Maui, Hawaii, Kuaui

Hey Ladies - I am going to these islands in 6 weeks for our honeymoon...


I am trying to book everything now - restaurants, excursions, etc...


Any suggestions for me??? PLEASE! (Im a little desperate!)

TIA!

I recommend Spago and Nick's Fishhouse in Maui as great restaurants. Both pricey but the best ones I went to in all of Hawaii. I did a luau in Hawaii that was nice but can't remember which one - there are so many - we went to one that we can walk to from our hotel which was nice.

If you are into it, definitely do a helicopter ride in Kauai - gorgeous.

The best restaurant I went to in Kauai was the one in the Hyatt - with the Italian D name - can't think of it right now. Also, the Beach House at sunset is nice the food is decent but the view is gorgeous - I went there my last night in Hawaii. the plantation house or whatever the name was - was one of the worst ones I went to even though it gets great reviews.

I did a snorkeling trip which was nice in Maui went with who the hotel recommended and it was really good.

Most of other things I did was on our own - like Road to Hana, driving Mt Halekelea (sp?), driving all of Kauai, etc.

I booked everything once I was there and found that to work well esp. since things are a lot different there then in NYC. It was much different than any other vacation I have ever been on...and totally different than the way DH and I are use to doing things - early to rise and early to bed - on vacation, we are usually eating out late and going to bed late and getting up by nine - here we were up by 7 am the latest everyday. Also the concierges in the hotels were extremely helpful in getting reservations and stuff even when supposedly places were booked - they basically did all the work for us. We just gave them a list of what we wanted and they did it for us.

I would not pre book too many tours ahead of time, you want to do things spontaniously and have time to relax. Unless it is something you absolutly have to do, then pre book it. We booked things when we got there and that worked well for us.

ENJOY!!!!!! Hawaii is awesome!!!!!!

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Posted by Niecey
The best restaurant I went to in Kauai was the one in the Hyatt - with the Italian D name - can't think of it right now.

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Name of the restaurant in Kauai was Dondero's in the Hyatt, really good! Definately go watch the sunrise in Maui on Mount Haleakala...absolutely gorgeous and then we biked down the volcano! Went to two Luau's they were fun, went to one in Kauai at the Hyatt and then in Maui at the Marriott outrigger, they also have some nicer ones in Lahaina. Definately have to check out at least one.

In Maui we ate at the Four Seasons a restaurant called Ferraros I think, also Spaggo. You can take surf lessons and go on the road to Hana. Lahaina has a ton of little shops and restaurants also, not sure where your staying we were at the Grand Wailea and drove to Lahaina twice and the ride it gorgeous itself!

Ask the concierge too, they'll make all plans for you, theres a ton of things to do especially on Maui.

On Maui we loved the Lahaina Luau. We did not like Roy's (restaurant chain) - we thought the drinks were overpriced (but tasty) and the food was good but we got tiny little portions.

We did not do the day trip to Molokai or the other island but I've heard it's alot of fun.

On Kauai we went to Brenneke's - it was OK, nothing fancy. We also went to the Poipu Beach Broiler which we enjoyed alot. There is another restaurant which is supposed to be very good. It is on Poipu Rd and in a shopping strip (ther'es another Roy's in same strip) but we kept forgetting to make reservations and there was always a long wait.

We also did the Capt Andy catamaran trip up the NaPali coast in Kauai. I highly recommend it.

ETA: I forgot - we went to a musical (I guess you can say it is a musical) called Ulalena on Maui. It was excellent. Their website is www.ulalena.com

Mary

Definitely recommend Roy's in Kauai- they had incredible seafood- we actually preferred our dinner there to Nick's on Maui. Camp House Grill is also very good on Kauai as is Tip Top Cafe- really good banana-mac nut pancakes. Shave ice over mac nut icecream is really good at halfway to hana in maui and at wishing well on kauai. We basically did everything on our own by the 'blue books'- maui revealed and ultimate kauai. Have a great time!

We went to Kauai and Maui. These are the things I recommend

Maui
1) For a laua you must go to the Feast at Le el in Lahaina. This was one of the most memorable nights in Maui. It is not a cheesy buffet in a hotel with entertainment. This is a wonderful show with the sunset as your back drop. The food was really good. They have a website. I think it is Feastatlele.com

2) Roys in kahuli (sp?) We enjoyed this restaurant. The food was good and compared to what we were spending every other night for dinner it was reasonable.

3) Mamas Fish House - Very good too


Kauai

In general I found Kauai to be a beautiful and relaxing place to visit.
Wailmea Canyon is beautiful and we ate every night in the Hyatt Regency. All the restaurants are excellent.


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My only negative about Maui is that unless you are adventurous DO NOT do the road to hana. You need hiking gear to make it to some of those great spots listed in the Maui Revealed Book. It is long and tiring day. We were not prepared so I was disappointed. Tevas and a bathing suit do not cut it. You need those special hiking socks or your pretty pedicure will be full of mud In total it took about 8.5 hours