Maui Musts (Part 1)

1. Mama's Fish House

You simply must. If you're coming from Kahului airport, it's a beautiful five-minute drive away, in the town of Paia. We took a 10:29 a.m. flight from Honolulu (37 minutes flying time courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines), rented a compact car with a GPS, and got to the restaurant just a little past 12 noon. Since it was a Tuesday, we didn't really need to make reservations but I could imagine the place being packed during weekends.

I ordered the Mixed Fish sauteed in Panang Curry and Coconut Milk (above) but I was secretly pining for Mr. G's Mahimahi stuffed with Lobster and Crabs and baked in Macadamia Nut Crust (below).



The guava drink recommended by the waiter was fantastic. And the view, simply to die for.


Mr. G makes it a point to try out the local brew when we travel. He didn't particularly rave about this one.


We were served this complimentary wholewheat loaf and a seafood bisque served in a ceramic bowl no bigger than a shot glass.



Total bill was $150+ which was worth every penny.

2. Rent a car


It's cheap and it's the only way you can explore all of Maui. We got a compact Chevrolet from Budget's airport counter at $23.40 a day and rented a Garmin GPS along with it at $8.99/day (the lady at the counter gave us one day free on the GPS, yey!). We also paid $25.99/day for third-party liability insurance and $44.84 for a full tank of gas, which is reimbursable if we fill up the tank before we return the car.

3. Get up early for Haleakala


Most tours depart for Haleakala from Lahaina at 2:30a.m. to get to the crater by sunrise. We weren't aiming to catch the rising sun but, thanks to jetlag, we were up by 2:45a.m. and thought we might as well go. We didn't leave Lahaina till 4:20a.m. so we missed sunrise by 20 minutes or so. Still, we arrived to an otherworldly scene at the crater, the thick clouds below us partially blocking the summit depression and volcanic cones but adding drama to the bowls of rust, ocher and burnt sienna soil.

The drive to the entrance of Haleakala National Park took only an hour and a half but the crater was still a long way off, with lots of sharp curves and turns on the road.

The minute I stepped out of the car, I wished I had brought our blankets with us because it was freezing cold and the wind wasn't helping. Everyone was bundled up in winter jackets and blankets. After a few snapshots, we took shelter in the glass enclosed pavilion.

The entrance fee was $10 per car.