Hawaii is such a magical place for many reasons. It was my first time traveling there, and I understand why so many people love it. From the stunning beaches, to the lush greenery in the rainforests, to the incredible food, our trip was nothing short of breathtaking. What better excuse to come to Maui then to watch two people get married (shoutout to the newlyweds: Jack and Claire!)
We spent the first half of our trip in Wailea and the second half in Lahaina. I'm really glad we came earlier to see a different part of Maui. I had heard and read plenty that the food in Hawaii was good, but I have to be honest, I underestimated just how good the food is. When we ventured off to find the good spots away from the typical hotel and resort food (which was also pretty good!), we were amazed at the consistency of good meals we experienced. Not only were so many meals great, but everyone at the places we ate were so kind and welcoming. One of the things I personally loved the most about Maui aside from the food and the views, was the casual, carefree way of life here.
Food
Between the more luxurious restaurants of Hawaii, it really made me smile watching people walk around in their flip flops, swimsuits, and t-shirts almost everywhere we went. From famous restaurants in Maui to liquor store poke bowls, here is everything we ate and did that were standout experiences for us:
Food Trucks Outside of OGG Airport: After a long flight, we were starving and our first stop was directly outside of the airport to a spot that is lined with food trucks. There were a ton of great options to choose from. It's a cute area with picnic tables in between all of the food trucks, too. We ended up choosing Havens and ordered the Boujee which is a burger with a wagyu beef patty, mushrooms, gruyere, black truffle, and garlic mayo. We ordered the Spicy Ahi poke bowl, and the Crazy Tots. The Crazy Tots are tater tots with kimchi, kimchi mayo, and furikake, a Japanese rice seasoning. Everything we ordered was insanely good, and this was a great way to kick off the trip.
Tamura's - Kīhei: I was seeing a lot of the same poke bowl spots on social media, so I did a deep dive internet research on best poke bowls loved by locals. I ended up on some random reddit page that mentioned Tamura's. I wanted something authentic and different, and I remember reading that Tamura's usually has a line out the door filled with construction workers grabbing lunch during the week. That's pretty much all we needed to hear. We plugged it into our maps and were on our way. I love a nice, pretty restaurant but I live for the hole in the wall spots, so there isn't a lot that really intimidates me when it comes to trying food off the beaten path. Tamura's did give me a slight pause, and I'm laughing as I write this. It's a windowless liquor store that looks pretty run down from the outside. We walked in and headed towards the counter and the second I saw the poke options, I knew it was going to be good. The bowl comes with two options of fish and rice with furikake. Simple, yet delicious. We sat outside of the store and shortly realized it was one of the best poke bowls we've ever had. We loved it so much, we decided to get it on our way out of Wailea to Lahaina.
Akamai Coffee - Wailea: Akamai was just a short walk from our hotel in a little area of Wailea near the shops. The ambiance is beautiful and is the perfect destination for that vacation coffee walk. The coffee is great and the food was very good, too. Our favorite coffee was the Honeybee Latte with Coconut. We ordered the Avocado Toast and the Egg Toast. My favorite was The Egg Toast because it was a healthy breakfast packed with a lot of flavor from the pesto and feta. The people that work there are incredibly friendly and we had great service.
Lava Java - Kīhei: Lava Java was our favorite coffee we had while in the Wailea/Kīhei area. Lava Java is located near a pretty touristy area just across the beach in Kīhei, but was definitely still worth the stop. Although the area was touristy, the coffee shop had a very local vibe to it. The barista was very friendly, and walked us through the menu. It was fun watching him interact with a lot of the locals. From their interactions, I could definitely tell it was a well-loved spot. I ordered the coconut americano drink and highly recommend. The coffee tasted fantastic and had the perfect hint of sweetness.
