Hawaii is truly paradise. We fell in love instantly and will certainly be going back. We went to Hawaii to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.
Oahu – 5 Days
Honolulu was extremely touristy. Because it was our first time going to Hawaii we wanted to go to Oahu as well. Following are must see places in Oahu. Being vegetarians it was hard to find good options in Oahu. We try to stay away from chain restaurants, however, for our last meal, we had no choice and had to go to Cheesecake Factory.
- Pearl Harbor – Free entry for the first 1300 people. Please go early to stand in line
- PillBox hike – The most breathtaking views of Oahu were seen from this hike. We almost died while hiking since we were a little too adventurous, mainly because it rained the previous night and made the mud extremely clay like. Nonetheless, this is by far the most under rated hike and it deserves a lot more recognition.
- Lanikai Beach – DO NOT MISS THIS BEACH. It was amazing. I have never seen such clear water. It is also rated as the best 24 beaches in America.
- Diamond Head Hike – It is an easy hike. Very popular amongst tourists and locals. Go early in the day to avoid large crowds
- Kualoa Ranch – This is where lots of famous movies and shows have been filmed, Jurassic Park, Lost, Godzilla, 50 First Dates, to name a few.
- Hanauma Bay
- North Shore – Surfer’s paradise. We spent an afternoon laying on the beach and watching the surfers
Maui – 5 Days
We wanted to make sure that we were in Maui for our 1st anniversary 🙂 Maui is expensive, but totally worth it.
There are three main areas where there is a huge concentration of hotels and restaurants, Wailea, Lahaina and Kaanapali.
- Mokolini Crater Snorkeling – We used this company and highly recommend them. For someone who was snorkeling for the first time, they really made their best effort to make me as comfortable as possible. (https://www.prideofmaui.com/)
- Road to Hana – Unfortunately we went there on our last day prior to our flight. We were rushed a little and did not fully enjoy the Road to Hana. It was also supposed to be raining so we didn’t want to take any chances as there are land slides there all the time. We did most of the road and returned back. We didn’t get a chance to stop at some of the places and check out the scenery. There are LOTS of twists and turns, and many single lane bridges, the driver needs to be on their A game when driving through Road to Hana. When you park your car, make sure to put all your belongings where no one can see it. We heard vandalism was very prevalent here.
- Lavender Farms – We went on a day when it was raining/drizzling, usually there is a $3 entry, but it was waived due to weather. My husband went a little camera crazy with the beautiful flowers, we practically shot a picture of every flower/plant that was at the Lavender Farms. I love Lavender and we ended up buying a lot of their products. The body oil is my favorite.
- Surfing Goat – This was a unique place, we didn’t get a chance to part take in the tours, since the last tour for the day was already done, however, we thoroughly enjoyed the cheese there. We got two different flights of goat cheese and it comes with lots of crackers. I don’t even like the texture of goat cheese, however, this was amazing, with varied different flavors.
- Sunrise at Haleakala – We unfortunately we not able to go check out the sunrise or sunset at this place since it was raining most mornings. Next time we will be doing this the first morning we are there. It also helps to plan this on your first morning there due to jet lag, chances are you are going from mainland, so you are at least 2 hours ahead if not more from a sleep schedule stand point.
- Maui Brewing Company – There are two locations, there is one near Lahaina and one near Wailea. We tried the Lahaina location first, it is a brew pub. Since we were staying in Wailea, we later discovered that location as well, that is a tasting room. We thoroughly enjoyed their beers.
- Secret Beach – We are so glad we found this place. It truly is a secret to get here. We were literally 3 ft away from a sea turtle. The beach is small, however, it a best kept secret. When we went, there was just another couple snorkeling there.
Following are some of the best restaurants we found in Maui: