January 2025
Maui or Kauai? Which island should you visit if you can only do one?
This was our second trip to Hawaii. It was our 25th anniversary and what better place to celebrate than Hawaii.
We used our Alaska Airlines Companion Fare to purchase our tickets. We paid extra to fly Premium Class on our Seattle to Maui leg. The Premium Class seat gives you 4 inches more leg room than standard Main Cabin seats. If you’re old, have a bad back, long legs or are just cranky, then upgrade. I’ve heard you only live once (YOLO).
After flying a little over 6 hours from Seattle, the view out the plane window of Maui was, well, looking a bit like paradise. (Especially since the forecast for Colorado was taking the temperatures into singles digits and below 0°F!)
Maui
Known as the “Valley Isle”, Maui is the second largest in the Hawaiian archipelago.
At the airport we picked up our rental and headed to our VRBO which was approximately 45 minutes away. The VRBO, located in the Kuleana Resort was smaller than expected but clean and had everything we needed. The most important requirement was the private balcony with views of the ocean and this VRBO had views!
It was a corner unit with a six-foot picture window with views of the ocean and beach. The balcony had a direct view of the islands of Lanai and Molokai to the west and Kaho’olawe to the south. Talk about a slice of bliss, this was it. We were able to watch humpback whales and sea turtles from the balcony, hear waves crash against the rocky shore and watch beautiful sunsets. Add a glass of wine and you’ll de-stress and unwind in no time.
I know a budget dictates where you can and can’t stay but Maui is a place worth opening your wallet and spending some of your kid’s inheritance. As my friend says, “You won’t fly first class, but I guarantee your children will”. There’s probably some truth in this but what I know is true is that you only go round in this life once. Just some fodder for thought.
Our good friends, Jerry and Clara were already in Maui when we arrived. Clara always stops at Costco by the airport for groceries. I wasn’t cooking this trip, but do enjoy my coffee in the morning, especially on the balcony. Clara made sure we had the essentials for our mornings. What a good friend.
TIP: Maui is very popular, so make dinner reservations when required well in advance. Like before you leave the mainland.
I wanted to celebrate our anniversary with our friends at the famous, Mama’s Fish House but found even 6 months in advance wasn’t enough to secure a reservation.
The restaurant said reservations can be booked up to 18 months in advance for lunch and dinner. Even though I was disappointed, we found other restaurants I think were probably just as delicious…or maybe more so. Still even these need to be booked in advance.
Restaurants we loved:
- Aloha Mixed Plate—My husband’s favorite!
Fresh catch Mahi to die for. My husband still talks about their signature dish, Aloha Mixed Plate, which included shoyu chicken, teriyaki rib eye and fresh fish.
- Mala Ocean Tavern
Sit out on the patio overlooking the ocean and enjoy a Mai Tai with your delicious meal while watching sea turtles next to shore and humpback whales in the distance.
- Sea House Restaurant
https://www.napilikai.com/dining/
This was where we celebrated our anniversary day. WOW! We sat by an open window overlooking the ocean. We watched a beautiful sunset with lit tiki torches while devouring a savory mouthwatering meal of macadamia crusted Hawaiian fish. We got there for the early bird special which is 5:30-6:00pm so the meal included a salad and desert. I already want to go back.
Activities we enjoyed:
- Ultimate Whale Watching
https://www.ultimatewhalewatch.com/maui-whale-watching/
Lexi and Jon were our crew, and they were great. We saw many whales in the distance and most were baby humpbacks. We’ve discovered from doing several whale watching tours that we see more up close in the evening which leads me to our favorite whale watching adventure:
- Original Sunset Cruise with open bar from Ka’anapali Beach
Reservations were made through Viator.
https://www.viator.com/tours/Maui/Small-Group-Sunset-Cocktail-Sail-from-Maui/d671-34338P10
What’s included:
Beverages, non-alcoholic and alcohol (Unlimited)
Heavy appetizers include crispy pork sliders, pesto pasta salad, Asian slaw and fried chicken with chili garlic aioli. There’s your supper.
We sat in the back of the spacious catamaran. We saw lots of adult Humpback Whales up close. And I mean UP CLOSE! Right next to the boat.
Note: You will have to wade out to the catamaran as it picks you up on the beach.
I highly recommend this adventure.
- Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery
This was a unique experience our friends had discovered. It’s an organic farm and distillery situated on 80-acres in Haleakala (up-country). Located between the north and south shores of Maui.
