Maui October 2021
When we saw the offer for a $260 round trip from Austin to Maui and factored in that by using our Southwest companion benefit it would be $271 for two of us, we quickly booked the flights! Then we discovered the savings on the flights would soon be taken up by the cost of a place and car rental but we were heading to Hawaii!
It’s a long way from Austin to Hawaii; this combined with Southwest’s habit of stopping at all the places along the way including small airports, shopping mall shuttle stops, and most school bus stops meant that we landing about 9pm in Maui (which was 2am Austin time). The airport was small, efficient, and ,although this is a strange description for an airport, cute. We made our way to the condo we had rented with a stop at a grocery store along the way for essentials (wine, fruit, and a snack). By the time we made it to our condo it was dark and we were tired so we crashed. We woke early the next morning (Hawaii time but not Texas time) to paradise!
Here was the view from our patio on our first morning! We made coffee and walked past the grass area (dodging sprinklers) straight to the beach.
So here is a summary of our week in Maui:
Thursday
Early morning jet lag woke us up early for a fantastic view and fresh brewed coffee on the beach. We then drove down to the town of Lahaina. This is an old town that has a fishing town turned tourist area vibe. It has a nice mix of both. We had Breakfast at Papa'aina at the Pioneer Inn which is historic building in town on the coast. We had breakfast ramen (very good), eggs Benedict, and mimosas. After breakfast we strolled the charming town including an amazing park sized banyan tree, more old buildings, a elementary school in session, and several t-shirt stops. We walked by one place called the Mick Fleetwood cafe - I have yet to follow that google rabbit hole to see why he has a restaurant on the island but we did find out later that George Harrison owned a place in Maui and had issues with pizza delivery.
We got back to our condo (we were really fond of this place. Not a luxury place but perfect location and vibe) and went snorkeling just outside our back patio. Then back in to town for a happy hour/late lunch at a place that was our holy grail find for the week! Mala Tavern. https://malatavern.com The happy hour is from 2-4. The calamari is fantastic but eat it while it’s warm. As the week went on we tried several items on the menu (yes we returned many times) including the shrimp, the burger, and lamb meatballs. The star was the Mai Tais! One, not enough, two, too many, and three, just right. Jess drove back.
Nap time! The combination of jet lag, Mai Tais, and the warm ocean breeze had us at siesta time on the back patio. A couple of hours later we decided to explore a bit and drove up north then east to the top of the Maui forehead.
The costal beaches and golf course resorts quickly gave way to rugged terrain and winding roads. It was a pretty cool change. We drove along the road until we reached the Nakalele Blowhole. There was a small parking area along the side of a road on a hill above the ocean and then a medium hike down to the area where waves were crashing against cliffs. We didn’t go all the way down as it was getting late and we didn’t want to be out when it got dark but we watched from a distance as waves came in and pushed water up through a hole in the rock resulting in a fountain of spray. It was pretty cool and, based on a few memorials and warning signs, not a gentle place.
We stopped for dinner on the way back at Maui Brewing Company. It was surprisingly busy but they were able seat us pretty quickly. The beer selection was pretty amazing with the standards but also fun items such as coconut porter and ipa with passion fruit, orange, and guava. I had the fish and chips made with the local Ono fish. It was all very good.
Friday
We woke up early (a theme on this vacation) to make the short drive to the dive shop just south of us. This would only be our second ocean scuba after the adventure in the Galapagos so we were both excited and a little apprehensive. We had scheduled a two dive refresher session with Maui Diving Scuba Center. It was really great! We went out with Sarah and she was very good in taking us through a really cool experience. Both dives were from the shore which required a bit of effort carrying equipment then a boat dive but faster access to the water. The first dive was from a public beach out to a beautiful coral field. The second dive was along a broken pier that was a cool landscape of broken construction and many sea turtles. Bonus! When we got back to the dive shop I noticed a brewery next door. While the other 4 people (including my wife) were rinsing off, I went over to grab a couple of local brews.
We checked on line and were able to find reservations at our now favorite happy hour place so we stopped on the way (we’ll sort of) for Mai Tais and calamari)
When we finally made it home we were exhausted so we went down to the beach to relax for a bit. For dinner we decided to order sushi to be picked up. We got there a bit early so we had the pleasure of visiting a, and I say this as a compliment, local dive bar for a quick drink. It was fun to see the locals hanging out. The sushi was so good after a day of scuba. We did a walk on the beach then went to bed tired and happy.
Saturday
We woke up early (again) to drive to a French pastry place that Jess had heard about. This place is very popular and soon sells out so we made the 1 hour drive to the center of the island to be there in time for the 8am opening. There was already a line! Although they were limiting access to the small room due to covid, the line went pretty quickly. We enjoyed cream pastry and tarts with cappuccinos in a small garden.
We took the scenic path home and ended dropping by a farmers market which, in addition to the fruit and vegetables stands, had a large selection of homeopathic items. We then visited a place called the Sacred Garden which was a really cool blend of an art, decor, garden, hippy, zen center. It was quite a visit with parrots that didn’t like men and a garden maze.
