Day 5 - Friday
We took an all-day catamaran excursion with Trilogy. Even though we picked what’s called their “Sunset Tour” we still had to arrive at 10am. They sailed us to the private island of Lanai where we had a driving tour of the quaint town, and then some time to snorkel on the famed Hulopoe Beach, supposedly one of the best beaches in the world. I wish we had spent more time actually snorkeling, but I kept gagging at the salt water and it hurt my ears…
Then they served us a BBQ dinner in their pavillion and we sailed back with the sunset as one of the crewmen played the ukulele. It was so picturesque! They also fed us all day: fresh cinnamon buns, (non-alcoholic) drinks, fresh fruit, wraps, chips & salsa, and the BBQ. Cost: Approx $190 per person (ouch, I didn’t realize it was so much until I checked our credit card statement!)
P.S. Apparently we weren’t wearing enough sunscreen cuz we got painfully FRIED. 
Our catamaran. It was deceptively large inside and fit at least 40 of us!
Sailing
Hulopoe Beach
The ukulele player
And the sunset.
Day 6 - Saturday
On Saturday we tackled the famed Road to Hana. It was a cloudy day and drizzled off and on.
Twisty windy roads
There is a lady who sells the most amazing fresh-baked banana bread at a little stand right off the road. She goes back and forth between the stand and her oven, and when she’s not around, you just leave $3 under a designated rock, and take a wrapped (still hot!) slice from a little warming box. It was… delicious!
Ahhh… Hawaii!
We didn’t think too much of the little town of Hana once we got there…
The most amazing views of the black sand beaches were from the State Park just a few miles before entering the town of Hana.
I was entranced with the blue-ness of the water.
In a little tunnel, aka a “lava tube”
Dinner: Mama’s Fish House. I heard MANY raves about this place so we had to taste for ourselves!
We arrived a bit early for our dinner reservation so we spent some time on their private beach, watching the most spectacular sunset…
Fresh baked bread and complimentary asparagus soup. I wanted a whole BOWL of that soup, and aspargus is my least favorite veggie!!
Sashima - Ahi tuna - so fresh!!
Mr. E’s Crispy Kalua duck with mango glaze was perfection…
My wild fish in panang curry was amazing…
And dessert… was heaven!! The Polynesian Black Pearl: chocolate mousse and passion fruit cream covered in dark chocolate ganache, atop a crispy, buttery “seashell.” Hands down, best dessert I have EVER had. In fact, this whole meal was probably the best meal we have ever had!! Total cost: Approx $150
Day 7 - Sunday
We spent the day wandering the streets of Lahaina, a little town with tons of art galleries, jewelery and gift shops. Before our 9PM flight back stateside, we were craving some Japanese food, so we asked a local for a recommendation. The Japanese store owner recommended Tokyo Tei, a little hole-in-the-wall establishment which was nearly impossible to find (it was tucked away in a covered garage area). But we found it! It was kinda old and dingy and there was no sushi bar, but the food was GREAT! This was punctuated by the fact that the place was crowded with actual local Japanese residents! Always a good sign when you are looking for something authentic.
Eaiting our way through Lahaina…
Ah yes, Mr. E is sporting my purse and drinkin’ a smoothie!
So bummed to leave this island paradise!
The end…
Overall, we loved Hawaii. But in comparison, we decided that we enjoyed our trip to Paris/London (when he proposed) last fall even more so than Hawaii. I guess we prefer urban to rural! But there is a good reason why so many honeymooners come here: it’s beautiful!! However - be warned - it is also pricey! But hey, it’s your honeymoon, might as well do it right, right?! I must say that for reasons I cannot explain, we were lucky enough to have free lodging for our entire trip, and we bought our plane tickets with frequent flier miles, so our expenses were only for food and fun! That way, we were able to “splurge” more than we normally would. Yay!
That banana bread looks so yummy! Was Lanai worth the day trip? I’ve heard mixed reviews.
Mmmm.. the food all looks soo yummy! I’m especially entraced by the Polynesian Black Pearl! Your honeymoon looked fanstastic! We are getting married on Oahu but would like to do a stop over at another island for a couple of days after the ceremony. Which did you like better? Maui or Kauai?
Sorry to hear you got cooked on the Trilogy. That’s a good boat. I haven’t done that trip yet and look forward to it(but not to the price.)
I shoot weddings out here on Maui and love it. The road to Hana is one of the best experiences on the island. When I go, I try and stay over night and either camp or get a cabin in or near Hana. Great experiences. Thanks for sharing yours!
