Hale Kaanapali Hotel

Walk the Path of Hawaiian Legends

by WestMaui

It's free and it's very captivating - the Ka'anapali Historical Trail & Legends Tour. Offered every Tuesday morning in Ka'anapali Beach Resort and led by a resort concierge who was born and raised on Maui, this historical walking tour is well worth the time and lots of fun. You hear stories of ancient Hawaiian chiefs, warrior battles, legends of demi-gods, and the good 'ole Plantation days. Learn chants and Hawaiian greetings and talk story with your guide. There are 10 site monuments/tour stops. It starts on the Ka'anapali Trolley and finishes with a beach walk.

Paradise is the perfect cliché

by SassyMcPeaches

I always thought the word "paradise" was overused to describe the Hawaiian Islands, but now I understand why. It's such a perfect balance of weather, natural beauty, wonderful people, fascinating culture and mindblowing activities. This was simultaneously one of the most relaxing holidays I've ever had as well as possibly the most stressful holiday I've ever had. I definitely got my wish to go somewhere warm and experience a level of much needed peace. However, I also faced many fears and pushed myself past many things I used to view as limitations. It was overall an incredible experience!

I overwhelmingly appreciate Ka'anapali for what it offers: stars twinkling above pink sunsets, the constant sound of ocean waves, the smell of plumeria trees, the call of the tropical birds, eating breakfast next to a waterfall, the warm breezes at night, the kindness of the people, the gentle slack-key guitar music everywhere... Aloha and mahalo, Maui. What an amazing week!

Maui Baby!....Maui....

by Louie

"A return to the Islands"

Ok. So. I've lived in the great state of Hawaii for roughly 5 years when I was a teenager with my family. It was probably one of the most memorable times of my life. We lived in the city of Pearl City on the island of Oahu but we never managed to go and visit any of the islands. When you live there, it's like..you think it'll always be there later to visit. Well, we moved to Los Angeles from there and I never got to see any of the other islands....until now.

"Travelling as a group is great"

I think the best part of the trip was travelling with a great group of people. Here you can see just a few of people I have the pleasure of travelling with. When you share a great experience with other people, the great part about it, is that for days, months, and even years later you can recount tales and events from that trip and laugh about things all over again as if it just happened yesterday.

"The Mai Tai's start flowing"

We landed just before sunset and spent most of the shuttle bus ride to the hotel in the dark, so there wasn't all that much to see once we got there. We checked into our hotel, the Shereton Maui on Kaanapali Beach and gathered in the bar area where we had our first celebratory toast to being in Maui and to the good times we would have over the next 5 days.

Life is a beach

by Louie

"Waking up in Maui"

As I was saying...we arrived at night so there wasn't all that much to see. In the morning it was an totally different story. The hotel was amazing. The view as amazing. Everything was amazing. This was pretty much my first look at the hotel grounds in the daylight, and it was breathtaking. I may have lived in Hawaii for 5 years we never did many of the tourist things like stay at a nice hotel and such. So this was all a first for me, living it up V.I.P. style.

"What better in the morning than a Catamaran Trip"

So after a really great breakfast buffet, the first thing on the list of things to do was a cool Catamaran/Snorkelling Trip on this really cool Catamaran. I've been out on boats before in hawaii, but they were mainly fishing boats for a little deep sea fishing. This was a million dollar luxuary catamaran. We asked how much one of those ships went for and they said a million bucks easy plus routine maintenance costs. Damn....well if I win the Lottery, you know what's first on my list. :)

"Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's life for me!"

Ok. So I'm missing the eye patch and the parrot, the peg leg....and the pirate ship...but the boat trip was spectacular. This is one of the few shots I took of myself on the ship. That's the one thing about having a camera. Most of the time unless you have someone use your camera to take a photo of you, you hardly end up in many of the pictures. :)

"They served booze on this ship"

So I found out there was an open bar on this ship....So I spent a great deal of time below deck snacking on fresh fruit and drinking a variety of tropical drinks. Some didn't contain booze..but most did... After awhile I wasn't sure if it was the ocean or the liquor that was making that rocking sensation on board... :)

"There was a bit of rain during our boat trip"

That's what is great about Maui. You can move from sunshine to rain back to sunshine in just a few minutes. Going back up on the deck I managed to spot a rainbow forming and got this great picture.

"All that sailing can work up an appetite"

So after our trip out on the water we wandered down to the Luau at the Hyatt. They had a realy good spread. I was hoping they'd have some Pork Lau Lau but much to my discouragement, they didn't have any, but there was plenty of great food to keep me happy. So this photo is a little blurry.....what do you expect? I had been drinking on the boat all afternoon. :)

".....and slowly fade to black....."

And so the sun began to fall upon what was just one of the five perfect days spent in Maui. I'll dig through some more photos and maybe I'll be inspired to write more about the trip.