Thank you David and Lisa for the story of your Maui vacation.
---------------------------------------
When I’m lucky enough to be in beautiful Hawaii, I love to do
absolutely nothing on the beach. No outdoorsy, super active, frolick-in-the-sun, sporty stuff for me. Idle lounging feels like the only way to be genuine in that environment. So that’s what I did! Of course there is an endless supply of beach spots on the island, but I still felt so lucky to have found excellent ones during my visit and I’ve been telling everyone about it ever since.
I first stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani and mostly visited the
Wailea and Ulua beaches. If you must do something physical while you’re there, try walking – OK, let’s say strolling – along the beach trail that connects those beautiful spots in the area. The plants and trees alone were worth the walk since I don’t get to see anything like them at home.
Wailea beach is a movie-scene perfect moon shape and I spent a ridiculous amount of time sifting its soft golden sand through my fingers. (Trust me, it’s different than using the little rakes in those tiny sand gardens you can get for your desk!) Somehow there’s a lot of lava visible in Hawaii and I was constantly reminded of that fact that islands are literally made from volcanoes… just one more way that Maui made me feel closer to nature. So, big black lava rocks stick out of the water at each end of Wailea’s cove and I swear they must have recorded those soothing gentle waves for the relaxing CD’s here – I had many restful afternoons with the bright sun shining down on me and the ocean’s peaceful, rocking noises at my feet.
Ulua beach was another amazing spot - I read it was once named in the top ten most beautiful beaches in America! While I never
actually snorkeled, I saw lots of happy-looking people with the funny masks on checking out the lava rocks jutting out in the water along one side and I could even see some of the colorful fish just by meandering in the water nearby. I was also there on a “surf’s up” day and the body-boarders seemed really happy with the waves they could ride. I found beautiful black stones scattered around on the sand, though someone who worked at a nearby hotel told me it’s polite not to take any home :< But one thing I did bring back with me were perfect vacation photos from this beach! There are beautiful palm trees blowing in the wind just so, on bright green landscape rising up from the beach so you don’t even have to photoshop in any backdrops. Seriously, if your only goal is to chill and then make people jealous when you get home, this is the best spot.
I also went to West Maui and Lahaina town, which is technically near the water but was a more browse and eat kind of place that I visited on a “high energy” day. There is an awesome “Front Street” strip with all the food and art and shops you could want. It can have a bit of a
touristy feel to it, but there does seem to be some genuine stuff mixed in, too. (Plus, you always need to know where to find a good sea-shell necklace for the mother-in-law back home!). The day I went there was a huge outdoor community art sale in the park, which I walked around in for a while before I realized that the whole shady forest of low-hanging trees is
actually just ONE tree! It’s a crazy huge banyan that is actually 50 feet tall with many trunks spread out across the ground. Its twisty shape and viney branches made it a great symbol to me of the lush tropical Hawaiian environment in general. The town was an old whaling port and there are lots of plaques around with historic info, so it’s a bit like an outdoor museum tour with snacks.
I hope it’s helpful to hear about my trip to Maui and I hope you get to experience its beauty soon, too!
-------------------------------------------------
Many thanks to you both for your great posting on the Hawaii Blog.
Mahalo for all of us at Great Hawaii Vacations and all our Blog readers.
For more information about your perfect Hawaii vacation, use the menu links at the top of this page or call our specialists at:
Participate with us on Facebook for Hawaii discussions, free contests and great specials.
Maui Vacations Oahu Vacations Kauai Vacations Hawaii Vacations Perfect Honeymoons