Safari West - mid September 2019

Finally, we got to Safari West. I had been waiting for years for W to be 4+ so I could take him and we made it!! Weekdays are bit cheaper than weekends for both the rooms and safari ride. They give a little discount if you book the room and stay overnight. We did a Friday night trip. I think one night is sufficient in Safari West. We booked many months in advance as they sell out pretty quick in summers and even after for weekends. We booked the Antelope Alley room to be next to the animals. They have several rooms which give a camping kind of experience. Glamping - they call it. Their website is pretty self sufficient to book everything. Tip to book - reserve the room through website and then everything else (lunch, dinner and safari ride etc) via phone to avoid the high online booking fee. They are very user friendly. Below was the view from our room.

The animals get quite loud at night, especially the flamingoes. Not everyone can sleep in that kind of noise but we managed. The noises were all throughout the night and pretty loud but we enjoyed it:) The patio in the dark was awesome with the starry night sky. It was a beautiful experience. We did not reserve the BBQ dinner for the night but I heard it is quite good. Breakfast is included in room price which was great. We did reserve the lunch for next day and it was good too. Glad we did that as there is really no eating place close by.

Next morning, we walked around the safari west. Not a lot to see while walking except for giraffes and monkeys. We were booked for a safari ride at 10am. The sooner in the morning, the better it is. The ride and rooms along with breakfast/lunch place are all pretty close - easy walking distance of 2-3 minutes. The safari ride is right in front of the eating place. I had been reading everywhere that safari ride is not recommended for pregnant women. There is no restriction by safari west as such but people avoid it. The tour guide encouraged me to go for it and I did by paying there and then. They wouldn't have allowed booking right there as they were all full but they had one seat! Glad I went. It is a bit bumpy plus there are no restrooms on the way. It gets pretty hot on the ride. So, sooner the better. Another tip: If you are pregnant, then avoid sitting on the top of the safari, else it could be hard. We got the upper level which has 3 seats as our son wanted the upper level. He loved it! They give turns to sit up if there are more than one families wanting to sit up in the jeep. We had close encounters with Ostrich, saw zebras, antelopes and giraffes along with other animals. They do not have elephants though. The safari lasts for more than an hour. Totally worth it!

Maui - August 2019

This was our first time trip to Maui island and first time with our little boy to Hawaii. The last time in Big islands was a totally different experience as it was just my husband and myself and we could do all the adventure stuff. Not this time. Not because of our son but because I was pregnant with 3rd trimester starting.
We were in Maui for almost 3.5 days. It was quite humid in August and unexpectedly warm. The tickets were cheaper right around the time when schools open after summer break. So, we took advantage of that. Direct flight to Maui from Sacramento (5ish hours) was a great thing. We booked our car rental through the orbitz package along with the hotel which proved cheaper than renting the car from costco or any other place.
We stayed at The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka'anapali, booked through Orbitz. It was a great resort with a private beachfront and lots of activities going on in the hotel all the time. The hotel staff was nice as well. It felt like a nice place to relax since we had booked an oceanfront room. Since we reached almost in the evening on day 1, we decided to go to the resort's beach and then the resort had shuttle service to the Maui downtown area. We took the shuttle which was very easy.
Prior to reaching Maui, I had bought the Maui Value Pass through TripAdvisor which gives access to Atlantis Submarine ride, Maui Plantation Farms, a museum where we never went and to Maui Aquarium.
I think 3.5 days were sufficient in Maui as we stayed only on the west side of the island. The east side is awesome but the roads to get (RTH: Road To Hana) there are very winding and narrow. After much advise from forums in TripAdvisor, we decided not to plan for it due to motion sickness plus too much driving with a kid who would have asked us every minute if we reached for those 6-7 hours of drive!

Our resort was around 40 mins from the airport. Not too bad. There is a costco, walmart and all other stores around the airport. So, it was easy access to grocery. The historic district/outlet mall area (where we went every evening by hotel shuttle) had safeway as well. The area always had Luau (Hawaiian dance) for free which we enjoyed. Donations were accepted. The sunset every night was very gorgeous. One night, we had pizza at Sale Pepe for dinner which was great. Another night, we had thai . It was good too. One night we had Mexican from a local stall kind of restaurant in historic district which was just ok and probably that is why I do not remember the name of it!

Day 2: We went to Iao valley state park/ the needle for a hike. It was a beautiful area and the hike was not hard at all, maybe around a mile one way. Next we went to Maui plantation farms. We had lunch at the farms which was farm-to-fresh. Little over-priced but it was great. We enjoyed the food and would surely go there again for food! They offer a little tram ride which is included in the ticket. It was very informative too. Next we explored Paia town on the way to Ho'okipa beach which has lots of turtles. Since turtles are a protected species, pictures of them were not allowed from close.

Day 3: We went to Kapalua Coastal Trail and hiked to Nakalele Blowhole - Ohai trail. The trail was very rocky where you literally had to hold the rocks but was totally worth it. It was quite tiring but I bet if a pregnant woman can do it, then anyone can with that "will" :) Just remember to carry water as it is generally hot out there. If one doesn't want to hike all the way down, then there is a overlook where you could see the blowhole. Blowhole is where water comes out from the ground/ocean after every few seconds/minutes, randomly. There are no eating places really close but there are some food trucks on the way or a lady who had a cookie and water stall set up right there at the beginning of the trail. We drove back after that and ate at a pizza place while driving back to the resort. Evening was relaxing.

Day 4: Atlantis submarine in the morning and afternoon was spent in Maui Aquarium. Our 6 year old enjoyed both the submarine and aquarium. Submarine was totally worth the money for people like me who do not know diving and could probably never see what is underwater. The submarine is narrow and people were warning me against going as the stairs are narrow but it was just fine and totally ok to go. No bathrooms there but they have bathrooms in the start area from where a ferry takes you to the submarine. Probably a 15-min ferry ride to the submarine and an hour in the submarine and then back to the waterfront by the same ferry.

Next day was our flight back. We totally enjoyed this part of Maui. People were recommending Luau which we did not do as we were late in reserving the best one. Not that our boy would have let us sit through it! We saw the luau in Westin resort (while passing by) which is one of the best ones but we thought it was a good idea that we skipped it. It was quite packed and lot of people. Food and dancing is the main attraction of a Luau and knowing more about the island culture but some people might have interest in that which is great.