Anyhow, let me tell you a little bit about our trip and hear me out on some tips if you plan on making your way there sometime in the future. I think you are going to like this vacation guide to Maui, Hawaii.

January is one of my favorite times to travel. Why? Because we love to skip the winter here in the Midwest. January is also a great time to visit Hawaii because it’s not too hot (high 70s, low 80s every day). Since it’s whale season, you can see them swimming in the distance. Every day, we got to see those beautiful creatures from our hotel. Amazing deals on hotel and flight prices are another perk of traveling during this time of the year. Finding your destination’s “off-season” can help you find your vacation for a happier price.

We booked our trip through Costco and they had really great vacation packages. We stayed at Ka’anapali Beach Hotel in Ka’anapali, west of Maui. Our vacation package had everyday breakfast included and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Ka’anapali Beach Hotel‘s everyday breakfast has eggs, french toast, quiche (the best quiche I’ve ever had), oatmeal buffet, fresh fruit, yogurt, toast, coffee cakes and more! We would eat so much for breakfast that most of the days we would have only one more meal after that, lunch/dinner. Our hotel was very Hawaiian. They offered free activities every day such as Lei making, Ukelele lessons, Hula lessons, and more. I had the best time learning the Hula and I wish I had taken the Hulaerobics class. I heard that is a fun one. We also had one of the best meals on Sunday Brunch at Ka’anapali Beach Hotel. The variety of food was mind-blowing. They had omelet and carving station, sushi, crab, a chocolate fountain, all sorts of pastries, bread and fruit, to name a few. If you are interested in doing water activities such as surf lessons and standup paddle (SUP) you can do it through Hale Huakaʻi, KBH’s own activity center located right “on” the beach.

Our hotel was located amongst lots of the big resorts. They are one next to the other and on the water. What I loved about the Ka’anapali Beach area is that there’s a beachfront sidewalk that you can go for a walk and go to restaurants, one hotel to another, and a really nice mall called the Whalers Village. This mall is really nice. It has high-end stores and a lot of surf shops like Billabong, Roxy, Quicksilver. I was in heaven surrounded by all the surf shops. In Brazil, I used to shop at surf shops a lot. Here in Wisconsin, you can’t find them.

Note: If you are staying on Ka’anapali Beach, there’s an ABC convenience store at Whaler’s Village. We went there to buy waters and snacks. It was a 5-minute walk from our hotel.

One very famous town in Maui is called Lahaina. Only 10 minutes away from where we stayed is a famous town called Lahaina, in Maui. Lahaina is super fun! On the main street, there are lots and lots of stores and restaurants. That’s where the fun is at! Our absolutely favorite restaurant in Lahaina was Paia Fish Market. They have the best tacos ever! We loved so much that we went there 4 times! The price was also pretty good, not expensive at all. There is a public parking lot in Lahaina on Prison Street. Everytime we went to Lahaina we were lucky to find a parking spot there. Paia Fish Market is only a few minutes walk from the parking lot.

If you like gelato, you must go to ONO Gelato. There is one located on Lahaina’s main street. My favorite gelato combination is one scoop of passion fruit and one of chocolate! So good! I almost forgot! Lahaina has one the biggest Banyan Tree in the United States. This sprawling tree is so large that it takes a whole block. On the weekends, there’s a little bazaar that happens under this tree.

If you like snorkeling tours you should go on the Calypso boat tour to the Molokini Crater. You should google images of the crater. It is so cool! The tour was very cool and the boat was big. There were seats for everybody, small windows on the lower level of the boat so kids could see underwater, breakfast and lunch included. We made two stops: one to the Molokini Crater and one to the Turtle Town where you can snorkel and potentially see turtles.

I have to say that even though we had two children, one of them being 6 months old, we did a lot of things on our trip. One thing we didn’t do but we will next time (because we already want to go back) is to drive on the Road To Hana. This road is very famous because of its scenic route, and the many stops you can make. On this route, you can stop to see waterfalls, different beaches, there is a plantation that you can visit. The only reason we didn’t make the drive is that we would spend the whole day in the car and it would be too much for the kids.

I almost forgot to mention about The Old Lahaina Luau. We knew going to Hawaii we wanted to go to a Luau. We did a lot of research and The Old Lahaina Luau appeared to be the best luau in Maui. We had an unforgettable evening. Food and drinks are included with the purchase of the ticket. We had such a great time at the Luau. The ambiance is gorgeous, the hosts were very attentive, the show was beautiful and the food was great. If you go to this Luau make sure to try the Lava Float drink, it is delicious!

Soaking up the sun on the hotel’s beach cabana.

A pretty shot of our daily breakfast at Ka’anapali Beach Hotel.

At Faia Fish Market. This is the is the dinner chicken tacos and rice. I was excited to see that restaurant sells Guarana which is a famous and Brazilian soda.

Rapha playing in the water at Baby Beach near Lahaina, Maui.

We took this beautiful family photo at the Old Lahaina Luau. The views from the Luau were absolutely beautiful!

If you plan on visiting Maui in the future I hope this post has helped you figure out where to stay and what to do on the Island. If you know someone who is traveling to Hawaii, share this post with them, Please feel free to message or email me if you have any questions. I would love to answer them for you!

Xo,

Gabrielle