Adventures of Hawaii - 9 Day Trip to Kauai & Maui

Hawaii

May 14

Our 9 Day Honeymoon Adventure in Hawaii

Goole Maps Location List: Hawaii Travel Guide - Kauai & Maui

Those of you who travel know that planning may be the most important part of preparation for visiting any unknown location. Luckily I have have Leza. She is an amazing planner and honestly runs circles around me when finding places to go and things to see.

After a year of Covid limitations and hurdles, Leza and I were finally able to take our Honeymoon to the beautiful islands of Hawaii! Specifically the islands of Kauai and Maui. Throughout this travel blog, we want to share our experiences, photos and recommendations of these gorgeous locations.

Maps for Kauai Tours & Maps for Maui Tours

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Download GuideAlong

For anyone who is planning a trip to Hawaii and don’t know where to begin, this may be a good place to start for reference. We’re not the type of couple to lounge around a resort, so we definitely tried to cover as much ground as we could in the amount of time we had. We also had a little gem up our sleeves though... Leza told me about this app called GuideAlong that I needed to check It out, and I was like, why?! You’re the planner! We don’t need an app!

Fast forward several months to our departure and Leza mentioned it again and I said sure, let’s give it a go and try it out.

Needless to say, Leza was right again and this app was amazing! In a nut shell, GuideAlong gives you self guided audio tours and routes based on the tours that you purchase. Instead of using your GPS, it downloads the maps directly to your smartphone.

So even if you have no service, it will know where you’re located and will narrate along your specific location. We didn’t use our GPS once for driving directions. The GuideAlong App is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Between Leza’s previous planning and our new GuideAlong App, we were in excellent shape! I’ll most likely mention more about GuideAlong as you read along about where we went and what we did, but if you’re traveling to Kauai, or Maui, check out these guides!

As you can see from the two photos below, this is a visual of where we took photos and visited on Kauai. So if you’re interested in traveling along with us, keep reading for all of the amazing locations we encountered!

For those of you who use Google Maps, feel free to use my saved locations from Hawaii Travel Guide - Kauai & Maui HERE

We scheduled eleven days total; five days on Kauai, four days in Maui, and two days of travel.

It wasn’t hard leaving the 25º F weather of Minnesota, but we took our early flight out of Minneapolis and headed to rainy Seattle which then led us to our final destination of Kauai.

After about twelve hours of travel (including layover), we landed around 8pm in Kauai. First thing was to get our rental car, which was a mustang convertible. After driving this for five days, I will never ever own one! After getting our fancy convertible, we were ready to find our temporary home, shower and get some sleep in a real bed.

The drive was pitch black and you could hear the crashing of the waves as we finally found what we would call home for the next few nights. We quickly brought in luggage and prepared for bed, as the next day we wanted to be well rested to see the paradise we arrived at.

Official 1st day on Kauai

After a well rested night, we woke up ready to explore. The only thing planned this day was the Star Na Pali Dinner Sunset Sail cruise from Capt Andy’s Sailing Adventures. If any of you are wondering if you should book this, we would highly recommend. The cost is approximately $185 per person, but it’s worth every penny!

Our 55’ Catamaran from Capt Andy’s didn’t set sail till afternoon, so we had ample time to explore our surrounding area. We explored the southern tip of Kauai in the town of Poipu which was located near our rental home at the Sunset Kahili Condominium.

We booked this location through Vrbo and our tenant’s name was Maureen. She literally had everything there for us! Beach towels, chairs, umbrella, TV, wifi, washer dryer, you name it, she accommodated. HERE is a link to the exact location we stayed for reference. We would highly recommend!

Not only was the accommodations great, the location was prime because it was a middle point on the island. There are no roads that make a full circle around the island. So kudos to you Maureen. We loved it!

We ate breakfast at Anuenue Cafe and then visited the near by Poipu Beach Park and were lucky enough to see a Hawaiian Monk Seal taking a little break in the sand!

As we left the beach, we connected GuideAlong to the car and were off on our first self guided tours. I will tell you, we would not have encountered as much as we did if it weren’t for this app.

This app is so AMAZING! It gives you stories and history about the land and how the island came to be, tips about the local hot spots, and just entertaining facts that made the experience of driving in an unknown place just purely enjoyable. Amazing! If you’re on Kauai, download the maps HERE!

I digress….after the beach, GuideAlong led us to the Hanapepe Swinging Bridge located in a little town of Hanapepe. If you're looking for a quick fun place to get out of the car and stretch your legs, check out this little town and walk on the bridge. It won’t take long to walk across the bridge and then you can cross it off your list of things to view!

