I mean if we’re being honest I wish I was visiting Maui right now, and putting off writing these Hawaii posts seemed like a good idea at the time, but now reliving my trip and putting together five reasons to visit Maui is ACTUAL TORTURE! This was honestly the most amazing trip of my life and if you’re ever thinking of booking a trip don’t hesitant you will absolutely not regret it! So without further ado enjoy the photos and be prepared to start looking for flights and hotel deals after you’re done!

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Five Reasons to Visit Maui:

1. THE FOOD

I’m not a food photographer by any means but let’s just say I will travel for food and these 5 places were too good not to talk about and SO good that they’re number 1 on my list of reasons to visit Maui! From “fancy” expensive restaurants to supermarket musts I’ve included my FAVORITE places we ate at and what we ordered! As a bonus head over to my Best Hotel in Maui post for more food recommendations.

And before I dive into my picks for where to eat in Maui, let me start off by saying that if there’s tuna on the menu in Maui, ORDER IT because I think I ordered it at every single restaurant we ate at and it never got old!

Lunch at Mama’s Fish House

I highly suggest making a reservation if you plan on visiting Mama’s Fish House and get there a little early so you have a chance to check out the view and walk on the beach before you sit down! And since this restaurant is right on the beach with an incredible view I suggest eating lunch there instead of dinner so you can really enjoy it. We ate lunch and spent the rest of the day walking around the town of Paia (more on that later) and it was perfect!

Tuna Poke in Coconut Milk from Mama’s Fish House in Paia, Maui

Dinner at Japengo

Japengo was HANDS DOWN the best restaurant we ate at in Maui. It was voted one of Maui’s best and they did NOT disappoint. I highly suggest going with friends that like to share and order a bunch of stuff to try because once you see the menu and try your first bite you’re going to want it all! We actually had the waiter pick most of our dishes and every single thing was delicious!

Dinner at Merriman’s

Merriman’s is a Farm-to-Table Restaurant with locations in Maui, Kauai, Honolulu and the Big Island and is definitely on the higher end side, so if you’re looking for a fancy dinner this is the place! We could only get a reservation here late at night so we didn’t get to enjoy the view, but the photos during the day and sunset are stunning so if you can nab an early dinner reservation I highly recommend it! We were too busy enjoying our dinner to snap any photos of our food, but I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Olowalu Juice Stand

One of my favorite parts of Hawaii were all the little fruit stands, coffee shops and food trucks we visited. Honestly one was better than the next and I had to include the Olowalu Juice Stand on this list because it had the most delicious smoothies and it was SUPER Instagrammable…I mean did you even go to Maui if you didn’t get a pic here?

Foodland

You guys are going to think I’m crazy for suggesting that pokè from a supermarket is one of the best things to eat on Maui, but I’m not kidding! I thought people were crazy for suggesting it too, and then I tried it. There’s about 10 different varieties to choose from and I highly suggest eating it with Maui Onion Chips (instead of a fork)…you can thank you later!

2. Road to Hana

Photos don’t do the Road to Hana justice and there’s about a million guides and blog posts that will help you decide where to stop along the way because it truly is about the journey and not the destination. We ended up downloading the Gypsy Guide Road to Hana App and were SO glad we did. We learned SO much along the journey and truly found some amazing places and SO many waterfalls to stop at. Also worth noting I got eaten ALIVE by bugs so make sure to bring bug spray (and water sneakers…you’re going to need them if you plan on doing any hiking or swimming in waterfalls)

I honestly don’t think there are any bad places to stop, but I will say stop often, but not too often! The day is LONG, but worth it and we got to see some of the most beautiful things along the way. Here are a few of my favorite places and photos:

Garden of Eden Arboretum

Bamboo Forest Garden of Eden Arboretum

Shop similar floral two piece set & water sneakers!

Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread at Keanae Landing

Coconut Glen’s Homemade Dairy Free Ice Cream

Black Sand Beach in Waianapanapa State Park

Upper Waikani Falls also known as “Three Bears” Waterfalls

Seven Sacred Pools of Ohe’o

3. Wailea Beach Path

I can assure you that the Wailea Beach Path isn’t on many “Best of Maui” lists, but it was SO beautiful and peaceful that I had to include in my reasons to visit Maui post! The Wailea area of Maui is where all the high end resorts are located on the island and the Wailea Beach Path connects them all so you can walk along the water and take a peek onto the property of all the resorts.

One of the perks of jet lag was waking up SUPER early the first morning we were in Maui, so not only were we able to watch the sunrise from our room (check it out here), but we also drank our coffee while strolling on the Wailea Beach Path. You have an amazing view of the Molokini Crater and Lanai and it’s SO peaceful!

4. Paia

The town of Paia is the perfect place to spend a casual, low key day on Maui! It’s best for strolling and buying souvenirs, not to mention it’s pretty damn Instagrammable! We ate lunch at Mama’s Fish House, which is on the edge of town, and then spent the rest of the day wandering! There are tons of restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries and more! And don’t miss your chance to snap a photo in front of the Aloha Surf Hostel and their famous surfboard fence!

5. The Fairmont Kea Lani

There’s no need for me to talk more about how amazing the Fairmont Kea Lani is because I did an ENTIRE post about how it’s the best hotel in Maui so I’ll just leave you with this amazing sunrise photo and a link to read my post!

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Don’t miss my most popular travel posts from the past year:
The BEST Hotel in Maui You Need To Know About
Where NOT to Stay In Punta Cana
How to Do Universal and Disney in Three Days

You can also follow my new Travel Hashtag on Instagram #TravelAfterMidnite

PIN MY FIVE REASONS TO VISIT MAUI POST FOR LATER

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Location: Maui, Hawaii | Photos: Tracy Davis & Myself
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