Vegan on Maui (Kaanapali + Road to Hana)

This was our 3^rd time visiting Maui and it was easily the best trip we’ve had. In this post, we’ll share our trip itinerary and the tips & tricks we’ve learned to help make your Maui vacation truly special! Among the highlights are two amazing sunset dinners (one of which was our favorite activity of the whole trip!), an off-road adventure, how we fit a night of camping in, and of course all the amazing vegan eats along the way.

In This Trip Report

• 4 nights in Kaanapali
  • Drums of the Pacific Luau
  • ATV Off-road adventure
  • TWO romantic sunset dinners
  • Snorkeling with sea turtles
  • Tons of amazing vegan eats
• 1 night camping in a pop-up Jeep camper!
• Road to Hana -> 3 nights in Hana
  • Incredible hikes, including multiple waterfalls, a Banyan Tree, and a bamboo forest!
  • Surprisingly good vegan Thai food
  • Haleakala National Park
  • Black sand beaches (plus a sea cave!)
• 1 night in Kahului (by the airport)
  • Two incredible vegan food trucks

Day 1: Arrival

After landing around 2pm, we collected our bags and picked up our car.

Rental Car:

You definitely need a rental car when visiting Maui, and I recommend using Turo. Public transportation is basically non-existent, and the little there is caters to residents and their traffic patterns. The last 2 trips, we rented a car from one of the rental agencies at the airport, but this time we decided to use Turo, which is basically airBnB but for cars. I much preferred using Turo because our host was waiting for us with the car right outside baggage claim, and it was much quicker and easier than the process of bussing over to the rental car section with your bags and everyone else from your flight who is also in line to rent a car.

Food in Kahului

You might be hungry after the long trek over. Thankfully, there is a food truck park right outside the airport that has a vegan food truck and coffee! Tabay’s Mindful Kitchen is entirely vegan and has a large menu of American style cuisine. We went here the last night of our trip and Tabay himself was there mingling with patrons between bouts of cooking. The food was incredible and I highly recommend checking it out. Kraken Coffee is a food truck in the park with good coffee options to give you a much needed pick-me-up after a long travel day and being many hours outside your normal time zone.

We typically pop into Whole Foods, which is on the way out of town, and grab some basic provisions. While we do plan to eat out and enjoy many local vegan restaurants, we do like to have some snacks in case we find ourselves with the munchies in the hotel room or on the road. There is also a Long’s Drug Store (similar to a Walgreens or CVS) right next to Whole Foods. Between the two, you can pick up any essentials you may have forgotten.

There is also a Target not far off the path on the way out, which is a great place to grab some cheap floaties, tumblers, coolers, or other gear you might need. You can still buy these things at stores and shops in other parts of the island, but they’ll be a bit more expensive. We ended up grabbing a couple cheap tumblers and pool floaties, plus some coconut rum and pineapple juice to make for a fun but cheap pool day (compared to $17+ drinks from the pool bar, it was well worth it).

After stocking up on essentials, we headed to Ka’anapali! The drive out of Kahului is always a bit exhilarating because it finally feels like the vacation has started. With the slog of travel and logistics behind us, we can finally relax and just take in the views!

About Kaanapali

Ka’anapali is on the west side of the northern part of the island. Maui has a leeward side and windward side, and Ka’anapali is on the leeward side. The windward side is the side that gets the tradewinds and lots of rain, which results in it being much more lush and green. The leeward side is the opposite – it is much sunnier and drier, and is much more beach-y. Which is why the resorts and the majority of the tourist areas are over here!

Ka’anapali, specifically, is a where all the large resorts are. There is a strip of beach about a mile long of just resorts. What’s really great about Maui, though, is that beaches are public property by law, which means no section of beach is off-limits to you! So no matter where you stay, you can enjoy the beach area. There’s also a paved path that runs along the beach between the beach and the resorts, making it easy to get from any of the resorts to Black Rock Beach and Whalers Village. It’s also just a beautiful walk and a great way to get a peek at the other resorts.

Lodging: Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa (Kaanapali)

We spent the first 4 days of the trip at the Hyatt Regency in Ka’anapali. This was our first time staying in Ka’anapali, and it was our favorite place to stay of all our trips. I am not typically a resort person – I generally prefer airBnBs with a kitchen in a slightly more local / less touristy area. We stayed in a condo in Kihei on our honeymoon and then a condo in Lahaina last time. Both trips were still amazing, but staying in a resort in Ka’anapali was next level. Having immediate access to the beach, the beautiful grounds, the beach walk to Whalers village, and the pools just made for a truly relaxing and magical vacation. Next time, I’ll pay up for a resort again.

