All of this chilly weather has me DREAMING of Hawaii again … which reminded me we STILL haven’t shared some of the details you were looking for in regards to our latest trip!
Today I’m going to start with providing you with little tidbits of where to stay and where to eat.
As most of you know, we used to stay at our condo in Maui (which we sold last spring) and I still think it’s a FANTASTIC place to stay, (here’s the link if you’re looking for something reasonably priced!!) …
We had actually planned to stay at the condo on this trip (even though we didn’t own it anymore), but our schedule changed last minute and the condo wasn’t available. I reached out to our Friends at the Fairmont and they were able to squeeze us in! (Lucky us!!!) …
I realize I post about The Fairmont ALOT, to clear the air, I don’t get free accommodations at the Fairmont. Someone asked me once if I worked for the Fairmont… omg! You know you boast about a brand a lot when you get THAT question lol… While I do get a nice media rate, I DO pay for my stay! Of course, there are ‘better deals’ to be had out there, but I fully endorse The Fairmont brand and ESPECIALLY the Kea Lani. After staying at some of the nicest hotels around the world (THANK YOU BACHELOR FRANCHISE LOL) … This resort is literally MY FAVOURITE.
If you are in a position to splurge on your accommodations, this is the hotel to book! What we typically do, is stay at the condo link for the first half of the trip, and then finish off at the Fairmont, then it’s more affordable and you leave on a SUPER high!
Ok, let’s talk about food, everyone always asks me where to eat in Maui and being that the Fairmont is a 4-star hotel, they have lots of great options. The Fairmont sources everything locally and they are so responsible with their sustainability factor! It was easy to eat plant-based meals there which was a great opportunity for me to get back on the vegan-ish train. (I kind of fell off of it after Leo was born) …
While I’m still not 100% vegan it reinstilled my love for choosing this lifestyle and ultimately made me aware that I CAN sustain this lifestyle with a baby!
Alright … back to what you’ve ALL been waiting for … here are my TOP places to eat in Maui along with my some of my absolute favourite menu items.
Fairmont
The resort has four unique restaurants, four bars, and a gourmet bakery & deli.
- Tofu Scramble (I pretty much ate this EVERY DAY for breakfast)
- Soy Latte
- Veggie Stir Fry at Ko (soy)
Hawaiian Moons
They serve organic juices and smoothies, acai bowls, veggie burgers, coffee, etc. They have pretty much everything you need, we even got all of our groceries here as well.
- Veggie Cheese Burger
- Tropical Smoothie Bowl
- Soy Latte
Farmacy Health Bar
A health bar aimed at curing ailments through nutritious foods and alkaline juices.
- Vegan BLT
- Pink Pitaya Smoothie
- Pay It Forward Bowl
Choice Health Bar
They hand-select organic produce grown on family farms in Maui to help create a sustainable future!! For years in a row, they’ve won awards for “Best Healthy Choices” and “Best Vegetarian” … yum!
Monkey Pod
They use high quality, socially conscious ingredients that are chosen in such a way as to reduce their impact on the environment and support their local communities … PLUS they have 36 draft beers … just sayin.
- Potstickers
- Ravioli
- Coconut Corn Chowder (Vegan)
Maui Flat Bread (Paia)
They make their organic tomato sauce in a wood-fired cauldron, (need I say more?! Lol!) and every Tuesday they have a “Benefit Night” where a portion of every flatbread sold is donated to a local non-profit.
- Vegan Veggie Flatbread (or get with cheese if you must … LOL!)
Maui Tacos
Maui Tacos is a fusion of fresh Mexican foods paired with the exotic tastes of Hawaii … the best of BOTH worlds!
- Fish Bowl (omit fish and add guacamole if you want vegan)
Veg Out
Veg Out is such a delicious vegetarian restaurant as they have a great mix of Mexican, Thai, Mediterranean and Indian cuisine.
- Hot Italian Sandwiches
- Breaded Tofu
People always ask me if they need to rent a car in MAUI the answer is YES yes yes, and just how you find cars on carhiremaltagroup.com when you go to the island of Malta, I bet there are sites where you can find a car in Muai!! Maui is so big and unless you’re only there for a few days at a resort and you don’t plan on leaving, you NEED a car. I’ve rented from Discount Hawaii Car Rental consistently for the last 5 years now, and love them for their great service and competitive rates. We usually rent a 2 door jeep but of course now with Leo on board, we opted for a 4 door Jeep Wrangler.
