Expeditions Ferry

One of the biggest surprises I had when planning my trip to Hawai'i regarded transportation. I had booked my flights arriving and leaving from two different islands, so I needed to figure out how to get between islands.

You just take a boat, right?

Only not so much.

I started planning my trip in October 2016 and we didn't leave until February 2017. Over the course of those four months, our transportation options shrunk as we considered where to go. At the end of 2016, the Expeditions Ferry was the only ferry that went between the islands and it only went between Maui and Lāna‘i and Lāna‘i and Moloka'i. Well, as luck would have it, they ended the transportation between Lāna‘i and Moloka'i as I was in the process of booking. My options were to either give up Moloka'i altogether or find another way to the island. I wasn't too certain about visiting Lāna‘i, but onward we went. A boat ride was definitely on my bucketlist! My hope was to see whales as we moved between islands. (We ended up booking a flight between Lāna‘i and Moloka'i and between Moloka'i and O'ahu, but that will be saved for another blog post.)

If you are considering taking the Expeditios Ferry between Maui and Lāna‘i, here's what you need to know:

+ The current cost is $30 for adults, $20 for children.

+ The ferry leaves from Lahaina four times a day beginning at 6:45am with the last departure at 5:45pm.

+ They ask that you arrive an hour prior to departure, but we arrived only about 15 minutes prior to boarding and were still allowed on. If you are running late, call to confirm that the late arrival will be ok. Don't take my word!

+ It takes the ferry approximately 45 minutes to get across to Lāna‘i Island.

+ Depending on the day and weather conditions, the ocean can be a bit choppy and cause motion sickness. If you get sick easily, you may want to consider taking Dramamine prior to your ferry ride.

+ Dolphins and whales can be seen during the winter months!

+ There is no food or drink available for purchase on the boat, so be sure to bring your own!

+ The return ferry leaves from Lāna‘i five times a day beginning at 8am with the last departure at 6:45pm.

Most importantly! While you can use this post to help plan your trip, be sure to check the Expeditions Ferry website for the most current and up to date information. Call if you have any questions. The people that work for Expeditions Ferry are kind and will help you in any way if they can.

What do you think of those views from the boat? Would a boat trip be a must for you if you visit Hawai'i?

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It's day twelve in the A-Z blog challenge! This month I'll be sharing all about my five year anniversary in Hawai'i – providing insight into the places I went, reviewing the hotels I stayed at, and telling my story. Today's letter was K for the kickass views we saw our last day on Maui Island and during our boat ride to Lāna‘i! (See part 1 here.)

A • B • C • D • E (pt 1, 2, 3) • F • G • H • I • J

Northwest Maui

For our last day on Maui, we awoke early and drove to the Plantation House where we had breakfast with a view.

Plantation House

Address: 2000 Plantation Club Dr, Lahaina, HI 96761

Hours: 8am-9pm (daily)

Pro-tip: Getting into the Plantation House can be a bit tricky. Once you enter the building, go the right, follow the hallway to the stairwell featured above, and the restaurant will be to your left. If you get there before the restaurant opens, you may have a chance to check out the gift shop (featuring lots of golf equipment) which will be located on the other side of the stairwell from the restaurant.

For breakfast, we ordered a mixed fruit plate (since Hawai'i has some of the best tropical fruit you will ever have!), malasadas (a special donut you can get in Hawai'i filled with a sweet filling, in this case, a strawberry filling came with the donuts that you could insert into it), and eggs benedict with breakfast potatoes.

Pro-tip: If you intend on doing this, I recommend getting to the restaurant at the opening time, 8am, to get a seat with a view. Within 15 minutes of arriving all of the best seats were taken!

Next on our list: the Nakalele Blowhole and the Northwest coast of Maui, which we were planning to explore prior to boarding the Expeditions Ferry to Lāna‘i.

Driving the northwest coast of Maui can be a little overwhelming and is similar to the Road to Hana. The roads are narrow and quite curvy.

Something else to keep in mind: if you get too close to the Nakalele Blowhole, you can get sucked in. And if you go at low tide, you may not see too much water "blowing" action.

That being said, check out the view!

After spending more time than we should have at the Nakalele Blowhole, my husband and I headed back to our hotel to pack and get ready to leave the island. But not before stopping at a few more stops along the way to get some pictures…

If you have the opportunity, the northwest corner of Maui really is worth checking out. Both the beaches and the mountains were eye-candy. In fact, all of that eye candy definitely had an effect on us getting to the Expeditions Ferry on time…

What are your thoughts? Are you as enamored with these kickass views as I am?

