Part Four: Maui, Hawaii

As we come to the fourth and final part of our vacation, the last two days of our trip to Maui were spent mostly exploring what lied beneath the sapphire blue waters, the breathtakingly beautiful coral reefs, the colorful fishes and more..

Kanapali Beach and Whaler's Museum

Day 5

After a hectic day exploring Road to Hana on Day 4 we took it very slow the next day. We headed out to Kanaapali beach, this time knowing very well where to park and what to carry along..snorkeling gear, floatation devices, beach towels etc, all of these essentials came along with our vacation rental in Maui, where we stayed.

Kanaapali beach is lined with very upscale hotels and understandably so, the water is so much clearer and the coral reef is just a few feet away from the beach. Kiran and I took turns watching the kids while the other went snorkeling, the gear itself doubling up as floatation device. The kids sat on the beach played with sand, digging tunnels and building sand castles. They ran into the water for a bit but they always wore their floats and were assisted with either one of us.

Even though we ventured alone into the water, I would highly recommend having a buddy system when you are in the waters. I clearly remember a point when there was a lull in the water and it was so difficult to swim out of it. Most of the times the waves would make it easy to get to the beach, pushing you ahead, without any effort at all. Initially we stuck to one side of the beach but as we got more confident in the waters we snorkeled to the other side and the coral reef continued to amaze us with vivid and bright colors and very distinctive aquatic life. I spotted urchins, sea horses among a myriad of colorful fishes. Kiran swam farther and spotted a huge turtle!!

PC: Tripadvisor.com

 After snorkeling we were starving and headed to Whaler's Village to grab lunch, a mall with restaurants and high end retail stores. The Whale Museum, another attraction within the mall, is where the kids had fun. We spent the rest of the evening there before heading back home.

Pacific Whale Foundation

Day 6

We took the Pacific Whale Foundation Lana'i Snorkeling and Dolphin Watch cruise. They made our trip such a memorable one with services that included Certified Marine Naturalists onboard, premium snorkel gear, flotation devices and wet suits we could rent, snorkel instruction, continental breakfast and lunch grilled onboard.

As we cruised on the ship along Maui's coastline, the view of the moss green mountains, the fog and the gentle wind made for a picturesque sight. 

We woke up early to get to the docking area of the cruise. The cruise started exactly at 8:00am and we lined up in a long queue of passengers waiting to get on board. 

Once we took off and settled in the gorgeous 360 degrees view, we were offered breakfast that included banana bread, pastries and fresh fruit.

PC: Pacific Whale Foundation Facebook page

Since the tide was high we could not visit Lana'i that day but they took us to a quieter spot in the ocean where we saw the most amazing coral reef ever! We had a water proof camera and a lot of footage from it saved on a CD that is missing! If only I could share all the fun we had in the water, all four of us!
UPDATE: I found the CD! and here are some pics..

 As we got back from snorkeling we could smell the grill all fired up just in time. We ate our weights and more and the onboard staff were super friendly, serving us at our table without any of us having to move. Later, we got drinks from the bar and just chilled and relaxed on the deck.

We did not spot any dolphins that day but our disappointment was short lived as we spotted a couple of whales that came up to breathe before disappearing into the depths of the water.

Maluaka Beach

We stopped at The Shops at Wailea to pick up some fried chicken and tiger prawns for the beach. It feels like we were busy eating one meal after the other instead of visiting attractions haha but we were also taking in as much of Maui as we humanly could before we took that fight back home the next day! Everywhere we looked, we saw beautiful mountains surrounded by sapphire water.

We stayed on the beach until sunset and got back home to crash after what seemed like an activity filled day.

Lahaina

DAY 7

We said goodbye to the wonderful home we stayed during our trip. As we tried to get pictures of the home from every angle possible, Kula kept photobombing, haha! We packed our stuff, loaded the Jeep car and headed to Lahaina to spend the rest of the day before we boarded our flight back to Oakland, CA.

Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845, when the capital was moved back to Honolulu. In the 19th century, Lahaina was the center of the global whaling industry, with many sailing ships anchoring at its waterfront; today pleasure craft make their home there. ~ wiki

Lahaina looked lively and happening every time we passed it to take a submarine tour or snorkeling cruise. We had lunch at Koa's Seaside Grill that had waterfront seating and amazing food!

After stuffing ourselves, we walked along the sidewalk towards the Lahaina Banyan Court. We got souvenirs to help us remember this trip from the arts and crafts fair under the oldest living tree in Maui.

Before we left, we had to taste Maui's famous shaved ice that came highly recommended by a friend who spent her childhood in Hawaii. We did not need any convincing on how good it tasted. Its was the only way we could have ended our trip...on a sweet note of course!

We were making plans for our next trip to Hawaii before we even left! Thats a good sign of memories made and moments cherished. Adios until we meet again Maui! 

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Have you read the other three parts of our trip to Maui yet? Part one, Part Two, Part Three.