Vegan food at Hyatt Kaanapali Resort

There are multiple onsite restaurants, and while they are not particularly vegan-friendly, there are options at all hours of the day. We did not plan to eat at the resort much, because we knew there were better vegan options around (and we love supporting local businesses when we can!). However, if you want to enjoy easy onsite vegan meals at the resort, here’s the lowdown (links to websites/menus included below):

Vegan breakfast options at Hyatt Ka’anapali:

• Honolulu Coffee: Earliest opening breakfast option (6am). Has coffee, espresso drinks, acai bowls, smoothies, juices, and tea. You’ll naturally wake up super early if you’re visiting from the mainland USA due to the time difference, so this is a decent early option. We woke up and went for a run along the beach path to Whalers Village and back and then popped in for an acai bowl and coffee. It was good, although I found another nearby breakfast place that was even better (will get to that in a moment..).
  • You can order online here, so if you have an early adventure or otherwise tight schedule in the morning, this would be really convenient as you could place an order in your room, then just pop in and grab it on your way out the door.
  • Open 6am-2pm.
• Swan Court: Tofu scramble is the only vegan option. Open 6:30-11am. We did not try because I can make tofu scramble at home anytime.

Vegan lunch options at Hyatt Ka’anapali:

• Umalu (pool restaurant/bar): Lunch menu only has a tofu/vegetable stir fry. We did not try this, as it’s the only vegan option on the menu for Umalu, Japengo, and the in-room dining menu. The fact that it’s the generic vegan option across multiple menus didn’t inspire confidence that it was particularly good, so we didn’t bother to try it.

Vegan dinner options at Hyatt Ka’anapali:

• Umalu (pool restaurant/bar): Tofu/vegetable stir fry, and a Beyond burger (can modify to make vegan).
• Japengo: Most vegan-friendly option onsite. They have a rotating daily veggie roll (can be made vegan), two salads, and the tofu/vegetable stir fry. We did get a salad and veggie roll from here and they were very good. The view and vibe is great here with both indoor/outdoor seating. I would recommend making reservations if you plan to eat here.

Day 1: Getting the lay of the land

Our biological clocks woke us up around 5am, so we decided to go for a run to explore and get the lay of the land. Carly ran along the path to a Hanako’o Park (which is where you can park and enjoy the beach if you don’t stay at a resort, although parking is limited), and I ran to Whalers Village and back. I saw lots of other people walking and running along the path as well, and was immediately blown away by how clear the water is and the view of Lanai.

Due to how early it was, Whalers Village had not yet opened, but it was good to get familiar with the path there (and how far it is, about a mile from the Hyatt, which is the furthest resort on the strip). I immediately found Choice Health Bar, one of the restaurants we had scouted out for a visit, along with Monkeypod and Leilani’s on the Beach, which have a few vegan options and are oft-recommended dinner spots for a nice dinner.

What is Whalers Village?

              Whalers Village is a cute little outdoor shopping center with various restaurants, bars, and shops! There’s a little “food court” area with indoor and outdoor tables and an assortment of restaurants and a coffee shop nearby. We visited numerous times to eat, grab coffee, pick up a few things at the general store, and grab some souvenirs. If you’re staying at a resort, definitely make the walk over to explore!

After finishing up our exploratory jog, we popped into Honolulu Coffee, which is downstairs at the resort, to grab an easy acai bowl and cup of coffee. It’s actually a nice little coffee shop with solid coffee drinks, for my fellow coffee-lovers, and a variety of acai bowls and smoothies.

Then, we changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool! It was at this point, we realized the floatie mistake – we didn’t actually have them yet, and most of the pool is 8ft+ deep! Later in the trip, we acquired a few floaties, but would recommend bringing some with you or popping into the Target in Kahului to have better selection/prices than you’ll find in Ka’anapali. We enjoyed a few $17 drinks, but decided to snag our own at the general store in Whalers Village on the next trip over to save some $. The drinks were good, but not $17/pop good, and I’d rather save a little money to spend on local vegan restaurants!

For dinner, we attended the Drums of the Pacific Luau! This is the luau at the Hyatt, which was really nice. If you’re staying at a resort, and wanting to do a luau, I highly recommend doing the one onsite! Being able to get ready and just walk downstairs, and then just walk back up to the room when it’s over was so nice compared to prior trips where we had to drive somewhere.

Vegan food options at the Drums of the Pacific Luau

• Mixed Greens with Papaya Seed Vinaigrette (V)(GF)
• Cucumber & Onion Namasu (V)
• Sautéed Local Vegetables (V)
• Stir Fried Glass Noodles (V)
• Fruit Salad (V) [dessert option]
• Link to menu

I was pleasantly surprised to see a few vegan options at the Luau, which is an event that is often touted for the amazing pork. It’s your typical vegan situation of making a meal out of sides, but they were at least decent. I would just say, plan to attend a luau for the experience – for the culture and the show- not for the food. If that’s your expectation, you’ll probably have a great time! If you’re going with the expectation of an amazing vegan meal, I think you’ll be disappointed. That said, we kind of knew that, and had a great time! The mai tais were amazing and the show was entertaining and informative.

After that, we headed to bed to rest up for the next day’s adventures!

Day 2: An off-road adventure plus our favorite activity of the trip! (sunset dinner)

We had a 9am off-road ATV booked with Maui Off-Road Adventures, so we hit up the vegan restaurant A’A Roots for breakfast since it was right across the street from the excursion! Both were only about 15 minutes from the resort, which was nice. A’A roots is a vegan restaurant that is mostly breakfast options, such as acai bowls, smoothies, a bagel sandwich, buddha bowls, tofu scramble toast, etc. Prices were pretty reasonable, and we got an acai bowl and breakfast burrito to share. Both were very good, and everything there seemed pretty healthy (mostly whole food ingredients). Definitely recommend stopping here at some point in the trip!

