By far, the trip I get asked most about is my Hawaiian honeymoon to Maui. My husband and I spent our first week of married life living it up in a gorgeous tropical paradise! Some of our favorite parts were exploring the road to Hana and our stunning hotel.

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I looooooove Hawaii.Which I know, nearly everyone does. But I have an excuse: I was born there! Oahu specifically. But it gives me a special affection for the islands.

Since three people in the past six months have asked me for Maui advice, I’m finally getting all my tips and favorite parts!

Logan and I stayed in Ka’aanapali. It’s a resort city on the northwest side of the island. I had mixed feelings about this: I’m not a huge fan of the over-touristy areas, and usually wouldn’t seek that out. We didn’t spend much time in the city when we weren’t at the resort.

But the resort we stayed in was Absolutely Perfect.

We loved everything about the Westin Maui Resort & Spa, and I would stay there again in a heartbeat next time we go back.

First of all, you walk into the open lobby, which has a massive lagoon in the center. The hotel itself curves around this central area. It’s part garden, part jungle, and part pool, but when you first enter it’s an eye-catching waterfall with gorgeous trees and flamingoes welcoming you to paradise.

They have multiples pools, acres of lounge chairs, and all the amenities you’d hope for at a luxurious resort. They went the extra mile on the lagoon, though – the hotel’s design wraps most of the building around the central lagoon. So not only did our room have an ocean view from the lanai, we could look straight down into  waterfall surrounded by palm trees! One more I woke up early (thanks jet lag) and sat on the lanai to read and watch the world wake up. After 15 minutes I heard a weird noise, and realized that hotel staff were climbing the palm trees (seven stories high) to cut down the coconuts so they wouldn’t fall on guests! I get that the main goal was safety over entertainment, but it was crazy impressive and I stuck around to watch for a good half hour.

Seriously, what else can you ask for? We soaked in the view every morning – I spent entirely too much time on this balcony.

Lest you think that’s the only thing the room offered, we LOVED our room. The bed was ridiculously comfortable; the kind you sink into at the end of the day, and sheet soft enough to be gentle on our inevitable sunburns.

Honestly, I could’ve happily spent the entire week alternating between pool, ocean, and balcony. But doing that would’ve meant we missed the incredible adventure and nature Maui offers!

Walking along the beach at nearly any point in the island looked like a postcard. Everywhere we turned was gorgeous scenery in that effortless tropical flavor so closely associated with Hawaii.

If you go to Maui and do one thing, you need to check out the road to Hana.

For the uninitiated, it may be a weird concept. Forget Hana itself: it’s not really a destination, only a tiny town on the east coast. The road is the attraction in itself. Hours of serpentine coastal roads bordered by lush rainforest. Make sure to bring close-toe shoes for exploring the trails, a swimsuit for the black sand beaches, and a guide book that tells you which mile markers have secret waterfalls!

There’s amazing waterfalls nearly every mile – you just need to know where to look!

Such beautiful water – and this is just a runoff waterfall going under the bridge!

The black sand beach is more like black pebbles. Gorgeous, but tough on bare feet!

There’s a red sand beach too; off the beaten path but worth it!

We had a fantastic time on our honeymoon in Maui, and I’d highly recommend it for anyone looking for a week in paradise. The road to Hana is a fantastic day trip, but if you want more things to do in Maui, check here!

 

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