Went to Maui for 8 days last year with my family, my favorite vacation of all time. This is snippets of an email I sent to a friend. Things to do in terms of importance:
Excursions
1) Road to Hana - This is a MUST. All day trip (8am to 6pm) filled with hikes, waterfalls, black sand beach, blowholes. Really fun and you must rent a car to do this. The roads are VERY curvy so just make sure you start your trip back by 4/5. Itll take a good 1.5/2 hours to make it all the way back to town. Highly suggest spending the $7 on this
Shaka Guide | Hawaii GPS Audio Driving Tour Apps to use as a guide for the tour.
2) Bike Tour down Mount Haleakala - This is also a must in my opinion. Wake up in the middle of the night (like 2 am) to watch the sunset on top of the volcano that formed Maui. Absolutely beautiful views coming down it. The bike trip is something like 5-10 miles but its literally all down hill. There are literally only 2 hills where you actually need to peddle or most people just walk up them. Just remember it is VERY cold on top of the volcano, the bike tours usually provide jackets, but I would still wear layers that you can shed as you get down the mountain. See below for food suggestion. This is also like a 4-5 hour total trip.
3) Molokini Crater Snorkeling Trip - This was also a cool trip. Actually not the worst deal cuz I think it was around $100 per person, but comes with breakfast, lunch, and some beers for the trip back. Definitely not a must though because you will literally find better snorkeling at many of the beaches mentioned below.
Restaurants
- Mammas fish house - as I told you, this is the one place I went to that is a MUST. Very expensive, but one of the best restaurants Ive ever been to. Freshest fish I have ever eaten (literally tasted like chicken).
- Kula Lodge - this is a great place to stop during the bike tour down Mount Haleakala. Amazing breakfast with BIG portions which you will need to get through the day. Would also suggest eating a light breakfast and before the sunrise
- Kihei Cafe - super cheap lunch/breakfast spot in Kihei. Very good breakfast with HUGE portions similar to Kula lodge
- Paia Fish Market - this place is ALWAYS packed for good reason, the food is very good and one of the cheaper places on the island. There is one in Paia, which was our favorite little beach town on the island. Also one in Kihei, but I always like going to the originals. Paia is at the very beginning of the road to hana, so this was a great dinner spot for us on our way home from the trip. Very casual spot.
- Tobis Shave Ice - The poke here is amazing. Very different from the poke you get in NYC and imo so much better. Here they will literally cut the pieces from the filet right in front of you for your dish. Be prepared to eat alot of tuna, because thats what is freshest in Maui and absolutely amazing
- Tamura's - this is a wine shop that also has a deli in back. Another great place to get poke, I think Tobi's was a little better, but Tamura also had alot more flavors to choose form.
- Aunty Sandy's Banana Bread - If you like banana bread, you must stop at Aunt Sandy's for some fresh baked banana bread, this is one of the stops on the road to hana. The app will mention this as a stop.
Beaches/Snorkeling
- Big Beach - This was my favorite beach we went to. Beautiful sand/water but the waves do get pretty intense in the afternoons due to the trade winds.
- Makena Landing Point - This is one of the places that has amazing snorkeling, right off the beach. We saw a sea turtle here and alot more variety of fish than the snorkel trip to Molokini Crater. We just happened to stumble across this place after we took a wrong turn and it was so worth getting lost
- Maluaka Beach - Probably my second favorite beach. Another place that had amazing snorkeling right off the beach, but this also had more sand where people could lay out. Very soft sand and also great variety of fish.
- Waianapanapa State Park - This is one of the stops along the Road to Hana. Absolute must which has one of the two black sand beaches on the island, and has some cool blow holes which you will see people crowding around.