After our helicopter ride, we headed out for one last night on the town in Maui. Since we enjoyed spending our nights staring at the sunsets, we wanted to pick a location for dinner that would gift us a beautiful, memorable sunset to remember Maui by.
After doing a lot of research, we settled on Hula Grill in Kaanapali Beach right off of Whaler’s Village. We wanted something on the water but not super expensive or stuffy. Hula’s main restaurant is pretty expensive but they offer a more affordable menu outside at their barefoot bar.
The tables in the barefoot bar are placed over sand so you can kick your shoes off and relax. If that wasn’t a major selling point already, the bar overlooks the famous Kaanapali Beach, which offers spectacular sunset views.
The bar was relatively crowded when we got there around 5 so if you are trying this place out make sure to get there earlier. The added benefit to an earlier dinner is that the happy hour live entertainment is still playing. For the first time on our trip, we were able to watch/listen to real Hawaiian music played by locals. It just doesn’t get more Hawaiian than hearing the waves crashing as ukuleles are being strummed in the background while you sip your Mai Tai.
Hula’s menu was American with a Hawaiian twist. We indulged in crab and macadamia nut wontons, Hawaiian ceviche, kapulu joe, kalua pork and pinneapple pizza, baked Hawaii, and pineapple upside down cake. It was fun to experience our classic mainland foods with a new twist. Our favorite was the pineapple upside down cake with the caramel rum sauce. We were literally licking the sauce off the fork. By the way, Hawaiian pineapples are truly better than the mainland version.
As we finished our dessert, the sun slowly started to set and people started flocking to the beach path to watch the sunset.
Surfers stopped surfing and sat up on their boards to watch the sky turn bright orange and fiery red. There’s nothing like a Maui sunset.
After dinner, we walked up and down the paved Kaanapili beach path. It was our last night in Maui and we just really didn’t want it to end. We talked about which condos we would want to rent on the beach and dreamed about our next trip back to Maui. It was so hard to say goodbye.
But like all good things, Maui had to come to an end. It had been an amazing 7 days but the journeys of Oahu were calling our name. Maui was such a sweet, sweet treasure. I don’t know if I will experience another place that is simply so irresistibly majestic and serene. Here we are a month out from our vacation and I can still recall all the wonderful details with ease. Maui, you’ve left your imprint on my heart.
Stay tuned tomorrow to check out our first day in Oahu, complete with a tour of Disney’s Aulani Resort.
