Maui

By some stroke of luck, one of my friends received an email late at night from an airline about half-priced flights to Hawaii turned into a weeklong girls’ trip in Maui. Seven of my friends were able to book cheap flight tickets through Southwest, and, luck me, I was able to fly on standby for free.

We had a bit of trouble finding a spot for eight girls but eventually settled on an Airbnb in Kihei, right across the street from Kamaole III Beach. A couple of us had been to Maui, but none of us were super familiar so it was a guess of where we wanted to stay. We lucked out being in Kihei, close to a lot of beaches and shops/restaurants. We rented cars also making it easy to get around the island and to all of our activities.

Day 1

On Monday, the first day we all got in at different times. First, there were two who got in around 11 am, then me at 1 pm and then the rest of the gang got in around 5 pm.

Once I got to our Airbnb, three of us girls headed out for lunch and to pick up some groceries for the week. In Kihei, we stopped at Paia Fish Market for lunch. We walked up to the counter, ordered our food then sat down outside where they delivered us our orders. I ordered the soft shell fish taco lunch, and I’m realizing this as I’m writing that I don’t even know what type of fish it was. That did not stop me for one second. The fish was incredible and served with coleslaw and cajun rice.

Paia Fish Market was the perfect first stop on the island, and yes, we did go back.

After getting our seafood fix, first thing, we stopped at the nearest grocery store and stocked up on some necessities. We then settled in and made our way back to the airport to pick up five more girls.

After everyone dumped their suitcases wherever they could find a spot, we headed back out in Kihei for dinner. We picked Coconuts, surprise another great seafood spot. I split the coconut shrimp with one of my girlfriends and it was delicious. After being fed, we walked home and doubled up two to a bed to get some sleep before our big first day in Maui.

Day 2

The time zone change from Chicago to Hawaii made it easy for us to wake up bright and early for our Sail Maui snorkeling tour. For our group, we did the West Maui Snorkeling Tour that met at Lahaina Harbor at 10:30 am. The tour lasted five hours, included breakfast and lunch, free alcoholic drinks and last but certainly not least, snorkeling.

We set out on their boat, the Paragon, and rode around for a little over an hour. Riding around we got to see incredible views of the whole island of Maui. It was such a cool way to view the island. Also, since we went in January it was peak whale season. Whale season peaks in January and February when the whales come to Hawaii to mate and give birth. At least that’s what I gathered from the tour leader’s little speech. We spotted a ton of whales on our drive down to the snorkel spot.

Once we got to our spot, we were given snorkel gear and allowed to explore the reef around us. We lucked out with how clear the water was. It felt like wearing virtual reality goggles, that’s how perfect and clear the water was. We even swam right next to a sea turtle, some being more adventurous and getting much closer than my scared self.

They gave us plenty of time to enjoy ourselves in the water and explore. The amount of time on the boat was amazing. We never felt rushed, and had plenty of time to both enjoy snorkeling as well as relaxing on the boat, enjoying a cocktail or five.

After our day on the boat, we hopped back into our rental cars and drove home to get ready for our dinner out in Kihei. As happens with a group of eight girls, some of us were ready before the others. Those of us who were ready in time crossed the street from our Airbnb to Kamaole Beach Park III to watch the sunset.

At the gorgeous sunset, I of course had to interject and make my friends pose for pictures on my camera.

After a forced photo shoot, we headed to Threes Bar & Grill in Kihei. Threes was created by three chefs’ and features three different types of cuisines; Hawaiian, Southwestern, and Pacific Rim. We sat outside under palm trees drinking tropical drinks and eating more fish, a common theme for the week.

After our meal, we headed back to our place and were in bed by 9 pm, which was another common theme of the week.

Day 3

Wednesday, or day three, was our first day to purely relax. Since our Airbnb was in such a great location, we were able to walk to a couple of beaches. After a slow start to the morning, we gathered our beach chairs and walked across the street to the Kamaole II beach.

We spent our day wandering up and down the beach, going for a swim in the ocean and laying out in the sun. It was a fun relaxing day just being beach bums. Once we left the beach, we hung out at our Airbnb’s community pool, which on Wednesdays had live Hula dancers.

For our outing that night we went to Maui Brewing Co in Kihei where it’s brewery-to-table dining. They had plenty of beers to choose from and offered beer flights that let you try a few different kinds. Personally, I went straight for the Sunshine Girl Golden Ale. I’m not a big beer girl but it was light and flavorful enough that I really liked it. One of my other favorites I tried while there was the Pineapple Mana.

The beer and food were both good, but they also had an outdoor game area and live music when we went. The restaurant had a big open layout with outdoor and indoor dining with views of the ocean.

Day 4

Thursday morning we set our alarms were up at 6 am and out the door by 6:30 am. Pretty impressive for a group of eight girls. What got us up and moving so early you ask? We’d heard before coming to Maui that where we wanted to hike, to the Twin Falls at Wailele Farm, it was best to get up early to beat the inevitable crowd.

So we were out the door bright and early. We stopped to get coffee and then started towards the Twin Falls on the Road to Hana. Hana Highway is a 64.4-mile stretch that offers incredible sights of the island and ocean.

We only did a little bit of the Road to Hana, but what we did see was breathtaking. If you have free time when visiting I would suggest spending more time exploring.

Once we got to the area where we were hiking there were people there to direct us where to park and point us in the direction of the falls. The hike wasn’t much longer than a mile altogether. There are two waterfalls you can stop at on the hike, hence ‘twin falls.’

It was a fairly easy hike, the hardest part was keeping our shoes dry crossing over little streams of water. Most of us failed. At the second waterfall, there’s a bigger pool where you can swim.

