HB 031: Top 5 Things to Do on the Island of Maui

Bryan Murphy 0:00

So how do you experience all of Maui in just one visit? And the short answer to this is you don't that's impossible. The beauty and the rich history of Maui, Maui no Koi, it's the best. However, there are a few things you want to make sure you add to your list on your very first trip, or your next trip to Maui. So stay tuned for our top five things to do on now. Aloha, welcome to Hawaii's Best travel podcast where we help you prepare for your next trip to Hawaii. Discover the experiences businesses and stories that make Hawaii the Aloha state. And now your host, Brian Murphy. If you're anything like me, going on the tour, doing a tour bus thing with a bunch of people maybe isn't your style. For me, I like kind of just exploring on my own and that's really the best way to explore it. One of the islands and you can do that by having a tour guide right on your mobile device. So, Chuck a guide uses your GPS to guide you to interesting places along the way is an automatic audio tour. With turn by turn directions. So means all you have to do is turn on the tour and Dr. Shaka guide self guided tour gives you the freedom to explore the beautiful Hawaiian islands and know where to stop and what to do. We use Shaka guide on a stay on Maui recently and it was really cool just like you know driving Eliana on Front Street here and some of the facts as you're kind of driving around like you know, this history. It's so rich and that's one of you talking to more about today is the history on Maui especially Lyanna. But this turn by turn direction gives you It's like having someone who's lived on the island all of their life. giving you all these cool facts in history about all these places kind of name some of these hidden gems along the way, even on your way for driving to Hana your way down. There's so many different little turn offs and places that Shaka guy guides you towards. So, if you go to Hawaii's Best travel.com slash Shaka, for Hawaii's Best listeners, you can get a South Side tour of Oahu for free so go to Hawaii's Best travel.com slash Shaka.

All right. Well, welcome to Episode 30 of Hawaii's Best, where we help prepare you for your next trip to Hawaii. I'm your host Brian Murphy. I'm the owner of Hawaii's Best travel and on our blog and on this podcast, we offer guides and tips and just some cultural insight to get the most out of your next day on the island. And what's really cool about this platform and about our blog is that we get to hear the story of the people behind some of Hawaii's Best experiences and businesses so thanks for joining me today. Hey, I wanted to give you a quick update on travel because I've been waiting as long as I can to record these episodes right now it is Tuesday. It is 5pm and I am just kind of crunch in to get this episode out to you because I wanted to give you the latest update on what travel looks like to Hawaii. So as of the time of this recording, June 23 2020 Tuesday afternoon. There's still a 14 day quarantine for anybody going in to the islands. And last week on on the Episode Episode 30. I talked a little bit about how inner Island travel has been lifted. So there's not a 14 day quarantine which is great news. Hawaii is doing amazing in his efforts to stop the spread or limit the spread. COVID businesses locally are starting to open up, but so much of Hawaii and its economy is reliant on tourism, as you probably well know. So there was a interview this morning with the governor of Hawaii. And he made mention that there's planning to be an announcement this week. So this week, we're planning to hopefully hear what the plan is for reopening travel to Hawaii, the more and more information that comes out and the closer it gets to these details being released, it's probably going to be some type of pre screening, pre testing for testing negative to COVID-19. That's probably what's going to be part of the requirements to be able to travel to the islands without a 14 day mandatory quarantine. Now, if you test positive at the time of the Cova test, and you have a trip coming up, see there's there's so many questions in there. So many variables that I'm hopefully looking to get answered this week in the next coming weeks. So I know you've been waiting a long time, we've all been waiting a long time to at least just here have a plan of when Hawaii is going to start opening up again to visitors mainlanders, people from around the world. And I know it can be complicated, but it also can be a little bit simple too. So we don't want to overcomplicate it, because that's just gonna turn off people from traveling to Hawaii. So I'm hopeful but I'm also getting a little a little frustrated, I guess it's a little anxious to kind of like, get some answers to be able to relay those to you and be able to, you know, hey, this is this is what's going on. And this is what to plan for for your next trip because that's what Hawaii's Best travel is all about is helping to prepare you for your next trip to Hawaii. So with that, all said and all that out of the way to stay