After visiting this town we headed along the coast to our next stop Salt Pond Salt Ponds. We learned that the local Hawaiians harvest and make salt from this location. This would be an excellent beach to go to if you have small children as the waves are pretty calm here. It’s a nice little cove and just like all the beaches, it’s a wonderful place to stop.

After all of this exploring it was time to head to Port Allen and check in for departure of the sunset cruise.

There was about 24 other guests on board, a couple crew members, Five Star Chef and a Captain who road the waves as if she had her eyes closed. I’m not sure if we’ve recently watched a little too much of Below Deck, but we felt right at home. The cruise lasted for about four hours. As we set sailed up the Nā Pali Coast, the views were stunning It was like another world.

The Crew and Captain did an excellent job of tending to the guests and telling stories along the way that gave us a little history and background of this Island. The captain even spotted dolphins, took a detour in the boat so we could get a closer look! Talk about customer service! I personally have never seen dolphins in their natural habitat that close.

After a couple hours we reached our destination. It was time to turn around, sit down for our feast of shrimp and steak and watch the sun fall behind the waves. We were amazed at how quickly the sun fell below the horizon. Within a matter of minutes it fell past the water no longer in sight.

If you’re ever here, make sure you seize the moment and take some pictures, because the sun won’t last long.

Day 2 on Kauai

The first day on this island was going to be hard to compete with, but little did we know, Kauai did not let us down.

Our second day we had fully planned to take advantage of the GuideAlong and it took us to Waimea Canyon State Park. Best described, this would be Kauai’s own version of the Grand Canyon, which in my opinion is slightly better. The waterfalls, the lush green trees and vibrant red rocks. It has a little bit of everything here.

As the day went on, we continued to Waimea Canyon Trail. It was hard to not stop at all the lookouts! We pretty much followed the advice from GuideAlong which led us all the way to the Pihea Trailhead.

This was an excellent hike! It’s starts right at the beginning of Pu’u O Kila Lookout. If you end up here, don’t stop! Hike the trail a little if you’re able! This is known as one of the wettest spots on earth and it’s not hard to see why. As you travel along this path, you will have the beautiful Nā Pali Coast to your left and amazing scenery or Waimea Canyon on your right.

We were lucky to get an early start as we were still able to catch a glimpse of the water between the mountain ranges, but those views quickly diminished by the cold clouds rushing up and over the ground.

It was a surreal moment literally feeling the clouds moving through you as you hike this path. Pretty soon it was just pure white, as before was filled with color.

We made it past the one mile marker and we decided to turn back around. This was somewhat of a moderate hike, as it was not flat the whole time. We did need to climb up some steep rocks, muddy hills and trees, so a good pair of hiking shoes is a must! Prepare for them to get a little dirty.

After all of this, we traveled back towards Old Koloa Town and found some lunch! We are a huge fan of food trucks and ate at Big Monster Sushi Food Truck. It was quite delicious!

Old Koloa Town has a handful of restaurants, food trucks and little stores, but when we were there, it was always hit or miss if things were open. It was a pleasant little town to visit though.

After lunch we continued with GuideAlong and visited the landmark known as Spouting Horn. I’ll be honest, don’t get your hopes up too much. It’s a quick jump out of the car to take a look and cross it off the list of things to do.

However, there is a near by tree right at that location called an autograph tree. We noticed it was written on and people were signing their names on it. When I took a photo on my iPhone and had it do the “look up” feature, it said the type of tree was an autograph tree. So you know, we obviously had to mark the occasion. I tried etching our names but poked a hole every time through the leaf. Leza clearly did a much better job than I.

Truck foods were so fresh and delicious!

After lunch we decided to find a beach to relax at and we landed on Shipwreck Beach. No pun intended. This was recommended to us by one of the locals and they told us we would see some surfers and lots of waves there. So we packed a bag, grabbed some the beach chairs (Thanks Maureen) and headed to the sand for a couple hours. It’s hard to find something that you don’t like at the beach.

This was surely one of our favorites beaches on Kauai. It wasn’t crowded and you could tell the majority of the people were locals. Off in the distance there is a little cliff that you can hike to the top of. You will often spot people up here. I guess it’s a well known place for people to cliff jump into the water as well. While we were there, we were fortunate to catch it in action!

Along side the beautiful scenery were surfers and chickens. Yes, more chickens. I’m so used to taking pictures of seagulls on the beach that the chickens were a nice change. And they can be quite colorful too!

Dinner time was approaching soon, so went home, showered and got ready for our reservations at The Beach House. It was slightly more upscale than the ambiance of our food trucks, but nevertheless, the food was amazing. The drinks were “meh”. After dinner, it was time for bed as we had a full agenda for the next day.

