Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

FH and I are going on our honeymoon in July to Kauai and Maui-

what are some great places to go eat and what is a must see?

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

I'll let you know about Maui when I get back. We leave on Saturday and return on 4/14!!!

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

definitely go to Nick's Fishmarket at the Fairmont Kea Lani. Food was AMAZING.
and friends of ours, as well as my parents, said Mama's Fish House was also great.

Have fun

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Must do on Maui: Bike tour down Mt. Haleakala - if you can do it at sunrise definitely do it! Scary but fun.

Also, Road to Hana - we did a tour, but you can do it by yourself (obvioulsy!) Very cool.

Kauai - did a helicopter tour and also toured the island by van. Beautiful island, my favorite by far.

Enoy!

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

These are some places we went to that we would recommend:

Maui -

Restaurants:
Mama's Fish House - in the north (very expensive but the fish is so fresh they print the name of the fisherman who caught it on the menu, amazing ambiance, need a reservation especially if you want a table with a view)
Pacific'O - in Lahaina (pricey but not unreasonable, beautiful at sunset)
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a - at the Grand Wailea hotel - coolest fish tanks and was great for us because we stayed in Wailea

To do:
Road to Hana (we took a van tour because the drive is as treacherous as they say and we didn't want to be bothered)
Drive up the the top of Haleakala - we didn't do the sunrise that is so recommended but we still loved it. It is 30 degrees cooler up there so bring pants or a sweatshirt or both!
Old Lahaina Luau - very good

Kauai:

Restaurants:
Roy's - in Poipu, asian fusion. it's in a shopping center so there's no view - but the food is yummy
The Beach House - near Spouting Horn, amazing sunset, you really need a reservation

To do:
The NaPali Coast - we did it by boat, some do it by air, but it is a must see either way
Waimea Canyon - beautiful
Wailua Falls
Spouting Horn

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

We went to Kauai and Oahu for our honeymoon, so I can tel you about Kauai.

In Kauai, we stayed on the the south side of Kauai between Poipu Beach and Spouting Horn. Poipu beach is very nice. We saw monk seals there and did some snorkeling. Spouting Horn is cool to see, but you don't need much time for that. We had a car so we took 2 days just exploring the island. My advice is to buy or rent snorking equip. the first day and just keep it with you in the car. The first day we headed east until we hit the Na Pali coast. Along the way we made stops everything that looked interesting (Get a map!). We stopped at many waterfalls. The one on the map was Wailua Falls (seen in the opening scene of Fantasy Island) but there were others on the way that weren't famous - you will see them fro the road and there is room to pull over. Then there is Lydgate State Park, which is good for snorkeling. Then we stopped at a lookout over Wailua River. Next was Opaekaa Falls.
We continued north on 56. We saw Coconut Grove .
Another one of the river across the street from the falls.
We continue on towards the end of the highway. The drive was long but the scenery was amazing.
Then Manini-holo Dry Cave . This was cool. The sound inside the cave was very weird. You could hear dripping water and everything echoed. Thank god there were no bats.
Across the street from the cave was Haena State Park There are bathrooms there...good place for a bathroom break.
The driving was fun here. The roads were narrow and there were a lot of one-way bridges. Finally we reached the end, Kee Beach. Instead of going straight to the beach we decided to go hike on the trails of the NaPali coast.
We were very unprepared for this hike. We both had sandals and bathing suits on. Luckily we found walking sticks that somebody left by the entrance to the trails. I would recommend bringing sneakers and maybe wearing pants to prevent scratching from the branches.
THIS IS A MUST DO!
After we finished the trail we were so muddy! We went to Kee beach which is at the bottom of the trails...after 2 minutes of sitting in the sun we couldn't take the heat anymore, so we went snorkeling.

The next day we headed west. The main even was Waimea Canyon. THIS IS A MUST SEE! Make ure you go all the way to the top!
Next stop after the canyon was Barking Sands beach. This beach was at the end of highway 50, then like 20 minutes down a old bumpy dirt road. There are TONS of private beaches down there. This is also the start of the other side of the Napali coast.
GO TO THE SECLUDED BEACHES!
That night we went to the Drums of Paradise Luau in the Hyatt Hotel. Definitely do a luau... the one we did was great, but I heard most of them are good, so I don't think it matters which one you choose.

The next day we did a river kayak & rainforest hike. We started at Nawiliwili Bay and went up the river there, past the Menehune Fishpond. After about 2 miles we got out of the Kayaks and went into the rainforest. The guides showed us various nuts and fruits, which we ate right off the tree, such as Kukui nuts and Passion fruit. We stopped at a little rope swing that landed in a gross little pond. The water was brown from the waterfalls kicking up dirt. I don't know where these pictures are, probably still being developed. After the rope swing we went hiking through the rainforest. The bugs and mosquitoes were BAD. We had bug spray but it didn't keep them away.
We made our way to a pasture owned by the Rice family. We took a tractor ride through the pasture. This is where Jurassic Park herd scenes were filmed.
We made our way down to a water fall where we ate lunch. They supplied water, juices, cookies, turkey sandwich, potato salad and brownies.
After lunch it was Zip Line time!
After the Zip line we went on another tractor ride to another waterfall. This waterfall was in Indiana Jones. There was a big rope swing here. Again the water was brown.
If y ou do something like this be prepared for bug bites - I think I counted 60 something!!!! And be prepared to see lots of frogs, spiders, fish, and other animals.
The next day we did a helicopter tour - we used Will Squires. DO IT!!!! It was awesome to see everything from the helicopter, includeing 360degree rainbows. I don't know if the 2 recent crashes will scare you from doing it - I hope not!

The Beach House is a great restuarant. Make reservations for Sunset.

Have fun! We did surfing in Waikiki in Oahu - definitely try surfing if you can. Ot os sp much easier in Hawaii than here (I tried in Montauk with no luck, but got up right away in Hawaii)

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

On Maui - I did a snorkel trip with a group on a catamaran/sail boat off the coast of Lanai. The fish in the water are spectacular. The trip was unforgettable!

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Maui

To do:
Road to Hana
Old Lahaina Luau

What we wanted to do but ran out of time:

Bike down Haleakala
Nick's Fishmarket
Take a snorkel trip to Molokini

To eat:
Mama's Fish House (best restaurant we ate at on the trip, make reservations early and tie into your trip on the Road to Hana)

Kauai

To do:
Snorkel at Poipu beach (we bought snorkeling equipment at the Kauai Wal-mart)
Helicopter Ride
Waimea Canyon

To eat:
The Plantation (in Poipu by the Marriott Timeshare place - second favorite restaurant in Hawaii - great food, fairly reasonable $)
Pizetta (great pizza/reasonably priced Italian food - we went to the one in Poipu)
Tidepools (Hyatt)
Duke's Canoe Club (Lihue - not as big as the one in Oahu but, still very good - get Hula Pie!)
Dondero's (Hyatt)

We spent a week in Kauai and only 4 days/3 nights in Maui.

ETA: There's a great ice cream place in Kauai called Lapperts, I definitely recommend trying it!

Message edited 3/26/2007 9:33:33 AM.

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

We went to Maui and Kaui on our honeymoon.

In Kaui we did the Helicopter ride. The most amazing thing I ever did.

Drove around the Island. We just desovered things on the way. Waimae canyon. Beautiful.

This was a rainforest we just found. Wish I knew where it was lol


We saw the Wailua Falls really pretty. We did a lot of exploring.
We ate at Pizzetta. We stayed at the Hyatt and just found it in the little town there. I have to say food was SO good, My Dh is picky with Italian food having a grandmother who is 100% Italian, She would make homemade Alfredo sauce and would make her own pasta. He loved the alfredo sauce there said it tasted just like Grandmas
We laughed cause we live in NY and had better Italian there.


In Maui we wanted to do the road to Hana but ran out of Time. Wanted to do the Old Lahania Laua but it was book (so Book it NOW) so we did the one at the hotel (Hyatt) it was nice. My DH wanted to do the Bike down Haleakala but I am not a fan of heights so I was scared I told him to go but he didn't want to leave me. Next time (we promised each other we would go for our 5 year) he is going to do it. We Snorkeled on a catamaran that we booked at the hotel. It was so cool... even though I am scared of Ocean Water and it took me 10 minutes just to get off the boat lol. We rented a Jeep in Maui (wanted a convertable but they had non left) It was so WORTH IT and I wish we had done the same thing for Kaui

Honestly I think anything you see or do in Hawaii is worth it Just driving and exploring was amazing!

Message edited 3/26/2007 11:44:19 AM.

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Posted by june262004

We ate at Pizzetta. We stayed at the Hyatt and just found it in the little town there. I have to say food was SO good, My Dh is picky with Italian food having a grandmother who is 100% Italian, She would make homemade Alfredo sauce and would make her own pasta. He loved the alfredo sauce there said it tasted just like Grandmas
We laughed cause we live in NY and had better Italian there.

Message edited 3/26/2007 12:10:32 PM.

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

In Maui we did the Road to Hana and it was our favorite part of the trip. Leave early and get hte book Maui Revealed. It has a lot of information which is helpful in doing the road on your own but getting the most out of it.

We also drove Haleakala. We had a nice time. We didnt do the bike ride becuaes we heard a few people say they were disappointed because it had been so overcast so we opted to sleep in instead.

We also did parasailing in Kanapali which was amazing! The views were to spectacular.

Maui was so much fun, there is so much to do I am sure you wont have any problems. The book was a great source of information for us!!

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

link to HM review

we went to Kauai and Maui.

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Thanks everyone! This was very helpful!

We are leaving for Oahu, The Big Island and Maui in 5 days!!!!

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

I'm going to Oahu, Maui and Kauai in 4 weeks -

Thanks for the recommendations everyone!

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

thank you all for your detailed responses!

we are staying at the Hyatt in Maui and Resortquest in Kauai (we wanted a condo)

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Message edited 3/28/2007 7:07:19 PM.

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Pizetta and Lappert's were amazing!!

There was also a sushi place on the main north-south road in Lihue that I don't remember the name of that was incredible!!!


eta - I just googled restaurants there and found it - it's called Kintaro Japanese Restaurant and it's on Kuhio Highway in the Lihue area.

Message edited 3/29/2007 7:16:03 PM.

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Here is a great website to book activities in advance. I have used it a couple of times.

Hawaii Activities

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

Here are some pics of some of the recommendations...

Have a great time!!!


The Road to Hana


A view from the Road to Hana


Sunrise at Haleakala


Bike Ride after the sunrise


View from Mama's Fish House

I wish I were there right now!!!!

Message edited 4/6/2007 10:05:29 PM.

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?

In Kaui you must must eat at "The beach House". It was the best restaurant the whole trip. Make reservations for around 6/6:30pm, so you are there for sun set. The earlier you get to the restaurant, the more chances you will get a window seat (which you want). The windows are actually doors that they open up. The restaurant is facing the water and you get to watch surfers.
We got ice cream at Lamperts every night is Kaui.


In Maui, you should Bike down Haleakala. It was scary at first, but you will be fine. You get to see some amazing views and beautiful houses. We used a company called "Bike it Maui" They were excellent!! I think they where a bit more expensive, but took on a smaller group and brought us to breakfast at the end of the tour. The best breakfast the whole trip. I miss the breakfast burrito I had


Hawaii is amazing, you will love it!

Message edited 4/7/2007 10:52:30 AM.

Re: Hawaii - must see/do/eat on Maui and Kauai?