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So excited to be back with a Maui Travel Guide. It feels SO good to be traveling again! We’re going to dive into my week long trip to Maui. It was pure magic. I initially wrote one post with allll the details (travel logistics, where to stay, what to do and where to eat). That post ended up being 3000+ words. I decided it would be more digestible to break it up into two posts. Part one will be travel logistics, transportation, where I stayed, printable packing list and bonus tips. In part two of my Maui travel guide, I’ll dive into beaches to visit, what to do, and where to eat. I’ll also do a dedicated hotel review post on the Westin Maui Resort & Spa in Ka’anapali.
Travel Logistics + Restrictions
Flight: We originally planned this trip a year ago. We were supposed to go for my birthday in May 2020. Unfortunately, we all know what happened. Southwest had recently started offering direct flights from San Jose (SJC) to Maui (OGG) so that’s what we booked. Since our flight last year was cancelled, we had a credit with Southwest. We rebooked our flights this January (since they were refundable anyway). I think we definitely bought them early enough/before people were considering traveling again because they were only under $400 roundtrip per person. Our flights last year were more expensive so we ended up with some extra credit!
COVID Travel Restrictions: This was my experience in late May 2021. If you’re coming from the Mainland, Maui required two COVID tests (or one if you’re fully vaccinated). We had to do a test <72 hours before our flight; we did ours through CityHealth at the San Jose Airport. While we did make an appointment, it was totally empty. It was a drive through and we were in and out in ~10 minutes. Also, it was free! We received a PDF of our negative test results within 24 hours and uploaded them to the Hawaii Safe Travel website. We were sent a QR code. When we landed in Maui, they scanned our QR code and we filled out a short form. After we went to a testing area before baggage claim, we showed our vaccine cards and filled out another short form. Then we were good to go! We did have show the QR code at the rental car center and our hotel (to avoid quarantine). The travel restrictions changed a lot in the months leading up to our trip. I kept up-to-date with the current rules on this website; I also signed up for their e-mail list, which has weekly updates on travel restrictions.
Transportation
In my opinion, a rental car is a must in Hawaii. We wanted to explore different parts of the island. Lyfts and Ubers don’t really seem to be available right now. We actually had to return our rental car a few hours before our flight and wanted to go out to lunch. We spent 20+ minutes waiting to be matched with a driver and then got a notification that were no available drivers in our area. If you mainly want to relax at your hotel/resort, you may not need a car. Our resort had a shuttle to go to their other hotels and the shopping center nearby. If you choose to rent a car, do it as early as possible! We’d heard there was a shortage – a lot of rental car companies sold inventory during the pandemic. We booked two months in advance and paid $1000 for the week, which seemed like a lot to me.
Where To Stay
We stayed at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa in Ka’anapali. I don’t want to go into too much detail in this post because I’m planning to share a separate hotel review soon. Ka’anapali is on the west side of Maui. There are a lot of resorts and restaurants in the area. I liked staying there. The only other area I’d like to try in the future is Wailea. The Fairmont, Four Seasons, and Grand Wailea are on the top of my list! Stay tuned for my honest hotel review of the Westin. I recommend following along on Instagram so you don’t miss any other Maui-related content (and I have my Maui Stories saved in a highlight!).
Bonus Travel Tips
- Check in on Yelp or Trip Advisor and leave reviews. Small businesses are really hurting right now and positive reviews make a big difference.
- Download an offline Google Map. Our cell service was spotty at best in many parts of the island. Having an offline map will eliminate that frustration (and not drain your battery searching for service).
- If you’re getting a rental car, bring a phone charger and aux cord (if you want to listen to your own music and/or podcasts).
- Don’t bother to pack bulk items (like sunscreen) and stop by Costco or Target. You’ll save room in your suitcase. Also, for sunscreen, you can make sure to reef safe sunscreen by getting it in Maui.
- Buy your own snorkel. It’s a similar price to rent and you can stop off whenever you feel like it if you have your own snorkel.
Free Printable Packing List
I’ve created a free printable packing list. Complete the form below to have it sent straight to your e-mail. I hope this helps you!
I hope my Maui travel guide was helpful. Want more travel content? Check out my travel posts!