Are you planning on visiting Hawaii in the near future??? If so, what are you most excited about?!?!
xo
Jilly
Thank you Discount Hawaii Car Rental and The Fairmont for the discounts on our trip!
This post just made me so excited for my trip in March! This will be my first time to Maui and will have to try out some of those restaurants! Any sight seeing or activity recommendations, we will be traveling with our 4 year old.
YAY!!!!!!! I’m so excited for you @disqus_zJErjbh1X7:disqus … there is so much to do there but my FAVE thing is to rent a Jeep and just go explore the island!!! You have to let me know how much you love you’re trip when you get back in March!!! xoxo
We rented a convertible… I wonder if we should change it to something more suitable for off roading?
If you want to do a little off roading I would suggest a Jeep but cruising that beautiful island in a convertible also sounds amazing!!! XOXO @disqus_zJErjbh1X7:disqus
Fantastic info Jillian! Thanks so much!!
Glad you enjoyed it @christinecamley:disqus XOXO
Your post just made me SOO EXCITED for my upcoming trip to Oahu at the end of March (as if I wasn’t excited already LOL)!!!! Looking forward to the beach, the drinks and the sun!
Oh my gosh YES!!!! You should totally be so excited!! You won’t want to leave!! LOL!!!
My favourite place in the whole world. Your food recommendations have me wanting to go back right now. Thanks for the great information
I know the feeling!!! LOL!! XOXO
SO EXCITED! Thanks for this post. I’m visiting Maui on Feb 11th from Toronto for a belated honeymoon and I can’t wait 🙂
Oh I’m SO excited for you!!! Enjoy!!! XOXO
How exciting was this to read right now – Thanks Jill!!! We are going to Hawaii in 2 sleeps and doing a Hawaiian cruise, we were wondering what to do in Maui as we have 2 full days there, we also rented a jeep just to tour ourselves around – but what are the MUST sees in your eyes in Maui? Great pictures, beautiful family!
OH YAY!!!! That sounds absolutely amazing!! I just LOVE exploring the island, good call on renting the Jeep!!! ENJOY!! XOXO
Ohhh Maui how I ❤ thee!! Lol Are most of those restaurants/grocery stores in Wailea? We stayed in Kaanapali last time and only ventured to Wailea to show our 5yr old the lava field (so cool)!
Sooo awesome to read! We just booked the Fairmont in Maui and pretty excited to go this spring. Such great recommendations. I’ve heard lots about Monkey Pod… so that’s going to be a must! We are also excited to try some surfing too :). Any great recommendations for who we should use for surfing?
Royal Hawaiian Surf Academy in Lahaina is awesome for lessons!
I second that!!
So so happy for ALL this info! We are traveling to Maui at the beginning of April with our baby girl, Berkley! First BIG trip with her… excited for some RnR and sunshine… this snow in Southern Alberta is crazy! We are renting some things from Maui Baby Rentals, but wondering if you have any other travel tips with a babe?? Thanks, Jill! Xoxo
Thanks for sharing all of your beautiful photos and information about the island. We were there in October for our 2nd visit to Maui, it’s stunningly beautiful, we really love it there. We were just down the beach from you at Elua Village on Ulua beach, next to the Marriott. We had a gander through the Fairmont and it’s so pretty. Love their little villas. You included a link to Kamaole Sands condos, but it comes up with over 200 unit options, which is the one you owned that you recommend? We really enjoyed all the little hidden beaches just down the way from Wailea, towards Makena. What is your favourite beach in Maui?
I am so excited to be visiting Maui for the first time with my husband and 4 kids at the end of February. No Jeep for 6, so a minivan will have to do! Is the road to Hana worth the trip?
Would love to stay at the Fairmont Kea Lani but probably not feasible with the kids. It’s our 10yr anniversary this year and every year we celebrate by going to a Fairmont. We too love the Fairmont brand! Maybe we’ll visit for lunch!
The road to Hana is absolutely incredible. That being said, I wouldn’t do it if you have young kids. We did it on our honeymoon and it took the entire day to really enjoy it.
Thank you!
My husband and I did the road to Hana with our daughter when she was two, and it was so worth it. We actually rented a house in Hana and stayed there for a few days; I would not want to do just a day trip there. That said, Hana was our favorite part of Maui. It’s quieter, so peaceful, there are so many fun things to do. We didn’t make many stops on the actual drive but we loved it nonetheless.