• It’s in a plaza with a larger grocery store, so if you realize you forgot anything after leaving Kahului, you could grab it here.

The ATV excursion was amazing! The vehicles have four seats (2 front, 2 back), and you are not sharing with other parties. Carly and I were in the same vehicle, and there are 2 stops along the way that afford the opportunity to switch drivers so you both can experience it. This was a super fun adventure, because they let you go pretty fast and you get to see really cool parts of the island, plus the views are incredible. It definitely was not just leisurely putting around – I felt like I was driving pretty fast and barely keeping up! After I got a little more comfortable with the handling of the vehicle, I went a bit faster and it was really fun. (Don’t worry, they won’t leave you – there’s a guide up front setting the pace and one in the back that follows everyone to make sure no one gets lost, and they have radios to communicate. I never felt unsafe or worried).

Tips for Maui Off-road ATV Excursion

• Wear clothes you can get dirty in, including shoes! You will get VERY dirty! The trails are kind of clay-ish, and the tires will throw up clay occasionally. (see picture). I’d recommend sandals/flip flips instead of shoes.You might get rained on – since you’re going up onto the mountain a bit, it showers up there frequently and there’s a high chance you’ll get at least a bit of sprinkling on you. They do give you single use ponchos, and it wasn’t a big issue for us. But again, don’t wear fancy clothes, and don’t bring anything you don’t want to get wet/dirty.

• Leave your backpack, camera, etc. in the car. Anything you put in the vehicle will get dirty/wet. There is a small glove box type compartment you can put a small bag in, but it won’t fit a whole backpack.

After wrapping up, we headed back to the resort and made a simple lunch of hummus/veggie sandwiches in the room (from our Whole Foods stop), and then hung out at the pool for a bit before our next adventure…

Friday Night Dinner at Moku Roots!

This was our favorite activity of the entire trip!

What is Moku Roots?

Moku Roots is a vegan restaurant that used to be in Lahaina, but after the fire destroyed downtown Lahaina, they closed that restaurant. They already had a farm upcountry and plans to eventually open a restaurant up there, and have been doing some small events there in the meantime since they aren’t quite ready to open that yet. Currently, they do Friday Night Dinner and Sunday Brunches. I signed us up for Friday Night Dinner as a surprise to Carly, and it was incredible!

It is in Kula, which is on the way to Haleakala, and about an hour from Kaanapali, but SO worth the drive. As you’re driving there, you pass through some more residential areas and farms, and it’s clearly not a touristy area. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into this side of Maui! We arrived right at the start time and it immediately became clear that this was special.

There were a handful of locals who apparently attend this on a regular basis, and the hosts brought out some platters of appetizers, consisting of some chopped farm-grown veggies along with a homemade hummus, guacamole, and taro patties. We all stood around and munched and chatted, and the locals seemed surprised we were there, especially from Ka’anapali. I got the vibe that a decent number of the attendees were not tourists, but locals, and I always love finding those hidden gems where locals choose to unwind! They gave us tons of tips about good vegan eats on the island, including the Upcountry Farmers Market, which is supposedly the best farmers market on the island and has lots of cool vegan vendors and foods! (We did not end up attending this, just due to the drive back to the area, but are putting it on the list for next time!).

When we got there, it was really cloudy and you couldn’t see much, and it was a bit chilly. Dinner was on a covered patio, and there were plenty of heaters spaced throughout to keep warm, though, and they were plenty toasty! The event is BYOB, so we brought a bottle of wine and they provided glasses and a bottle opener. More guests trickled in, and eventually most of the seating filled in and the hosts brought dinner out. This is not a restaurant, so you do not order off a menu. Instead, they post the menu at the beginning of the week, and it’s the same thing for everyone! For us, it was a pumpkin risotto and side salad, followed by a cheesecake dessert (all vegan, of course!).

What really elevated it was that the clouds started to burn off and then we got an INCREDIBLE sunset view! The farm is facing west and the sunset was directly in front of us! We could see the rest of the farm and overlook the rest of the island, and it was so magical and romantic. Moku Roots had lots of cute lighting that came on, providing nice ambiance to go with the gentle music, and lots of other patrons were cuddling and enjoying the sunset as well. Around 9pm, it got dark and we decided to head out along with the rest of the guests.

I HIGHLY recommend trying to fit this into your trip – the farm is so cool and scenic, it has such an intimate feel compared to the other touristy parts of the island, the sunset view is incredible, the food is great and the team and locals are so friendly. They also do a Sunday Brunch, which is apparently a little more buffet-style, and the locals were all telling us that we “had” to come back to that as well…unfortunately our schedule didn’t allow that, but I have to imagine it’s equally amazing and hope we can fit it in on a future trip!

There is a $55 suggested donation for non-residents (we paid via venmo at the end of the night), and you RSVP just by emailing them at the email on their website. Best kept vegan secret on the island, I’m telling you.