Vivian, picking an island to visit is very much dependent on your personal tastes. (What one person likes about it, might be totally not up your alley.)
Kauai is more rural than Maui, so if you like outdoorsy stuff and finding a nice, quiet beach, you would probably enjoy it a lot there. (A lot of their tourist activities really are active — ziplining, boating, etc.) There is not nearly as much “fine dining” outside of the hotels as there is on Maui.
Maui is more touristy, so there is a bigger range of restaurants. On Maui you can tour a winery and a lavender farm, as well as do the usual beach-y, boat-y type activities. (Oh, for anyone who was already planning on going to Maui, and was looking into the downhill bike tours from Haleakala — they are suspended indefinitely.)
Ocicats, there is an independent company that will provide ferry service only between Maui and Lanai for $50/person roundtrip. But Mrs. Emerald’s tour prolly isn’t such a bad deal ’cause she got multiple meals and entertainment, and snorkel gear. There is really not much AT ALL to see in the town, so the beach (which is gorgeous) is the big attraction. Or you could go to one of the 2 hotels and just lounge around there (very posh) if you go on your own. We spent our honeymoon on Lanai and LOVED it, but it might not be for everyone — it’s very quiet and laidback.
If you like urban better than rural, you might want to try Oahu next time. Great restaurants, good shopping, and fun nightlife. And you can still do many of the outdoors things you did on Maui, like go on a catamaran, go hiking, etc. That said, Maui is my favorite island!
hahahaha…your Ahi Tuna is smiliing at me. 
Can I just say that I love that you take pictures of the food. Any weird looks from teh restaurants?
princesskittyHI, thanks for the info on Lanai. I definitely want to check out Kauai and Oahu on my next visit. Maui was too touristy for me. In most parts of the island it seemed like their were more tourists than locals. If you want something in between Kaui and Maui, I would recommend the Big Island. It has the great restaurants such as Fujimama’s and Pahu’ia, the Volcano, the Summit at Mauna Kea, green/white/black sand beaches, lush botanical gardens (better than Maui), and South Kona (coffee country) is so lush and beautiful.
I haven’t been to Kauai yet but we did the exact same things you did in Maui, but I guess there isn’t much more to do in Maui… well we actually went to watch the sunrise on the Volcano which was reallllly chilly but I think worth it… I think Oahu is a lot more touristy than Maui.
Hmmm.. thanks for all the great input. I think we’d check out Maui or the Big Island then. The really rurla stuff would probably be a little too slow for our taste. Thanks!
We must have just missed you! I got married the same day as you (also in the Chicago area) and we also went to Maui for our honeymoon. However, we did the Hana road 2 days after you and did Mama’s Fish House that night. I LOVED that place!!! The food was amazing! We were there for 10 days and spent the 1st 5 days in Kaanapali and the 2nd 5 days on the south side, so we just missed being in the same areas as you. Had I known/preplanned, I would have thought about trying to meet up with a famous Bee!
We also had a great time and I’m impressed with all you did!
I’m so glad you got to do all the things you did on your honeymoon Mrs. Emerald! Looks like tons of fun. All that food looks friggin’ delicious, especially the Kalua Pork (I know huh, leave it to me to pick the most inexpensive dish). That wasn’t your “Japanese food”, was it…?
Awwww….I love Maui! It CAN be very touristy (tho’ Kymberli is absolutely right: Oahu is most touristy — b/c of Waikiki) but there are some beautiful spots. Several have mentioned Hana, which is gorgeous and quiet. But our favorite part is Upcountry Maui. It’s nice and cool, and has some really fun stuff to do: there’s a lavender farm (Alii Kula Lavender), a winery (Ulupalakua Winery), Haleakala (the big dormant volcano) and some cute little surf towns (Paia is one) and ranching towns (Makawao is one). There are several cute little B&B’s up there, and it’s a totally different experience from doing the hotel thing. (We stayed at Hale Hookipa, and can’t wait to do it again.)
Mrs. Emerald, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, Hospitality Administration
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Paralegal
Engagement Date: October 8, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2007
Blogging Since: November 29, 2006
Venue: Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook IL
About Me: I have been dreaming about my wedding forever, and flipping through bridal magazines since high school, so I am in my element! I am calling our theme "Vintage Inspired French/Asian Fusion." Mr. Emerald is very involved in the planning process, but of course he generally defers to me cuz I have a strong opinion of how I want everything to be :-).
oh my gosh - i did the road to hana about 8 years ago and got the same banana bread!!! (at least i think so). I still think about it all the time!