Day 3 on Kauai

We made sure to get a good nights sleep because today we had two big things planned; A helicopter ride by Island Helicopter Tours to the Manawaiopuna Falls, otherwise known as Jurassic Falls and a Hawaiian Luau at the Smith Family Garden Luau. Both I would highly highly recommend.

We arrived near the airport early and waited for our security briefing and then boarded our ride. We have never experienced this before and we were very excited. Just like the pilot said, “it’s like a rollercoaster in the sky”. Our pilot was friendly, knowledgeable and really took the effort to make sure both sides of the helicopter were able to see the highlights of the scenic views that we experienced.

We specifically choose this tour company because it actually landed us in location of the water falls that is famous from the iconic Jurassic Park Movie as seen HERE.

The flight lasted for roughly an hour and half and we were able to get views that would not be possible any other way. I would definitely recommend if it fits in your budget, as this could be a one in a life time experience.

For those of you wondering about bringing your camera and gear, they do have limits on weight and they don’t allow large bags. For Cameras ,they don’t recommend any camera with a lens longer than 4”, however they did let me bring my Canon 5D Mark IV with a 24-70mm lens.

For you photographers, I will say, do not get your hopes up about getting picture perfect shots, as there will be reflections and if you’re sharing a ride with others, there may be a chance you’re sitting in between two people, so your vantage point may not be ideal. Either way, it will be worth it.

After our air adventure we got some Thai food at a place called Coconut Thai & Chinese located near Lae Nani Beach. Drunken noodles did not disappoint!

After lunch we had a few hours to spare before our big Luau, so we plugged GuideAlong back into the car and set out for more history lessons and beaches.

Moloa'a Beach and Anahola Beach Park were two more I would recommend checking out. Moloa'a Beach was another location we would have never found if it weren’t for the use of GuideAlong. It was through some random neighborhood where you need to park at the end of a dead end.

This beach was nice and secluded and almost felt like your own private beach.

Fun Fact: Moloa'a Beach, known for its white sand and palm trees, served as the backdrop for the Gilligan’s Island’s initial filming, including the pilot episode and opening scenes!

We continued south from Moloa'a Beach and stopped at Anahola Beach Park. There were a few more people here that were definitely locals. Some were surfing and others just soaking up the sun. I’m not certain, but this beach must have been an old location for a port or something, as there were remains of big cement pillars lined up in the water.

Either way, it made a good scene for a photo. It’s also really impressive how every beach feels so different. I highly recommend to check out multiple locations if you’re visiting this island.

As much as we would have loved to sit and relax along the shore, we needed to get back to shower and get ready for our Luau. We were pretty excited about this. Neither of us had been to a Luau and we honestly had no idea what to expect. All we knew is we would be having dinner and a show.

The Smith Family Garden Luau is a family owned establishment that is four generations strong going on 60 years. It is reservation based, so I would highly suggest to visit their website and look at the schedule. They also have two options to either do a dinner and show or just the show. In my opinion do both. There’s nothing like the home cooked meal of a traditional Hawaiian style family tradition.

When we arrived at the location we entered an overwhelming 30-acre garden park filled with an abundance of different trees, plants, animals and flowers. It was a little hidden oasis that you could walk for hours. They gave us a quick 10 minute trolly ride through the gardens where we were followed by a flock of chickens in addition to a peacock who must have been trained to spread it’s feathers on command because it posed for literally 20 minutes while people took pictures.

After we took our trolly ride, we had roughly 15 minutes till the ceremony of the family digging up the pig from the imu oven. We learned that this is how they cook the pig we were going to eat and they dug a hole in the ground, wrapped the pig in various fruit leaves, stuffed it with rocks and covered it all under sand and let cook for a day. It really is pretty cool to see.

Don’t worry though, the look of the pig that comes out of the hole is nothing like what it looks like when it shows up on your plate! After the ceremony, it was time to be seated and sip on some beverages and listen to live performers as tables got called up for the buffet line.

There was so much food to choose from and an experience I would not pass up. They even had their traditional dish called poi which is made from a taro plant. We learned this dish is a staple of Hawaiian culture and dinner meals. It’s purple in color and has no real taste, but it’s designed to compliment other food with it.

Try it if you get the opportunity and you can decide for yourself if you like it or not. Speaking of poi, you’ll also learn a lot about how taro plants are harvested and made into poi from Dave Pettitt who narrates for the GuideAlong. These guides are so good if you’re into that kinda thing!

