Last September (yeah I know it’s taken me this long to get around to putting this post together), we flew to Maui to get married! This post will be all about where we stayed at on Maui, how we got around the island, and all the things we did during our time on the island. We were on Maui for about a week, and stayed in 3 different hotels, and did all the things (in addition to getting married)! But this post is about everything besides the wedding. You can find all of our wedding posts HERE.
Stay tuned for our other posts about Maui coming this week: Maui foodie Guide (because this deserves a post all it’s own), All things Road to Hana, and our 2 Maui Vlogs.
I’ll be the first to admit that Trav and I were skeptical of the people and families that chose to vacation in Maui year after year (or any one place for that matter), when there is a whole world of wonderful places to visit. But one day in Maui and we were saying to ourselves that we now see why people choose to vacation in Maui year after year. It is such a gorgeous island with so many things to offer. And while we still want to see the rest of the world, we can see ourselves coming back to Maui time and time again. The food, the people, the scenery! It was all wonderful and gorgeous.
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WHERE WE STAYED IN MAUI
HYATT REGENCY MAUI RESORT + SPA
For the first three nights we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa (and thanks to points from our Chase Sapphire Credit Card, our entire stay was covered). We were greeted with fresh leis, and the most gorgeous open air hotel design. It was at this point we knew we had landed in paradise. Even though we booked through our Chase Sapphire Card using points, Hyatt upgraded us for free to an ocean view room for being loyal Hyatt members. We could not get over the gorgeous views from our room (the first picture here is from our balcony). Also, every morning at 9 AM they feed the resident penguins (yep, there are penguins on Maui) and you are welcome to join – so fun!
MARRIOTT’S MAUI OCEAN CLUB
For the next couple of nights leading up to the wedding we stayed with our friends at the Marriott in Lahaina (literally right next door to the Hyatt). Special thanks to my maid of honor’s family for gifting us their timeshare for the week – this was perfect for 5 people, and the views here were absolutely incredible. We were right over the ocean (the first picture here is the view from our balcony). Still dreaming about waking up and having breakfast and coffee on this balcony! There were 2 bedrooms with attached bathrooms, a shared living room with dinette and a third full bathroom. Our room had a couch that pulled out to make a pretty good sized bed, and that’s where my cousin slept. This hotel room was the perfect set up for the girls to get ready the morning of the wedding too (read more about that here).
ANDAZ MAUI
And then finally, for the 2 nights after our wedding we stayed at only the most gorgeous hotel we have ever stayed at: The Andaz Maui. The Andaz hotels are part of the Hyatt family, so no surprise we went with a Hyatt property there. And I don’t know if it was the newlywed bliss, or the fact that we were in literal paradise, but this hotel was just breathtaking. It’s very chic and classy without being boogie and flashy. The staff was incredible from the moment we checked in (at about 11:30 PM on our wedding night). We were both greeted with leis and a glass of lavender lemonade upon check in. In anticipation of wanting to do nothing the day after our wedding, we booked a cabana to lounge by the pool during the day. As part of the package, we were gifted Coola sunscreen products and a $50 food and beverage credit. Pretty cool deal. Also, as part of the resort fee there are so many cool tours, classes, and excursions that are included free of charge (here’s a more extensive list). A very cool experience all around.
STAY: Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa // Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club // Andaz Maui
HOW WE GOT AROUND
Unless you plan on posting up in a hotel and never leaving your resort during your time in Maui (highly advise against), then I would recommend a rental car so you can get around. The island of Maui was a lot bigger than we anticipated. It took us a good 45 minutes to drive from the airport over to our hotels in Lahaina. We rented a Jeep because we knew we wanted to do the Road to Hana and possibly the drive up to Haleakala. If you plan on doing any kind of exploring, I highly recommend a 4-wheel drive car when on Maui, otherwise a normal sedan would work perfectly. Honestly you could do the first half of the Road to Hana with a sedan as well.
WHAT WE DID ON MAUI
Besides getting married, and running around for last minute wedding errands, we found some fun things to do. Head here for all our wedding posts. We joke that every trip we go on, we are constantly “on-the-go” because we want to see and do everything. Even in Hawaii there was so much to do and see, even though it’s a destination a lot of people travel to for relaxation.
Lahaina Front Street
Most people who are visiting Maui choose to stay in Lahaina or the neighboring town of Kaanapali. Front Street in Lahaina is the perfect place to pick up some dole whip (or shave ice) and take a stroll. There are a ton of cute shops and places to eat! We came down here a couple different nights just to grab dessert and walk around. Make sure to stop by the Banyan tree which takes up more than a city block!
Visit Front Street in Downtown Lahaina
Whaler’s Village
Whaler’s Village is a short stroll along the beach from both the Marriott and Hyatt we stayed at. There are more brand name stores here (think of a regular mall) vs the cute mom and pop shops that are on Front street. There are some great sit down restaurants, as well as some good grab and go food options, here too. We loved walking here during the mornings to grab coffee and a quick bite to eat.
Zip Lining
Trav and his groomsmen went zip lining as part of his bachelor festivities, and I can’t say I wasn’t a little jealous. The views looked incredible and I heard they had a great time! They went through Kapalua Ziplines in Lahaina (note there is a 250 lbs weight limit).
Luau
Highly recommend going to a Luau, especially if it’s your first trip to Hawaii. Most of them that I looked into were all inclusive (dinner, show, drinks, the works) so you can’t really go wrong with any of them. We chose The Old Lahaina Luau because of it’s location in downtown Lahaina, and great reviews. Luaus almost always sell out far in advance, so if you do plan on attending one, it’s best you make reservations ahead of traveling.
Outrigger Canoe Tour
Like I said above, the Andaz offers a slew of tours, excursions and classes as part of their resort fee. We tried to sign up for the paddle boarding, or take advantage of the snorkeling equipment, but time didn’t allow us to get to these. We were, however, able to sign up for the outrigger canoe adventure, and I’m so glad we did. We were able to sneak this in before check out and head on over to Kauai.
Road to Hana
Google “Things to do in Maui” and I guarantee you that traveling the Road to Hana is on every single one of those lists. And for good reason. It’s absolutely breathtaking and there is so much to do and see on this road that I couldn’t possibly do it justice by leaving it just a bullet point in this blog post. I created a whole other blog post dedicated just to this activity alone. If you don’t get around to reading the whole thing before you do this route – do one thing and download the SHAKA GUIDE APP!
Relaxing
Did you even go to Maui if you didn’t relax a little bit. In between the running around for the wedding, and hanging out with all of our friends and family, we were able to find a couple moments to lounge by the pools and just take in the beautiful scenery. But apparently it wasn’t enough because neither of us came back with more of a tan than when we left two weeks prior. Ha!
I’m already mentally preparing our next trip back to Maui because there is so much more we didn’t get to do: Paddle boarding, watching the sunrise from Haleakala, snorkeling tour in Molokini, whale watching (if you go during the months of December – April), and visiting the Lavender farms.
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