Hellobee Boards

Oooh, so jealous, I love Maui! We went there 2 years ago... I don't have time to write right now, but I will try to remember to come back tonight or tomorrow and give you my recommendations! You will have an amazing time, I'm sure!

We stayed near Lahaina and hd the best time in Maui. Since you'll be pregnant i'll keep the more adventurous things off the list (like zip lining) Things we enjoyed:

Walking around down town lahaina - Great shopping, Art galleries, quick lunch eats, the harbor and huge banyan trees,
Pineapple picking at the Maui Gold Plantation - Leaves from the Kaanapali resorts, lots of history, bus ride through the plantation and you each get to take home a pineapple - wear long pants,
Sunset dinner Cruise on the Spirit of Lahaina - Good food and they put on a great show,
Luau at the Royal Lahaina resort - food was ok but it was free with our hotel stay and pretty good show,
Road to Hana - must do, such a pretty drive be careful at some of the stops the hiking might be tough otherwise the black sand beaches are awesome and once you get to hana grab a shave ice
4 seasons pool - we had friends staying here when were there it was amazing if your pool isnt so great i think you can do a day pass (near pineapple picking)

Restaurants - Lahaina Grill was amazing! pricey definately a fancy night out in downtown lahaina
Sensei Sushi - literally the best dinner of our trip check the menu though and make sure there are things you can eat since it obviously sushi. But i remember a lot of cooked items too (also near pineapple picking)

Fancy restaurant--Mama's Fish House! DH proposed to me there. It will always be a special place to me =)

i love maui!! road to hana is a must-do. it can be scary but the sights are unbelievable! i stayed at the westin in lahaina the last time i went so everything @Chillybear recommended i do too

My fave places to eat when we were in Maui - because I take food seriously!
1. Mama's Fish House - I had the best Bouillabaisse ever here! Location is killer, try to make a reservation for a window seat at sunset. I looked up sunset time and booked this weeks before our trip. I think the other comparable restaurant to this was Lahaina Grill. We didn't get to try it on our first trip, but will definitely check it out next time!
2. Kimo's Restaurant - which is part of the Duke's chain. We also requested and got an window seat at sunset. Wonderful! I had to be crazy and order the 32 oz. prime rib. It was HUGE and I need to take most of it as leftovers. Good thing our waiter was so nice and chatty. He brought us rolls and told them to take them on our Road to Hana drive the next day. I pre-sliced my leftover meat and the rolls and we had THE BEST mini sandwiches for our drive!
3. Honolua Store - We ate here twice on our trip. It's cheap, no frills, and yummy! It's actually just a gift shop with a cafeteria kind of system in the back, and then you can take it to go or each on benches out on the porch (at a golf resort). I love me some tasty, cheap loco moco!
4. Paia Fish Market - Yummy Fish Tacos and fresh catches of the day. Nuff' said. P.S. There's a little local beach across the main highway from here - such a nice place to layout! There were hardly any tourists there when we went (twice).
5. If you and you DH like some thrills, we went snorkeling/dolphin watching in Maui on a Zodiac boat. We loved it! We saw turtles, fish, dolphins, it was the highlight of our trip!
Have fun on your trip! We loved Maui and can't wait to get back there in a year or two when K is older!

I love the black sand beach on the road to Hana. And the red sand beach too (this one is quite tricky to get to as we had to walk on a cliff with no rails). The 7 pools (forgot the name) was awesome as well. I think it was also on the road to Hana.

One word of advice: If you are going to the Haleakala Crater, go down there with a horseback ride tour (or donkey ride?)! We were stupid enough to walk down there. It is very easy to walk down, but walking up was a pain because it was all sand, so you take one step and slide half a step backwards. Good thing we only walked half way down. I almost thought I'd die there. Like literally! When we were walking back up, I kept telling DH just leave me there because I can't go on. Well good thing he waited and walked back up with me. LOL. There is actually not much to see there (purely personal opinion), but quite interesting IF you go with the horse.

ETA: Oh wait a minute, I didn't see you will be 20 weeks pregnant, don't do the crater then, because horseback riding is not safe for pregnant woman (we went with a friend who was pregnant at that time, and she skipped the crater and horseback riding tours). Red sand beach too because it is too difficult and dangerous to get to. 7 pools and black sand beach OK.

@yin: no, you are smart!!!

