Best Things to See, Do, & Eat in Maui
Okay so you’re going to Hawaii, you’re stoked AF, but also you’re like…what do I do??? My husband and I went to Maui from June 24-July 2 and I brought y’all with me via Instagram stories. Per y’all’s requests, we made a list of our favorite spots and top recommendations!
Let me start off by saying, Maui was MAGICAL! My husband and I were blown away by the panoramic views, sunshine-y weather without the sweat rolling down our backs (we are from Florida and are used to mega-humidity and sweating when we go outside to check the mail, lol), and the calm pace of the island. It never got old to see the mountains and the ocean colliding.
Here’s the deal - I’m not a travel blogger (or a blogger at all tbh 😂) BUT I didn’t want to leave you hanging.
Sound good? Here ya go 👇🏼
Our travel style:
We are laid back and love adventure. We prefer to plan excursions ourselves over booking them through companies. I didn’t wear makeup or do my hair the entire time (aka everywhere we went was pretty chill, lol).
Overall tips:
~ If you’re coming from the East coast like us, prepare to be ready for bed at 9 PM and to wake up at 4 AM for the first 2-3 days you’re there — it took us a few days to adjust to the time zone difference.
~ We rented a Toyota Tacoma through Turo (it’s like Air BnB for vehicles) and would highly recommend going that route. It ended up being more affordable than renting a car through a traditional rental service.
~ We live in Tampa and are accustomed to a quicker pace but most things in Hawaii were SLOW so be prepared for that. Speed limits were slower than we were used to and food waits (like getting your food AND waiting to be seated) were longer than we were used to. Some places just decide not to open some days because the business owners want to take the day off 😂 HERE FOR THAT ENERGY TBH. But truly, it was a super nice vibe for vacay. We weren’t really in a rush for anything anyways.
~ Our first day on the island, we went to Foodland and stocked up on water, booze, and snacks. TBH, we ate out every single meal so I don’t have any tips for saving money on food, lol
~ We visited multiple areas of the island while we were there so I’m breaking the recommendations up by area! CLEARLY I am not a local so please excuse any spelling errors or location errors, cool? Alright, let’s get you some Maui recs:
WAILEA/KIHEI:
(This was our favorite area! Wailea is definitely more fancy vibes and Kihei is super chill.)
FOOD/COFFEE:
Akamai Coffee (Wailea) — the BEST (and most aesthetic) coffee shop we visited on the island. We loved the vibe, the espresso was so smooth, and Adam had nothing but good things to say about the cold brew (and he’s a tough critic, lol. They have multiple locations on the island but we frequented the Wailea location. We actually ran into Adam Sandler one morning 🤯 Expect a line if you go between 6-10 AM.
The Pint & Cork (Wailea) — an “elevated” sports bar with bomb drinks and delicious food. The mac and cheese was to die for, seriously. Adam needed somewhere to watch the Lightning hockey game so we popped in here because we were poking around The Shops at Wailea and it was a total win (the game and the restaurant, lol)
Monkeypod Kitchen (Wailea) — we visited the Wailea and Ka’anapali locations. The wait was over 2 hours for the Wailea location for a Friday night dinner (they don’t take reservations). Was the food worth it? We vote no. BUT the strawberry pie…omg you guys. Adam isn’t a dessert guy and he could not stop eating this stuff. That’s actually why we went to the Ka’anapali location — we only ordered a piece of strawberry pie to go 😂 Maybe don’t go at peak eating times but DO order that strawberry pie, even if it’s just to go.
Coconuts Fish Cafe (Kihei) — HOLY FISH TACOS BATMAN. Not only were they delicious but they were MASSIVE. Like Adam and I never share food but we could have totally shared an order of fish tacos and gotten an appetizer and been good to go.
Pizza Madness (Keihi) — one night we were on the hunt for some yummy low-key pizza and this place fit the bill. If you want some good, affordable pizza one night, go for it.
Wow Wow Lemonade (Kihei) — if you like fresh juice/acai bowl this is a must! SO many people on Instagram said I had to check this place out and they were 100% correct. We split a pitaya bowl and it was incredible (and pretty).
Diamonds Sports Bar (Kehei) — this is definitely a dive bar vibe. We needed another place to watch the next Lightning game and this is what came up on Google. I was a tad bit apprehensive to eat here (I don’t frequent dive bars…Adam does though) but I was pleasantly surprised by the food! And the service here was INCREDIBLE. The nicest restaurant staff we encountered our whole trip.
Looking for a delicious fresh coconut to drink cold coconut water out of? I tried 3 different stands and my favorite one was in Kehei. I don’t know the name of the stand but it’s on the corner next to Peace Love Shave Ice. They have a pet bird that sits outside the coconut stand so look for that, lol. The owners were so kind and the coconut water really was the best of the bunch that I tried!
BEACHES/HIKES:
Makena Beach (aka Big Beach) — This was our favorite beach of the whole trip! Heads up — you do have to pay for parking. I don’t know how else to describe it but this beach feels like you are on another planet when you set foot on it. I’m from Florida so it takes A LOT to impress me when it comes to beaches. This one feels tucked away and is legit like you’re looking at a desktop screensaver. This was our favorite place to take photos and we ended up coming back to this beach again because we loved it so much. The picture you see at the top of this post was taken here (and the one below this too). We hiked up the steep hill at the end that is behind the gate (the gate was open) and found the most beautiful areas! Second heads up — when you hike up the hill there is like this jut out of land that kind of separates 2 areas. We explored the first side then walked over to the second side and found ourselves at an “unofficial” nude beach so just be prepared for that because we were not, lol.