I recommend the guided tour which includes tastings. We did the tour which only lasts 30 minutes and then had dinner on picnic tables outside, while watching the sunset over the Pacific. Live music added to the enjoyable experience.
TIP: Make reservations for the tour and dinner in advance.
Interesting fact:
The farm cultivates more than 30 Polynesian sugar cane varieties. I never knew there were so many.
Kauai
Since Maui is known as the “Valley Isle”, it only makes sense that Kauai is known as “The Garden Isle” since most of the island is tropical rain forest.
We were ready for rain and had our hiking shoes for muddy, slippery trails and our raincoats. Luckily, we never needed our raincoats. It didn’t rain on us the 7 days we were there. I think Kauai wanted to make a good impression on us. (Actually, it didn’t rain on us the entire 12 days we were in Maui or Kauai.)
At the Lihue Airport, we picked up our rental, which was a Jeep Wrangler. In reality, we didn’t need the 4-wheel drive vehicle but didn’t know that when we booked.
Some friends recommended a wonderful bed and breakfast called Marjorie’s Kauai Inn.
https://www.marjorieskauaiinn.com/
The inn is a bed and breakfast located on 1.2 acres overlooking the Lawai Valley. There are only 3 rooms so be sure to book in advance.
The breakfast is delicious, and the owners Mike and Alexis provide boogie boards, snorkel equipment, hiking sticks, washer/dryer for guests to use and a refrigerator full of items to make lunches and store your perishables if needed.
The driveway is steep so that’s the only thing to keep in mind. Also, you will hear endless roosters crowing all day long. It took away from sitting out on the lovely balcony.
Even though this was a wonderful place to stay, I already missed staying on the ocean.
Restaurants we loved:
We were a little disappointed with many of the places we ate, but a few stood out.
- Kalaheo Café & Coffee Co.
This place is close to Marjories. The Thinly Sliced Prime Rib French Dip was good. Add a Mai Tai and you’re a happy camper.
- Smash Café Kauai
This is a food truck in Koloa. We got hotdogs and a smoothie which was delicious.
A funny story is we ordered hotdogs from a young fella who had just started working there. About 10 minutes later he informed us they didn’t have buns, and he had to go buy some. To offset the inconvenience, they gave us free smoothies. The owner apologized and said the young man was just learning. We were on island time, so we didn’t mind waiting.
- Papalani Gelato
It was afternoon and we needed something to hold us over till dinner. We were at the Poipu Shopping Village and found this place. The gelato was delicious. Now Chuck could make it another 30 minutes till dinner.
- Chicken in a Barrel BBQ
We were driving around Kapa’a, and it was lunch time. We accidently found this place. It doesn’t look like much, and you sit outside, but the smell of the BBQ was reeling us in. Delicious.
Located on the North End of Kapa’a
4-1586 Kuhio Hwy
Kapa’a 96746
Activities we enjoyed:
- Mountain Tubing with Backcountry Adventures
https://kauaibackcountry.com/tubing/
You will float in an inner-tube, with a helmet and attached headlamp for 2.5 miles thru open, now abandoned, irrigation canals. Along the float, you’ll through 5 tunnels, one of which is very long with several bends in the canal. The water is cold, but it took no time to get used to it. At the end you will be provided a picnic lunch.
What made this adventure so much fun were our tour guides, Ella, Mason & Braiden. Maison strummed his ukulele and sang as we floated down the canal and through the tunnels.
It takes about 3 hours. Don’t miss doing this. This is a MUST-DO if you’re in Kauai.
Interesting fact:
The Plantation ditch and tunnel system once irrigated sugarcane crops but was abandon when sugarcane was taken out of production in 2000.
- Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail
This was a spur of the moment hike. We didn’t prepare so we were unable to do all the hike. This was an afternoon hike, and we knew better than not to take water, but we didn’t. What knuckleheads we were.
This trail is a coastline trail that takes you from Shipwreck’s Beach on Keoneloa Bay along the southern coastline to Mahaulepu Beach. It is a 3.8 mile out-and-back trail.
We only made it to the golf course and turned around. I wish we’d planned this hike in advance and would love to have hiked the whole distance.
The trail is not well marked.