up to date, subscribe, and I'll be sure to give you the most up to date, current info that we know today we're talking about the top things to do on Maui. And I thought, you know what, let's let's dream a little bit. I know for some of you who are thinking about getting back to Hawaii or coming for the first time, and I know for a lot of people, especially if you live in the US, maybe international travel is not on your list right now. But maybe get into to Hawaii, maybe that is on your list. And I want to talk a little bit and we can just dream up a little bit about what to expect coming to Maui for the first time and I want to give you our kind of top five, and plus a bonus one if you stay to the end of this episode when we give you a bonus one, the island of Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands and fun fact it's the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and it's the largest of Maui counties for islands. So we talked about Maui County are now Neue greater Maui talking about four different islands. So you have the island of Maui. There's Molokai II. There's Lanai II, and the unpopulated island of Kahala Bay. In 2010, Maui had a population of about 144,000, which is the third highest of the Hawaiian Islands, which is behind Oahu and Hawaii Island. Now he is an incredible place and has something for everyone from adventure to, you know, sipping mai Tai's kaanapali Beach snorkeling, romance. Now he is just such a great destination to really satisfy everyone. So let's kick off this top five things to do on Maui with the most historical spot on Maui which is Linus so you want to make sure you visit Lahaina when you are on Maui. It is a formal capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It's a small town and has a museum charm and charisma in the history it's a formal whaling village. And so that obviously means that line is a great place to do whale watching during the season or during the whale season, which is typically December sometimes late November through May so December through May, you're gonna catch a whale watching that some of the best whale watching and really in the entire world, but definitely one of the best spots in all the islands is off of the hyena. Doing some whale watching is the best. Also in the hyena. There's Lahaina harbor and that's a way in which you can do a day trip over to the other islands island of Lanai and Molokai II. You can also go to Molokini and talk a little bit about Molokini and snorkeling there. So maybe that's a giveaway on one of our top you know, things make you want to make sure you do. But behind is really the heartbeat of Mali when it comes to kind of a centralized spot because The the art scene is there just like 40 different types of galleries. Food is amazing there nightlife happens there. Also there's one of the largest banyan trees sitting near the courthouse in the harbor in the town of Lynn I it's relatively a tiny Park and where this is located. But if features one of the largest banyan trees in the country, the tree which it was brought to the islands from India in 1873, and now rises more than 60 feet in the air. It's obviously a great place for picnic. And the park there hosts a variety of different events. Like you mentioned the art scene, there's big so there's an art in the park, which is held every I think it's second and fourth weekend of the month. Now it doesn't take much time to stop and visit the banyan tree park but it's definitely worth the salt especially if you're you know catching some lunch in line and doing some shopping. It's right there within walking distance so why not check it out. Also in line if you features one of the longest running oceanfront luaus the Royal Lahaina luau and it's an incredible meal hula dancers originating from New Zealand, Samoa and Hawaii, life wine music all the things you can think of when you think of a luau. This luau is a great way to experience the rich history and culture of the Polynesian culture in an impressive way, so definitely make sure you check out the Royal Lahaina luau number to visit kind of Nepali Carnival Pali is a resort spot over on the west side of Maui, and especially is about three miles of beach and the beach is one of the best beaches on Maui and really in the world. In another era, these lands and these gardens they were enjoyed by Hawaiian kings and queens who sought relaxation and rejuvenation a retreat place was Kannan Polly and when you visit kaanapali you can CY the land itself was comprised of sugarcane And Taro. And it's just so much history to and kaanapali from the training ground for of Hawaiian warriors in ancient times to the romantic days of old Hawaii in the 30s and the 40s. And now even today, today, it is a resort spot like I mentioned, as amazing shopping and dining at whalers village, if you listen to the podcast at all, we we did an interview with the food and beverage director at the Westin over there and kaanapali and talked about their expansion efforts and some of the history about that property, which is really cool. But right next door is really his