What a great time to leave the frigid climate of Canada for a tropical paradise. I must admit that Hawaii is great anytime of the year.
This trip we returned to Maui for the third time and are traveling to the small island of Lana'i. Lana'i can be reached by a 45 minute ferry ride from Lahaina or by a small plane.
 |
| Arriving on Lana'i |
If you are flying into Maui and planning to take the ferry to Lana'i the same day make sure that you pre-book the ferry and give yourself enough time to get from the airport to the boat dock. We were told that the transportation we had booked would get us to the Lahaina for the 3 pm ferry with time to spare. Instead the transport left late from the airport and the road was congested so we could not even go the speed limit. As we arrived to the boat dock the ferry was pulling away. This was extremely frustrating as the next ferry was a 2 hour wait and would mean that we would arrive in the dark. It can be very difficult to find your way around a new town in the dark and we had dinner reservation already made for that evening. We had pre-booked the later ferry so we were guaranteed a place on the boat. We had only hoped that we could change to the 3 pm ferry if we had arrived on time. If we had not pre-book the last ferry we would not have made it to Lana'i that day which would have created issues with our accommodation reservation.
 |
| Shipwreck Beach |
On Lana'i we stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast called Sweet Dreams. The house is located on a main street but the town is not very busy. There are 4 rooms available for renting as the owners live in another house located close by. Each room has there own bathroom which is a wonderful perk. Breakfast was served fresh with excellent coffee we really enjoyed having eggs cooked for us each day. Because this is a bed and breakfast you do hear other guests in the house. Everyone was very considerate and kept the noise level very low. It was the start of deer hunting season so people were getting up between 4 and 5 am so it's important to realize that this is a possibility.
 |
| Valley of the Gods |
We had a wonderful meal at the first night and then were able to cook our own dinners at the bed and breakfast which was a bonus if you are tired of eating in restaurants. We had a wonderful experience of trying grilled Axis deer meat. This was definitely a highlight of our trip to Hawaii.
Lana'i is an interesting island to visit. There are a few wonderful surprises to see as well as a wonderful beach area with excellent snorkeling. If you are only interested in the beach take a day trip to Lana'i the beach is only a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal. But if you are interested in see the Garden of the Gods or go to shipwreck beach then you need to stay on Lana'i and either hire a driver or rent a 4 wheel vehicle to get you places.
Back on Maui we noticed how busy the island has become since the 80's. We stayed at the Westin Oceanside Villa and had a great room with a kitchen. We spent a lot of time by the pool or on the beach. Most of the sights we had seen previously so we spent the time relaxing.
 |
Whale Tail
|
We did a whale watching tour which was great because the whales were in the bay with their calves. Not a lot of whales breaching when we were there in February/March for two weeks.
 |
| Spouting Whale |
What was disappointing is not number of full days of rain. This we did not expect because we have never been to Hawaii in the winter.
 |
| Beautiful Sunset on Hawaii |