After it was over, we headed back to the resort and hit the hay!

Day 3: Vegan eats, snorkeling @ Black Rock Beach, and another amazing sunset dinner!

Saturday we woke up and walked down to Whalers Village to check out Choice Health Bar for breakfast. We got an acai bowl and the bruschetta toast, and it was incredible! The bruschetta toast, specifically, was such a hit that we came back and got it again the next day.

Bruschetta toast

Fresh Maui tomatoes, capers, and our organic rosemary cashew chevre on Hawaii-made organic sprouted grain bread, with hemp-seed cashew parm + drizzle of organic balsamic reduction.

I’m usually anti “toasts” at breakfast establishments because it always seems like a scam to get you to pay $10+ for a slice of bread. However, the bruschetta toast is different. So worth it and delicious! The rosemary cashew chevre is next-level and, unlike avocado toast, you’re not going to make this at home. It was also a respectable serving size. Also, you can order ahead online, so if you’re on a tight timeline, you can just place your order once you leave the resort and it’ll be ready right when you arrive so you can pick it up, sit down and eat!

After that, we popped into Island Vintage Coffee (also in Whalers Village) for a cup of coffee. They have a lot of really interesting acai bowls (all can be made vegan, if not already) that are quite different than the typical version you find everywhere else. As much as I did want to try one, breakfast at Choice Health Bar was so good that I had to go there again the next day. But if you’re looking for a really unique acai bowl, Island Vintage Coffee looked to be a great choice! They also had very good coffee and espresso drinks with plenty of non-dairy milk options. If you’re a coffee nerd like me, this is also a great place to pick up some Hawaiian coffee to take home.

Whalers Village has many tables outside for public use to sit down and enjoy your food/beverages, and there are a few inside with A/C near Choice Health Bar as well.

Then, we rented snorkel gear from The Snorkel Store and headed to snorkel at Black Rock Beach!

Renting Snorkel Gear

There are numerous places around the island you can rent snorkel gear, and prices are generally competitive. I recommend not renting from a beach-side stand and renting from a dedicated snorkel store – they’re going to have better gear and the best prices. The beach-side stands are catching unprepared visitors who walked by and decided on a whim to snorkel, and the prices are a bit higher due to the combo of convenience and impulse buying. We were very impressed with The Snorkel Store. You get the rental for multiple days, so you can hang onto it and snorkel every day of your trip, and then return it on your way out (quick and easy). There was staff there available and ready to help size us and walk us through the gear when we got there, and they were incredibly knowledgeable about best snorkel spots and making recommendations. They gave us a map and marked where to park at some of the snorkel spots that would require driving to, which was very helpful. There’s also The Snorkel Report, which is their daily newsletter that gives an update on snorkel conditions at the different hotspots, so you know what to expect (ex. Murky vs. clear water, rough vs. calm seas, etc!). Of course, there are numerous other snorkel rental shops on the island and I imagine they are similar.

Black Rock Beach

Black Rock Beach: Black Rock Beach will show up in every trip guide for Ka’anapali, and for good reason! It’s a beach at the north end of the resort strip that is beautiful and a great snorkeling spot! If you’re staying at a resort, you can just walk over to this spot.  If not, I found this guide to parking for Ka’anapali beach. In short, you’ll probably need to pay for parking, but if you combine a visit to Whalers Village and Black Rock Beach in one morning, it’s a small price to pay for a great morning adventure and good eats!

• Black Rock Beach is so named because there’s a lava rock formation as the main feature. It fosters great marine life due to the supply of algae and sea grass that serve as food, and the underwater rock formations and reefs serve as a safe haven for turtles to rest and forage without threat of larger marine predators. We saw a sea turtle and lots of fish here, and sea turtles are quite common in this area! We didn’t get there until closer to noon, so while best snorkeling is a bit earlier in the morning, you can still see sea turtles and fish at other hours of the day!

Tip: Don’t leave valuables on the beach. We heard that theft can be a bit of an issue. Leave valuables locked in your car or in your room. I recommend grabbing a waterproof phone pouch to bring your phone/keys in, which also allows you to take pictures and video in the water!

We snorkeled for a bit and there was a sea turtle right there eating off the rocks! There were also quite a few fish, including the state fish (humuhumunukunukuapua’a), and overall it was super fun.

Personally, I was initially somewhat skeptical of Black Rock Beach as a truly good snorkeling spot. I assumed it was highly rated more because of its accessibility, being so close to the resort, as opposed to its actual quality of snorkeling. But, I really enjoyed snorkeling there and the sea life we saw!

After that, we walked to Maui Brewing Co. to grab lunch, which was right on the beach on the way back from Black Rock Beach to the resort. They have a house made vegan burger that was delicious and the patio was quite nice. They also have a covered section with open walls and great views of the ocean. It’s a large establishment with a super chill, casual vibe. Walking up at lunch was no problem, but it’s probably a good idea to make a reservation for dinner. You can likely get in at dinner without one, but might have to wait a little depending on how busy it is.

We then walked back to the resort and hung out at the pool for a little bit before getting ready for dinner!

Anniversary Dinner @ Sea House Restaurant (sunset dinner #2!)

