As I sit here 3 days post-honeymoon I am equal parts exhausted/happy to be home, and nostalgic/ready to go back. It was our first time visiting Hawaii and we could not have had a better time! The islands we chose were Kauai and Maui and there’s a TON to do on both so I want to let you in on what we did to hopefully ease your trip planning process! As an overarching piece of advice, I suggest you book some of these things ahead of time, but also leave yourself plenty of free time to make spontaneous choices or just kick back and enjoy the beautiful pools and beaches. It’s easy to overbook yourself with so many options. Here’s a break down of some info about the islands, what we did, and what we ate! If you don’t have time to read this, just drink the mai tais. You’ll be fine.
Kauai
This was our first & favorite stop! Being from the East Coast, we’ve been to a few different spots in the Caribbean and Mexico and after a while, all of these places start to feel the same. To some extent, a tropical resort is a tropical resort. Let me tell you – before we even landed in Kauai we could tell it was DIFFERENT. The landscape is other-worldly, the food is mostly familiar but with an island twist, and the people are so. nice.
The resort we stayed at here was the Grand Hyatt Kauai. It was hands down the best resort I’ve ever been to. I’m blessed in that a (small but amazing) part of my corporate job is scoping out resorts so I’ve been around the block a bit and have seen nothing like this place. It sits right on the beach, and rather than standard pools the property is covered in these unbelievable sprawling salt water lagoons to swim in. They wind through the property and have little hidden waterfalls and caves – just amazing. The tides in the ocean were extremely tough – I’m not sure if this is a year round thing or not but we didn’t do too much time in the ocean as a result so make sure you have some good pools! We were lucky enough to stay in an ocean view room with a balcony which I highly recommend if you can swing it. In general everything closes pretty early in Kauai so we spent most of our nights just having a self-made drink on our balcony taking it in.
Activities:
- Kauai ATV Waterfall Tour – this was for sure one of my favorite activities of the whole trip. You take these ATV’s on a guided tour through a state-protected park and make your way to a beautiful waterfall for swimming. The driving portion of the tour gets real dirty & muddy (which I thought was so fun), so swimming feels even better! Make sure you wear clothes that you’re ok with ruining – the red dirt is tough to wash out. You also need closed-toed shoes that you can wear in the water. I recommend these – they’re cheap, super comfy, and actually pretty cute on!
- Captain Andy’s Catamaran Cruise – we did the sunset dinner cruise, I highly recommend it! There are some day-time options as well which we heard great things about, but the sun is HOT so it’s just up to you & what you prefer. Even the sunset tour left at 3pm and it was still pretty steamy. One thing to note about this is to be careful if you tend to get motion sickness. I sometimes have issues with it but went into this with a mind-over-matter attitude and I still struggled a bit for the second half of the ride. We ordered these and they helped a little bit, but I’d also recommend Dramamine if you’re worried about it! Motion sickness aside, the Napali Coast was absolutely unbelievable and it’s tough to see any other way than by boat. 100% worth it!
- Waimea Canyon – depending on where you stay, this is a bit of a drive but again well worth it. It’s on the north shore of the island which from the Poipu Beach area was about an hour drive. The journey itself is beautiful, but once you get to the top the views are pretty insane. Think Grand Canyon but with layers of green & flowing waterfalls. It actually felt like Jurassic Park meets the planet Mars. Unreal.
- Just drive! We rented a car which I definitely recommend as Ubers are very few and far between on the island. There were a couple of days where we just picked a spot on the map and drove. There are only a few main roads and they wind along either coast so you really can just keep going and there are so many cute towns and villages to pop through.
- A few things we didn’t get to:
- Helicopter tour – we heard amazing things about this but also heard it’s a liiiittle iffy safety wise (the helicopters are really vulnerable to wind and with it being an island, wind is unpredictable) so we decided to use the money towards other excursions/luxuries.
- Spouting Horn – this is close to where we stayed and easy to get to, we just ran out of time! It’s a really cool look out where the water comes up through the rocks like a spout.