village to the Westin and we got to talk with their GM, Jason about Leilani is on the beach, and that's a great spot. It's right on the beach. great spot for some drinks, some live entertainment. And last but not least, it's one of those The most epic places to take in the sunset. When we're there for our interview with Jason, we watch the sunset and the sunset, right in between Lanai II and Molokai II, in the sunset that night was amazing. And it was just an amazing experience. Some of the best sunset there. What's also really cool about Kapali is it reminds me of Waikiki, sort of, because you can learn how to surf. You can walk on the boardwalk right there with some of the world class resorts and shopping right there. So it has kind of this feel of Waikiki. But it doesn't have the crowds that way he he has and it's not as it's not as compact as Waikiki is. So that's the best way I can try to explain it. So if you've been to Waikiki, you know the activity and all the hustle and bustle there. kaanapali has a little bit of that field. But it feels a little bit more kind of local, but still touristy but not I like the vibe. So it's definitely worth checking out Kapali on Maui, and it's also worth mentioning that the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival the 10th annual happens to be this year in October 2020 is hosted in kaanapali so that's something also to look forward to if you happen to be traveling to Maui this fall number three like I mentioned earlier Molokini crater. Go snorkel it it's amazing it's epic is off of kihei that's where you can go out of or like I mentioned, you can also go out of La hyena Molokini crater. what's incredible about Molokini is that on a clear day, you can see up to 100 feet of visibility inside of Molokini. So Molokini it was estimated to be created by any eruption about oh you know two And 30,000 years ago, so it's been around for a little bit but not that long. Molokini crater is 23 acres in total, and its highest elevation is is at 156 feet. So you've probably seen pictures it's got that kind of like crescent moon shape off of off of Maui. It looks like a little, like crescent moon in the middle of the sea, which is pretty cool. There are about 250 species of fish and 38 species of coral that can be found on Molokini, which gives it kind of like the most epic snorkeling spot in the world. Because of this and maybe this is like a public service announcement. It's important to always use reef safe sunscreen, specially when you're visiting Hawaii in 2021, January 2021. There's gonna be a few different elements chemicals banned in sunscreen in Hawaii, but in my opinion, it's Not enough. So you're gonna want to make sure and do some research. Maybe sometime we'll bring an expert on, on reef safe sunscreen, because now it's becoming kind of a buzzword like reef safe sunscreen. But yeah, it could be it's better than what it was. But there's still some other options that really helped to preserve the beauty of the coral and fish to preserve the islands for generations to come. And that's really what I think all of us have been entrusted with if we love Hawaii. We love visiting Hawaii and experience all of Hawaii from the culture to the land is important to leave it better than we found it so that our children and our children's children can enjoy the same experiences that we get to experience in the present time. I would hate to be that generation that was the ones who just wasted it away and we look and people look back at this time in history. say they could have done so much more but they destroyed this land that was once so sacred and so special by doing a few different simple practices when visiting the island, so I'll get off my soapbox a little bit I'm really passionate about that reef safe sunscreen but do some research on truly reef safe sunscreen. And that's super important when visiting when snorkeling Molokini crater number four best thing to do in Hawaii is take a sunrise at Haleakala is going to be worth it, trust me, it's an early day. So I would recommend that this would be something on maybe like day one or day two of your time on Maui. So let's say you're traveling from the east coast of United States, there's going to be about you know, depending on where you're from a three to six hour difference in time zones when traveling to a lot So you're gonna probably be getting up at like 3am Hawaii time anyway, so why not do a sunrise on Haleakala on one of your first days there, this is something that you're not gonna want to miss is one of the most memorable experiences that you can experience in Hawaii at almost 10,000 feet above sea level, Haleakala stance, and when you arrive on Maui, you see this huge sloping volcano, which to see it in person is breathtaking. So you, you travel up Haleakala and you take in one of the most epic sunrises that you'll ever experience. Now, here's some tips. In order to do that. You want to make a reservation with the National Park Service. And we'll link that in the show notes for where you can do that. So the National Park Service requires a reservation for