Maui sunset
Hawaii and in particular, Maui is one of my favorite places to travel in the world. It used to be an annual pilgrimage. The food, the culture, the raw beauty of the islands are inspirational.
We booked Hawaii as our first big family trip after the vaccines were being rolled out and booked the trip nearly 8 months in advance. At that time, the hotels, the flights and even my favorite restaurant - Mama’s Fish House - were quite affordable and easy to book.
Hawaii also dropped its testing requirement right after the July 4th holiday. With that and our vaccine cards, we uploaded all our information into the Safe Hawaii portal and left New York. It was our son’s first ever commercial flight and we were excited to start taking him around the country with us.
The flight to Maui was relatively uneventful and only when we landed in Maui did we realize how many people were on the island. Everyone has heard of stories of car rental companies being sold out - and while that is no longer the case - Maui airport was absolutely packed.
After grabbing our car, we drove to Andaz Maui and everything seemed well and good as we put our son down to sleep and enjoyed dinner on the little balcony while enjoying the live music.
The next day is when the craziness started:
The wait for breakfast - at our own hotel was upwards of an hour on some days.
The wait for takeout - regardless of meal - was nearly 90 minutes every single day.
We couldn’t get dining reservations at our own hotel’s restaurants for the entire duration of our 9 day stay.
The pool chairs were all reserved by squatters by 6am.
In order to use the hotel cabana (which costs $300 - $500), we had to make reservations a few days in advance.
Mama’s Fish House - the restaurant that we made our reservations for nearly 6 months before the trip with relative ease had no reservations left until February of 2022.
Every park, beach, outdoor activity was overflowing with visitors.
And worst of all - during our flight back from Maui to New York - the security line started at baggage claim - causing a lot of people to miss their flights. And the staff at Kahului Airport - possibly the least helpful and unaccommodating to visitors.
As much as I love Hawaii and look forward to visiting again - it certainly will not be in the near future. From the hostility of the locals to the overcrowding - it is simply not worth it.
We booked Hawaii as our first big family trip after the vaccines were being rolled out and booked the trip nearly 8 months in advance. At that time, the hotels, the flights and even my favorite restaurant - Mama’s Fish House - were quite affordable and easy to book.
Hawaii also dropped its testing requirement right after the July 4th holiday. With that and our vaccine cards, we uploaded all our information into the Safe Hawaii portal and left New York. It was our son’s first ever commercial flight and we were excited to start taking him around the country with us.
The flight to Maui was relatively uneventful and only when we landed in Maui did we realize how many people were on the island. Everyone has heard of stories of car rental companies being sold out - and while that is no longer the case - Maui airport was absolutely packed.
After grabbing our car, we drove to Andaz Maui and everything seemed well and good as we put our son down to sleep and enjoyed dinner on the little balcony while enjoying the live music.
The next day is when the craziness started:
The wait for breakfast - at our own hotel was upwards of an hour on some days.
The wait for takeout - regardless of meal - was nearly 90 minutes every single day.
We couldn’t get dining reservations at our own hotel’s restaurants for the entire duration of our 9 day stay.
The pool chairs were all reserved by squatters by 6am.
In order to use the hotel cabana (which costs $300 - $500), we had to make reservations a few days in advance.
Mama’s Fish House - the restaurant that we made our reservations for nearly 6 months before the trip with relative ease had no reservations left until February of 2022.
Every park, beach, outdoor activity was overflowing with visitors.
And worst of all - during our flight back from Maui to New York - the security line started at baggage claim - causing a lot of people to miss their flights. And the staff at Kahului Airport - possibly the least helpful and unaccommodating to visitors.
As much as I love Hawaii and look forward to visiting again - it certainly will not be in the near future. From the hostility of the locals to the overcrowding - it is simply not worth it.
Andaz Maui
We booked Hawaii as our first big family trip after the vaccines were being rolled out and booked the trip nearly 8 months in advance. At that time, the hotels, the flights and even my favorite restaurant - Mama’s Fish House - were quite affordable and easy to book.
Early morning paddle
Hawaii also dropped its testing requirement right after the July 4th holiday. With that and our vaccine cards, we uploaded all our information into the Safe Hawaii portal and left New York. It was our son’s first ever commercial flight and we were excited to start taking him around the country with us.
The flight to Maui was relatively uneventful and only when we landed in Maui did we realize how many people were on the island. Everyone has heard of stories of car rental companies being sold out - and while that is no longer the case - Maui airport was absolutely packed.
After grabbing our car, we drove to Andaz Maui and everything seemed well and good as we put our son down to sleep and enjoyed dinner on the little balcony while enjoying the live music.
The next day is when the craziness started:
The wait for breakfast - at our own hotel was upwards of an hour on some days.
The wait for takeout - regardless of meal - was nearly 90 minutes every single day.
We couldn’t get dining reservations at our own hotel’s restaurants for the entire duration of our 9 day stay.
The pool chairs were all reserved by squatters by 6am.
In order to use the hotel cabana (which costs $300 - $500), we had to make reservations a few days in advance.
Mama’s Fish House - the restaurant that we made our reservations for nearly 6 months before the trip with relative ease had no reservations left until February of 2022.
Every park, beach, outdoor activity was overflowing with visitors.
And worst of all - during our flight back from Maui to New York - the security line started at baggage claim - causing a lot of people to miss their flights. And the staff at Kahului Airport - possibly the least helpful and unaccommodating to visitors.
As much as I love Hawaii and look forward to visiting again - it certainly will not be in the near future. From the hostility of the locals to the overcrowding - it is simply not worth it.