For dinner, it was our 5-year anniversary and we headed to Sea House Restaurant. This was a 15 minute drive north to Napili Bay, which was beautiful. The restaurant is right on the water, and is a part of the Napili Kai Resort. It is somewhat fancy, and we dressed up a bit to the occasion, although other patrons were in more casual clothes. We sat on the deck and the sunset view was incredible! If you’re looking for a romantic dinner, this place nails it.

I did a lot of research trying to find the best spot, because a lot of recommendations don’t have many vegan options (usually just one option that’s not a salad). I ended up choosing Sea House because they had a lot of options! To be clear, nothing on the menu was designated “vegan” – it was all just marked “vegetarian”. But many of these vegetarian options are already vegan or could be easily made vegan. We got the buffalo cauliflower wings, brussel sprouts, and tempura tofu. They also had quite a bit of the menu marked Gluten Free, so overall I’d consider this to be more dietary-friendly than most non-vegan establishments in the area and well worth a visit for a nice dinner.

Day 4: Last Day in Kaanapali – Easy Pool Day

We woke up and promptly walked the mile stretch down to Whalers Village to visit Choice Health Bar again! The bruschetta toast is that good. Then, we bopped around the shops a bit this time, picking up some souvenirs and gifts for people before heading back to the resort for a pool day with our floaties and cheap beverages.

Budget Tip: Instead of packing a dedicated cooler that takes up space and is a single use item, bring a dry bag! A dry bag keeps items dry/sand-free at the pool, beach, on boat excursions, ATV excursions, etc. But it also can hold water and thus, ice! Fill it up at the hotel ice machine and then throw in any canned beverages (beer, soda, seltzer, etc.) and bring it to the pool. The drinks sitting in the ice water stay nice and cold. When you’re done, the dry back takes up virtually no space/weight in your suitcase compared to a cooler bag! The dry bag pays for itself by allowing you to purchase beverages at a store and bring them with you vs. spending $15-20/drink at the pool bar. Plus, you can stash your phone/wallet/keys in it to keep them dry in the event of a pop-up shower, or while on a boat excursion. We’ve had one for years and gotten tons of use out of it.

Tip #2: Bring a packable tote! You never know when you’ll pop into a shop with a cool souvenir you want to take home. Hawaii has banned plastic bags (hooray!) and charges  $0.15 to $0.25 per paper bag. I picked up this Peak Design one that folds into itself and has a loop so I could just keep it clipped to my sling or backpack and we used it quite a bit.

After lounging at the pool, we cleaned up and decided to take some pictures around the property at sunset! The grounds were so beautiful, the views so stunning, and the sunsets so pretty that we had to take advantage and get some photos to memorialize the trip. For dinner, we placed an order at Pizza Paradiso, which is a short 15 minute drive and well worth it. It’s not a vegan establishment, but they are a locally owned restaurant that has earned “Best Pizza on Maui” 3x, and they have vegan cheese along with falafel, wraps, a beyond burger. Definitely call in/order ahead (we did), because it was very busy when we got there. There was some indoor seating, but at 8-9pm, I don’t think we would have gotten a spot. We were getting takeout, though, and headed back to the hotel.

Day 5: Check-out day in Kaanapali!

We packed up and checked out of the room, but we still had our snorkel gear and needed to return it before leaving the Kaanapali area. We needed to be in Kahului to pick up our Jeep/camper mid-afternoon, so we decided to head to Kahekili Beach (also known as Airport Beach, but the staff at The Snorkel Store warned us NOT to put “Airport Beach” into Google maps, since that takes you to some other place of the island…) to get one last snorkeling session in!

We had been to Kahekili beach once before, but not for snorkeling. Last trip, we booked a scuba diving excursion with Banyan Tree Divers (highly recommend!), and that was our first stop. There is a good bit of reef there, and quite a bit of sea life! It was a bit less crowded than Black Rock Beach, although there were others snorkeling there, which made me feel a bit more safe. The float belt was particularly great here, because it allowed us to snorkel out a bit further from shore where we certainly couldn’t have touched, but never once did I feel any concern about that because the float belt just made it so effortless to skim the top of the water and just focus on enjoying the views below. Pay the extra $20 for that turtle float when you rent your gear!

Kahekili beach has public restrooms and a covered picnic table, along with quite a bit of open beach, and it also has public parking! If you’re staying somewhere without beach access (AirBnB, etc.), this is a great beach to visit.

Then, we went to Farmers Market Maui for lunch, which was super cool! I wish we had discovered this sooner. It’s an older, small natural foods store that’s been in the same family for 3 generations. They have a grill and hot bar, and it’s all vegetarian (much of it can be made vegan). They have multiple sandwich options, including a Beyond burger, tempeh, and tofu sandwiches, garden burger, and also acai bowls/smoothies/juices, and salads. The hot bar had various sides and tofu dishes, all of which looked amazing. We got a little bit of hot bar and the Beyond burger, all of which was delicious. Had we known about this earlier in the trip, we may have ventured over for lunch instead of eating in the hotel room to try out some of the other options we didn’t get to try.

Then, we headed to pickup our Jeep camper!

