T’S TRAVEL GUIDE: Hawaii
I wanted to go big for my husband Gabe’s 50th birthday in June of 2024 and although he has been to 57 countries he had never been to Hawaii!!! I planned for years to make it happen for the big 5-0. I lived on Maui in my 20s and fell in love with it. But I decided it would be fun to see a new island and to do something new together, so we decided on Hawaii also known as: The Big Island.
WHERE TO STAY
Mauna Lani an Auberge Collection Hotel
Awesome hotel, amazing staff and service, great location on a beautiful beach, delicious food on property and great massage therapists. The list could go on! We had a great room with an ocean and pool view, it was clean and quiet. This hotel is a VERY family friendly property. We purposely chose to celebrate the 50th a little early by going in May before kids were out of school for a less crowded experience. I was very glad we did as there were still tons of families with younger kids not school age also taking advantage of the calm before the storm. There were plenty of beach chairs to lounge on all day, complimentary snorkel gear and attentive beach staff keeping the pina coladas (skip the rum and sub tequila) flowing.
WHERE TO EAT
Halani at Mauna Lani
We booked our stay through Amex so we had the breakfast buffet for two included daily. The buffet was great with eggs and omelets being prepared to order, banana pancakes and hot waffles, fresh fruit, local fried rice and everything else you can imagine at a breakfast buffet. The service was great and the food was delicious.
Ha Bar at Mauna Lani
We had our dinners most nights at the Ha Bar. The food was excellent quality and super delicious, but the portions were super tiny and it was very expensive. The salads were comical like three pieces of lettuce for $24. Delicious but ridiculous. The bar staff was amazing, so nice, so engaging and made the best drinks. Cocktails are also very expensive, as to be expected, but very satisfying and strong! We also spent time going up to the bar for drinks occasionally throughout our stay.
Surf Shack at Mauna Lani
This is where we had most of our snacks and lunches beachside. You can either order at the counter or the beach attendants will come and take your order, so you don’t even have to get up. The food was delicious and satisfying, the portions were good and the fries were always super hot which was impressive given the to-go boxes and travel time to get to you. The fish tacos, lobster roll and burger were great.
U’lu Ocean Grill at Four Seasons
We had heard the sushi here was amazing and it did not disappoint. We ordered solely from the sushi menu and everything was divine, the service was great and the property was stunning. By far the best meal of the trip.
Poke Bar at Foodland at The Shops at Mauna Lani
A definite local fave. Go for the local fresh caught section not the frozen. We got shoyu tuna and spicy tuna. Both were amazing. We took them with us for lunch on the go for our day at the Volcanoes National Park.
WHERE NOT TO EAT
Canoe House at Mauna Lani
Not worth it! This is the fine dining restaurant on property, and it came HIGHLY recommended by many, many, many people we know. We did not have the experience we had heard so much about. First, they served the water in plastic cups. Huge turn off in general but especially for a restaurant charging $150+ for mains. We had an off server which sucked because the service had been amazing on property otherwise. The food was mediocre at best and very underwhelming. We did have one dish we loved and that was the pork tomahawk. It was massive but we were steered by our server to order another main and a side because it wouldn’t be enough food. Very unfortunate because the other main dish was an inedible fish and the side dish was bland. The pork tomahawk would have been enough for both of us for dinner. Don’t waste your money.
Kona Brewing Co
The food here was also highly recommended and it was some of the worst food I have ever had. The pizza was so undercooked it was pretty much raw and the caesar salad was worse than a Costco bagged salad. SKIP! The only redeeming thing about the lunch here was the mongoose we got to watch dart around the patio, and the beer was not bad.
WHAT TO DO
Lomi Lomi Massage at Mauna Lani Spa
We landed, went straight to the hotel, grabbed Gabe a mai tai and headed to the spa. We never get massages on vacation, but this was the trip to do it if any! The Lomi Lomi massage was really amazing and something different than your traditional spa experience. Super relaxing and invigorating at the same time. The spa itself is lacking, no sauna, no steam, no plunge, nada. That was a disappointment but didn’t change the fact that we both had amazing massage therapists.
Sunrise Outrigger Canoe at Mauna Lani
The fist morning of our trip we did a sunrise (cringe, who am I?) canoe experience on property. We had an awesome host who guided us through a really fun and easy paddle out and shared stories of the history of Hawaii and his life growing up on Lanai. It was a beautiful, spiritual and educational experience. While we were out in the canoe a few pods of spinner dolphins went right by us and started jumping out of the water! It was incredible and apparently doesn’t happen often. I am so glad we forced ourselves to get up and have that experience. A definite must during your stay.
Snorkel Daily
The best part about being on Hawaii is being in the water! Snorkeling is fun, relaxing and so magical. We just walked right into the water off the beach at our hotel and saw a big ass mako shark our first 10m minutes into our first snorkel of the trip (yea, woah) and 15 minutes later we saw an octopus!!! Every day each snorkel was amazing, from sea turtles to sea snakes to giant schools of bright colored fish you will be in awe!
Makalawena Beach
One of the best beaches I have ever been to! It was a trek to get to and you need 4-wheel drive because it requires off roading. We entered from the state park between mile markers 90 and 91. After the off roading you park, and you walk through a lava field so wear sneakers (we did not get the heads up and flip-flops were not the vibe). After the lava field path, you pop out into some sand, head up a sand bank and come out onto the most stunning white sand beach and turquoise water. Unreal and a must! Great snorkeling too, obviously!
Volcanoes National Park
A trek from the side of the island we were on but SO worth it. It took us two hours to drive to the park. The drive was gorgeous and peaceful. Once in the park we left the rental car at the visitors center and went off on foot from there. We hiked the rim of the crater, through the Thurston lava tube, down into the crater, up and out of the crater, back down into a different crater, then up and out and back to the visitors center. It was a full day of incredibly beautiful hiking and probably my favorite day of our trip. Bring lunch, sunscreen and water. We were advised to layer as everyone says it's chilly at the park, but we had a super hot sunny day!
