Colin
McWilliams
Aloha!
This page outlines all activities, events, and locations visited daily during my vacation to Hawai'i. The entire vacation spanned from June 4, 2024, to June 14, 2024. Each day contains information regarding daily activities, from sightseeing to food. At the top of each day's section, a video time stamp is provided so that you can follow along with the journey in the YouTube video! Enjoy!
Day 1 | June 4
Video Time: 0:00 - 2:25
The first day of vacation started with 11 hours and 14 minutes of flying to cover 4,758 miles from Columbus, OH to Maui, HI. For the entire duration, we stayed at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa.
Flight Info
Airline: Alaska Airlines
Main Route: CMH - OGG
Leg 1: CMH - SEA (ASA381)
Departure: 7:06 am Eastern
Arrival: 9:10 am Pacific
Leg 2: SEA- OGG (ASA825)
Departure: 11:36 am Pacific
Arrival: 2:51 pm Hawaiian
Resort Information
We stayed on the west coast of Maui in the Kaanapali community. While there are many great resort options, we resided at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa. Our room was the penthouse on the right end of the Konea tower.
Day 2 | June 5
Video Time: 2:25 - 4:50
The day started early.... like 2 am Hawaiian time early. This morning, we took the sunrise tour to the top of Haleakala National Park. It is a 37-mile drive up to the summit, which is 10,023 ft above sea level. It is one of the greatest elevation gains in the shortest distances in the world.
The sunrise tour was one of the best things to experience/do while on Maui. It is truly magical and surreal.
As a note, it is best to do this tour the next day after your arrival as you are already jet-lagged. For us, we arrived on the 4th around 2-3 pm local and were in bed by 9-10 pm for a quick nap.
Sunrise Tour Info
Company: Valley Isle Excursions
Pickup: 2 am
Dropoff: 10 am
Duke's Beach House
Duke's Beach House is Honua Kai Resort's open-air beach eatery that offers island menus, surfer decor, tiki torches & vistas.
Day 3 | June 6
Video Time: 4:50 - 9:45
Today, my brother, cousin, and I ventured to the Island of Hawai'i (aka The Big Island) to visit Volcanoes National Park. We took a quick 20-minute flight from Maui to Kona; from there, we drove to Volcanoes National Park before departing to Hilo, where we booked our return flight to Maui.
Flight Info
Airline: Southwest Airlines
Morning: OGG - KOA (SW1548)
Departure: 7:35 am HST
Arrival: 8:15 am HST
Evening: ITO - HNL - OGG (WN3035/WN3379)
Departures: 4:46 pm HST / 7:11 pm HST
Arrivals: 5:42 pm HST / 7:50 pm HST
Route Info
On the big island, our road trip journey began at Kona airport and consisted of driving 187+ miles to 5 different points of interest.
Trip point of interest:
A) Kona Airport
B) Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park
C) Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park
D) Punalu'u Black Sand Beach
E) Volcanoes National Park
F) Hōlei Sea Arch (Vol. NP)
G) Hilo Airport
Day 4 | June 7
Video Time: 9:45 - 14:07
This morning was an early riser for a good spot in line at Papi's Ohana for a delicious cinnamon roll. This local family-owned spot offers homemade cinnamon rolls and other pastries while supplies last and, in the evening, offers homemade pizzas.
Following a delicious morning breakfast, we traveled north along the Honoapiliani Highway to Maui's north side, where we saw the stunning cliff side of the Island. The furthest we went was the Nakalele Blowhole before backtracking and stopping at various lookouts to capture the Island's stunning beauty. Note: While we did stop at the Nakalele Blowhole, we did not stop at MamLei's Homemade Goodness. This is a roadside bakery popup with homemade banana bread, which is rumored to be some of the best on the island.
Furthermore, if you follow along with the YouTube video, I was able to capture the blowhole and some of the stunning shorelines and cliffs with my drone.