Camping on Maui

The way that our bookings worked for the resort in Kaanapali and the resort in Hana, we had one gap night. We found a Jeep with a pop-up camper on VRBO and thought that sounded like a fun adventure and change of pace from resort life, and decided to give it a shot. It did not disappoint! We met the host in Kahului, and then booked a campsite at Olowalu Campground. To be honest, I waited too long to book a campsite (I literally booked it a few days before while we on vacation…) but there were several available options at Olowalu. Also, many of the other campgrounds I had looked up were just challenging to book – either their website didn’t work, or they required you to call, but this was always a challenge for me with my workday timing, which is why it never happened. Olowalu had the easiest website to navigate, which makes sense once you visit. It’s very nice and well-run.

They have tent-camping sites, car/pop-up/van camping sites, and some “glamping” sites (basically furnished huts). They have nice bathrooms along with “outdoor” showers (with hot water!). The showers are on concrete pads and enclosed around the sides, but open on top. You could see the top of the mountain while showering, and it was honestly amazing. Such a cool campground.

The Jeep pop-up “tent” was super easy to setup, and we had a bench right outside. We just had some leftovers for dinner and walked to the beach to take in the views and the sunset.

Our rental had some beach chairs, and later we brought those along with a bottle of wine and sat on the beach and just took in the stars while listening to the ocean waves. The number of stars you could see was crazy!

Eventually we headed back, and went to sleep.

Day 6: Road to Hana!

We had never done the Road to Hana before because our prior trips were split island trips (~4 days on Maui and 4 on Kauai), and we had heard you should plan 2 days to really maximize the Road to Hana (1 day to drive there, stay the night, and 1 day to drive back). We were so excited to finally tackle this, and decided to book the Hyatt resort in Hana for 3 nights! However, we didn’t know what to expect, because so much of our research was just focused on the “Road to Hana”, and not what to do when staying in Hana. But first, the trek there!

After dropping the Jeep off, we stopped in Paia for lunch. Carly had been dying to see Paia, as it has a ton of cute little shops. We decided to postpone a full Paia exploration until the drive back, so we didn’t lose daylight on the way to Hana, but we did pop in to Mana Foods for lunch! Mana foods is pretty similar to Farmers Market Maui in Kaanapali, but much larger and not entirely vegan/vegetarian. However, it still had that very local feel and had loads of vegan options. Right inside is Maka by Mana, a coffee and bakery shop with loads of cakes and cupcakes, many of which were vegan. They also had a hot bar, cold bar, and soup with tons of vegan options, including quinoa salad, a vegan pizza, tofu options, and various sides. There was a dessert fridge with some vegan options as well, and there was a bakery rack with loads of cookies, brownies, and banana bread, with just as many vegan options as non-vegan ones. We sampled several items from the hot bar and the bakery, which were all incredible. We also stocked up on some basic provisions for Hana, since we knew there wasn’t much there in the way of groceries and we had seen there weren’t a ton of vegan options.

Then, we got on our way!

We downloaded the Shaka Guide app and played that in the car along the way, which was so helpful. You pretty quickly lose service on the drive, and it would have been a bit of a nightmare to try to navigate to all the stops along the way. The Shaka Guide app gets downloaded onto your phone and has its own map with all the stops, and the guide narrates as you go, telling you where to turn and what to expect.

We made stops at Ho’okipa Beach, Twin Falls, the roadside lava tube, Waikamoi Ridge Trail, various overlooks and other waterfalls. We drove nice and slow, since there are >600 turns and many one-lane bridges along the way! Many of the turns are tight and you can’t see around, so going slow is advised. Carly also gets motion sickness, but without any time pressure (since we didn’t have to come back the same day), we just took it nice and slow and she was fine. We just soaked up the views and took our time!

We did stop at Coconut Glen’s along the way, which is an entirely vegan ice-cream truck (with plenty of outdoor seating) for a snack. It’s all coconut ice cream and delicious!

We also popped into Hana Farms, but they had already closed the restaurant so we just grabbed a vegan banana bread from the roadside stand, which we had for breakfast the next day.

Once we got to Hana, it was clearly a very different vibe! It’s a quaint, small town, and the parking lot for the resort is at the bottom of a large hill full of cows.

Behind the resort is a baseball field and it seemed there was a baseball game going on for local residential children. It felt very local and authentic as opposed to the resort area of Ka’anapali, which was a cool vibe shift. We walked to a food truck parking lot around the corner for dinner and got the red curry from Ae’s Thai Kitchen, which was AMAZING. One of the best red curries I’ve had.

There was also a burger truck that had a Beyond burger option, which we got the next day. Ae’s Thai kitchen is a great stop for vegans as they have tofu and can make a lot of their dishes vegan. We got the green curry two nights later, and it was also very good. Hana Ranch is a larger restaurant and they have a Beyond burger option and a few salads, and there’s a Thai restaurant that should also be a good stop for vegans. But that’s about it for vegan dinner options!

After that, we hung out at the resort pool for a bit, which overlooked the ocean and was so tranquil. Once it got dark, they lit the fire pit and some folks sat around the fire. We enjoyed the seats along the pool. Then, we headed to bed!