The Hoapili Trail — this was the first hike we did and we did get rained on a bit but the views were worth it! Plus we got to see a lot of wild goats and I mean who doesn’t love a cute goat family just doing their thing, ya know?
LODGING:
Mana Kai Maui — We stayed here the first 4 nights of our trip and I was super impressed! It’s kind of on the Kehei/Wailea border and it’s VERY affordable compared to other resorts with oceanfront rooms. The room had a full kitchen and oceanfront balcony, the staff was incredibly helpful, the restaurant on site was delish, and the beach the resort is on was breathtaking with mountainous views. We plan on staying here again!
KA’ANAPALI/LAHAINA:
(This area was SUPER crowded and reminded us a lot of the touristy parts of Florida so it wasn’t our favorite but it’s still worth visiting - there is a lot of shopping here if that’s your jam.)
FOOD/COFFEE:
Leilani's on the Beach — if oceanview eating is your jam, this is the place for you! It’s literally right on the water and we like that they have a causal section (downstairs) and a more upscale section (upstairs). We only dined in the casual section but the food and drinks were wonderful! I had a feta/watermelon/walnut salad situation and I’ve recreated it at home every day since we got home 😋
Duke’s Beach House Maui — this is another oceanfront restaurant. We went here for breakfast, and I’m sad that we only got to go once because it was so tasty. The service was superb here, too!
Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice — Approx 100 people on Instagram told me that we had to go here so we did. There are multiple locations on the island and every single one that we stopped by had a LONG AF line. We finally waited it out on the last day and I mean it was GOOD but also…it’s ice, ya know? lol. If you really loved shaved ice, you should try it though because it’s the best shaved ice I’ve ever had for sure.
BEACHES/HIKES:
Snorkeling at Honolua-Mokuleia Bay Marine Life Conservation District — a must do! I’m not a good swimmer so I wasn’t stoked for snorkeling but this was so epic! We did it our last morning and I wish we’d done it earlier so we could’ve stayed longer. Get there EARLY!
Nakalele Blowhole — this is a quick and easy hike that we wanted to do because we’d never seen a blowhole. Not gonna lie, the blowhole was underwhelming BUT the views are worth the trip. The water here is unbelievably powerful and blue!
Olivine Pools — this is another quick and easy hike with stellar views. I mean when else are you gonna get to see tide pools in lava rocks, ya know? We didn’t swim because I was too scared (wait til you read the signs) BUT lots of people were swimming!
Kaanapali Beach — this is one of the most famous beaches on the island and it’s definitely beautiful! If you’re from Florida, Adam and I got Clearwater vibes from this beach. There were lots of families with young kids here and there is a spot for cliff jumping, too.
HANA:
We were told over and over again that we HAD to drive the Road to Hana - HOLY SMOKES. It’s a full day (we actually made it a 2-day) trip and you literally feel like you are in a jungle/rainforest. It was WILD and like nothing we’d ever seen before. Heads up: I did get car sick and had to take a nap so if you ever deal with motion sickness, maybe take a Dramamine.
There is no way I can list everything we did here because we stopped off like 20 times to explore and check some things out but I have a few highlights for you. But seriously, give yourself TIME to do this drive. It’s an intense drive and there is so much to see!
WHERE WE STAYED:
Hana Maui Resort — Our plan was to camp the 2 nights we were doing Hana but Adam actually surprised me and booked us the most magical private ocean bungalow. Like I legit felt like I was in a movie 🙌🏼 Husband of the year? UMMM YES. Our bungalow had a huge back porch that overlooked the ocean, the ceilings were high, everything inside was white and billowy. A true dream! Lots of people told me that they stayed here for their honeymoon! You feel very secluded and private here!
The staff members were bend over backwards kind and the grounds were amazing. There is an infinity pool that overlooks the ocean like COME ON. There is no beach access here though so keep that in mind.
SOME THINGS WE LOVED ON THE ROAD TO HANA:
Braddah Hutts BBQ Grill — Adam was dying to try some BBQ while we were in Hawaii and so we stopped off here and it was GOOD. Definitely different than the BBQ we are used to at home. Expect sweet/teriyaki vibes.
The Garden of Eden — Okay so some people say this is a tourist trap BUT we disagree. If you appreciate plants you’ve got to stop by here. It’s basically like a zoo of tropical plants 😂 My favorite were the rainbow eucalyptus trees!
Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside — if you were following our trip on Instagram, this is where we jumped off the waterfall! I was absolutely terrified but it was a bucket list item that I could not pass up on. We swam in the waterfall and made the 20-25ish foot jump from the top!
Haleakalā National Park:
We are national parks junkies so there was no way we were passing the opportunity to visit this park up! Here are the hikes we did:
Keonehe‘ehe‘e (Sliding Sands) — This hike felt like we were on a desert in Mars or on the moon or something, lol — super rad!
Pīpīwai Trail — this was one of our faves because as you’re hiking through a bamboo forest to a super tall waterfall!
The Pools at 'Ohe'o (Seven Sacred Pools) — the pools were closed for swimming when we visited but the hike to see them was still worth it.
And there you have it — the highlights from our time in Maui! We are already planning our next trip back because we totally fell in love and can’t wait to visit Hawaii’s other islands!