Thanks! We will be in Kaanapali and we were going to do it on our last day because our flight is out at 11pm and we have to be out of our room at 11am!
Hi ! So enjoy your posts!! This looks spectacular, will be on my bucket list!!
Where did you get the white two piece suit , looks great on you and looks like it has good coverage for water sports.
Mmmmm Maui Flatbread was amazing food and beer when we went!!! And totally got a jeep there as well, and loved it so much I bought my own now back in Canada 😉 hahaha Also, a hidden gem is “Baked on Maui” just outside Paia, in Haiku…. Its DELISH gourmet sandwiches etc!!!!
Thank you for the great post! We booked flights to Honolulu in April! Have you ever spent time in / do you have any reccs for Honolulu? For hotel / things to do / food / etc. ?
Yes!!! I blogged about this (I can’t share the link for some reason) so just search it in the search bar at the top of this!!!!!
Thanks for sharing your details. We are very excited to be going back to Maui for the third time. We usually stay in Wailea and Love Maui – we love driving a convertable and just seeing all the beauty the Island has to offer. So much to do and so fun. For food, we love the Monkey Pod Kitchen, great food. There are so many cute new places we can’t wait to try like The Dirty Monkey Pub in Lahaina. Another fun place is Hula Grill in Kaanapali. Love making a stop at some great shops to stock up on some Hawaiian take home items like teas and coffee so we can enjoy long after we are back home!!! 🙂
You could not have posted this at a more perfect time! My husband and I are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for the trip I won from “Jillys 12 Days of Christmas”! Love Hawaii, love the Fairmont so I know I am going to love, love, love this trip!! I am so excited! Thanks, Jillian! xoxo
OMMMMGGGGGG!!!!! Have so much fun!!!!! XOXOXOX
Hi Jill !! Thanks for posting on Maui – I’ve never been but I’m going on March with a 5 month old ! What did you pack for Leo ? Babies have so much stuff ; I’m nervous about overpacking ! Also love the pics from the photo shoot you guys did – considering doing one too !
Yes!!!! I will be posting about this soon …
Yay! Can’t wait to read it ?
Yes! Can’t wait to read your tips! My husband and I are travelling to Las Vegas with our twin boys in April (they’ll be 7 months old by then….)
If you Google baby rentals Maui you will find options. Some places deliver and pick up free of charge, you might have to be over a certain dollar amount tho…we went when my son was 5 months old, it was very easy!
Going to Maui this year AND I’m veg sooo this was basically the most helpful post ever. Thanks Jilly!
Leo’s swim trunks….where are those from??
Target!!!
Never been to Maui… more of a Mexico / cruise girl … but am now thinking we’ll check out Maui for our next jet out of Vancouver …. thanks Jill ( Leo is so freakin adorbs)
Off to Maui in a month and so looking forward to the WARM weather! Thank you for these amazing tips and this amazing blog! Hey, there’s a pic of Justin under a “good man wanted” sign. Do you remember where that was taken?
Stayed at Kamaole Sands in iNovember…Great spot! Love Maui, but not as much as Kauai ?
White scallop bikini details please!! 🙂 <3
love this! i’m expecting my own little one in September. I’m so curious about your tips for traveling with a baby! i also love how Nacho and Leo are brothers and your non-helicopter approach about their interaction. I would love to see a post with your thoughts on dealing with dogs and babies too! keep up the amazing work!!!
Jill, what are your Must-Brings for travelling with a baby to Maui? We are taking our little babe to Maui in a month and are having a hard time pairing down what we really need. Would be interested to know what worked best for you!
Beautiful pictures 🙂 Can I ask you where did you buy your white swim suit? Thank you 🙂
Where do you recommend staying in Oahu? How is the Fairmont there?
I’m heading to Maui in May for the first time and I came across Monkey pod restaurant. I’m excited to eat there and was happy to find it on your list of restaurant recommendations! We’ve rented a jeep as well – can’t wait to adventure!
OMG YAY!! You’re going to have so much fun!! You’ll have to let me know what you think of it!! XOXO
Thinking about going to Maui this summer. Have you done the road to Hana? What is the best area to stay in to be close to popular sightseeing.
Hi Jillian, where did you do your photoshoot with Flytographer? Its interesting when I made the inquiry and the info I provided (looking for clear waters, waves, rock formation, greens, boardwalk…) i found in your photos with Wendy!!! Well Wendy is not available so I booked with another one of their photographers. I’m so excited about the trip and revisiting your blog got me all hyped up again haha!!