- Hikes – we chose to be a little on the lazy side on this trip and didn’t do any real hiking, but a quick google search shows you tons of good options. I recommend something on the North Shore, or the East Coast has some amazing views as well. Again, wear clothes and shoes you can do without!
Food:
I should start with a disclaimer that we’re not really foodies, nor do we particularly like fancy food. We did treat ourselves a few times but a lot of these options are on the casual side! Drinks are $15+ no matter where you go, but drink alllll the mai tais – they’re unreal.
- Kalapaki Joes – sports bar vibes but with a lovely ocean view. We went here once for lunch and once for breakfast. The pork in Hawaii is AMAZING all around. For lunch I had the pulled pork sandwich & for breakfast I had a pork scramble which was amazing. Basically scrambled eggs with pulled pork, and it came with all of the fixings to make them into breakfast tacos! For breakfast Ryan got the banana foster pancakes – holy moly, so good. The drinks are what you’d expect from a sports bar, but large glasses!
- The Beach House – this is one of the fancier ones. My meal (seafood linguini) was just okay, but Ryan got the filet and it was one of the best things either of us tasted during the whole trip. The drinks were phenomenal as well. Even if you don’t make it here for dinner, it’s worth it to go for a drink. They have a huge lawn and the sunset views are unbelievable. Before or after dinner you can have a drink out on the lawn and just chill! You need a reservation for dinner.
- Brennecke’s Beach Broiler – another casual spot that has a great happy hour and delicious food! We went for apps and shared the coconut shrimp & the sliders. I first had a margarita which was just alright, and then I remembered where I was and had a mai tai that was bomb dot com.
- Merriman’s Fish House – a casual spot, we went for lunch. It was probably one of my favorite meals! We got a pork and pineapple pizza & a quesadilla that came with some mystery delicious sauce that tasted like a mix of duck sauce and heaven. It’s also in a cute shopping plaza!
- Pizetta – casual Italian, cutest little spot. We went for lunch, I got the open faced chicken parm sandwich and Ryan got the open faced meatball sandwich. The mai tai was bigger than my head.
- Keoki’s Paradise – on the fancier side, my favorite dinner on Kauai! I told Ryan it felt like an adult Rainforest Cafe. There are waterfalls and rocks, chickens walking around, it’s epic. I got the seafood risotto and it was to die for. Ryan got the ribs! We also went back for lunch and I had a lovely poké bowl.
- The rest of our meals were at The Hyatt. I believe you can dine at all of them even without being a guest which I definitely recommend if you don’t stay there! The Seaview Terrace has live music & a more casual vibe, and we did our final dinner at Dondero’s which was Italian. Every restaurant there comes with a view so you can’t go wrong. You need a reservation pretty much everywhere at The Hyatt with the exception of the terrace.
- Ones we heard great things about but didn’t have time to get to:
- Eating House 1984 – fancier & need reservation
- Lava Lava Beach Club – more casual, good drinks
- Duke’s – this is a chain and we have one here in LA so we skipped it, but it’s fabulous!
- Little Fish Coffee – we’re not coffee people but heard this place is great! They also have acai bowls and smoothies
Maui
We were so sad to leave Kauai, but once we landed after the 20 minute flight to Maui, we knew we were just in a different kind of paradise! It’s much more commercialized/busy here than Kauai but it’s still very relaxed. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency and it was great! I don’t know if anything will ever compare to the Grand Hyatt Kauai, but this one has everything you need as well and the bartenders on the resort made some of our favorite drinks of the trip. There are also two cats that live on the resort – that gets some bonus points from this crazy gal. One thing to note here is that the pool area is smaller and as a result, more crowded. You have to reserve chairs pretty early in the day, or go down in the late afternoon hours after people have left which we opted for a couple of times. Another amazing pool, this one had a Grotto Bar which was a bar within a cave within the pool. We had another ocean view room (where I took the photo at the top of this post) which again I recommend! The ocean was calmer here, and so beautiful. This was also where we tried the Hawaiian staple – shave ice! It sort of just looks like a sno-cone but it’s different, and amazing. We got the tip from a local to get ice cream underneath it anddd it was wonderful.