- Kauai Secret Falls Kayak & Hike
https://aliikayaks.com/kauai-kayak-tours/
This was advertised as a leisurely 2-mile paddle upstream on the Wailua River which we found 2 miles to be very strenuous if you don’t kayak often or at all. Once you get to the shores of the North Fork you have a moderate to strenuous 1.5-mile hike to Uluwehi Falls, a.k.a. Secret Falls. This trail is slippery and very rocky making walking difficult. There are stream crossings that weren’t deep when we were there, but again, difficult to walk on the uneven, slippery algae-covered rocks.
Our local guide told us about the different plants along the path. The payoff for this difficult trek should have been the 120’ waterfall, but soon after we got there the crowds arrived. There’s a pool beneath the falls where crazy people swim in the very cold water.
After about 45 minutes it’s time to head back. You’ll hike another 1.5 miles back to your kayak and paddle another 2 miles back to where the tour began. In the afternoon, the paddle back is against the wind.
I found this not as enjoyable as I imagined. You can’t just leisurely paddle, you must grind to keep up with your group.
At the end, my arms were achy. If I had to rate this on a 1-10 scale, I’d give it a 6. If you’re a kayaker you’d probably get more out of this one. The difficulty hiking due to roots, rocks and mud made the hike to the falls not enjoyable.
TIP: To enjoy the falls, take the early tour to avoid all the people at the falls. If it’s raining it will be a lot slippery walking so wear good water shoes and take a walking stick. If, like me, you’re not use to Kayaking, do something else.
- Waimea Canyon State Park
Waimea Canyon was nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The canyon stretches approximately 14 miles long and 3,600 feet deep.
We got up early and grabbed breakfast at Kalaheo Café. They serve breakfast 7:00am ‘til 11:30am Wednesday through Saturday. You can also get takeout.
It took approximately 40 minutes (20 miles) via HI-50 W and State Hwy 550/Waimea Canyon Drive.
It’s a long winding drive up the hill to a lookout point where you can look down into the large colorful canyon. There are pullouts along the way up to take scenic photos.
The canyon walls range in a multitude of colors, red, brown, and green. The sun angle shadowed a lot of the canyon walls keeping us from seeing the full spectrum of colors.
Our first hike was Waimea Canyon Trail. The trail was muddy and slippery in sections. We were hiking up and down through thick trees and vegetation which kept us from having any pretty views. We met a couple on the trail who told us the waterfall was dry. After 30 minutes we turned around. If we’d continued, we would have had vistas, but at this point I was tired of climbing.
- Kaalau Lookout
Located in Koke’e State Park
You can get here either by Waimea Canyon Drive (Hwy 550, located in Waimea) or Koke’e Road located in Kahaha. Both roads will merge so either one works.
At the lookout we saw beautiful views of the Kalalau Valley and NaPali coast.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we found most of the hiking too steep (we hike in Rocky Mountain National Park all the time). The difference is we don’t have the muddy, slippery trails to contend with as long as we don’t go in the spring.
Entry fee into the Waimea Canyon State Park is $5.00 per person and parking fee of $10.00.
TIP: Hiking shoes, water, and sticks
- Blue Dolphin Na Pali Coast Sunset Dinner Cruise
https://bluedolphinkauai.com/tours/napali-sunset-dinner-cruise/
We felt this was the best way to see the breathtaking Na Pali Coast. You board a 65’ catamaran at the Port Allen Marina Center.
You will be provided a luau-style dinner with unlimited drinks (soda, beer, wine and Mai Tais). The tour lasts about 4 hours.
Captain Kai was funny and very informative. The crew, Maddie and Collin were running around making sure we had everything we needed.
The boat ride out around the coast was rough. You couldn’t stand up most of the time without holding onto the rail. It was chilly and the wind was strong enough to make moving around very difficult.
We saw lots of whales. Captain Kai would maneuver as close as he could to let us watch whales breach and blow. He took us through a pod of Spinner Dolphins. They were all around the catamaran jumping and doing acrobats and keeping us entertained. I’m used to the Dolphins we’d see in Florida, so I was surprised at the small size of the Spinner Dolphins.
Cruising back toward Port Allen, the sun lit up the Na Pali coast. The waves were calmer as we were now cruising with the wind and current. We really got to enjoy the gorgeous cliffs along the coast.
It was difficult to quit taking pictures since every few minutes the sky changed with the angle of the sun dropping. The sunset was spectacular.
I would highly recommend doing this cruise.
TIP: Take a beach towel to wrap around your legs and sit on. Wear a hoodie to help block the wind and keep from losing a hat.