Our dinner plates were overflowing and we both had full intentions for round two, but we just couldn’t do it. We were completely stuffed. Luckily the night was not over. As dinner came to a closing, we took a quick walk through the garden to the theatre. Here is where we sat in awe as we were entertained by a talented group of individuals who danced, drumed and twirled fire in a way you never thought possible. An event like this is something you do not want to miss if you’re visiting Kauai! The Smith Family Garden Luau exceeded every expectation we had! We highly highly recommend.

Day 4 on Kauai

Today we had no real plans. It’s hard to top a helicopter ride with a traditional Hawaiian Luau. Our goal for our fourth day was to put our full faith in GuideAlong and lead us to whereever it would take us. GuideAlong did not let us down.

We wanted to get an early start and finish the tours on the north end of the island near Princeville, so we departed from our humble abode on the south side of the island in Poipu and started our journey back up the eastern coast.

We stopped and had some breakfast at Island Craves Kauai. They had some delicious donuts, but their coffee was scolding hot. Like so hot it was still boiling as they poured it in the cup. Leza literally had to wait a few hours to even start drinking it and even by then it was still warm.

Our first stop on the list was the Kilauea Lighthouse at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. Apparently they were closed on Tuesdays, so we did not actually get to the lighthouse itself, but we were able to get an excellent view from a distance at the entrance.

I will say this is an excellent stop regardless if it’s closed as there is an abundance of wildlife and birds flying around. If you’re a bird or lighthouse lover, it’s highly worth stopping here.

Next stop on the list was Kauapea Beach, also known as Secret Beach, along with Anini Beach located near Kalihikai Park.

Kudos again to GuideAlong as we would have never found Kauapea (Secret) Beach Trail Head. There are no signs or directions anywhere leading to this place. You literally turn off the highway, take some side road, turn onto some random dirt road and then park in some little alleyway where you walk down some really steep hills to a gorgeous beach.

If you were wondering… yes, it’s worth it. I got some beautiful pictures of Leza walking down the beach, and again it was like our own little private beach. Although we thought we were alone, there was a chicken that seemed to follow us and and then pose for a picture on a log.

Anini Beach located near Kalihikai Park

Next stop was probably one of my favorites. Just north of Hanalei, lies Queen’s Bath. The hike was well worth the views! Parking can be a little bit challenging as it's a very small lot within a residential neighborhood, so be patient and either wait, or park and walk.

It was pretty impressive to the see the powerful waves crash along the shoreline. The walk to the actual Queen’s Bath was only about 20-25 minutes, depending on how much you choose to stop and take in the views. You first travel through what feels like a jungle out of child story book and then through a little forest which even has it’s own little waterfall!

Once we got there, there were quite a few people swimming in it. Some even brought lunches and were sun bathing. This is a great place to spend a few hours. It can be pretty slippery and the waves can be very large, but overall the hike across the lava rock isn't too bad.

If you visit with little ones, please be careful and respect the land. There is obviously no rails to fall off the edge and If you stand too close, the waves will soak you. Trust me, I learned the hard way. If you pay close attention while walking over the rocks, you may also encounter crabs that are walking along and hiding between little coves within the rocks. This is just a picture perfect place.

After this adventure we were hungry and decided to find something nearby and came across Tropical Taco in the town of Hanalei. This location has many shops and food options. It’s worth a stop. We had fish tacos and beef taco salad and it was amazing. We also stopped and had our first shave ice experience at Jojo's Shave Ice.

Now I feel I must expand on this as this is not shaved ice like what you may be thinking. This is not your traditional midwest “Snow Cone”. Shave Ice stands are everywhere in Hawaii and we regret not trying it earlier. The ice is shaved so thin it’s like a fluffy spoon full of ice cream in your mouth.

They fill the bottom of the bowl with ice cream, and then shave the ice with a machine directly on top and then cover it with juices that are so sweet. It puts what we know as “snow cones” to shame. I might as well suck on an ice cube if I have one of our Snow Cones from Minnesota. Either way someone needs to bring this concept back to the midwest because we’re clearly doing it wrong.

After our tacos and sweet treat, our hunger was satisfied and we were ready for our next stop. Hanalei Pier was next on the list and it was only a few minutes away. This was a very family friendly beach with lots of room, soft sand and a breathtaking view of a long pier with picture perfect mountains completing the scene. I would certainly check this beach out if you have the opportunity. Great for the whole family! There was also a beautiful location called Hanalei Valley Lookout that was on the way so we captured some scenic views of that too!

Hanalei Valley Lookout

Wainiha Bay Park was our next beach in line followed by Tunnels Beach. Just like the rest of the beaches here in Kauai, they were gorgeous. Tunnels Beach was a little tricky as it was in a neighborhood again and there was one little street to park near the entrance.

