Aloha and Mahalo Maui!

Travel Date: 29th November-10th December 2017

Airline: Jetstar & Hawaiian Airlines (for inter-island transfer)

MAUI (29th November - 5th December)

Hotel: Residence Inn Marriott - Wailea

This was our first trip to Hawaii. We opted to go to Maui for a week and then back to Waikiki for 5 days to finish our holiday.

Even though the Maui experience was fantastic it was expensive to get there, to stay and to eat. The up side was that it was really quiet and somewhat untouched by hoards of tourists.

If you are looking for a relaxing beach bum holiday Maui is 100% the option for you. The beaches were great and if you were happy to explore the island it was really easy to find a secluded strip of sand to enjoy for the day.

As we were travelling with our water crazy daughter (6) she wanted to visit the beach everyday. We simply visited an ABC shop or the Island Gourmet Market (located at The Shops Wailea) for fresh sandwiches & cut fruit to take with us on our adventures.

RESIDENCE INN MARRIOTT - Wailea.

The Residence Inn Marriott is a relatively new hotel. The horse shoe shape hotel is located high on a hill above Wailea.

The hotel looks onto the ocean however you are still a car ride from the beach. Some rooms have ocean view at a premium price. For us the view would be nice but we spend most of the day exploring so paying for the view seems pointless to us.

The buffet breakfast offered has a great selection including a waffle making station which was a huge hit with my little one! A super healthy option, a continental option or American option all available. There truely was something for everyone.

The only downside to this hotel was the cost of the parking, however we never had to look or wait for a park so the convenience outweighed the cost.

THE SHOPS - Wailea

A new attraction in Wailea ‘The Shops Wailea’ is a premium shopping and restaurant precinct catering for all shoppers.

Prada, Tiffany & Co and Louis Vuitton just to name a few of the luxury stores, the ABC Shop, The Gap and numerous gift shops are located here.

The precinct offers activities and entertainment in the outdoor quad area in the centre of the precinct that we were so lucky to see carols being performed ‘Hawaiian’ style.

http://www.theshopsatwailea.com/

CAR HIRE

For ease of getting around Maui we hired a car (Alamo).

Coming from Australia and having to drive on the opposite side was simple in Maui. The traffic was relatively light and other road users were so courteous that driving was a breeze. Would highly recommended hiring a car as attractions are spaced a fair distance apart and public transport is not so readily available as in Waikiki.

Why not even have a little fun and hire a convertible. Maui would be the perfect place for cruising with the top down!