This year Matt and I got MARRIED! One of the most important parts of our newlywed adventure was to find a special honeymoon destination ⏤ somewhere different, somewhere we can hike the mountains and swim with the turtles!

Originally, we thought we wanted to honeymoon in South Carolina but that just wasn’t new to us. We wanted to EXPLORE so…we decided on Maui, Hawaii!!! Keep reading to hear about our special vacation and see beautiful photos of the unique island!

WEST COAST

We landed at Kahului Airport, grabbed out luggage, and waited on our Kihei Car Rental to arrive! Our first night was nothing more than grabbing groceries and checking in at our tropical AirBnb in Lahaina.

Let’s start off this blog post with our west coast adventures! We drove from Lahaina all the way up to the Olivine Pools for the first few days. Driving the winding roads with the scenic views never got old ⏤ there was so much to see and we couldn’t fathom we were in HAWAII!

Highlights:

• Dragon’s Teeth (Makaluapuna Point) : This was one of my favorites because we were the only ones at this tourist spot during sunset!
• The Nakalele Blowhole : It’s what it sounds like, a hole in the ground where waves come up from under it and burst into the air. It was pretty intense yet so captivating! We also found a cool heart shaped rock right by the blowhole, how perfect?!
• Ohai Trail : Vast amounts of greenery with the ocean right by it, it was so peaceful and enormous.
• Black Rock Beach : When we were on the beach during sunset, we heard someone blowing into a conch shell…out of nowhere we see a man sprinting towards the huge rock formation to the right of us while lighting torches along the way. He climbs up to the top of the cliff, thanks the gods and does a killer cliff dive!
• Feast of Lele Luau : Our favorite part was being taken on a historic journey with a four course meal and entertainment from the dancers and fire breathers! 10/10 would recommend!!
• Front Street : A perfect place to shop and don’t forget to eat at Lahaina Pizza Co. GET THE CHICKEN WINGS!! Also, I cannot forget about Ululani’s shaved ice…the best you will EVER have…and I HATE shaved ice!!

IAO NEEDLE / SOUTH

These quick hikes were one for the books! We swung by the Iao Needle State Park for a quick hike to view the Iao Needle which was so incredible! Since it was such a quick hike, we went south and checked out LaPerouse Bay which…is…WOW!

Highlights:

• Iao Needle : The history behind this is so fascinating!
• La Perouse Bay : We walked on lava rocks, isn’t that cool or what?! PS…wear hiking boots on this trail lol!
• Waihe’e Ridge Trail : This was the my second favorite hike! We arrived at the parking lot and there were cows everywhere! While this trail does have cattle along the route…we crossed a barrier! We entered this JUNGLE! Literally a five minute walk from these cattle there was a huge mountain range viewing a large portion of Maui. WHAT?!

ROAD TO HANA

Ok, FINALLY! The most ICONIC adventure to do in Maui…the road to Hana!!!! When you are in Maui, you take many different vacations because every part is so unique. Hana is basically a jungle full of waterfalls, narrow windy roads and no cell phone service…but don’t let that scare you because it. is. WORTH. it!

Highlights:

• The waterfalls : There were so many and it was a DREAM!
• Pipiwai Trail : This was our favorite but it was difficult because of the heat and humidity! We hiked about 2 miles and looked up to a gigantic waterfall! Boy it was heaven!!!
• The smoothies!!! I am still dreaming about the Hana Fresh treats and ever since then, smoothies have never been the same! The pineapple in Hawaii is like no other. Add that to strawberries, banana and you have yourself heaven in a cup!
• Swimming holes : There are so many in Maui and I think my favorite was the one at Twin Falls because it was our first!
• Our own paradise : I am unsure what the beach was but it was about empty and full of beautiful ocean waves and sun!
• Waianapanapa State Park : The almost end of the road to Hana and it’s a beauty! A beach with black sand!

HALEAKALA

Prepare yourself for some cool photos coming up because we went to the famous Haleakala National Park! From hiking in a volcano and killing our legs to stargazing and watching the sunrise 10,000 feet above!!

Highlights:

• Sunrise at Haleakala summit : We woke up at 1am, drove two hours to the top of a volcano (10,000 feet) and watched the sunrise over a sea of clouds in complete silence while also freezing in 40 degree weather! It was like a dream!
• Sliding Sands Trail : It killed our legs on the way back but we hiked on a volcano! How unique is that?!
• Stargazing at Haleakala summit : Watching the sun set over a sea of clouds wasn’t as incredible as the sunrise but it was a must-do! While we were up there, we stayed until 10pm to gaze at the stars in our world…magical it was.

THE END

There were a few other things we did such as; snorkel (which was super hard for me but I did it!), sunset boat cruise, Maui Ocean Center, and more!

Highlights:

• Snorkeling : We went to Kapalua for our last beach day! I saw fish…they were pretty big…I swam away! LOL
• Pride of Maui : We did a sunset dinner cruise! It was so much fun despite the wind from the hurricane, oof!

That concludes my honeymoon travel post! If you ever need a good honeymoon place, this is it. We will forever remember this beautiful vacation for the rest of our lives. It was full of so much adventure and fun!!! And if you decide to visit Maui, hit me up because I made a travel guide and would love to send you a copy!!