After these quick stops we were determined to get as far as we could on Kuhio Highway 560 to Haena State Park. This state park is the farthest point you can drive on around the island, as there is no road that goes completely around. We were running out of time for a hike there and did not buy a pass, so this was our time to turn around and catch any other spots we missed on the way back.

On our way back heading toward Poipu , we found the Maniniholo Dry Cave attraction. This is located right near Ha'ena Beach. It’s a very quick stop and you can walk in this giant open cave. It doesn’t go too deep, but it’s still unique. After that we slowly made our way home to a hot shower and cozy bed.

Wainiha Bay Park

Tunnels Beach

Maniniholo Dry Cave

Day 5 on Kauai

Day five was our last day Kauai, as tomorrow morning we would hop on a quick flight to Maui. Our agenda was to find a beach and relax. Since we had covered lots of ground and other beaches the previous days, we decided to head to Shipwreck Beach again. This was our favorite beach and It was simply enjoyable to watch the surfers ride the waves.

We ate breakfast at Little Fish Coffee, which was a worthy breakfast spot. I would recommend to order online and do pickup, as their line of customers is always super long. The bagel sandwiches and açaí fruit bowl were really delicious. The shakes were “meh”. After eating we felt we needed to walk off the food, so we put the beach on hold and found another adventure.

We revisited our trusty GuideAlong and found a few more waypoints that we did not yet cover. We were on a mission to do everything we possibly could, and the next stop led us to Wailua Falls. This was a short drive at a dead end parking lot where the falls were located. It’s a short and sweet stop.

You can’t really hike anywhere here, but it’s another beautiful waterfall to see. On the way back, we couldn’t help but notice an amazing horse, so we stopped and said hi!

Continuing on, we stopped to take pictures at the Tree Tunnel. It’s a beautiful stretch of road sandwiched between towering trees that make a perfect tunnel. Pictures don’t do it justice, but I was like a kid in a candy store every time we drove through it. It’s one of those earthly wonders that just puts a smile on your face.

Next on our list was Sleeping Giant. Located next to Wailua, we made a quick stop near the post office and got a picture. They do have hiking trails for this location, but we did not go. With a little imagination, it certainly does look like a Giant sleeping on his back on the top of a mountain. Lying on its back with the head on the far left and the feet on the far right of the photo. We also made a quick stop by Huleia National Wildlife Refuge. This was another beautiful view on the way to our next stop.

Sleeping Giant near the city of Wailua on Kauai

Huleia National Wildlife Refuge

By this point it was time for lunch and we wanted to make sure to try another recommendation from the locals. Puka Dog Hawaiian Style Hot Dogs was the place to be. If you like hotdogs, you will love these. If you don’t, you probably will still love them. They were really good. They came with a variety of sauce options at different heat indexes.

Also, the bun is pure genius. Instead of cutting the bread, they would poke a hole down the center and place it on a grill, which pretty much toasted the bun from from the inside out. Then they would fill with your choice of sauces and mustard and put the hotdog in. Mmmmmm. So Good!

Midwest people, we’re doing it wrong!

Poipu Beach is right across the street, so we decided to stroll the beach while we ate. This beach was always a nice place to visit. The beach is large, and there are always people here. It was pretty cool to see one of the locals doing some fishing with his net. He was just begging for a picture in my opinion.

After we downed our dogs, we finally decided to head to Shipwreck beach for the rest of the afternoon. We knew we would be there for a while, so we picked up Thai food at Nutcharee's Authentic Thai Food back near Nalu's South Shore Grill, so we could eat dinner on the beach. There were a lot more surfers this time and two weddings happening! This clearly was the place to be.

After a few hours we dined on the beach we went back home and watched the sunset fade over the hills.

Day 6 on Kauai to Maui

The day had finally come to leave. Kauai in our eyes was going to be extremely hard to compete with. The lush and vibrant scenery, the kind locals, the amazing food. There could have always been more time to hike, but you can only do so much with the amount of time you have. I don’t think we would have done anything differently.

Our flight to Maui was at noon, so after waking up and checking out of our cozy home, we headed for breakfast near the airport. We found an excellent waffle place called Aloha Liege Waffles & Espresso. Highly highly recommend! This was another food truck near Nāwiliwili Harbor, just south of the airport. The flavors and fresh fruit was just the icing on the cake for leaving this charming island. If you go there, make sure you get the BOB (Best of Both) so you can have multiple flavors. You won’t regret it!

We flew Hawaiian Airlines, and it was probably the quickest flight we’ve ever been on. It was also pretty cool because as we flew, we were low enough to see all of the islands below. We finally landed to Maui and was instantly hit by wind and heat. Kauai had a solid temperature in the mid 80’s that did not feel scorching hot or humid, and there was literally no bugs. Perhaps the chickens took care of that!

