Maui & Big Island
 

What are the must not miss restaurants and activities in Maui and the Big Island? We have the luau booked in Maui and a helicopter booked in Hilo. Any other suggestions?

There's another thread about restaurants in Maui. Which luau are you going to? <BR> <BR>Our favorite restaurant is Mama's Fish House in Paia. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip.

Great restaurants on the Big Island (IMHO): <BR> <BR>Cafe Pesto (very low-key, but excellent food and service) <BR>Merriman's <BR> <BR>Maui: <BR> <BR>there is a whole list on another thread from yesterday. <BR> <BR>Would definitely go to the Volcano National park on the Big Island (entire day trip) and do the drive to Hana on Maui. Have a great trip!

Don't miss the Haleakula Sunrise experience. We took a tour van and it was the most memorable experience ever in Maui. Good thing to do on your first day, if Maui is your first stop since you are still on your hometown's time zone and the hotel pick up is usually 3 AM. Also,enjoyed the road to Hana...

Restaurants: <BR> <BR>Roy's in Waikoloa, Big Island (as well as 2 other maui locations i think). We loved this restaurant. Their website is roysrestaurant.com <BR> <BR>Canoe House, Big Island -very romantic, at one of the major hotels, restaurant is right off of the beach. <BR> <BR>David Paul's in Lahaina on Maui. <BR> <BR>We also went to Haleakala (sp?) at sunrise but then biked down, which was spectacular. The van takes you up and then follows behind the row of bikes. Many tour companies do this. Check it out when you're there. <BR> <BR>Have fun.

Big Island restaurants: <BR>Pahuia at the Four Seasons - one of the best dining experiences I have ever had. <BR>http://www.fourseasons.com/vacations...ai/dining.html <BR> <BR>Canoe House at the Mauna Lani - romantic patio seating with nice sunset views

The Haleakala sunrise trip for us was a bust! It was cloudy that day....real cloudy! :( If you go to the top of Haleakala, make sure to pack warm clothes. When we went it was 39 degrees Fahrenheit with 30 mph wind gusts. With the windchill, it was below freezing! <BR> <BR>And since you're up there, get a picture of the rare and endangered silversword plant. It grows in only two places in the world. Here and on Mt Mauna Loa on the Big Island! <BR> <BR>We did the road to Hana. It was awesome. BUT, in order to enjoy the trip, YOU MUST PURCHASE THE AUDIO TAPE AND MAP! Otherwise it's just a boring, leisurely, long drive through some beautiful terrain. The tape and map made it an adventure and we stopped and explored each site that was described! <BR>It tells you where the black sand beach is located (near Hana) among many other things. <BR> <BR>Drive the highway around the entire north side of the island. There are sections of the road where it's single lane with sheer cliff going up next to you and sheer drop-offs that go down 100' to 200' or more on the other side and there are NO guardrails to keep you on the road! In many places, if you meet on-coming traffic, one of you has to back up. One wrong turn while backing and you could be in for a big fall! If you drive here, you void your car rental agreement. What does that mean? If you have problems, don't try calling the rental company to help you! <BR> <BR>We did the full day Waterfall Hike with www.hikemaui.com. It was awesome and worth every penny! <BR> <BR>If you like wine, you have to go Tedeschi Vineyards. Get the Maui Splash (I think that was the name). It was great sampling all of their products. <BR> <BR>If you are there in winter, the humpback whales are there. Mostly from Dec. to late April. The best time is mid-March. You can choose many tour company's to take take you whale-watching. We did two boat tours on two consecutive mornings. However, we saw more whales just after sunrise from the Maalaea Bay sceneic lookout along Hwy 30. But the boats *might* get you closer. <BR> <BR>Go to Big Beach in south Maui. It's just a big beach. The wife and I watched the sunset there. It was beautiful. AND, there's a clothing-optional section here on the north end (beyond the rock out-cropping)! <BR> <BR>On the Big Island? Well, we were only there once for three days. Not enough time. We are going back in Sept. for 6 days this time. I found some info on a hiking company that takes night hikes to the lava flows of Kilauea. But I can't find it right now! :( Here was another site I found, though: http://www.hawaiianwalkways.com. <BR> <BR>Deep-sea fishing from Kona was fun. Didn't boat anything. Had some bites and a few fights, but nothing ever got to the surface for us to see. <BR> <BR>Well, that's all I have for now. I hope you have fun on your trip. Just be sure to plan one major thing for each day and make your reservations. This way you have a plan. Most people will get there and just want to sit by the pool and relax. There's nothing wrong with that. But you flew all that way to sit by a pool? I could do that at home. Vacations are for adventure and there is plenty of that in Hawaii! <BR> <BR>Hmmm....maybe it's time for me to leave Florida and go live in Hawaii! WOOHOO! :)