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It's day twelve of the A-Z blog challenge! This month I'll be sharing all about my five year anniversary in Hawai'i – providing insight into the places I went, reviewing the hotels I stayed at, and telling my story. Today's letter was K for the kickass views we saw our last day on Maui Island and during our boat ride to Lāna‘i!

A • B • C • D • E (pt 1, 2, 3) • F • G • H • I • J

A-Z Problems

Today's post was suppose to be about the luau and vow renewal Justin and I experienced while in Hawai'i. Unfortunately, that post will not be able to go live today. I had fully intended on editing images from the event during my return flight from California this past Sunday until a tsunami of sparkling water hit my laptop. April A-Z 2018 suddenly went from one of the most stressful times of the year to … will I even be able to complete the task? Right now, I'm thinking no. I'm relying on my husband's generosity to be able to write posts using his laptop, but I don't have access to photoshop at all. Editing images for April A-Z is out of the question until I get a new laptop. And who can afford a new laptop after returning from vacation?

So, while I do have some blog posts that have been pre-scheduled, I'm not sure, at this point, what will happen with my April A-Z participation. I will do my best to get my posts up as soon as possible.

Anyway, happy #wordfullWednesday! Hope you all are having a wonderful week so far!

Maui Ocean Center

Being in Hawai'i, I knew that one of the sights I had to see was an aquarium. I absolutely love aquariums, and I love seeing how different they are from place to place. Before flying off to Hawai'i, I made sure to put in some research to determine which aquarium we should visit; Maui's Ocean Center took the cake.

As it turns out, the Maui Ocean Center fit perfectly into our schedule as we made our way from the middle of Maui in Wailea to the west side of the island, Lahaina. We only had a few hours to explore the Maui Ocean Center but that was more than enough. While big, the Maui Ocean Center is not overwhelming. In my opinion, it's the perfect size! I recommend spending a good 2-3 hours here, especially if you opt for a snack or lunch at the delicious Seascape Restaurant with a gorgeous view looking out onto the marina.

One more tidbit before we move on: Even though there is certainly a lot of aquarium inside, the Maui Ocean Center also has an outdoor portion. So, yes, this is a good place to visit on a rainy day, but you will not be inside during your entire visit.

Address: 192 Maalaea Rd, Wailuku, HI 96793

Hours: 9am-5pm 7 days a week

Seascape Restaurant Hours: 10:30am-3pm, 5-9pm

Price: $29.95 for adults, $19.95 for kids

* At the time I went, discounted tickets could be bought on Costco's website.

One of the first things you will notice as you wall in is a screen full of Instagram images where people have tagged the Maui Ocean Center. Feel free to do the same during your visit and maybe your images will end up on there!

The line for entering the aquarium was not very long when I went in February. Obviously, it may be different during another time of year such as Christmas or during the middle of summer. Purchasing tickets ahead of time will certainly save you time, but I don't think it is a necessity.

Our plan was to eat snacks that we had in the car, but halfway through exploring the aquarium we got hungry and decided to try out Seascape.

As one of the first to enter Seascape, we made sure to sit where we could see the water.

We ordered the Chicken Coconut Picatta, pan roasted coconut panko breaded chicken placed over a caper truffle butter sauce served with steamed Jasmine rice and sautéed garden fresh vegetables.

And yes, our meal was as good as the description sounds.

For dessert, we ordered a Valentine's Day special: the Mango Pana Cotta with Mango Sauce, Whipped Cream, and Fresh Berries.

I had no idea what pana cotta was before we ordered this dessert, but I will never forget. Yum.

Food at Seascape was absolutely heavenly and, while I may regret eating at other tourist attractions, I will never forget this meal. In fact, I have had my husband recreate portions of this meal, to the best of his ability, at home! I mean it was that good!

Soon after lunch, we finished our tour of the aquarium and headed on to our hotel. Our day was far from over. We had a luau to look forward to!

Are you a fan of aquariums? Have you ever had a decent meal at a tourist attraction?

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It's day nine in the A-Z blog challenge! This month I'll be sharing all about my five year anniversary in Hawai'i – providing insight into the places I went, reviewing the hotels I stayed at, and telling my story. Today's letter was I for the impressive Maui Ocean Center in Wailuku, Hawai'i on Maui Island!

A • B • C • D • E (pt 1, 2, 3) • F • G • H