Hawaiian Honeymoon: Maui

First view of Maui from the plane

After a wonderful and busy time on Oahu, we boarded our flight to Maui for some relaxation! Maui is a totally different island than Oahu. It is much more laid-back, with no major cities. The amount of tourists is greatly decreased as there are only a few prime spots for resorts along the coast. We stayed in a town called Kaanapali where there were several resorts. We checked into our resort at the Grand Hyatt Regency and headed straight out for dinner at a local mexican restaurant that several people had recommended to us. It was okay- not in competition for our favorite meal of our trip. But afterwards we headed back to the resort to head down to our massive pool area and hot tub for the rest of the evening. But first- another surprise!

Another surprise spa package

Swedish massages- ocean front!- from Rachel

My awesome maid of honor surprised us in Maui with 2-50 minute swedish massages. They were to be held in an oceanfront massage cabana. We were so excited to once again be pampered by our amazing friends! Thanks for all the memorable surprises along our honeymoon :)

Grand Hyatt Regency

Half of our amazing pool

Courtyard inside the Hyatt

The next morning, we headed down to our DELICIOUS buffet breakfast by the swan swimming pool. Then we decided to walk around the grounds and check out all our resort had to offer. We picked the Hyatt because it offered the most beautiful grounds.

Beautiful Flamingos

Swans we watched swim while we ate breakfast each morning

Penguins!

The reason I chose the Hyatt :)

We spent ALL DAY at our massive swimming pool. We ordered a few frozen drinks, did some reading, took some sunny naps, and enjoyed the gorgeous Hawaiian weather.

H

That evening, we headed to a small fisherman's town just south of Kaanapali called Lahaina for dinner. It was one of the cutest little towns we went to! We ended up going to this delicious pizza place called Lahaina Pizza Co. and got some grrrrrreat deepdish! We walked up and down Front St to check out some of the local shops. After dinner, we headed over to the oldest tree on Maui to check it out. It was like a natural playground! The tree was so cool because it had roots hanging down from it that when they reached the ground, they formed a new trunk. So this tree was continuously growing and had like 20 trunks! It was a pretty cool site.

Dinner at Lahaina Pizza Co.

On the Oldest Tree in Maui

After enjoying Lahaina, we headed back to the resort to get some shut eye. The next morning, our day started about the same. Lots of pool time. Lots of sunshine. Lots of relaxation!

Pre-dinner wine and reading

 Then we decided to head to a place called the Whaler's village for dinner that night, just north of Kaanapali. We got to see a beautiful sunset and ate at a restaurant right on the beach. I had some delicious fish and chips and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery.

Love my husband

Goofing off :)

The next day, we decided to be a little more adventurous. We got up early, went to breakfast, and then got in our rental car and started on The Road to Hana. The Road to Hana is one of the 'must-do's' for Maui visitors. It is a 52-mile drive up the eastern side of the island. However, those 52 miles take about 3 hours to drive. The road is 2 lanes, 1 lane over shared bridges, winding back and forth. There are over 600 turns and curves, and I'm talking about U-turns. This drive is not for people who even get remotely car sick. The 52 miles to Hana take you from the sandy beaches on the coast of Maui, to the middle of a rainforest. The temperate changes so drastically all within 52 miles. It was a beautiful site to see the lush greenery and plants, the tall waving sticks of bamboo, and the gorgeous cliff side waterfalls and beaches.

We made several stops along our drive up to Hana to check out some waterfalls. We even stopped at a lava tube, an underground cave formed from running lava hundreds of years ago. It was neat to crawl around underground and see where the lava was when the volcano was active.

Lava Tube Explorations

We stopped to check out black sand beach, one of the roughest beaches I've ever seen. The volcanic ash makes the rocks and sand on the beach appear black, and the cove that the waves crash in makes it super dangerous to swim in. The water was intense so we viewed it from a far!

View of Black Sand Beach

Rough Waters

Our last stop at the very top of Hana was at red sand beach. We had read about red sand beach in one of our guide books. It stated that the hike to red sand beach was along a well worn path, but that it was a beautiful beach and a "do not miss" on our trip. Little did we know that it would be the most treacherous hike ever! The path wound right along a cliffside, with the path tilting slightly to the ocean. There was no traction on the ground, just dirt, rocks and pine needles, making it VERY easy to slip and slide. Needless to say, I fell on the way up the climb, so coming back down, with the path angling toward the rocky cliffside, I swore I was going in! I had no idea how I was going to make it down this cliffside back to our car. But with Andy's patience and help, I got down safely. Whew!

Red Sand Beach

We then began the 52 miles back down the road to Hana, getting a little carsick amongst all 600 of those turns again!

On our ride back down, we stopped at a beach where a lot of surfers and windsurfers hang out. It was fun to watch them ride on the waves and play in the wind. We enjoyed watching them out in the water for a little while before continuing our journey back to the resort.

Needless to say, we opened a bottle of wine immediately upon returning to our resort and headed back to Lahaina for dinner.

Front St. Lahaina

The next day was our last in Maui. We got up early to receive our amazing 50-minute swedish massages in an oceanside cabana courtesy of Rachel. Then we headed to a late breakfast before hangin' at the pool for one last day. Here's a last look at our beautiful surroundings on Maui.

For our final night, we decided to go out in style. We attended a Hawaiian Luau! When we decided on Hawaii for the honeymoon, this was a MUST for me. I couldn't wait! We had an amaaaazing time watching the dancers, enjoying the music and eating the DELICIOUS food! Everything was perfect and we had a blast! What a perfect ending to a perfect honeymoon! Aloha! Mahalo!

Thank you Hawaii for such an amazing two weeks! We couldn't have asked for a better honeymoon experience! We are both definitely hoping that we will be able to return someday in the near future for more amazing sunsets and perfect weather! Aloha Hawaii!