No Covid testing requirements. No vaccination requirements. No masks on airplanes. No social distancing rules. Ahhh, 2022.
August 15-21, we returned to our “home base” in Maui, the Westin Nanea Kaanapali seeking rest and relaxation and of course adventure! Since we had a two-bedroom villa this trip, we invited my mom Eileen to join us. https://www.marriott.com/westin/lahaina.com
We all flew together on United from Orange County-San Francisco-Maui. I had booked our flights in January 2022 at $350 each. My mom booked her flight in June 2022 at $1,000. Booking early typically makes a difference…and post Q1 this year surging inflation, high volume of travel and a war in the Ukraine are adding to costs. https://www.united.com
Similar to Maui Summer 2021:
our 6 and 7 year old daughters spent most of the 6 days on Maui in the Westin Nanea pool.
we picked up fish at Maui Fish Market and vegetables at Times grocery and grilled at the hotel one night. https://www.fishmarketmaui.com
got to Slappy Cakes before 8:30AM to make our own pancakes. https://www.slappycakesmaui.com
ate dinner and watched the sunset at the consistently-excellent Star Noodle and family-friendly-with-the-best-mai-tai-on-Maui Monkeypod Kitchen. https://www.starnoodle.com and https://www.monkeypodkitchen.com
we rented a car through Turo because it’s cheaper than traditional rental services still, but this time my husband had to Uber to a location 5-10 mins away to pick it up. https://www.turo.com
Different from Maui Summer 2021:
upon arrival into the Maui Airport we drove to Maui Tropical Plantation in Kahalui and ate lunch at Café O’Lei in the Mill House. The food was OK, but the girls loved exploring the Plantation’s shops and natural features. We didn’t pre-book ziplining on the Plantation, but I will next time. https://www.mauitropicalplantation.com Travel tip: Other plantations we’d like to see but haven’t yet… Maui Pineapple Tour https://mauipineappletour.com and the Coconut Information Farm https://coconutinformation.com
we were able to utilize the pools and restaurants at the 2 Westin properties just south of Nanea freely. The pirate ship pool and the slide pool are favorites.
we tried Fond restaurant in Napili. Girls loved the fried chicken and we loved the bento boxes. Great place to stop for lunch on your way from Kaanapali to Kapalua. https://www.fondmaui.com
we rented snorkels from Boss Frogs and used these to snorkel in front of our hotel instead of booking a more expensive snorkeling trip like last year. I had found the girls wanted to spend more time in the boat eating chips than in the water seeing fish last year because the masks, while fitted for kids, were still uncomfortable. Travel tip: the girls used the goggles we brought, with the fins we rented from Boss Frogs and were happy “snorkeling” like this. With young kids, I’d try this first before investing in more expensive equipment and activity. We saw a sea turtle, an eel and 1,000s of fish, all virtually for free in the ocean in front of our hotel. https://www.bossfrogs.com Travel tip: Napili Bay and Kapalua Bay Beach are excellent snorkeling destinations and are both located between Kaanapali and Kapalua. We like to book breakfast at Merriman’s Kapalua then snorkel Kapalua Bay. https://www.merrimanshawaii.com
Vacation Highlight this Year: Jumping off Black Rock
On day 3, we met up with two families we’re friends with in CA for a day of exploring Black Rock, to the right of Whaler’s Village, behind the Sheraton Kaanapali. These two families have 5 boys total, ages 8-3…and had already been jumping off Black Rock when we arrived.
My husband Steve and I swam out to the rock, about 20 feet from the sand, with our daughters and the fathers and sons (minus 3 year old). Then we scrambled up the lower part of the rock and began the slow climb, in a line behind others, to the top of the rock. People definitely get fancy doing flips and backwards jumps, but I did the “pencil” jump straight down. Then my 6 year old jumped, then the 7 year old, then Steve. The girls are strong swimmers, so they didn’t need help upon hitting the water, but I’d recommend stationing someone near the landing spot just in case. It’s about 30 feet deep…no fear of hitting anything.
Swimming back to shore was tougher because of the tides, but we made it…only to have our daughters shout “again!” We all swam out and jumped off one more time, but the girls would have kept jumping all day if we’d let them. It was very thrilling. Travel tip: plan to park at the Sheraton Maui and bring water and a beach umbrella for shade cover.
Favorite Luau on Maui: Old Lahaina Luau
In my lifetime I’ve been to just about every luau on the Hawaiian islands…and my daughters now insist on attending one every time we travel here. Our favorite on Maui is the Old Lahaina Luau. It’s actually located next door to Star Noodle, on Front Street, on the ocean. There are activities for the kids, excellent entertainment and it’s the best luau food we’ve had. In addition to table and chair seating, Old Lahaina has “traditional seating” (on the ground) right in front of the stage and the hula dancers. It’s not comfortable, but I’d recommend booking “traditional seating” one time with the kids…they’ll love it! https://oldlahainaluau.com
One last note…
Lahaina is EXTREMELY touristy, but there are some points of interest worth visiting with kids including the Banyan Tree area, the Baldwin Home Museum (oldest house in Lahaina), Peter Lik Gallery, Andrew Shoemaker Photography and don’t miss Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice. All are on Front Street in the downtown area. Travel tip: there is a cheap parking lot off Dickenson Street behind the Baldwin Home Museum. Street parking is nearly impossible!
We Don’t Sit Still 