visitors to enter the summit district from 3am To 75 to view the sunrise, the one day dollar 50 sunrise reservation can be made up to 60 days in advance. However, the park interest fee is separate and it's payable on the day of visit. So it definitely would recommend getting that reservation in early as you're planning your trip to Maui. So like I said, you want to come early. It opens from from three to 7am. So get there early, depending where you're coming from, like if you're staying all the way over in kaanapali. It can take up to two hours to drive the Haleakala highway, and then up the windy Haleakala crater road, which leads to the summit of holly aka. So when I say early, you want to try to arrive at the Haleakala Visitor Center no later than a half hour before the sun rises. So earlier for a good spot, right and in the summer, the sun rises as early as 538 In the winter, as late as 6:55am. So earlier the better and you don't want to miss the the clouds in the sky transforming right before daybreak, and the sun rises, it's incredible. So bring warm clothes as well because it can get very cold up there. Like I said, it's about 10,000 feet up, and also plan accordingly as far as like breakfast and gas because those things aren't sold within the park. So fill up your tank and get some food and head up there. To Haleakala summit is something you're going to remember the rest of your life and like you said, we will link where you can make a reservation up to 60 days in advance in the show notes with the Park Service. Number five Maui ocean center this is a great spot, especially if you're traveling as a family for over 20 years. Now he ocean Center has fostered understanding wonder and respect for Hawaii's marine life. With visitors from around the world and that kind of goes into the conversation about reef safe sunscreen to these are these are some of the reasons of the why behind the what. Now II ocean center you can experience everything from living reef to their open ocean exhibit to schooling, reef fish shark Steen res turtles, Hawaii marine life, but it's also home to one of the largest display of Hawaiian corals. So to get up and close and personal with some of Hawaii's marine life and to have a better understanding of just the ocean world in general and how it all matters and, and some of the things that we can do to continue to help protect and preserve this land and its ocean. You definitely want to check out Maui ocean center. Those are our top five and if I were to add another one, this is one of our favorite Places to stop on our way in getting on Maui and on our way out back to the airport. We love stopping out Maui tropical plantation. Now a tropical plantation is home to the Milhouse restaurant and I'll link that episode in our show notes as well about our conversation there with Angel de Mau. Now he tropical plantation is a working plantation. Its landscape is some of the most lush views of Maui. Maui tropical you can do some shopping you can have amazing roasting house Milhouse roasting, so get some coffee. It's a great you know on the way to airport you can you know coffee up there, you're getting in from a long flight, coffee up that way and get on and start your your vacation at Maui tropical plantation. The plantation also features tours there's this tour called the tropical Express, which offers visitors an overview of Hawaii's Aim is fruits and plants. It's about a 40 minute tour. And it's ideal for family visitors who want to just see want to learn more about plantation life, what you do is you loop around the lagoon and cruise through parts of the plantation accessible only to passengers aboard the tropical Express and the tour also includes a coconut Husky demonstration. So that is something cool that I know. Kids will love to kind of be a part of. So definitely check out Maui tropical plantation. You can also do some ziplining there, man, they got everything and it's located in central Maui. Like I said, when you you pass it by when you're going to your resort and from the airport, and you're gonna pass it by again when you're going back to the airport. Oh GG, so be sure to check out Maui tropical plantation on your next trip to Maui. Well, I hope that this list of Maui's Top Things to do was helpful to you and I hope it just connects you know, inspired you to be still dreaming about Coming to Hawaii on your next vacation. So to get the latest news on travel to Hawaii and some of the best tips and even hearing the stories from some of these amazing places that we mentioned today, be sure to subscribe. And I would also ask since you're there hitting subscribe, please drop a rating and review that helps us out so much. Being able to spread this aloha to be able to spread our love for Hawaii, the same love that you have for Hawaii to other people. So thank you so much for considering to do that to get the show notes. Everything that we mentioned in today's episode go to Hawaii's Best travel.com slash Episode 31 So until next time, be well. Aloha.

Unknown Speaker 23:48

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