Food:
1. Aloha Mixed plate in Lahaina: cheap and right on the ocean.
2. Kimo's: pricey but oh so good.
3. Star Noodle in Lahaina
4. The Gazebo: In Napili where you're staying. Go for breakfast. I wish we would have went here earlier in our trip so we could have went back for more.
5. Paia Fish Market: I saw Zach Braff here if that matters? It was very good.
6. Anthony's Coffee Company: We stopped here for breakfast before heading to Hana and also picked up the Hana Picnic Lunch.

Hana is very beautiful and the road there is a bit scary. We stayed a night there which made it less rushed for us b/c there is so much to see. There is Oheo Gulch (7 pools). You shouldn't have a problem accessing them. It's a very easy, short little trail to get to them. There is the black sand beach which has all paved sidewalks expect for the little path to get down to the beach. Red sand beach wouldn't be good for you since you'll be 20 weeks pregnant. There is also the Hana Lava tubes which I think you could handle at 20 weeks.

There is Haleakala Crater. We went to watch the sunrise and it was beautiful.

Old Lahaina Luau was fun.

that's all that I can think of right now.

Roy's was by far the best food followed closely by Maya's fish house. Go snorkeling we saw turtles and all kinds of fish!

@autumnlove: @Mrs. Chen: @yin: We loved Ululani''s! Definitely a must-do.

@Freckles: Second the Fish Market Maui recommendation. So good.

We really liked Sensei Sushi and also did a dinner at Hali’imaile General Store which was very, very, very good.

We got the Maui revealed guestbook and went to a bunch of spots that weren't too touristy.

Check out the Maui Arts & cultural center - John Legend played when we were there on our honeymoon, which was amazing!

If you want a really local place to pick up a plate lunch go to Sam Sato's. I love their hamburger steak. The aquarium is pretty good too. I'm sure you'll want to do fancy outdoors stuff...this is just something different if you are nearby or in the mood.
There is a lavender farm upcountry. And don't drive to Hana with a baby or if you have motion sickness. It is a very long road and winds. I've always wanted to go offshore to Molokini.

@yin: I will second what @808love: said about the road to hana - it is not for the faint of heart or those who get motion sickness. DH and I were shocked how stressful and time consuming it was. He was the driver and I was stressed the whole time. We went the whole way around and it was incredible and worth it completely but definitely weigh the pro's and con's for yourself before deciding.

@yin: I agree that road to Hana has some beautiful sights, but it is a looong day, so make sure you pace yourself. Also, start EARLY, as it's stressful to be trying to get home before dark (and I can't imagine making the drive in the dark). If you are having any "morning" sickness, you might consider skipping it, but otherwise, it's worth it. Another option would be to drive around the island the other way (starting a Napili and going to the north shore, near Mama's)... it's harrowing, like the Road to Hana, but not nearly as long or as busy. There are still lots of scenic views in that direction (though not the black and red sand beaches). We drove from Napili to the Nakalele blow hole and then drove around the one side of the island , visited the Iao Valley, then went to Mama's. The blow hole was pretty neat... Ioa Valley was pretty but I could take it or leave it.

My favorite thing was swimming with the turtles. We saw several in Napili bay, but they were smaller and the water wasn't super clear when when we were there (but I'm sure it depends). However, right out front (and to the right) of another place we stayed (Hale Mahina Beach Resort), there were 3 or 4 very large turtles every single day and the water was very clear. I don't think you could access that beach if you weren't staying there, but I do think there might have been access to the turtle area from the Kuleana, which was one or two complexes down to the right (as you face the ocean). You might have to park a few blocks away though.

Everyone else has already recommended Mama's, but I'll cast another vote for dinner there at sunset. Sooo expensive, but soooo amazing.

We stayed a couple places when we were there, but for part of a week DH and I stayed in a condo at Napili bay. It was a nice location. The birds chirping woke me up every morning, but there are worse things! I second the recommendation to eat at the Gazebo.

Roy's isn't too far away from Napili bay, but it's a chain that's also in the continental US, so if you have a Roy's near you, maybe skip it... if not, it's pretty good! (esp. the chocolate lava cake).

We took a whale watching/snorkel trip to Molokini island that was well worth it... I can't remember the name of the tour operator though... I'd have to look it up.

Have a great time!!!

ETA: This was a turtle out front of the Hale Mahina: