Maui is one of my favorite places in the world. From the natural beauty, to the food, to the people, it is a true paradise. This post is updated to reflect recommendations from trips to Maui in 2022 and 2024 - enjoy!

Accommodations:

We booked a great little Airbnb right in Kihei facing the ocean! We watched so many beautiful sunrises and sunsets from our balcony and had a quick walk to the beach, restaurants and an ABC store, which came in handy many times!

Restaurants/Bars:

Monkeypod Kitchen: There are a couple of these on Maui and for good reason - the food and drinks are excellent! We went to the location in Kaanapali twice and ordered the Monkeypod Mai Tai both times - the honey-lilikoi foam on top is to die for! They also do a great happy hour each day.
Mama’s Fish House: This is by far the most iconic restaurant on Maui. It’s beautiful, classic and serves up some of the freshest fish dishes on the island. The service and ambiance are absolutely incredible. Travel tip: If you are having trouble finding a table reservation, you can always do a walk in. When we went during this trip, we walked up and were sat almost immediately at the bar overlooking the grounds and ocean (which we liked even more than the table we sat at the first time we went!)
Leoda's Kitchen and Pie Shop: Be sure to make a stop here if you have a chance! The pies are delicious and a great snack while driving around the island. I recommend the guava chiffon and coconut cream pies!
Duke's Beach House: Named after the father of modern-day surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, Duke’s is a casual but fun restaurant located right on Kaanapali Beach. We went for breakfast and had a yummy meal overlooking the ocean!
Duo: We ate at this Four Seasons restaurant two times during our time in Maui - once for breakfast and once for dinner. Both were incredible, but I would highly recommend doing the breakfast buffet here if you can! The buffet is $52 per person, and offers an amazing selection of fresh tropical juices, coffee, pastries, meats, cheeses and made to order omelets, waffles and more! We spent an entire morning there eating, drinking fresh juices, relaxing and taking in the beautiful views.
Merriman’s Kapalua: This was one of the best meals we have ever eaten! We both ordered Mai Tais, the fresh sashimi, Tako a l’escargot, the Kalua pork and sweet onion quesadilla, and two different kinds of fish along with the chocolate purse for dessert. Everything was so incredibly fresh and flavorful, and the service was outstanding! Be sure to book a table ahead of time around sunset - the views are absolutely incredible!!
The Plantation House: This beautiful restaurant is another spot for delicious food and great views! It sits atop a golf course and offers some of the most beautiful views of Maui I’ve ever seen. We had a great meal here too - we ordered the soup of the day, lobster ravioli, catch of the day and finished it off with the pineapple upside down cake. My husband and I both agreed that the fish was the best we’ve ever had!

Things to do/see:

Snorkeling at Kaanapali Beach: This was our favorite place on Maui! This beautiful beach, which has topped the list of best beaches in Maui, is the perfect place to spend an entire day. It is located directly in front of Whaler’s Village, an outdoor shopping center with several wonderful shops and restaurants (including Monkeypod). We came here twice to swim and snorkel because the water is crystal clear, and you can see dozens of tropical fish only feet from the shoreline! If you forget goggles (like we did - oops) there is an ABC store located a few feet away where you can purchase anything you might need for a day at the beach.
Road to Hana: The Road to Hana is one of the best things you could do on a trip to Maui! Be prepared for a long day (about 10-12 hours total), with swimming gear, sunscreen, hats, bottles of water and food. You can either do a guided tour, or rent a car and do this drive on your own. We used a friend’s Jeep for our drive, so that we could choose our own stops and move on our own schedule throughout the day. There are over 40 stops on the Road to Hana, so you need to choose wisely, as the day goes by quickly and there is not enough time for all of them. We chose to make longer stops at the rainbow trees, Waianapanapa black sand beach, Hana town, Kaihalulu red sand beach, and Pipiwai Trail. We also briefly stopped at a few overlooks, a lava tube and a fruit stand coming out of Waianapanapa where we bought guava, candied ginger, and fresh passion fruit lemonade and guava juice! We also drove the full loop, which took us around the southern part of the island to get back to Kihei. The drive was absolutely breathtaking, especially at sunset, but did get a bit scary once it got dark. Luckily we didn’t have any issues, but if you decide to do this part of the drive, make sure you have enough gas, food and water to get home so that you don’t need to make any stops in that area.
Picnic at Ho’okipa Beach: One of our favorite activities was grabbing a pizza from the Flatbread Company in Paia (I recommend Mopsy’s Kalua Pork!), driving over to Ho’okipa Beach, and eating while watching the sunset, surfers and turtles on the beach. We’ve done this on two separate occasions, and always seen tons of turtles both times!
Four Seasons Resort Maui: We made three different treks over to the Four Seasons during our 5 days in Maui. For those of you who have seen White Lotus, I’m sure you can understand why! The hotel is gorgeous and offers several great restaurants where anyone, guest or not, can go to eat and drink. Grabbing a bite and wandering around the stunning property was always a fun pastime!
Snorkeling at Kapalua Beach: This is one of the most beautiful beaches on Maui, and is PERFECT for snorkeling. I’m not the biggest ocean person - I get a bit freaked out in deep or wavy snorkeling locations, but this one was neither. It is only about 10 feet deep, has crystal clear water, and because of it’s half moon shape, is protected from the rough ocean. We snorkeled here for hours and saw hundreds of Hawaiian fish, two sea turtles and three moray eels!

If you want to learn more about what to see/do/eat/drink in Maui, read my previous blog post from my trip in 2016!