However Maui was hot with a noticeable difference and they did have bugs. For reference we traveled in the month of May. It was early afternoon after we got off the plane and picked up our rental car and we immediately set out on our adventure.

We were staying at the Wailea Grand Champions: Destination Residences Hawaii in the city of Wailea, which is on the south west side of the island. The Kahului Airport is centered right on the northern side and we did not want to waste time checking in. So our journey on Maui started with traveling east on the northern coast on the infamous Road To Hana.

And just for reference, the pictures below will give you a little idea of where we traveled on the island of Maui.

Thanks to the travel advice and expertise of GuideAlong, we stopped in the city of Paia and ate lunch at a wonderful place called Paia Fish Market. The fish was fresh and there was a line out the door of people waiting. I would highly recommend. In this location there are many shops and other food locations.

There is also a main public parking lot for free on the right side just prior to entering the town where you can park, otherwise you may have to find street parking, If you use GuideAlong, they’ll show you exactly where to go.

After lunch, we set out on our Road to Hana drive and had no idea what to expect. Even though it may only be 45 miles from Paia to the city of Hana, It will take a lot longer than you think. Much longer. I would recommend to start early, stock up on snacks and have a full tank of gas.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Road to Hana, it’s the Hana Highway that follows the north east coast of Maui. It’s 25 mph the entire way, with over 600 tight hairpin turns, 50+ one lane bridges and lots of blind spots. If you’re the driver, you will have 100% focus on the road, so give your camera to whosoever riding shotgun so they can capture the hidden waterfalls and rivers within the corners of the turns. Also if you’re the driver, you deserve an adult beverage or five when you return home.

Along the route there are some locations where you’re able to park and see an overlook and get a good view for a picture, but honestly there is not many. It’s also acceptable to let others pass you, as the locals will know these twists and turns far better than the visitors driving this road.

One recommended stop was Waialohe Park. This was actually a very beautiful location to stop, stretch your legs, and use the bathroom if needed. On one side there are calm waters with palm trees, and the other side has crashing waves with giant rocks along the shore of Keanae Lookout.

Behind all of that there is the Lanakila Ihiihi O Iehowa Ona Kava Church. Beautiful views with plenty of parking and a good spot to have a picnic.

Eventually you will come to a sign that says “Halfway to Hana”. Located here are a handful of shops and place to use the restroom, but it was closed when we stopped. If you’re using the Maui GuideAlong for Road to Hana Tour on this adventure, it’ll be sure to tell you lots of stories and history along the way in addition to letting you know the best places to stop.

GuideAlong also recommends two must see hotspots before and after the city of Hana, but you will need reservations prior to going. Unfortunately we did not have reservations, but would have loved to see these places. They are the Black Sand Beach located within the Waiʻānapanapa State Park and Seven Sacred Pools located in ʻOheʻo Gulch. Perhaps this will give us a reason to come back.

Moving on, we had roughly 17 miles to the actual city of Hana, which if you’re expecting something really spectacular, there’s not much going on there. Sorry to burst your bubble now. We rode through the quiet town and stopped at Hāna Bay Beach Park. We found a local crowd here and it certainly looked like a nice little beach for families.

At this time we only had a few hours left of sunlight and I wasn’t personally thrilled about driving 3 hours back in the dark through this crazy road, so we left to head back home.

After our eventful ride back, we found a nearby pizza place called Manoli's Pizza Company, showered and then relaxed the rest of the evening because we had another big adventure in the morning!

Day 7 on Maui

Today was filled with both excitement and fear. It would be the first time experiencing snorkeling for us. Leza and I were both very excited and had literally no idea on what to expect. As far as we were concerned, Leza was fearful of cold water, I was fearful of a shark eating me. So that should put it into perspective.

Leza found the snorkel tour through Maui Snorkel Charters which was spectacular! Highly recommend! We departed from Kīhei Boat Landing around 7am and our first stop was to Molokini Crater.

Molokini Crater is the remains of a volcano eruption that is said to have occurred around 230,000 years ago, and is also the location of inspiration to the visual artist who helped create the Disney Movie Finding Nemo.

We explored two different spots on the inside of the crater and then stopped on the back side where it drops into the deep abyss of the unknown. A surreal feel if you ask me.

After leaving this area we made our way to Turtle Town. The captain assured and guaranteed us that we would encounter Sea Turtles. He delivered that promise. This was an amazing location just south of Chang's Beach. According to our guide, this is a hotspot for turtles to come, relax and get cleaned by the fish.