Hanalei
- Kalalau Trail to Hanakapi’ai Beach
Your first hurdle is getting reservations. This is a very popular hike. You can get your reservations up to 30-days in advance. My husband didn’t have any trouble getting reservations for the hike and the Hanalei/Waipa Shuttle. Parking and taking the shuttle guarantees you will have a parking spot.
The Kalalau Trail starts at a trailhead located at Ke’e Beach in Ha’ena State Park. The trail is about a 4-mile out-and-back hike to the Hanakapi’ai Beach. Note in the picture all the warning signs. Maybe we should pay attention to them.
The trail starts with a steady 400 ft ascent. The trail is very, very muddy and slippery, even when it hasn’t been raining. The mountain always has water seeping from the rocks and crossing the trail. There are a lot of jagged rocks you must navigate beneath your feet so make sure you have good hiking shoes and a pole. When your reach the first mile you will have a vista with views of the Na Pali coastline which is beautiful.
The hike switches from the coast to the valley where you will cross freshwater streams. Now your view is obstructed with a jungle of vines and varied Ti plants. Walking is difficult since your goal is to remain upright. A feat. I had good hiking shoes and a hiking stick, and I still struggled not to slip and fall. We lucked out since it had not rained therefore the trail wasn’t muddy the entire hike or as muddy as it usually stays. But there were still steep areas that weren’t dry and slippery. I never got pictures of these areas since I was just trying to stay upright and not fall.
Right before you reach the rocky beach you must cross a small river that has a strong current. Here you either jump boulders and balance on stones to get across or else wade knee deep across. Either way, I saw people falling in the water. I was afraid to boulder hop but the draw of the beach (my destination) pushed me to do it.
Once on the other side, the beach has no sandy shoreline, only big rocks to sit on.
The reason I don’t recommend this hike is you can easily fall (even with good grippy shoes) and get hurt. But to me the beach was a disappointment since Kauai has lots of beautiful beaches you can drive to and walk along and in some swim. Yet people rave about this hike online. Decide for yourself.
TIP: Day-Use/Parking Reservations:
For visiting Hāʻena State Park and hiking to Hanakapi’ai Beach and Falls (up to 2 more miles one way), you need to make reservations.
You can make them online at gohaena.com.
Reservations are needed for entry via shuttle, entry and parking, or entry only (walk or bike).
- Kilauea Point Lighthouse
https://www.kauairefuges.org/plan-your-visit
On our last day we went to the Kilauea Point Lighthouse. I do love lighthouses, but it was the view from the grounds around the lighthouse that made this a place worth visiting.
You’ll see lots of Nene (Hawaiian Goose pronounced Nay-Nay) hanging out here.
At Kīlauea Lighthouse
TIP: The refuge where the lighthouse is located is open Wednesday through Saturday and has a timed entry reservation system.
TIP: Get the most out of your experience on any Hawaiian island by purchasing the app Guide Along. It’s well worth the cost. The narrator will tell you the best things to see and do. The commentary uses your phone’s GPS location to inform you of what you’re observing and help you decide what you want to explore or skip. Note: It does NOT use your cellular data.
On our last day in Kauai, we basically spend most of the day driving around since all Alaska Airlines flights leaving Kauai for the mainland don’t leave until LATE! Our flight had a departure time of 11:30 PM.
Tip: No need to get to the airport early as no Alaska Airline employee will show up at the check-in desk until 9:00 PM.
We made 7:00 PM reservations at Duke’s Kauai Hawaiian Restaurant.
We made reservations because it was close to the Lihue airport and the ratings were good. We had a large lunch, so we just opted for the Duke’s Cheeseburger. Even the waiter said, “you can’t mess up a cheeseburger.” Well, there’s a reason Duke’s isn’t mentioned in my favorite restaurants…the burger was sub-par. Of course, the atmosphere inside was nice and roomy. Not too loud. Nice views out over the ocean.
We had Piña Coladas…now they were very good!
Another case of—You decide.
Maui vs Kauai
Which island to visit if you can only do one?
We were lucky to visit both islands. This was our second trip to Maui and first visit to Kauai.
I don’t think you can go wrong visiting either one, but my best experiences have been on Maui. I thought about it, and I think the main reason is that in Maui we stayed on the beach. Watching whales from our balcony, sunsets and hearing the waves crash against the shore was peaceful, unwinding and restorative. Also, we found great restaurants in Maui.
Therefore, when we go back next year to escape the cold Colorado winter we’ll go to Maui for a third time.
There’s an old Hawaiian saying, “Maui, no ka oi” which means “Maui is the best”.