Our one-day yachting and snorkeling with the turtles, date night at Mama's fish house, the helicopter tour of Maui Island with the kids and so much more stuff to do if you ever travel to Maui.
If you plan on visiting maui soon. Here’s the highlight of my week there. From restaurants, to hotel and activities, My best spots and all recommandations for a luxurious family trip
Top 3 Hotels
Four Seasons Hotel, Le Montage Hotel, and Andaz Hotel… We looked for different options while researching for a Hotel. These are on a strip of the beach so it’s really easy to access. We decided to take my sister with us for reinforcement with the kids. We only had 5 days in Maui and much needed rest, so instead of a
What to do
I listed here a few activities that we either did or got strong recommendations for. The list could go on and on but these are MUST DO kind of things. Time in Hawaii goes by so fast so better be prepared.
Snorkelling & Whale watching
There are many good spots and if you ask around depending on the weather, chances are that you will swim with turtles and that is a must do for me. I had such an incredible experience. It’s the number one thing I could not stop talking about. We used Maui Yacht Charter with the Satisfaction boat. I can say that everyone had a blast. We saw many, many whales, baby whale even…and the staff was so knowledgeable about it, really interesting. We swam with turtles, we saw 3 of them and many fishes. We also had breakfast waiting for us and they served us some fish taco from their last catch. Wow! If you want to make a statement out of it, bring a bottle of champagne and Tada! One of the best day of my life. Not kidding! I also got a recommendation for Makena Landing snorkeling spot if you want to make it more about the actual snorkeling then the overall experience.
Turtles Watching
The best spot is Hookipa Beach, in Paia. And I would say it’s more like a hundred turtles watch. Honestly, if never seen anything like that. At first, I thought these were rock… Nope, all turtles. So we went there the same night we ate at Mama’s fish house. It’s 0.7 miles from there. Walking in between is not ideal but, we had our uber driver dropping us at the beach and he waited for us and drove us back to the restaurant. Actually, he told us he was a photographer too so we asked him to come to the beach and take pictures of us, which he gladly did. That gives you an idea of how much fun people are in Hawaii. So plan your reservation just after the sunset and you will get the best of both. A funny thing around there is the guard that supervises the area all day long. It’s illegal to touch a turtle in Hawaii and you could get in big trouble if so. I love the way they respect their land over there it’s inspiring.
Helicopter tour
Last minute we decided to do a helicopter tour with the kids. And both slept the whole time. I would still recommend it for the experience, I’m a firm believer or life experiences with children so for me it was a win. It was a cloudy day so the option of the volcano watch was impossible but still, it was worth it. We wanted to make sure we could see everything around Maui if ever we decide to visit another island on our next trip here (because it won’t be the last one, hopefully ) We saw the Kalaupapa Leprosy Colony, it takes months to be approved for a permit to travel on the island and it’s a process, so it was not an option. But it is still nice to get a little history fix. We saw whales again and also visited the site where they filmed Jurassic Park Movie opening scene. The list goes on and on so just book a tour, it’s worth it.
The R
If your feeling adventurer for a day, Travel the Road to Hana. We did not do it but heard it’s a must. You have to plan a whole day for it. Some of our friends did it with a driver and had a good time. You will see pretty much all of Maui ecosystems (10 out of the world’s 13 ecosystems, including rain forest and desert) Tip number one that I got was to leave very early in the morning. So bring your camera and enjoy the ride.
Where to eat…
Morimoto, Andaze
If you like sushi, this is a must try. It is supposed to be the best on the island. It’s the only one we tried so I can’t compare but had a great time. If you plan on going, you should also grab a drink and watch the sunset.
Mama’s fish House
My favorite restaurant EVER. Make a reservation ASAP. Depending on the time of the day ask to sit by the window to see the beach and the surfers, we were there after the sunset since we stopped to watch the turtles but still enjoyed it. The menu changes with the catch of the day, but I had Mama’s stuffed fish and a nice Maui Banana Macadamia nut crisp. Make it a Cheat day, it’s worth it.
Cafe O’Lei
This is a more casual recommendation, but if you want a real Hawaiian vibe that’s your spot. The food is good, the atmosphere is chill and your wallet will love it after mama’s fish house.
Hope you liked the recommendations. Traveling to Hawaii was always a dream for me but, to be able to enjoy it you have to make sure of the time of the year and the number of days you have there, so for us it was tough to plan. I would go back anytime. It’s been our best family vacations and my son still talk about it as his third favorite place in the world just after our St. Louis home and our Magog home just to give you an idea.
Enjoy your Vacations!
Lucy
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admin
Thank you for your comment. It is my first blog post so there is room for improvement.