Day 7: An INSANE waterfall hike!

This day was our biggest hike of the trip, so we headed back to the food truck park for breakfast and coffee. We got an acai bowl from The Juice Box and coffee from Da Mean Bean. You’d think by this point in the trip I’d be tired of acai bowls, but they are just so dang good! Caffeinated and carb’d up, we headed out for the craziest hike of the trip.

We were super excited to hike the Pipiwai Trail because we had heard about the bamboo forest and had never seen one before. The Pipiwai Trail is within Hale’akala National Park and is several miles past Hana. We woke up and enjoyed our vegan banana bread as a quick (and delicious) breakfast, and then headed out. We passed Makapipi falls early on, which was a super cool roadside waterfall with a parking area and others began to show up to swim in the pool beneath it.

We carried on, and eventually arrived at the park. After purchasing a park pass, we hit the trail! Even as early as we got there, the parking lot was already full. Thankfully, there was overflow parking on the grass. The hike is definitely a real hike and we were very glad we brought hiking boots. It’s doable in tennis shoes or Chacos/Tevas, but I was very happy to have my boots.

One of the first stops we came to was a valley overlook – it was so cool and there were birds flying about that just gave it an awesome feel.

After soaking up the views, we continued onward until we encountered the Banyan Tree! Most people know about the Banyan Tree in downtown Lahaina, but not many have heard of the one on this trail! It’s not as sprawling as the one in Lahaina, but it’s still quite large and it was so cool to see one out in nature. They are so impressive, it’s always exciting to see in person.

We continued onward until we reached the bamboo forest which was SO COOL! We had seen some videos on Youtube and knew this was going to be a highlight. The sounds they made when the wind blew was crazy, and it felt like we were in an entirely different place.

Eventually, the trail ends at a MASSIVE waterfall. We were standing there surrounded by this huge rock wall, easily a couple hundred meters tall. It wraps around and you’re surrounded. It was truly incredible and the highlight of the hike. We just hung out here for awhile taking it in (and enjoying a few snacks we had packed) and recovering from the hike up.

After the return hike down, we stopped to check out the O’heo Gulch. It had a great ocean view and we took a few pictures. Then, we hopped in the car and headed to get something to eat!

After a long day of hiking, we needed something greasy. Dinner was the Beyond Burger from the food truck plus fries, and it hit the spot. (sorry, no picture…too tired! It was delicious though…)

After relaxing by the pool with a bottle of wine, we headed to bed!

Day 8: Wai’anapanapa State Park (black sand beach)

Hana is known for its black sand beaches, and we knew we had to check this out. We had made a reservation for 9am, and they are very strict about getting there within 15 minutes of your reservation. It’s not negotiable – a friend of mine just barely missed his 15 minute window and they did not let him in. The time slots also need to be booked in advance, but thankfully we were able to snag one.

There’s not that much in the way of “trails”, but there is some general area to explore. We just wandered around and checked out some different spots, including the black sand beach. It’s definitely unique, just visually, compared to a regular sand beach. The water was pretty cold, though, so we just dipped our feet in.

The coolest part of this park was an ocean cave! It’s right off the black sand beach, and I doubt it’s accessible 24/7 because I assume high tide fills it up. But when we were there, we crouched to get through a small opening, and then it opened up and you could walk around. At the other end, it opened up to the ocean. Super cool! We sat for a little while and just watched the waves crashing and enjoyed the solitude. Around 11am, our 2 hour window was up so we headed out.

We went back to Hana Farms and had lunch at the restaurant. They don’t open until 11am and we got there around 10:45, so we grabbed a cup of coffee from the market stand while we waited. The restaurant has lots of pizzas and they do not have vegan cheese, but they do have a vegan pizza on the menu (no cheese), which is what we got. It’s all handmade dough, and very good.   

After that, there was a Farm Shop across the street, so we wandered over to check it out. It’s a cute little stand with fruit, bouquets of Hawaiian flowers/plants (gorgeous!), and other gifts. The owners were there and we talked to them for quite a bit. They own the farm and make the bouquets themselves, and they also make a select few jars of real coconut milk from raw coconuts (no preservatives, just coconut!), so of course we had to get one!

Knowing we were nearing the end of our trip and that we had done most of the activities on our list, we decided to skip the red sand beach. We wanted to make sure we went home refreshed and rejuvenated instead of tired, so we opted to spend the afternoon by the pool and relax.

For dinner, you guessed it…we head back to the food trucks and visited Ae’s Thai Kitchen again. I was torn between the red and green curry…I’m usually a green curry guy but that red curry was just so good and I wanted it again. But I opted to try the green curry and it was also very good. I think the red curry still gets the edge though.

After getting a head start on packing things up, we headed to bed.