Monkeypod Wailea & Lahaina: Our first experience of Monkeypod was in Wailea, and it was great. Out of both locations we visited, the Lahaina location definitely had a better ambiance with really great live music. Both locations food had great, flavorful food. The woman at the car rental pickup area told us that the mai tais were a must try, and I'm glad we listened. Monkeypod has won best mai tai out of all the islands for 10 years in a row. They make their mai tai with a honey-lilikoi cold foam on top, and I completely understand why they have won best mai tai for 10 years straight! The food was delicious, and the banana cream pie at the end is a must for dessert. We started with the shrimp dumplings, which were pretty good. Out of everything we ordered, I'd say those were the one thing I'd pass on. I ordered the Bulgogi Pork Tacos and they had a little kick to them, but a ton of flavor. The Jerk Chicken was crispy on the outside and cooked perfectly on the inside, and the jalapeño mashed potatoes were a unique side, too.
SCOTT NAAUAO CORBIN BROOKS
Cafe Mambo - Pāʻia: Cafe Mambo was our first stop early morning as we began our Road to Hana trip. It's located in the small town of Pāʻia, the start of the road to Hana. Originally we had picked out a different coffee shop to go to, but we passed by Cafe Mambo and decided to go there instead. I'm glad we did because the coffee was incredible and so was the breakfast food. The restaurant is open air and we had a very relaxing start to our morning. We ordered our iced coffees with their rosemary maple syrup, and it was delicious. Another coffee with the perfect balance of sweetness. The breakfast burrito and the breakfast sandwich were both great (and filling), but if I had to pick one, I'd pick the breakfast sandwich.
Mama's Fish House - Pāʻia: Mama's Fish House was the first reservation I made for us when we were planning our trip. I had read that it is very popular and reservations should be booked way ahead of time. Mama's Fish House was on a short list of restaurants to try from multiple people that I know who have visited Hawaii, and the reviews were great. I was a little hesitant that it would be ultra touristy. It certainly is filled with a lot of tourists, but I think it is one of those places that is absolutely worth going to. We caught an amazing sunset when we arrived and it's right on the beach. I would definitely say this should be saved for a "special occasion" or the nice dinner of the trip. While everything we ordered was good, it's very very pricey. We started off with the Ahi Poisson Crudo which was ahi tuna ceviche in this very flavorful coconut lime sauce. It came with these thin crisps and I would definitely order that again. My only comment there is I wish it was served with more of the sauce because that's where the flavor is very rich. The Macadamia Nut Crab Cakes were small bites, but also good. I liked the crispiness of the crab cakes on the outside. We split the Mama's Mahi-Mahi and Ahi Curry, which was a sizable portion to split, especially if you're not super hungry. This was fantastic, and came a side dish of extra toppings. I absolutely recommend this entree.
Dorene and Chubby Vicens
Salty Coffee Co - Lahaina: On our way to our hotel, we passed by Salty Coffee Co and it immediately caught my attention. It's on the side of the road in Lahaina next to a butterfly farm, and a few other food trucks. We decided to venture out of the hotel area the next day to grab a coffee and I'm glad we did. There was a fruit market with fresh fruit and all types of snacks next to Salty Coffee Co as well. I can't remember the name of the exact iced latte I ordered, but it had a hint of coconut and honey, and I really liked it. 3/3 for coffee shops that aren't overdoing the sweetness. We grabbed a mini loaf of the banana bread, and it was some of the best banana bread I had ever had.
Island Vintage Coffee - Lahaina: Island Vintage Coffee is located in the main mall of Lahaina, and it's definitely a very crowded and touristy area. It was one of the only coffee shops walking distance from us, and I had seen a line out the door the day before we went. We decided to give it a try and I'm happy we did. The iced coffee was good, but their açai bowls stole the show for me. All of the fruit in the Lilakai bowl tasted so fresh, but the papaya mixed in was a highlight.
Foodland - Lahaina: I had seen Foodland, a grocery store in Hawaii, mentioned online multiple times for having excellent poke. You would think I would be poke'd out at this point of the trip, but I wasn't quite done yet. We stopped in to pick up a bowl, and not only was it very reasonably priced at about $10 for a poke bowl with two choices of fish, it tasted good. I personally still liked our poke from Tamura's better, but it was still a great runner up. This is a great spot for a grab and go bowl. The kimchi cucumber add on is a must for the poke bowls, too.
