Maui, Hawai'i
Honeymoon Highlights Reel from Sashasmommy on Vimeo.
We divided our Maui honeymoon between Hana and "the rest of the island". We stayed the first three nights in an absolutely gorgeous cottage just steps away from Hamoa Beach. We had a view of the beach and surrounding red rocks right from our bed, the kitchen, and the living room. The only room that didn't have a view was the bathroom, LOL. It's for sale for a cool $1.2 mill... we so wished we could buy it.
It was expensive, but the beautiful oceanfront condo we got in Ma'alea was so cheap that it all worked out about even in the end. We also got a free Molokini snorkel tour with the rental of the Ma'alea condo, so it was a great deal.
Link to cottage in Hana: http://www.vrbo.com/19314
Link to condo in Ma'alea: http://www.vrbo.com/41883
Hana was absolutely amazing. We did the horseback ride tour with Maui Stables, which was very good despite my inability to make a horse respond to me in any way. The tour peaks at an amazing view of a 400 foot waterfall (then after the tour, we took the guide's advice and hiked the 2 mile path to the base of the same waterfall.) We also did the Lomi for Lovers couples massage class at Luana Spa... we paid $10 extra to have it outside in the yurt overlooking the ocean. Absolutely amazing.
Ma'alea is a quiet town with literally nothing going on. There's a very small set of shops within walking distance of the condo with one or two restaurants. Anything else, you have to go to Kihei. Which was completely fine with us because I'd rather be away from the teeming hoards of people, and Ma'alea is very central to the rest of the island. The owner of the condo was a really nice lady... we met her for drinks and she ended up taking us to dinner at the 5-star Waterfront restaurant in the bottom of the condo complex, and she paid for everything. Before we got there, she asked if she could get us anything, and though we said no, we found two bottles of wine and various food items waiting for us when we arrived.
The molokini snorkel tour was okay, if you've never snorkeled before and need guidance. The tour company itself was good, but I think Molokini is overrated. We saw more, different varieties of fish, plus a spotted eagle ray at Black Rock for free. They do take you to "Turtle Town" which is right off Makena Beach, and we did see turtles, but you can also go there for free, so there's really no need to pay anyone if you know where to go. (Not that we paid, because it was free for us, but normally the tours are close to $100, I think) You can buy snorkel gear at Walmart or rent it for the week at Maui Divers or Snorkel Bobs.
We did the zip-line tour with Skyline EcoAdventures, that was really fun. We also went to the Maui Ocean Center, which is a really good aquarium except for the fact that their signage on the exhibits is very lacking. Alot of times the signs don't tell you what fish you're looking at.
We also went to the Feast at Lele luau, which is a really nice oceanfront luau, but if you are not a seafood eater (which I am not), keep in mind the following review. It's not the typical buffet style luau where you can just get pork if you want pork... they serve the food in small amounts in five courses, so you get a smattering of each Pacific Island, and you just get the amount they serve you. I did ask the server for more pork after I realized that alot of what they were bringing out was seafood, and he brought me my own plate of pork, AND he went over to their sister restaurant to get me his favorite bread that he likes to eat with the pork. All drinks are free, not just watered down mai tais, and they give you a free lei as well. And there's no embarassing dragging people up from the audience to learn how to hula.
It was expensive, but the beautiful oceanfront condo we got in Ma'alea was so cheap that it all worked out about even in the end. We also got a free Molokini snorkel tour with the rental of the Ma'alea condo, so it was a great deal.
Link to cottage in Hana: http://www.vrbo.com/19314
Link to condo in Ma'alea: http://www.vrbo.com/41883
Hana was absolutely amazing. We did the horseback ride tour with Maui Stables, which was very good despite my inability to make a horse respond to me in any way. The tour peaks at an amazing view of a 400 foot waterfall (then after the tour, we took the guide's advice and hiked the 2 mile path to the base of the same waterfall.) We also did the Lomi for Lovers couples massage class at Luana Spa... we paid $10 extra to have it outside in the yurt overlooking the ocean. Absolutely amazing.
Ma'alea is a quiet town with literally nothing going on. There's a very small set of shops within walking distance of the condo with one or two restaurants. Anything else, you have to go to Kihei. Which was completely fine with us because I'd rather be away from the teeming hoards of people, and Ma'alea is very central to the rest of the island. The owner of the condo was a really nice lady... we met her for drinks and she ended up taking us to dinner at the 5-star Waterfront restaurant in the bottom of the condo complex, and she paid for everything. Before we got there, she asked if she could get us anything, and though we said no, we found two bottles of wine and various food items waiting for us when we arrived.
The molokini snorkel tour was okay, if you've never snorkeled before and need guidance. The tour company itself was good, but I think Molokini is overrated. We saw more, different varieties of fish, plus a spotted eagle ray at Black Rock for free. They do take you to "Turtle Town" which is right off Makena Beach, and we did see turtles, but you can also go there for free, so there's really no need to pay anyone if you know where to go. (Not that we paid, because it was free for us, but normally the tours are close to $100, I think) You can buy snorkel gear at Walmart or rent it for the week at Maui Divers or Snorkel Bobs.
We did the zip-line tour with Skyline EcoAdventures, that was really fun. We also went to the Maui Ocean Center, which is a really good aquarium except for the fact that their signage on the exhibits is very lacking. Alot of times the signs don't tell you what fish you're looking at.
We also went to the Feast at Lele luau, which is a really nice oceanfront luau, but if you are not a seafood eater (which I am not), keep in mind the following review. It's not the typical buffet style luau where you can just get pork if you want pork... they serve the food in small amounts in five courses, so you get a smattering of each Pacific Island, and you just get the amount they serve you. I did ask the server for more pork after I realized that alot of what they were bringing out was seafood, and he brought me my own plate of pork, AND he went over to their sister restaurant to get me his favorite bread that he likes to eat with the pork. All drinks are free, not just watered down mai tais, and they give you a free lei as well. And there's no embarassing dragging people up from the audience to learn how to hula.