Day 9: Road FROM Hana

We had some leftover banana bread for breakfast, checked out, and started the return trip. We had hit most of the highlights on the way to Hana, but we did skip over the two arboretums on the way. We stopped at the Ke’anae Arboretum on the way back, and it was super cool! The Ke’anae Arboretum is completely free and there is no staff or facilities, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we loved it. You just park on the site of the road and then there’s a small gate and a path. There were some other visitors, but overall it felt very raw and untouched. It’s not manicured or anything, and it feels like you’ve discovered an abandoned arboretum. Super cool and very peaceful. The arboretum has lots of cool trees and plaques indicated what it is and where it came from. You can follow the path on through to the end which had a few taro patches. It had several rainbow eucalyptus, which was the real star of the show! These trees are crazy! They naturally have these colorful streaks throughout, and I’ve never seen anything like it.

While we haven’t been to the Garden of Eden (paid) arboretum, I can say that the Ke’anae one is a great spot if you want to save some money and put it towards Coconut Glen’s ice cream or vegan banana bread (or a Thai food truck) instead.

As we approached Paia, we saw a sign for a vegan food truck and impulsively pulled off, and are so glad we did! It was Rainbow Kitchen, a food truck that the locals we had met at the Moku Roots dinner strongly recommended. We had almost forgotten about it! It’s all vegan, and they have a pretty extensive and inventive menu. There were tons of sandwiches, tacos, wraps, shakes, and more. We got the Krabby Patty and jackfruit quesadilla. The whole menu looked so good and it was hard to choose, and I wish I could have gone a few more times to try more things because it all looked so amazing. We walked around that little plaza and there was another place that had a bunch of buddha/grain bowl options, if you want something less processed/more clean.

We got to Paia early afternoon and decided to walk around and explore the shops and pick up a few souvenirs. We grabbed coffee at Paia Bay Coffee and Bar and they had plenty of vegan options and restrooms. As we were exploring, we poked our head into Paia Gelato and were pleasantly surprised to see an entire case of vegan options! When we lived in Maine (pre-vegan days), we loved Gelato Fiasco, but they only ever had a few vegan options and they were only fruity. This shop had two cases, and one of them was entirely vegan! Over a dozen flavors, including chocolate! I was in heaven.

On our way back to the car, we popped back into Mana Foods again to grab dinner from the hot bar and some snacks for the trip home. We had to be at the airport at 6am and knew we weren’t going to have a chance to grab breakfast, so we just grabbed some bagels and vegan cream cheese to make in the hotel room. Despite being a grocery store in the small town of Paia, they had all the vegan fixings you might find at any domestic grocery store (if not more…), including vegan cheese, tofu, seitan, tempeh, vegan mayo, etc.

I also got another banana bread. Don’t judge me.

We finished the drive and arrived at the Courtyard Marriott right by the airport – our Turo host met us in the parking lot and we handed her the keys – another pro for Turo. That was super convenient, and meant we didn’t have to rent an extra day since the hotel could just shuttle us over in the morning.

Remember that food truck part that’s right outside the airport I mentioned earlier? That’s in the parking lot right next to this hotel! So, we couldn’t help but wander over to check it out, and that’s when we met Tabay.

He was standing outside his truck and asked if we’d like to see a menu. Of course! I briefly flipped through it, seeing lots of burgers and chicken sandwiches. He asked if we had any questions he could answer. I told him we were actually vegan, and asked what was vegan. He looked me dead in the eye, smiled, and said “this” as he pointed to the menu.

I was confused, and looked at the menu again and thought surely he either just didn’t understand what “vegan” meant or didn’t care and was trying to be funny. But then I noticed some of the tell-tale signs (ex. “chick’n”), and thought he might be serious. “Wait, seriously? It’s all vegan?!”. “Yep!”. Holy smokes, game changer. I had seen a Monster Burger, that was calling my name – a burger patty, Just Egg, coconut bacon, breakfast sausage, vegan cheese, fried onion ring….all my favorite things in one. But the entire menu looked amazing, and it was really hard to choose. After ordering, we chatted with Tabay for awhile and he has a really cool story. He had actually just gotten that food truck spot and it was his first week, coming from California. He was incredibly friendly and fun to talk to, and we’re super glad we met him and could support his business!

At this point, it was time to return to the hotel room and finalize packing for the flight and get some rest. The next day, we flew home!

Reflections on the trip:

• Staying on one island and not having to go through TSA, rent a new car, etc. due to inter-island flight is a gamechanger. The vacation was overall so much more relaxing.
• Next time we’ll happily pay the higher price to stay in Ka’anapali again. Resort life is great.
• I would definitely do Road to Hana over 2 days instead of 1. I can’t see how you could really enjoy it without feeling rushed and exhausted when doing it in 1 day.
• The Friday Night Dinner at Moku Roots is INCREDIBLE and 100% something I’d do again. I’d also consider trying to fit in Sunday Brunch and the Saturday Upcountry Farmers market. Probably wouldn’t do all 3, due to the distance from Ka’anapali, but would absolutely try to make it for one of them.
• Turo is a great alternative to renting a car from a traditional agency.
• I wish I had known about Farmers Market Maui (in Ka’anapali) and Mana Foods (Paia) sooner! It’s great to know there are shops outside Kahului that have great hot bars and vegan groceries to help supply sandwiches for easy hotel-room meals or packable adventure lunches.

Overall, our reflection is that we’d mostly do what we just did! Our 3^rd trip to Maui was easily our best one yet, and we feel like we nailed it.