As we floated above, the turtles would lay at the bottom, and then come up slowly for air. It’s a very peaceful experience.

There were quite a few people around, but everyone kept a good distance from all sea life and coral, as respecting this beautiful wildlife is a must!

For those of you who have never snorkeled before, if the tour or rental place offers a flotation device to go around your waist, totally do it! It really makes you not have to focus on swimming and you can just enjoy what you’re looking at effortlessly.

It was time for our tour to end, so we headed back to the dock and went immediately back to the hotel to shower off our salt soaked bodies. By this time we were pretty hungry so we found an excellent place to eat called Nalu’s South Shore Grill, located just north of the city Kihei.

The food and service was so great, we actually ended coming back a second time around a couple days later!

With our stomachs full, our journey by GuideAlong led us up the north western coast to the city of Lahaina. This is a wonderful place to stop and visit the shops and local restaurants. It has a little charm to it that makes you just be in the moment.

There’s a school and museum near by, and also a little park called Lāhainā Banyan Court with giant intertwined Banyan trees. So it’s a must to stop by and gaze at the natural wonders of it all.

Next stop was Kaanapali Beach. Here we found lots of shopping and restaurants in addition to multiple tours for boating. It was also another gorgeous beach with lots or room and seemed very family friendly.

I will say parking was a little crazy here. There was a parking ramp nearby that we needed to pay for, and it’s seemed to be surrounded by hotels and shops.

As we left this beach we saw a rainbow off in the distance, so we pulled off on a random side street to get a better view. Another picture perfect moment.

There are just so many beaches and parks on these islands that it’s hard to visit just one! As we traveled on, we came across D.T. Fleming Park. This was a quiet place, not many people when we visited. The water was calm and it certainly looked like a calm beach to spend the day at with kids.

By this time, we were on the north western tip of west Maui with our final destination of the day being Nakalele Blowhole. This was another recommendation that we learned from GuideAlong. It’s really a beautiful location that doesn’t feel like its packed with tourists. There is a small hike down that opens up the the blowhole that gushes the ocean water high into the air.

I would recommend to have some hiking shoes. Although it’s not a long hike, there are several paths to explore this shore.

There’s even a heart shaped rock someplace near, but I learned about this after our visit, so we did not get a picture of it. If you have your little humans with you along these types of hikes, keep a watchful eye. It can be often slippery and if not paying attention, someone could easily trip and fall. As the sign says, “It’s not a waterpark”. Overall though, this is worth a stop on your travel list.

The afternoon was ending quickly, so we decided to head back because our next adventure started at 1:30am! We obviously needed to stop for the sunset and get a picture so we drove till we found a decent spot.

We had no particular location in mind, but we ended up at Hanakaoʻo Park which is just north of the town Lahaina. There were many people fishing and having picnics here. We didn’t see many people swimming, but the sunset didn’t disappoint.

Sunset finished and it was time for an early night because our next excursion was the Haleakala Sunrise.

Day 8 on Maui

1:30am came pretty quickly and we had almost an hour and half drive from where we would view the top of Haleakala Peak. Haleakala National Park is home to Maui's highest peak. Rising 10,023 feet above sea level. Haleakala means "House of the Sun". If you plan on visiting, you will need to get reservations, so visit the Haleakala National Park Summit Sunrise Reservations website.

It was a dark steep climb up the hillside of the mountain and while we were driving we came across a cow. He looked a little confused, but we just moved by him slowly and continued on our way to the top. After arriving at the Haleakalā Visitor Center, we had about couple hours before the sun would actually come up, so we set an alarm for 5am and got a little more sleep in the car.

The sun started to creep just over the horizon at 5am. We were awoken by more people showing up. It was very chilly! So bring extra clothes, pants, sweatshirts, jackets or blankets. Whatever you’re able to bring, just bring it incase. It did reach just under 40º F.

The sunrise is slow and steady and I would recommend to stay for about an hour or so to let the sun creep in the valley and see the scenery. Gorgeous views and highly recommend!

After this breathtaking morning, we were hungry. On the way down from the peak, we stopped at a wonderful little lodge and restaurant called Kula Lodge. This is right off the Haleakala Highway. You most likely passed it if you were on this same adventure.

The food was excellent, the view was spectacular and they had a nice variety of flowers and plants throughout the whole back of the restaurant. I recommend if you’re in this area.

Brunch was over and we wanted to finish up as many tours from our GuideAlong as possible. So next on our list was the southern tip of Maui. We ended up at the Lava Fields just past the ‘Āhihi-Kīna‘U Natural Area Reserves. This is about as far as you can go on the south of Maui, however there are some hiking trails that you can do here too.

