Going To Hawaii: Port of Call-Maui

So on our cruise we have two whole days in Maui. I've been told this is the most nicest port by several different people! To make the most of our days there I went onto Google, Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor to seek out the best plan of attack. There were so many things I wanted to do in this port and not enough time!! Aaahhh!! What to do?? After comparing and researching for weeks we have finally decided!

Day 1 - Hana Highway with Valley Isle Excursions

I likes the sound of the Valley Isle Excursions. The buses are small and they only take 12 at a time. We recently went to Melbourne and did the Great Ocean Road day trip. It was fantastic because we paid slightly extra and went on a small bus of only 13 including the guide/driver. We could easily get off the bus in less than a minute and we managed to stay ahead of the schedule all day allowing us more time once we got to The Twelve Apostles.

We wont be hiring a car at all in Hawaii and this seemed like the best option of seeing a lot of different places and not worrying about taxis or bus timetables.

The Hana Highway looks amazing. The scenery looks beautiful and i love how big the windows on the bus are. Its a very long tour but doesn't bother us- Great Ocean Road was 13 hours and we could have easily gone for a few more hours! We looked at all the reviews and there didn't seem to be too many negative reports.

I like to pick up some tips from previous travellers they are
• Wear old shoes that you wont mind getting muddy
• Bring snacks to nibble on. Lunch is included but its always nice to have a little something incase you dont like the food or start to feel light headed
• Bring some sort of travel sickness remedy. We thankfully dont suffer with motion sickness ( ignoring the time we were in a cyclone at sea and pretty much the whole ship was sick!)
• Bring water. Yes its included but I like to have my own 'stuff'
• Camera cleaning cloth. My lens is always getting mucky from the salt water splashes or sunblock. Bringing a little cloth to wipe the smudges saved me so many times ( also handy for sunglasses and glasses)

Day 2 - Haleakala Crater at Sunrise

I worried over this day for weeks! I wanted to do so many things. Finally I decided to visit the Haleakala Crater. I did plan on doing the day time tour but I got to reading so many reviews about the sunrise tour and somehow I managed to convince the others! So we are doing it. A 3am (or earlier) departure isn't really bothering me ( yet!) its just the coldness.

Temperatures can be as low as 2 degrees Celsius! Plus add in the wind and possible rain- what have we done! We've spent a week looking for thermal clothes to bring with us but where we live in Australia it doesn't really get that cold and there is nothing in the shops! I've Googled how to stay warm and what to bring and they've all said a down jacket - which isn't available in shops anywhere near here!

Here's the plan
• Jeans ( was bringing them anyway)
• Tights under the jeans ( was bringing them as relaxing clothes/ pyjamas)
• Long sleeve t shirt ( the thickest one I have)
• Cardigan ( was bringing one anyway)
• Hoodie ( was bringing it for the plane)
• Scarf, beanie and gloves ( will weigh nothing in my bag and take up no space)
• Bring a blanket from the ship ( hope they dont stop me!)

I'm also going to carry my camera and tripod with me. Am praying my hands dont freeze and I can still use all my equipment.

Originally it was just going to be myself doing the tour ( am going with NCL so everyone was happy I wasn't going to go by myself in the middle of the night) but then I showed my sister some photos and reviews and she decided to join me. Then we showed our dad and he decide to come, then my mum was going to be left by herself so she decided to come- yay! They wasn't impressed about the coldness or the departure time he he :)

Its going to be a crazy few days but hopefully it will be worth it!