Maui Review & Travel Guide
If you follow me on IGS then you know my family and I took a trip to Maui. Pre pandemic it had become a tradition that we would go every January for my daughters and my birthday so it felt so good to return! We weren't sure what to expect with how the last 2 years have gone. It was as beautiful as I remembered and always perfect with family! We had such an amazing time, so I wanted to write a full review of our trip and share our experience with you ladies. So, if you’re planning a trip soon or hope to go in the future, keep reading for all my recommendations!
First off, let me address the elephant in the room… Covid. We are so grateful to be fully vaccinated and Hawaii in general has such strict guidelines that it really gave us a ton of peace of mind while traveling. A couple things… if you’re planning a trip to Maui, then the key is to PLAN ahead! You have to have a negative Covid test 72 hours prior to your flight, and there aren’t a lot of places that do tests that Hawaii will accept. There are also a lot of forms to fill out online, and things you have to have prepared prior to your flight, so save yourself some stress and plan ahead!
Also, you will be tested once you land too so just be ready - it was super easy and gentle btw!
Restaurants & Food
It was CRAZY hard to get a res! If you are planning a trip, even if it's not for months, I would suggest making ALL your reservations now! Restaurants are only doing limited capacity seating right now, so it’s hard to get a reservation. We ended up eating mostly at the hotel because that's pretty much the only place we could get into! However, we’ve previously been to Mama’s Fish House which has amazing seafood - a definite must! Another restaurant we love is Japengo which is known for their sushi… so obviously it’s one of our faves!
Where to Stay
We stayed at the Andaz Maui (that's another note, hotels where much more expensive this time around). I’m not sure if hotels are trying to make up for their losses but ouch! As nice as the Andaz was, if I had to do again, I might have gone the condo rental route.
Activities
We kept things pretty mellow and if I'm honest, I’m a 1-2 activities kinda girl and the rest of the time, I like to lounge at the pool or beach! However, we went on a snorkel trip and I can't rave enough about it! It was at 25% capacity so it felt super chill. What I loved most about this particular company was how amazing they were with kids! Harlow was super scared to snorkel and neither of my kids are super strong swimmers, but the crew was SO fun and engaging with the kiddos that in no time, they were snorkeling like pros! The company name is Four Winds Maui snorkel trips.
Road to Hana: Okay I'm just going to be real honest here, I will NEVER do this again! It's the second time we have driven this road and the ONLY way I would do it again is if we rented a place once there. It is such a long drive, beautiful but so long and windy and my kids and I all get carsick. Let's just say, it got messy. The other thing to know is that Black's Beach, a gorgeous black sand beach, that is for me the whole point of the drive, is now only open by reservation. We did not know this! So, we drove that crazy drive to show our kids this amazing natural marvel and we couldn't get in! So… learn from us!
Black Rock Beach was another highlight for us. Different than Black’s Beach FYI. You have to go here to swim with turtles! It is so cool and every time we’ve visited, there have always seen tons of turtles! Also, don't miss the Maui Ceremony, it's so pretty and an honor to the Hawaiian culture. The water is pretty mellow here so great for kids as well.
Maui will forever be one of our favorite places to visit, even with a few mishaps! Hopefully this helps so you’ll be able to avoid some of the mistakes we made… although there’s never a bad day in Maui!
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