Activities:
We did A LOT in Kauai so we had a lot more time just hanging out and winding down in Maui. Here’s what we did!
- Lahaina – this is a cute little town not far from where we stayed. There are tons of restaurants & shops and it’s right on the coast.
- Couple’s massage – finally! We decided to ditch the resort prices and head to a local spot. We went to Lahaina Massage – it doesn’t look like much but it was the best massage either of us have ever had and the prices were unbelievable. If you want a full spa-day zen experience with saunas and all that jazz, this isn’t your spot. But if you just want a real good massage & to save some money, 10/10 recommend. It’s a sauna as soon as you step outside, anyway.
- Banyan Tree – this is also in Lahaina! It’s the world’s largest banyan tree and is just really cool to check out while you’re in town.
- Just drive! We rented a car again here and checked out the North Shore of the island and the town of Paia. Unlike Kauai, the landscape of Maui really changes as you travel around so it’s cool to see the different sides of the island! Keep your eyes peeled for lookouts on the side of the road that you can pull off to, they’re usually pretty epic.
- Things we didn’t get to:
- Road to Hana – we heard some mixed opinions. It’s supposed to be amazing but it’s an all day commitment where you’re in the car on winding roads. If you decide to do it, leave early! We heard that traffic builds up.
- Haleakala National Park Sunrise Tour – I heard amazing things about this. You get picked up at 2am and journey to watch the sunrise on top of a volcano. It’s supposed to be life changing but we were just notttt tryna wake up that early!
- Maui Brewing Company – we just didn’t have time but it’s a good option for some time out of the sun!
Food:
- Monkeypod – this was a pretty casual but POPPIN’ spot that was walking distance from the Hyatt. I got the fish & chips and Ryan got a pizza. Both were amazing! Also…again…the mai tais. Ocean views of course. I recommend making a reservation.
- Cheeseburger in Paradise – a must! This is in Lahaina, we went for lunch. I got the mac & cheese burger (duh) and Ryan got their standard famous cheeseburger. Both were unreal and the place itself is fun! We walked in for lunch and ended up at bar seats, but I recommend a reservation if you definitely want to sit right away!
- Lahaina Fish Co. – a little on the fancier side but nothing crazy. I got the poké tostadas and charred broccolini, Ryan got the pork ribs which was a large enough portion for a small family.
- Japengo – this is on the Hyatt property and on the pricier side. We ate here on our last night and had an unreal table basically on a cliff looking over the water. Amazing sushi – need a reservation.
- Charley’s – we went here on our North Shore drive, it’s in the town of Paia. Apparently Willie Nelson used to frequent there. Delicious, casual lunch spot!
- Fleetwood’s – this place has a rooftop bar that I LOVED. It’s in Lahaina, ocean views, live music, and amazing – yup, you guessed it, mai tais. It’s owned by Mick Fleetwood so it’s rock themed – super fun. They also have food!
- Ones we didn’t get to:
- Mama’s Fish House – this is a sin in many people’s books…it was probably the most highly recommended place we heard. You need a reservation and have to make one weeks in advance. If you love seafood, make your reservation now! We decided against it because there were no reservations, it was far from our resort, expensive, and neither of us are diehard seafood fans.
- Luau – we didn’t do one on either island. We heard mixed things – some people said the food was great, some said it wasn’t good at all. I actually learned from a local that they’re completely manufactured for tourists and not actually native to their culture at all which I didn’t know! They’re expensive and the ones we saw were super crowded so we spent the money elsewhere.
- Spago at the Four Seasons – supposed to be delicious and this resort is amazing as well!
We were on the islands for 10 days and writing this truly made me realize how much we ate, ha! But it really is an amazing place to explore, relax, and treat yourself! And drink all the mai tais. If you’re heading there on your honeymoon, be sure to tell the resorts that and put it in the details of your dinner reservations. Places will hook you up! If you only have time for one island, I recommend Kauai! I’m sure the others have a lot to offer as well – more to come on that when we find time to go back 🙂
For lots of photos from the trip head over to @therealemilycollins on Instagram! If you have any questions you can hit me up there as well.
Aloha!
First World Thoughts 