Things To Do and See
Beach Path Walk - Wailea: The Wailea Beach Path is a beautiful path along the ocean near the resorts in Wailea. We started off our first day in Maui by grabbing coffee at Akamai and heading down to the beach. We parked our car at Ulua Beach and started the 3 mile roundtrip walk. It's such a peaceful and beautiful walk along the shoreline that wasn't very crowded in the morning, and at the end of the walk we hung by Ulua beach for a little while.
Ulua Beach - Wailea: Ulua is very small beach tucked into the Wailea coast. We really liked hanging out at Ulua while in Wailea. Everyone there brings their own chairs and towels as there's no chair rentals. We walked past Wailea Beach on our walk, and it was significantly more crowded than Ulua. So, if you want something a little more lowkey, I recommend going to Ulua instead.
Road to Hana - Pāʻia: The Road to Hana starting point (Pāʻia) is only about a 25-30 minute drive to Wailea, and something we were really excited to do. Road to Hana is on of those "plan ahead" excursions, but worth it. We left Wailea at about 7am and headed to Pāʻia to beat the rush of people and grab a bite to eat at Cafe Mambo before heading out. I definitely recommend grabbing a bite to eat and grabbing water/snacks here before going as there is very limited food options. I also recommend downloading the map before because service is extremely spotty out there. The Road to Hana in total is a full-day excursion with many stops. We only wanted to do a small portion of it, because weather had not been great the day before with a lot of rain. If you get nervous driving on windy roads, it's good to note that the road on the Hana highway are extremely windy and tight. There are a few one way bridges, and locals tend to fly through these roads. Driving cautiously is a must. By about 8am, we were on the road headed to our first stop. Here are the 3 stops we did for a half day trip.
Stop 1 - Ho'okipa Lookout: This first stop was a less than 10 minute drive from downtown Pāʻia, and a beautiful first stop. It's easy to pull off and there is a parking lot right off the lookout. It's a breathtaking view of the beach with a ton of surfers to watch.
Stop 2 - Twin Falls: Twin Falls is located right around mile marker 2.1, about 15-20 minutes from Pāʻia. We pulled in and this stop has 3 different water falls, one of them was closed the day we arrived because of the significant rainfall the day before. The water was rushing brown unfortunately so we couldn't swim, but normally they allow visitors to swim. We spent about 45 minutes walking around to the different water falls, and it was beautiful.
Stop 3 - Garden of Eden Arboretum: Garden of Eden was my favorite stop out of the three. It's is spread across about 26 acres of rainforest with walking trails, tropical plants and flowers, roaming peacocks, beautiful ocean and waterfalls. We also saw a 100-year old mango tree, which was breathtaking.
Nakalele Blowhole: The Nakalele Blowhole was about a half hour drive from our hotel in Lahaina, and a must see. We went on a beautiful sunny day, and the windy roads along the coast to get there are breathtaking. When you arrive, you have to hike down to the blowhole. I'd call this a moderate hike, and if you aren't great with balance and footing on rocks, I'd probably skip it. It's a very uneven natural path with loose rocks, so you need to be careful on the way down. The walk itself doesn't take long. The blowhole is a fun sight, and the view of the ocean is incredible. This is a great half day excursion, but come prepared to get a pretty decent workout in, especially on a blazing hot day.
Kapalua Bay: We went to Kapalua Bay for snorkeling and it was beautiful, with gorgeous blue water. It's definitely a very busy beach and was pretty much packed when we got there. We were lucky to find a little spot that was empty to set our stuff down. The snorkeling was good, but we were surprised at the amount of sea urchins on the rocks. I'd recommend bringing water shoes and being very careful while snorkeling. Overall, it was great to see and I'm glad we went.
