Maui was the trip that wasn’t supposed to happen. First, I lost my passport just a few weeks before we were supposed to book our vacation.
So we decided to stay Stateside and do Hawaii, but the first two islands I looked into (Kauai for its seclusion and Big Island for its hikes and nature) were both much too expensive to book last minute.
And Maui it was.
Except a few days before we were supposed to fly out I pulled up the weather report and it showed severe thunderstorms nearly every day. We were crushed!
We tried to cancel the trip because who wants to ruin their first trip to Hawaii with epic rain? But the crap third-party site Ivan booked it on (ExploreTrip.com) offers zero customer service, so we were left deciding whether we should still go in the rain or stay home and simply lose out on the cash we’d spent.
Truth be told, with Ivan working so much this year, we were almost ready to call it quits and hit up the museums and parks in San Francisco. But lucky for us a few friends convinced us to just go anyway and assured us that Hawaii would always offer up sunshine even if the forecast said rain…. which it did.
Tons of it.
What a HUGE mistake it would have been not to go!
The minute we landed I knew we’d made the right choice. We decided to stay in a hostel and pulled up to the Banana Bungalow – a chill spot with a raging party scene and daily free tours that suited us perfectly.
Hostel life isn’t for everyone, but for me, it makes sense. I love to meet new people from around the world and stay up all night chatting or dancing. I don’t mind the shared accommodations and even find it comforting to have a kitchen and close neighbors next door.
And Banana Bungalow turned out to be my all time favorite! We met more than a dozen great, life-long friends there who I am confident we can visit around the world.
From there we spent a week in paradise with little to no rain nearly every day. Swimming until our arms hurt, checking out sea Turtles, cliff-diving, snorkeling, raving on the beach, hiking volcanoes, basking under the sunset and stars, cruising to Hana, and more.
At times it was a bit cloudy, but our friends were right about Maui’s weird weather patterns. And even when it did rain, we still had tons of fun:
Here’s Our Itinerary:
DAY ONE we grabbed coffee at Maui Coffee Attic then took a shared van to Black Rock beach where we snorkeled with sea turtles and went cliff diving near the Sheraton Hotel. Other then gas, snacks, and a quick stop off to Snorkel Bob’s, this day was budget-friendly and so fun we came back again before leaving. Cliff jumping is my new jam!
DAY TWO we went to Turtle Town where the waves were a bit rougher and snorkeled some more. At night we shared a beautiful Thanksgiving feast with about 100 people from 30 different countries and danced late into the night. Undoubtedly the best Turkey Day ever.
DAY THREE we caught the sunset at Haleakala National Park atop the Volcano
DAY FOUR we rented a car and drove down the Road to Hana where we stopped at Paia Town to catch the surfers, Twin Falls, The Garden of Eden, the Upper Waikani Falls, fish & chips stands, banana bread stands, Black Sand Beach, and more. That said – if we’d have planned better we’d have made it to Red Sand Beach and the Seven Sacred Pools. But this was the one day it actually rained a bit, and we had to leave something to go back to! That night we went out to a string of different clubs and bars in Kihei, including Life’s a Beach.
DAY FIVE we hit up Big Beach and Little Beach for some swimming and volleyball followed by a rave at a nude beach (we didn’t participate – just tourists!). This rave only takes place on Sundays at sunset. Expect fire dancers, hula, some gnarly naked folks in their late sixties, and more.
DAY SIX we went back to Black Rock Beach to swim and snorkel some more
I could go on and on about Maui’s breath-taking sunsets, luscious Palm trees, sweet breeze, and bathwater temps. However, I can say with confidence that having explored 17 different countries and many of the 50 states, Maui is one of the top three places I’ve been on Earth. And you need to experience it!
My only regret is that I didn’t have enough time to continue on to the other islands! Thank god Hawaii is in San Francisco’s back yard.