This was a neat area. We didn’t realize it at first, but on both sides of the roads are giant black rocks that were remnants of the volcano eruption a very very long time ago. They preserve this area and have it blocked off, as the rocks look extremely sharp and I would imagine it would not be enjoyable to hike over.

The beach there was also very scenic, not one that you would lay your beach towel on, but definitely a picture worthy place.

It was now early afternoon and we decided to grab some snacks and head to a beach. We decided to go to Big Beach, which is sandwiched between Makena Beach and Little Beach. If you’re looking for a beach where clothes are a little less optional, you may want to go to Little Beach. We did not go that route, but from what the locals say, you may see more than what you bargain for.

This beach was nice, lots of room and lots of people. We were not a fan of was paying for parking though. $20 to park for the day. When we were on Kauai, we never paid once for parking anywhere. Here on Maui it seemed that many of the very popular public beaches required payment.

There are still some beaches and parks that don’t require a fee, but we were tired and wanted to rest for a couple hours.

After soaking in the sun for a few hours it was time to head back home, shower off and get some dinner. This was our last evening on Maui so we had a mental struggle of where to eat dinner because everything looked so good.

As good fortune would have it, we picked the best place. We ended up at Ohana Seafood Bar and Grill right next door to Kihei Caffe. They had amazing food, delicious drinks and a live band. Located in the town of Kihei, this was such a hot spot to be. It was right on the corner of a semi-busy street and with people walking by and Skate Park across the street, this was certainly a great choice.

If you’re in this area, check out the local shops and restaurants too! I would highly recommend to stop here!

Our flight the next day wasn’t until 8pm the next day so we had nothing officially scheduled, which meant we could sleep in relatively late if we wanted.

We weren’t really sure the name of the band, but we do remember it was the drummers first night playing with them. They had the crowd dancing and singing and even people would stop on the sidewalk to listen. This is the way life should be lived.

After a night filled with local laughs, great food and excellent live music, we were ready for bed.

Day 9 on Maui

This was officially our last day on the island. We slept in a little, but not too much. We tried to make the most of time and take advantage of any and all opportunities, so we checked out of our hotel early and headed on our next destination.

First stop was food. We had almost no energy to find someplace new, so we visited Nalu's South Shore Grill for the second time. We usually don’t do this, but it was so good the first time we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed. Again the food was amazing. They even put edible glitter in their drinks that makes it look like volcanoes erupting inside. Next time I will have to try one!

After lunch we decided to go to back to the streets of Paia to check out the local shops. When we arrived on Maui, we drove though here on the way to Road to Hana, but we didn’t take the time to explore. There are lots of shops and places to eat with more beaches near by. We even came across a cool Maui Dharma Center & The Great Lha Bab Peace Stupa. The Stupa Grounds Are Sacred And A Place For Prayer, Peace & Reflection.

Needless to say, we spun the wheel, walked through and made some wishes. We are always mesmerized by different cultures and traditions and find it fascinating to be able to participate when able.

We were still full, so what better way to walk it off then to find another beach. So after leaving Paia we made a quick stop at Baldwin Beach Park which was very close. A great family friendly beach with lots of room and shade from trees. There is lots of parking and it was filled!

After our final beach stop we decided to check out one last location; ʻĪao Valley State Monument. This was not too far from the airport and and along with all other recommendations, GuideAlong did not let us down. ʻĪao Valley State Monument is home to what is known as the ʻĪao Needle State Monument. A tall tower of rock in the middle of the valley where it often gets a lot of rain.

There is a fee for parking in the lot, but honestly you can park along the street which is really close. It took less than 5 minutes to get to the entrance of the park.

We hiked a small path along the water, and saw some amazing views. We did not have a lot of time, so our hike wasn’t more than 30 minutes. Even if you don’t want to hike, it’s still a nice place to visit. There are steps that lead to various lookouts and everything is just blooming with color. This is another location where it often rains, so be prepared if it does. It started to sprinkle lightly, but the dark clouds soon passed and we revealed a another beautiful rainbow. See if you can spot it in the photos below!

After our small visit at ʻĪao Needle State Monument, we made one final stop for Shave Ice at Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice in Wailuku. Just take our word for it and try it if you visit.

Our tastebuds were satisfied and It was time for our honeymoon to come to an end and head back to reality. If you’re ever thinking of going to Hawaii, just do it. You won’t regret it. Kauai and Maui are absolute beautiful places to visit.

If you made it this far in this post, I applaud you! This post was a long one, but hopefully worthwhile with photos and recommendations for your own travel.

Thanks again for reading and we look forward to sharing our next travel adventure!