We did a quick lunch at the condo then hit the beach for some swimming and boogie boarding. Then mid afternoon we headed out for the drive to the Haleakalā volcano to be there in time for sunset. The drive led us back to the center of the island. As we left the sunny beach side roads and headed towards the volcano the roads became winding and the weather damp. The signs warning about cows and geese in the road were not exaggerated as we had to navigate around them. We made it to the volcano in time for sunset but we really didn’t see either! By the time we arrived it was so wet, windy, cold, and cloudy that it was difficult to see anything. We would wait in our car until what seemed like a clearing then dash to a viewing point. Then run back to the car to warm up, then repeat.
We made the drive back to the cost in record time in order to manage a quick rinse and change of clothes in order to make our dinner reservations at Japango. This was a nicer place based in the Hyatt on the main resort strip. We had vision of White Lotus. After dinner we strolled the beach area for while then headed to the condo for, you guessed it, an early morning the next day.
Sunday
An early start at 4:10! To male the drive to the south part of the island in order to catch our boat at 6am. The boat took us out to the Molokini dive/snorkel area. This is a half rim of an old volcano. It’s a great place for snorkeling - ask my wife . . . I think she barely waited for the boat to stop moving before she jumped of the boat and swam out. It’s a really cool place to see a selection of different fish. Unfortunately it also turned out to be a place for me to learn that checking the seal on your underwater camera case is a good use of time. The boat ride had a second stop at a place called turtle beach nearer the cost then food and drink on the ride back the beach.
On the way back up north we made a quick visit to an old friend. This is a person that I was roommates with right after college (we lived together in a house owned by twin sisters, their boyfriends, bird toys, and stories to tell). He and his wife have retired and now split their time between Northern California and Maui. They are living the life and it was really cool to see the lifestyle of a resident vs a tourist. Their home was beautiful and they made us a meal of homemade vegan sushi roles and Mai Tais. For the drive back they supplied us with bananas from their garden.
We drove back to the condo to clean-up the headed to our now favorite happy hour place for pre dinner drinks. Dinner was early as the place was popular and reservations slim but we managed to get a table outside at 4:30pm at Star Noodle (strongly recommended). It’s a shared plate place and the food was incredibly good!
After dinner we walked on the beach and joined the locals for what seemed like a sunset celebration. We picked up a bottle of pineapple wine on the way to the condo and drank some of that watching the stars. The stars were great; the wine …
Monday
Guess what? Another early morning for the drive to Hana
Or how to make a 50 mile drive in 12hrs
So for this drive and most of others on this trip we used the GyPSy guide app. This was a great app for recommending places to visit & see and also sharing interesting information, stories, and history along the way. You download the files and then it works via GPS so no worries about weak signals. I highly recommend it.
The famous road to Hana is a windy sometimes-single lane road that takes you along the north of the island to the east side. The views are amazing including beautiful beaches, waterfalls, thick vegetation, and rocky cliffs. Along the way, as recommended by the app, we stopped at a couple of beaches including a black sand beach. We did some small hikes on on the cliff while viewing the impressively crashing waves below, and, at times, above us. We also stopped at roadside bbq for some ribs that we ate on a wooden table in the misting rain. One funny thing about these stops were that you recognize some of the same people or cars as there’s only one road there and back.
Two truths: It’s the journey not the destination. There’s not too much in Hana but a large village with a handful of restaurants and small hotels. Also the furthest point on the drive is actually about 40 minutes past Hana. Here you can enter the National park for hikes. This is the same park with the volcano crater so if you go to one then save your ticket as you will get the entry fee covered as long as it’s within the 3 day time period. We did a long hike up to a waterfall. In some places the tree coverage was so thick that even when it started raining not much was hitting us. The ground was getting wet, however, and by the time we returned from the hike it felt like we were bringing several pounds of mud back with us.
The rain continued on the drive home along the winding small road. At times the rain was so hard that it took away visibility and, in one case, a small section of the road. Once we got to the west side of the island we encountered our next challenge: time. My wife had made dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant. I pointed out to my wife that given the current time and the distance that the laws of physics decreed that we were not going to make it in time. Plus we really needed to clean off the mud before going anywhere. My wife enjoys proving both me and physics wrong and once again she was successful. We made a quick 10 minute stop at the condo where I jumped in the shower fully clothes in an attempt to wash the mud of both myself, my clothes, and shoes. Quickly dressed and we made it to the restaurant in time with my wife wearing that “see there” look. The place was called the Plantation House and both the food and atmosphere were very nice.
BTW - I’m pretty sure we tracked some of that mud back with us to Texas!
Tuesday
We had a relaxing morning with a short walk to a nearby coffee shop then crossing the read to enjoy cappuccinos on the beach. I checked us in for our flight the next day - the boarding number is very important on Southwest.
Back at the condo we went for a swim in the ocean wearing our shoes from the day before in an attempt to further clear the mud.
We went for a drive to the Northwest coast and stopped to do some walks including an overlook at a popular surfing area. We drove back into town for happy hour at our now favorite pub, The Mala Pub, where we enjoyed Mai Tais, calamari, lamb pita (for my wife) and a wagu burger for me.
We then drove to the resort area to catch the sunset cruise we had scheduled. More food and drink as the catamaran toured our group along the coast during a stunning sunset. The tour had advertised drinks and appetizers but the ‘appetizers’ turned out to be a plate full of food; big enough for diner. In our case, a second dinner.
Wednesday
Early morning drive to the airport for the long flights back to Texas.
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