If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that we were in Maui a couple weeks ago. The last time we were in Maui was on our honeymoon, and we basically said we wouldn’t be back until we had kids; and that’s exactly what we did LOL. On our honeymoon, we stayed in Ka’anapali at The Westin, so this time we stayed in the Wailea side at The Fairmont Kea Lani. We truly enjoyed our stay at the Fairmont. The property grounds are gorgeous and picturesque and the staff was helpful and friendly (and BONUS, housekeeping basically tidied up every time we left the room lol). The resort is also super family-friendly: they had koi fish feeding, a mermaid university, an awesome slide at the pool and our kids ate free at the breakfast buffet. There’s also a beautiful walkway to the beach where they’ll set up your umbrella and chairs. If you stay here, I HIGHLY recommend walking along the beach path from the hotel. It passes by the Grand Wailea (where we went for our luau), the Four Seasons Maui, and Wailea Beach. The Fairmont also offers some free fitness classes, so I took advantage of that one morning and did the barre class; so fun! While traveling with kids does get challenging, overall we had an awesome time and I’m looking forward to our next vacation!
- Mini version of the Road to Hana: because we have two young kids, we decided to only do two stops (we did the entire Road to Hana on our honeymoon, which is a story for another time LOL). The first was Hookipa Beach Park at MM9 to see the green sea turtles and then Twin Falls at MM2. Unfortunately for us, they had closed the trail to the waterfalls because it was too dangerous due to the rain. You can explore Pa’ia Town on your way back if you’re not doing the whole road to Hana.
- The Honua’ula Luau at The Grand Wailea: we actually booked our tickets through Costco Travel. We originally wanted to do the Old Lahaina Luau but it was sold out, so we did this one instead. It actually worked out since we were able to walk to the luau from our hotel along the beach path. The luau food was good and I was impressed with how prepared they were with an allergy menu. They actually send it to you in advance once you book so you can see which foods contain what allergens.
- Maui Ocean Center: we took the kids to the Maui Ocean Center which they enjoyed. Would I go as an adult without kids? Absolutely not.
- Iao Valley State Monument: sure, Iao Valley is pretty, but we personally weren’t all that impressed. In hindsight, I would’ve skipped this and taken the kids to baby beach instead.
- Makena Beach: this beach was absolutely beautiful and where I went photo crazy, basically doing a mini photoshoot for my family LOL. However, people say the waves here can get unruly; one minute it’s all calm and peaceful and a second later it gets crazy. So be vigilant if you go, especially with kids.
- Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop: Leoda’s is so good! I had the ahi tuna sandwich, passion fruit beer and we tried the banana and apple pies.
- Olowalu Juice Stand: next to Leoda’s is Olowalu Juice Stand. We got a pineapple smoothie which was good. BUT, my husband also bought some mangoes from the stand which were no good. So I’d pass on this.
- Twin Falls Stand: right outside the entrance to Twin Falls is a fruit stand. The fresh cane juice was SO good, but I wasn’t a fan of the coconut water.
- Ululani’s Hawaii Shave Ice: if you’re going to have shaved ice in Maui, this is the place to have it.
- Cinnamon Roll Place: their cinnamon rolls were good, but overhyped in my humble opinion. Cinnabon is probably better.
- Coconut’s Fish Cafe: some seriously good mahi-mahi fish tacos. Go there!
- Monkeypod: we came here one night for a late dinner because it was basically the only place open at that hour. Good happy hour!
- Ko Restaurant: this was in our hotel so we decided to order room service from them one night because the kids went to bed early. I had the catch of the day which was good.
- Mama’s Fish House: and of course, the infamous Mama’s Fish House. If you’re going to come here, you need to book a reservation in advance because they do book-up. I managed to snag a 5:15 slot the day before we had to fly home. I asked to be seated at a table facing the ocean which was awesome since we got to watch the sunset. I had the Pau Hana to drink (SO good), the Haleakala Ranch Beef appetizer and the Mama’s Stuffed Fish for my entree. For dessert we ordered the Polynesian Black Pearl.
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