We went on a trip to Maui with my family last week and it was so much fun! I wanted to share a few of the activities we did and places we went to eat for those who plan to go to Maui and are looking for recs!

I can’t take credit for choosing any of the places, my brother did all of the research and reservations. And he did an amazing job. I totally think he should be a travel blogger LOL.

We ended up having 1-2 activities a day, whether that was an excursion or a dinner spot. A couple of the dinner spots were fine dining and I count those as activities haha! My brother, Nancy, and my mom ended up doing a few extra activities while Shawn and I stayed back, we like to have a few days hanging out by the pool or the beach. I enjoyed having ~1 activity per day. We weren’t drained and had something to look forward to each day! Here’s our week, along with some extra activities my family did.

Itinerary Summary

Day 1 - Arrive at the hotel.

Day 2 - Explored around the Westin in Ka’anapali, went to the mall, Maui matcha, the pool, and walked the beach. My family went to Lahaina and got sushi and walked around x street.

Day 3 - Breakfast at Lelahs, pool day, and Mamas Fish House for dinner.

Day 4 - Horseback riding in the AM - afternoon. Food trucks for lunch.

Day 5 - Whale watching in the AM. Waicoco in the Westin for breakfast, Lahaina Grill for dinner.

Day 6 - Facial in the afternoon. Beach after. My family went to a glass-blowing activity and I wish I had gone with them! Dinner at Lelainis

Day 7 - Rest day for me, Shawn, and my mom. Basket making in the lobby. Chris and Nancy did the Road to Hana.

Day 8 - Last day, chilled around the Westin.

Activities

Excursions

Horseback riding

We went with Maui Mountain Activities and it was an AMAZING experience! The guides were very friendly and helpful. I told them I was nervous (I literally was the only person that raised their hand when they asked LOL) and they paired me with a very chill horse. They also asked if there was anyone who was advanced or had experience riding so they could pair them with the right horse. They took us to multiple view spots to get pictures, which was really nice. At the end we let the horses run at full speed (if you wanted to, you didn’t have to) my horse was very chill so it was a quick run thank the Lord hahaha.

Whale Watching

We went with Captain Steve’s and this was my absolute favorite part of the trip. Peak whale season is Mid-January-March (I had no idea) so we saw a TON of whales. It was amazing. They were so close to our boat! We also saw them daily from our hotel. This is a MUST-do experience if you go during peak season! Captain Steve’s also has a snorkeling tour which I would recommend doing too! We didn’t do it but based on the whale experience I am sure that one would be amazing!

Glass Blowing

I didn’t actually do this activity, my mom and my brother did. But I wish I had gone with them! They made their own glass pieces from scratch and it looked so cool. They booked through Moana Glass.

Black Rock Beach

This was a little spot Shawn and I discovered when we walked the beach on the second day! It was super close to where we were staying and every time we went we saw sea turtles! It’s a big snorkeling spot too. People were also cliff jumping which was fun to watch! I’m a scaredy cat so I just enjoyed the water and watched from afar. But we did climb the rocks on the last day and saw some crabs and more fish and sea turtles. Def recommend it for a chill beach day!

Road to Hana

Shawn and I didn’t do this since we wanted to do a pool/beach day. But my brother and Nancy did it and loved it! They said there were a ton of beautiful views!! If you like sightseeing, this is definitely something you should do. It’s a day-long+ activity, so plan to block out a day if you want to do this!

Restaurants

Mama’s Fish House

I didn’t know anything about this restaurant before the trip, my brother booked the reservation months in advance and I found out a couple of weeks before from my manager that Mama’s Fish House was a very popular dinner spot! I loved the atmosphere and location, that was my favorite part about the restaurant! The food was also amazing and their pearl dessert was so good! For me, this restaurant was a one-time experience, I wouldn’t reserve a spot again which you’ll see why on the next point! I also want to note that Shawn and I are not fine diners LOL. We’re very basic, so I’m looking at this from a tourist point of view, not a fine-diners point of view…If that makes sense. I am fine with saying that I’m BASIC lol.

Lahaina Grill

I absolutely loved this spot — the design and ambiance were more of my style. I was literally taking pictures of the architectural details the moment I walked in. The staff experience was also much better for us than Mama’s. Not that Mama’s was bad at all but the Lahaina Grill staff was just more active and helpful which I think is important! This is dependent on the staff, so it could be different depending on the day! The meal prices were very similar to Mama’s which is why I wouldn’t go back to Mama's if I went to Maui again. Shawn and my meals averaged about $200-$250 together at both spots). There’s another spot I would try instead of Mama’s, Pacific O, which I have heard great things about! I would absolutely go to Lahaina Grill again if I went back to Maui. I loved it so much! I love that they had a ‘tasters’ dessert, so we could pick 4 dessert options and try them in miniature sizes. It was nice because we were all full but wanted to try their desserts, it was the only restaurant that offered this and I loved it!

Leilani’s

This was a nice dinner spot, not as nice as Mama’s or Lahaina but they were literally one of the only spots that had crab legs which was kind of crazy! My family loves crab legs so we went here for that. I got a salad that night with chicken because I’m basic hahaha. But def recommend Leilani’s if you’re looking for crab legs!

MonkeyPod

MonkeyPod was super close to where we stayed (Westin) and Shawn and I fell in love with their strawberry cream pie dessert so we went there a couple of times haha. One time we even went there after dinner just for their dessert! Their pork tacos were my FAVORITE and I guess they are a local favorite too!

Waicoco

We loved this spot for breakfast, their Banana’s fosters dessert was SO yummy and I got the mainland soft scrambled sub over medium eggs + avo a couple of times haha ;). Waicoco was right below where we stayed so it was super convenient.

Maui Matcha

Maui Matcha was my favorite little spot! They only have one location in Maui, a cute little Matcha spot in a shopping center. I got their iced vanilla matcha latte multiple times. I also tried it with Boba once which I learned I didn’t like haha. I was OBSESSED with their matcha croissants and I hope I can find some in Ohio LOL.

Island Vintage Coffee

This was a coffee spot Shawn went to a couple of times. He got their honey latte (hot). They also had some cute souvenirs! I got some adorable mini jars of honey for my dad as a gift.

I think 8 days was the perfect amount of time for our vacation! If you wanted to explore more I would just pack more activities in one day. If you want to visit multiple islands I would personally plan to stay longer…but I’m sure you could squeeze it in a week!

Overall, I LOVED Maui and would love to go again in the future. I hope these recommendations help you with your planning!!!

P.S. I put together a travel essentials roundup, some items I have and some I plan to buy for future trips! We’re going to Florida in a few months and I plan to get the travel pillow and the suitcase drink holder. I was lugging my water bottle around the airports on the way to Maui and would have LOVED a holder. My brother brought a speaker to Maui but I’m definitely grabbing this JBL one since it clips on. I love that!

Also, getting an apple AirTag for my checked luggage gave me peace of mind because we never checked a bag before and Shawn was convinced it was going to get lost LOL. I loved tracking my luggage from my phone!

Maui trip recap