A Perfect Two Days on Maui

Maui is one of Hawaii’s most popular islands and a much-loved vacation spot. The Valley Isle is famous for its magnificent views, stunning beaches, and waterfalls.

Recently, we visited Maui for the first time on a quick, two-day journey for a birthday celebration. Since we knew this was a quick trip, we did not attempt the big Maui adventures (driving the Road to Hana or watching sunrise from Haleakala National Park). Instead, we opted for smaller fun adventures.

With that in mind, here is what we did during a perfect two days on Maui

Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm

After landing on Maui and collecting our rental car, we made a quick early lunch stop before heading upcountry to Kula.

We headed to Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. This was a stop on Maui we waited about five years to make.

The farm is open Friday through Monday from 10 am to 4 pm. Cost is $5 per person ($2 for military, seniors, and Kama’aina).

We were received at the entrance gate and given the lay of the land (parking locations, gift shop, etc.).  After parking we headed to the gift shop to pick up a map of the farm and browse the shop’s goods. Outside the gift shop, lavender pastries and drinks are available.

It started to rain shortly after our arrival, so we spent some time sitting on the patio, sheltering from the rain and admiring the landscapes beauty with lavender scent enticing us with the fresh rain.

We explored the 13.5 acre farm and its 55,000 lavender plants. There are plenty of other plants to discover while walking around the farm.

And the views! Simply to die for. The upcountry farm is more than 4000 feet above sea level. From the farm, you see stunning views of the ocean, the west side of Maui, and neighboring islands Lanai and Kaho’olawe. They say on certain days, you also can see Molokai Island. We did not see Molokai while visiting.

The grounds do not take a great deal of time to explore. So, once finished we spent a long time at the main lavender fields sitting on a bench, admiring the scents and the sights.

Below, you’ll find our video with some of the highlights from our time at the lavender farm.

Surfing Goat Dairy Farm

After departing the lavender farm, we headed to Surfing Goat Dairy Farm. This was our favorite stop during our stay. We booked the Afternoon Chores Milking Tour.

During the tour, we got to meet and feed the goats. We met the stud goat, the milking goats, and the younger goats.

In addition to feeding the goats, we got to milk a goat too. You can watch the video below to see me milking my new goat friend. It was a unique experience. And, it’s easier than milking a cow. That’s the word on the street. Go figure.

During our one hour tour, we sampled goat cheeses and goat milk truffles (both of which were sensational).

Surfing Goat Dairy Farm has a number of tours in addition to the afternoon chores tour we booked, including a casual daily tour, a baby goat interaction, and the Golden Girls experience (where adults spend 30 minutes with the senior mama goats). That means we can visit again and book another experience. We’re anxious to do just that.

Stay at the Grand Wailea Resort

We stayed at the Grand Wailea Resort. This was our ode to living the luxurious life. In actuality, I booked our stay with Hilton Honors points for a free stay at the extraordinary Waldorf Astoria resort.

When making reservations, I noted that this was a birthday celebration. I don’t know if that note made a difference, but we were upgraded from a mountain view room to a partial ocean view in a chapel room. And yes, our room overlooked the on site chapel and had a more-than-partial ocean view from our lanai.

Note: All vehicles are valet parked at the resort. The valet price is $75.

We enjoyed strolling the property, admiring the statues and artwork throughout the buildings. Although we did not swim, we had our choice of pool (the Grand Wailea has 9 separate pools and seven waterslides).

Our room had two bathrobes, which was a definite plus from our perspective.

The only downside: we may have become accustomed to living the luxurious lifestyle after this one night stay.

Where We Ate

Olivine

We had two restaurants we were keen on trying. I made birthday dinner reservations at Olivine at the Grand Wailea Resort.

When making reservations, I mentioned this was for a birthday celebration, and the Olivine staff treated us like royalty.

We were seated at the best table overlooking a pool and the ocean. We could smell the rosemary grown in window boxes outside our window. This seat also gave us a beautiful sunset view.

The food wasn’t half bad either. It was sensational with healthy, fresh ingredients, and a plethora of flavors.

We did splurge and order desert too. My wife received her desert with birthday fanfare.

I would say the meal was definitely worth the higher price.

Pita Paradise

After reading great reviews, we lunched at Pita Paradise in Kihei.

Once again, the meal came with the freshest ingredients and were very tasty.

While we never order dessert at lunch, we did have to indulge with the baclava ice cream cake. It was scrumptious and I highly recommend it.

Maui Ocean Center

Our final scheduled stop was at the Maui Ocean Center.

We do love aquariums, and knew this would be an enjoyable stop on our second day on Maui.

There were a few talks/educational experiences that took place during our afternoon visit to the aquarium. We had an opportunity to learn about coral, sea turtles, and sharks during the discussions. We basically fell into the talks as we journeyed around the aquarium. Seeing there was a discussion taking place in 5 minutes, we hung out and listened to the talks. It definitely enhanced our experience at the Maui Ocean Center.

We enjoyed casually perusing the exhibits, seeing some sea creatures well known (and a few mysterious ones too).

The highlight, of course was the shark tank. It was feeding time when we got to the tank, so we watched the frenzied feeding session.

Please watch the video below to see some of the scenes at the aquarium. Of course, the sharks are at the end of the video!

A quick stop on the Road to Hana

I know. I said we did not drive the Road to Hana. And we really didn’t. However, after leaving Maui Ocean Center, we had a little spare time before needing to head to the airport.

The Road to Hana begins near the airport, so we thought “why not?”

There was no way we could go far and explore all the hot spots and recommended stops along the way. We were able to drive a few miles through Pa’ia and spent a short time at Ho’okipa Beach watching the surfers and wind surfers.

It was a short stop, but it was a breathtaking ocean view.

Our Take

Our two-day visit to Maui may not have been filled with high adventure. However, it was a relaxing introduction to the island.

Maui is recovering from the devastating Lahaina fire of 2023. The fire took 102 lives. And it nearly destroyed Maui’s tourist economy.

As residents of a neighboring island, we knew that we wanted to visit to help businesses on the road to recovery.

We also wanted to be incredibly respectful of the loss. We intentionally avoided the Lahaina area to be respectful to those still grieving and rebuilding their lives.

I think there is a way to both respect those who are hurting and also try to support and encourage those who still call Maui home. I know there are those who disagree with my position.

And I know I cannot change what happened. And our visit certainly does not pave the way for a full recovery.

I do, however, hope that the two days we spent on Maui, interacting with the tour guides, chefs, wait staff, and others, did help in some small way bring a sense of normalcy to a devastating two years of uncertainty and grief.

We found places of comfort, joy, and peace during our visit, and pray some day soon those on Maui can find all of those qualities too.

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