HAWAII

Well we are going on our belated honeymoon in 2 weeks...we'll be in Hawaii over Christmas and New Years. Going to Maui for a week and Kauai for a week...

Anyone have any sugesstions of some cool excursions or great places to eat...

I've been reading the boards and Sansea in Maui seems to be a favorite for sushi and Lapperts seemed pretty good...

Anyone have any other suggestions for food or activities?


thanks

Congrats on your upcoming HM! You'll LOVE Hawaii!!

When we went last year we took a helicopter ride over West Maui and Molokai - it was fab! Something that we really wanted to do but didn't get a chance to, was to watch the sun rise over Haleakala (mountain) - but you have to be up there at like 3am to see it, everyone says it's so worth it though.

If you can, take the Trilogy trip to Lanai - it's a catamaran and they take you to the island of Lanai, a private beach, there's a lunch on the beach, activities, snorkeling, etc. I *believe* it's the beginning of whale season (we went in March at the end of whale season but we still saw some and it was AMAZING!). We also saw spinner dolphins who swam along our catamaran and did flips in the air and stuff. Honestly, the day we took the Trilogy trip was the BEST day of our entire trip! I highly recommend it. Also, if you book online at least 1 week prior to when you want to go, you get like 10% off the price or something like that.

On Kauai we got rained out (we were 'lucky' enough to go during a very abnormal rain storm that even took out dams etc!!! ). The one thing we did was to go to the Smith's Family Luau and we loved it. I hear that Feast At Lele or the Old Lahaina Luau on Maui are fabulous though so you might want to look into that.

Ok, so have a wonderful time!!!

ok, here's some of my suggestions, we went to Oahu & Maui.

We stayed right on Kaanapali Beach, so these will be most helpful if you're also staying within that area.

Food-
Leilani's in Whalers Village- good prices, great food and amazing sunsets right on the beach.....I was addicted to their tuna melt (and still daydream about it....never knew a tuna melt could be so good! DH was loving their fish taco's, yum!

Right next door is the Hula Grill- also yummy, but a little more expensive

Kimo's on Front St. in Lahaina- love love love this place, the best dinner we had while in Maui!!! I had some steak & chicken combo it was sooooo good!!

Lapperts: if you go there, I recommend the Kuaui Pie ice cream

Cool Cat Cafe- towards the end of Front St. in Lahaina- the burgers are amazing!! very relaxed atmosphere (50's diner sort of feel) and good prices

Mama's Fish House- the food was excellent, but it is definitely expensive!!! each of our seafood dishes was around $40-$50, it's worth it, but its a bit of a drive if you're staying in Kaanapali (like we did). I'd recommond making a day out of it, go to the Haleakala Crater, or check out the waterfalls on the Road to Hana, and then stop by Mama's fish house for dinner and sunset watching....make reservations early!! we called the morning we wanted to go and they only had 4PM or 8PM available, so we didn't get the full sunset.

as for activities:

luau's- we went to two while we were there: Old Lahaina Luau and they Hyatt Drums of the Pacific. The Old Lahaina luau sells out ahead of time, so buy tickets now if you want to go.....it was definitely great b/c it had such an authentic feel and the sunset there is just uncomparable to any other I had seen on the island......BUT both DH & I enjoyed the food more at the Hyatt Drums of the Pacific luau, and they also include a fireshow, which the Old Lahaina one doesn't (b/c it's not considered traditional at luau's). since I love history so much I still thoroughly enjoyed the Old Lahaina luau, b/c I appreciated the background they were giving leading into the dances, it really felt like a story you were watching, and the footwork definitely seemed more precise then the one at the Hyatt. but my husband didn't care about any of that, so in his opinion he would've skipped Old Lahaina all together, and just went to the Hyatt. they're about the same price, so if you only go to one, I'd say go to the Hyatt.

we did a dune buggy ATV ride:

we went with the Kahoma Ranch tour right out of Kaanapali- it was over $100 pp, but it's roughly 3 hours you're riding so it wasn't bad, and you get some gorgeous views of Kaanapali from up above in the mountains. I also liked that DH & I were able to ride together in one dune buggy (since I'm a chicken).....the other one we considered was ATV quad's near the Haleakala Crater, but that one was I think more rough terrain and we would've been riding separately......plus when we got there it was already sold out for the day, so that was definitely the deciding factor on not doing that excursion!! lol I have some pics in my album of the dune buggy ride we did. they even rent out clothes for $5 b/c you get THAT dirty!

as for other activities, I would've loved to do snorkeling at Lanai, but for some reason DH didn't want to. I also wanted to do a dinner cruise, but it was too late to book it and it was our last day there.

