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[San Diego Bride]

you mentioned you went to maui for your honeymoon. my FI and i will be going for 5 days in september for ours. do you have any recommendations for places to say or must do''s? we bought maui revealed, but wondered if you had any thoughts?

thanks!

 

[gingerBcookie]

Date: 5/24/2006 3:29:43 PM
Author:San Diego Bride

you mentioned you went to maui for your honeymoon. my FI and i will be going for 5 days in september for ours. do you have any recommendations for places to say or must do''s? we bought maui revealed, but wondered if you had any thoughts?

thanks!

maui revealed is that blue book? everyone says thats the best guidebook for maui, so you chose a good one! we stayed at the hyatt in kaanapali....loved it! beautiful hotel in a very good location. its at one end of this boardwal type thing that takes you along the beach, past all the other hotels, all the way to whalers village, which is a great shopping/dining spot. about 15 minute walk. a very very short drve to lahaina, which is a tiny town with cute boardwalk with tons of restaurants and stores top buy souvenirs.

the hotel staff sould not have been nicer. we had asked for a partial ocean view with a king bed. they ran out of kings so bumped us up to the best partial view possible, which was on the top floor...view was FAB! and they had a regency club up there with your own concierge and free snacks all day, free drinks all day, and free cocktails everyday at 5:30! everyone calls you by name...makes you feel very VIP...lol! make sure if you do stay at the hyatt that you get a package that includes the free breakfast....it is DIVINE!!!! my hubby''s fave part of maui i think..LOL!!! if ou mention you are on your honeymoon, they''ll send champagne up to your room. the food at the hyatt is fab (we did a lot of room service

) and the pool is the best in west maui. the beachh is very ho-hum...gorgeous water, pretty sand, but tiny. but within walking distance of a nicer stretch of beach, so no biggie. i''ve also heard good things about the westin, also located in kaanapali.

things to do? so many things to do in maui!!! its a great palce if you want to be lazy OR if you want to be active, so its perfect for almost anyone!

#1 recommendation -- a LUAU!!! Yummy yum yum food served by half-nekked island boys...could ya ask for anything more?

lol! Old Lahaina is the most authentic one, but it books up waaaaaaay in advance, so book early. we were too late and went with the Feast at Lele instead. LOVED IT. the food was heavenly, gorgeous setting, very romantic (seating by couples instead of all you can eat buffet), unlimited cocktails, excellent dancing and great music. and lots of the aforementioned waiters

.

We also did the sunrise bike down haleakala. loved it! quite an experience. you have to drag yourself out of bed at 2am (so do it early in your trip before you adjust to the time change) and they take you 10,000 feet up to watch the sunrise (it is unbelievable) then you cruise down 40 miles on you mountain bike. it is INCREDIBLE. the first few miles is like riding a bike through the clouds. absolutely surreal. partway down you''ll bike through a eucalyptus forest, the smell is just WOW. but don''t mistake me when i say cruise that its leisurely. we''re talking going 25-30 mph. its a dangerous endeavor as your guide book will tell you. i might not have done it if i had known everything (went on a recommendation of a friend) but am soooooooo glad i did it. i was prety proud of myself for making it down and so was hubby (not a super athletic girl). scenery can''t be beat, although unfortunately you can''t really take it in as you''d like as you may break your neck if you don''t pay attention to what you''re doing! if you do decide to go for it, bring warm clothing as it is 30 degrees up at the top before the sun rises. sounds scary, and IS scary, but so so so worth it!

road to hana -- we did this on our own, which i recommend if you are gonna do it. absolutely gorgeous and more fun than i anticipated! you''l get so many pics of waterfalls your friends and family will be sick of em! really does take upa whole day though, so plan accordingly. the blue book is the best book if you wanna go at it on your own.

helicopter ride -- we did the one that went to molokai. it was so fun to see evrything from an aerial view, unbelieveable where these helicopters can take you, all the way close up to massive waterfalls and cliffs. it was great!

snorkeling -- great island to snorkel. we had one planned for lanai, but missed it because we morphed into lazy honeymooners halfway through an ended up not waking up in time

we consoled ourselves by laying out and ordering poolside mimosas and mai tais.

tableside chef -- sooooo romantic! they set up a table for two on the beach at sunset and you have a private chef make you a 3,4 or 5 course meal. food was very good and the setting could not be beat! awesome experience, steep price!

sunset cruise -- we did a cocktail one, which was fun! many ppl choose a dinner one though.

mama''s fishhouse -- abs gorgeous restaurant...pricey, but the food is oh so good! THE place in maui to eat i think.

hope that helps some! i''d be happy to answer any other questions!

 

[San Diego Bride]

thank you so much for all the information! i''m glad you had a good experience with the sunrise bike ride. we''ve been looking at this, but were a little concerned about the break-neck speeds downhill. i am pretty athletic, but my only biking in the last 10 years or so has been at the gym. i keep getting this bad picture in my mind of wiping out and spending the rest of the honeymoon with road rash! it does sound like fun though.

it''s nice to hear about the hyatt. we''re trying to decide between the hyatt and the sheraton. we''ve heard the best things about the hotel and grounds at the hyatt, but the best things about the beach and snorkeling at the sheraton. it''s a toss-up for us between best resort and best beach/snorkeling. i''m sure it will be beautiful either way though.

thanks so much for all of your help!