Maui: a paradisiacal getaway. Words cannot express the lush beauty, the perfect weather, beautiful water.
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The best part, however, of Maui isn’t merely the looking but the doing. Here’s my top four island adventures!
4) Ziplining
Want to fly through a rainforest while learning about Hawaii’s indigenous birds? Look no further than Skyline Eco Tours! We got to spend a morning ziplining through the Maui rainforest just outside Ka’anapali. It’s set up as a series of 8 ziplines of varying lengths that go through forest and over ravines. This is not your backyard 10 foot, pick-up-your-feet-so-the- don’t-drag zipline. With the ocean in the distance, you’re on another planet far from city skylines or buzzing cars. Skyline has multiple locations (2 on Maui and a few on Kauai and the Big Island as well) but we loved the Ka’anapali course.
3) Snorkelling
Snorkelling: the quintessential island activity. I think I could never get tired of snorkeling. There’s something about the mix of beauty of the fish, the action of swimming and the warmth of the sun on your back that captivates me. I think its my hawaiian blood. 😉
My recommendation for snorkeling is go to Boss Frog’s for your rentals. Their gear is inexpensive, quality, and the staff are all avid snorkelers or scuba people who are happy to give you the inside scoop on what beaches are best and where to find the least crowds. We also rented an underwater camera for the week, which I can’t recommend enough! Seriously, make sure to talk to the staff about where to go – we had better times at their spots than any we found on our own or heard about through others. Our favorites were the ones on the northwest corner of the island – check it out!
We saw turtles every day, as well as dozens of different kinds of fish! Above is Hawaii’s state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapua’a. Say that three times fast.
2) Helicopter Tours
Logan surprised me with this one! He didn’t tell me what we were doing and gave me all sorts of confusing hints. I had no idea!!
A helicopter tour is SUCH a unique way to see Maui. You’ll get a view of the coastline like no other, and how many times do you get bird’s-eye view of a rainforest or waterfall?!
I don’t have much to say here – words don’t really cover it. We loved Blue Hawaiian as our tour operators. We didn’t sit around waiting and the pilot had tons of fascinating tidbits about the island, both historical and current! We went the day after we drove the road to Hana, which made it so much fun to recognize the places we’d seen at ground level just the day before! Helicopter tours are definitely a splurge, but we are SO glad we did it.
1) Biking Haleakala
Y’all. I can’t say this enough: if you do one excursion in Maui and you have two working legs, do this.
You’re driven up the volcano to watch the sun rise over. There’s a traditional Hawaiian greeting chanted to welcome the sun’s arrival as you watch the sun slowly touch the empty volcano. The surface looks otherworldly, like something out of Star Wars (or at least Mars). When the sun’s fully up, you grab your bike and follow your guide down the mountain! It’s a multi-hour bike ride that takes you all the way to the ocean. there’s something immensely satisfying about looking down from the top of the Haleakala crater to the ocean and knowing you’ll get there, today. And then at the end, looking up to the mountain that looms in nearly every view of the island and knowing that you biked all the way from that height to ocean level.
Also, it’s completely safe. You’re in a group following a guide, complete with a minibus following behind to block traffic so no one’s attempting any dangerous passes on the mountain roads. Because 70% of the trek is downhill, you also don’t need to be in particularly good shape for this to be fun. Basically, you’re out of excuses. Do this.
Those are my must-do’s in Maui!! Along with the road to Hana, which you can see more here. Enjoy! It’s one of my favorite places in the whole world.
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