The water was absolutely freezing but if you come all the way to Maui from the mainland, you’ve gotta get in. All eight of us took a dip and everyone was required/pressured to stick their head under the waterfall for the full experience.

After enjoying our freshwater dip, we headed sopping wet on our path back to our cars. We planned to hit two beaches after hiking so luckily we were all prepared with swimsuits and other beach necessities. I made the mistake of forgetting sandals, however, so I was stuck wearing sneakers all day. Whoops.

Our two cars of four girls each split up for lunch. My car stopped at the Jaws Country store. Jaws Country store is a little general store that’s right on Hana Highway. On the side of the general store, there’s a little walk-up window where you can order food and sit and eat picnic tables. We went for a late breakfast, the food we ordered was so fresh and amazing. Being able to sit outside and the scenery made it even more fun.

After fueling up and grabbing some souvenirs at the Jaw’s general store, we headed to Turtle Beach to find some turtles and watch surfers. Coming from Chicago where the biggest waves I usually see are coming from Lake Michigan, watching surfers was pretty entertaining.

Turtle Beach was cool to see but to lay out the rest of the day we headed to a beach that was perfect for us lazy girls. Baldwin Beach is where we spent the rest of our day. Collectively, I think we decided it was our favorite beach we went to.

The beach was so serene and relaxing. My personal favorite part was walking to one end of the beach where a little pool was formed by some rocks blocking the waves. It was the perfect spot to go for a swim, considering I don’t trust myself with any waves too big. The beach was nice and spacious too, I might’ve even fallen asleep for a little bit.

After our busy day of hiking and beaching, we stopped in downtown Paia for a snack. There’s a bunch of cute shops and spots to stop for food. For me, I wanted a sweet treat. I saw Paia Gelato and knew I’d found what I wanted. I got a mix of three amazing flavors but their key lime pie with little chunks of actual pie in it has not left my mind since I had it. Truly, the next time in Maui I will find my way back to Paia Gelato and eat that key lime pie gelato. Amazing.

Some of my friends wanted actual food so they stopped at Tobi’s Shave Ice. Don’t let the name fool you, Tobi’s has much more than shaved ice. I will say the shaved ice we saw looked like works of art, my friends however were incredibly impressed with the poke. Mind you, we’d been eating fish all week, trying to get our fix, and everyone who said it said that it was the best poke/meal they had all week.

After our little Paia excursion, we split up, half going to the store to get groceries for dinner and half home to shower and clean up.

Our Airbnb was more of a little condo resort so there were spots with grills and tables to sit at on the property. We had some wine and made a big family-style meal that night at our place. It was fun to stay in and enjoy the property we were staying on while saving a little money on dinner. We yet again were in bed and comatose by 9 pm.

Day 5

On Friday, we let ourselves sleep in.

The group headed to Big Beach so we could try out another beach. The beach was as beautiful as they all are in Maui, the weather at Big Beach that day wasn’t. It was pretty cloudy and windy but that didn’t stop us from enjoying sanwhiches we got from 808 Deli. Since we didn’t feel like we were getting hit with the Hawaiian sun we should be, we headed back to our Airbnb’s pool.

The sun was hitting just right at the pool and it was so refreshing to wade in the cool water. When we’d had our fix of sun, we headed back up to our place to get ready for a little night out.

We originally had a dinner reservation but it was canceled because the restaurant didn’t have enough staff, so we last minute decided to hit up the Wailea Beach Resort, a Marriott hotel, for happy hour and dinner. Boy did we make the right decision. Just getting out of our Ubers and stepping on the property we knew we couldn’t afford to actually stay there. The property sat right on the ocean and had an open, airy feel to it.

We sat upstairs overlooking the pool and ocean for happy hour while watching the sunset. We even saw some more whales, of course.

After happy hour, we headed downstairs for dinner by the pool. I split a bottle of prosecco with a friend and got Ahi Tuna, no it did not disappoint. It was a fun dinner out, half of us wanted to keep the party going and the other half were ready for bed. Believe it or not, I was in the group that wasn’t ready to call it a night so we headed to Maui Brewing, where we’d been a few nights prior, for a nightcap.

After we had one drink, and my friend Melanie pushed another friend Amy into the bushes for a funny video (it was funny, period) we went home and were in bed not long after everyone else.

Day 6

Saturday was my last day on Maui since I was leaving Sunday, a day before everyone else. We spent the day lounging by the pool again and enjoying the sun.

For the grand finale of our (my, since they went to a Luau the next night) we went on a Trilogy Sunset Cruise. Despite not being able to get an Uber, driving at the last minute, and going to the wrong boat than having to job to the right one, we made it. From the get-go, the crew was amazing. They were friendly the entire time and when we saw whales, they gave us a little rundown of whale season.

The cruise offered an open bar, I helped myself to a few Mai Tais, and appetizers which were crafted to perfection. I loved the apps so much, I cleaned my plate and my friends. There was also a photographer on board, which for a group of eight basic girls is a dream come true.

We had such a fun time on the cruise, for me I think it was my highlight. We picked the perfect cruise, it was long enough for us to enjoy ourselves, had great tropical drinks and didn’t have too many people.

After the cruise, we had dinner at a spot near where the boat docked. Once again we were in bed by 9 pm, perfect for me since I had to leave for the airport at 7 am.

Maui was a dream vacation for our friend group and I couldn’t be happier we pulled it off. We’ve always loved our girls’ trips and with Hawaii we raised the bar for all future endeavors, I can’t wait to see where we’ll go next.

If you want to see a highlight from my Maui adventure click here!