I suggest going to Front Street in Lahaina and visiting this little shop (not to far from Cool Cat Cafe) they had a bunch of guides and vouchers for excursions, you might be able to get it a little cheaper, and the guy in there seemed really helpful.

good luck, have a great time!!!!!

WOW guys these are some great suggestions! THanks. I'm soooo excited to go. We haven't been on vacation in like 3 years!!!! I'm in desperate need of some relaxation. I'm writing down all of these places and will try to check them all out!

---

Posted by micknjohn

WOW guys these are some great suggestions! THanks. I'm soooo excited to go. We haven't been on vacation in like 3 years!!!! I'm in desperate need of some relaxation. I'm writing down all of these places and will try to check them all out!

---

awesome!!! what part of Maui are you staying in? Kaanapali, Wailea? someplace else?

---

Posted by HelenZ

---

Posted by micknjohn

WOW guys these are some great suggestions! THanks. I'm soooo excited to go. We haven't been on vacation in like 3 years!!!! I'm in desperate need of some relaxation. I'm writing down all of these places and will try to check them all out!

---

awesome!!! what part of Maui are you staying in? Kaanapali, Wailea? someplace else?

---

We're staying at the Hyatt in Lahaina in Maui. Did you guys rent a car? We did, and I was told that it was hard to get around if you didn't have one. The dunn buggy trip seems awesome. I would love to do that!

---

Posted by micknjohn

---

Posted by HelenZ

---

Posted by micknjohn

WOW guys these are some great suggestions! THanks. I'm soooo excited to go. We haven't been on vacation in like 3 years!!!! I'm in desperate need of some relaxation. I'm writing down all of these places and will try to check them all out!

---

awesome!!! what part of Maui are you staying in? Kaanapali, Wailea? someplace else?

---

We're staying at the Hyatt in Lahaina in Maui. Did you guys rent a car? We did, and I was told that it was hard to get around if you didn't have one. The dunn buggy trip seems awesome. I would love to do that!

---

ok, Lahaina might be considered the greater area (since it's next to Kaanapali) but I believe that's the Hyatt in Kaanapali you're staying in, dont' think Lahaina has any major hotels there (more B&B looking type of places)....so you'll be staying right where the Drums of the Pacific luau will be!!!

oh and I have to ask will you be in Maui over a weekend?? On Saturday nights they have a restaurant that turns into a club around 10PM at the Hyatt, great music! even if you don't feel like dancing, it was fun hanging around b/c they play the video to all the songs they play on a big screen right off the dance floor. DH hates dancing, but at least that kind of kept him entertained. I read about it in some guide, other than Front St. in Lahaina Maui doesn't have much nightlife.

---

Posted by micknjohn

we made reservations already for the Old Lahaina Luau...my travel agent recommended it, but from your post I think i'de actually like the Hyatt's one better!.....maybe we'll do both!

---

definitely! and if you book at the Hyatt through the Expedia desk, you'll save like $10pp for the drums of the pacific luau! I liked doing both so I could compare the two.......the Old Lahaina luau was still awesome, but with food being the biggest deciding factor w/ DH, Hyatt won out! lol

---

Posted by micknjohn

---

Posted by HelenZ

---

Posted by micknjohn

WOW guys these are some great suggestions! THanks. I'm soooo excited to go. We haven't been on vacation in like 3 years!!!! I'm in desperate need of some relaxation. I'm writing down all of these places and will try to check them all out!

---

awesome!!! what part of Maui are you staying in? Kaanapali, Wailea? someplace else?

---

We're staying at the Hyatt in Lahaina in Maui. Did you guys rent a car? We did, and I was told that it was hard to get around if you didn't have one. The dunn buggy trip seems awesome. I would love to do that!

---

oh and yes, we did rent a car, its the best way to see Maui! DH upgraded us for like $400 to some SUV type Lincoln....I could've choked him, but I caved since he had little say with all the other HM planning! lol

oh here's my other tip for luau's:

old lahaina- don't make yourself crazy and get there really early like we did.....the seating is not first come, first serve, its determined from when you purchased your ticket! you'd get the same seats no matter what time you show up.

however, w/ the hyatt, seating is first come first serve, so i'd say you don't even need to spree for the up front section (which costs more) if you get there like an hour early and just wait on line then you'll get good seats anyway.

