Vacation: Maui, Hawaii
This is one of the only places I’ve ever visited and wanted to immediately live there. My wife and I went here on our honeymoon for 2 weeks and had an absolute blast! And, trust me, 2 weeks was not enough! There are tons of things to do on the island. Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian islands and features the active Haleakala Crater on the east side which is about the size of Manhattan. The island also has an older volcano on the west with a valley in between both volcanoes making for a wide variety of landscape (mountains, rain forest, beaches, etc). Maui is also a breeding ground for humpback whales in the winter making it a prime location to whale watch.
Here are some of the many things we did while we were there:
- Helicopter tour of the island which went over both volcanoes
- Drove the famous “Road to Hana”
- Snorkeling off the beach
- Snorkeling at Molokini Crater (the caldera of an extinct volcano – now underwater)
- Rode the Zip Line which was half-way up the Haleakala Volcano
- Went to a couple of Luaus
- Swam with the sea turtles
- Shopped/ate at Whaler’s Village
- Visited the Maui Ocean Center (aquarium)
- Visited Lahaina (has an entire street of just shopping and restaurants; also port of call for cruise ships)
- Went on an excursion into the west Maui mountains that stopped off at springs for swimming. Also got to see the famous “Blow Hole”
- Visited the Iao valley and got to see the Iao Needle
One of my favorite activities was the Road to Hana. You definitely need to have the stomach for the drive because there is barely enough room for two cars to squeeze by each other in spots. It is 68 miles long and has 46 one-lane bridges and 620 curves (many of them hairpin curves). Definitely take a tour book along with you if you go – and bring a friend to navigate you 
. We had one that pointed out all the hidden treasures you can’t see from the road at or near particular mile markers. We found lots of hidden waterfalls and ponds that we got to swim in. One of them was so exclusive we had the entire thing to ourselves!
You can also pick up a quick air flight to one of the other islands. We seriously considered catching a flight to the Big Island to check out the lava fields, but there was so much to do on Maui that we didn’t have the time. The weather was absolutely perfect while we were there – nice and warm and sunny – just what you would expect on a tropical island. The only bad thing about the trip, depending on where you live, was the flight. It can be a long flight, but very worth it! It is also an expensive vacation, but again, worth every penny! If you have the opportunity to go, take it. You won’t be disappointed!