Wherever you eat is DELICiOUS!

in Maui, we really enjoyed:

The Seawatch Restaurant
100 Wailea Golf Club Dr
Wailea, HI 96753
808.875.8080

SANSEI SEAFOOD RESTAURANT & SUSHI BAR
The Kapalua Shops
115 Bay Drive, Suite 115
Kapalua, HI 96761
(West Maui)
Tel. (808) 669-6286 (2 locations)
Incredible seafood 'must try' - specialty sushi rolls. 2004, 2005 & 2006 Hale Aina Award. (D $$)

---

Posted by HelenZ

ok, here's some of my suggestions, we went to Oahu & Maui.

We stayed right on Kaanapali Beach, so these will be most helpful if you're also staying within that area.

Food-
Leilani's in Whalers Village- good prices, great food and amazing sunsets right on the beach.....I was addicted to their tuna melt (and still daydream about it....never knew a tuna melt could be so good! DH was loving their fish taco's, yum!

Right next door is the Hula Grill- also yummy, but a little more expensive

Kimo's on Front St. in Lahaina- love love love this place, the best dinner we had while in Maui!!! I had some steak & chicken combo it was sooooo good!!

Lapperts: if you go there, I recommend the Kuaui Pie ice cream

Cool Cat Cafe- towards the end of Front St. in Lahaina- the burgers are amazing!! very relaxed atmosphere (50's diner sort of feel) and good prices

Mama's Fish House- the food was excellent, but it is definitely expensive!!! each of our seafood dishes was around $40-$50, it's worth it, but its a bit of a drive if you're staying in Kaanapali (like we did). I'd recommond making a day out of it, go to the Haleakala Crater, or check out the waterfalls on the Road to Hana, and then stop by Mama's fish house for dinner and sunset watching....make reservations early!! we called the morning we wanted to go and they only had 4PM or 8PM available, so we didn't get the full sunset.

---

I agree Mama's Fish House!!! Also in Lahaina tri Pacific'O...Best meal I had!!!!

---

Posted by Unapearla

Wherever you eat is DELICiOUS!

in Maui, we really enjoyed:

The Seawatch Restaurant
100 Wailea Golf Club Dr
Wailea, HI 96753
808.875.8080

SANSEI SEAFOOD RESTAURANT & SUSHI BAR
The Kapalua Shops
115 Bay Drive, Suite 115
Kapalua, HI 96761
(West Maui)
Tel. (808) 669-6286 (2 locations)
Incredible seafood 'must try' - specialty sushi rolls. 2004, 2005 & 2006 Hale Aina Award. (D $$)

---

Sanei....i heard about this place. Definetly a place we'll hit up.

---

Posted by HelenZ

oh here's my other tip for luau's:

old lahaina- don't make yourself crazy and get there really early like we did.....the seating is not first come, first serve, its determined from when you purchased your ticket! you'd get the same seats no matter what time you show up.

however, w/ the hyatt, seating is first come first serve, so i'd say you don't even need to spree for the up front section (which costs more) if you get there like an hour early and just wait on line then you'll get good seats anyway.

---

These are great tips. Thanks so much Helen!

Lapperts Ice Cream is amazing!!!

In Kauai, we really enjoyed the Plantation Restaurant in Poipu - I read about it in one of the travel magazines and we went there and loved it. We also went to Pizzetta for some regular - pizza and spaghetti and meatball style Italian.

The restaurants at the Hyatt in Kauai are good as well!

For activities, we went to Poipu Beach and went snorkelling. We also did a helicopter tour which was amazing (we used Will Squiers (sp) and they were great). The only thing I didn't like was that they weigh you and it's the last thing you want to do on your honeymoon is step on a scale!

In Maui, our favorite was Mama's Fish House. We ate at a restaurant in Lahaina one night which was really good as well -the name escapes me though at this time. The Old Lahaina Luau was great as well.

We weren't there that long but, we did the Road to Hana. It was nice but, it was long. We rented a jeep which we loved cruising around in. Since Mama's is far from Kanapali, it's good to combine the Road to Hana and Mama's together in one trip.

Have fun!

Maui we did a helicopter ride it was worth it.
Kauai we did the ATV adventure we loved this the most it was like 4 hours long they provided lunch we stooped and got to dip in the waterfalls a must do