Chicks who rip have a field day at this annual surf tourney on Maui. With a monster swell bearing down on the islands, the ladies will likely get huge surf on one of the most epic breaks in the world,…

Love, love, love this hotel. Paia is the un-Maui vacation, with no big hotels, small town feel, vagabond windsurfers cruising through and oceans galore.…

Love, love, love this hotel. Paia is the un-Maui vacation, with no big hotels, small town feel, vagabond windsurfers cruising through and oceans galore. Paia Inn is walkable to beaches, boutiques and great eats -- and is chic as can…

The ladies who know the North Shore lifestyle of Maui best launched this shop roughly one year ago as a flagship venue for their popular brand of swim and beach togs. Style check? Cameron Diaz, Paris Hilton, Eva Longoria…

Tour of the Presidential Suite at the Hyatt Regency Maui with a travel agent. Gives you a sense of the hotel and higher end suites. Visually gives you a good idea of what the hotel is all about. Wish…

The Hotel Hana Maui has a hot new chef who formerly worked as a high-ranking chef for super chef Daniel Boulud. Robert McCormick graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and has a bunch of other impressive restaurant names…

Quickest way I've ever seen to get a feel for driving the Road to Hana. Everyone has to do it once, eh?…

The Lodge has definitely enjoyed a Rennaissance under Four Seasons management. Service is better. I don't know about the food, have heard mixed reports. But this photo montage taken only a couple of months about by Celebrate Travel, gives…

A very cool amateur video tour of a typical room at one of my fave Hawaii hotels, the Hotel Hana Maui. This place is totally unplugged - no TV, no Internet in the rooms. Outdoor lava showers are amazing.…

My old friend Lesa Griffith went to Maui and uncorked a nifty find. Turns out a crackerjack resto team with a chef who formerly was a sous at the famed Union Square Tavern is doing locally sourced cuisine in…

Word out last week that boutique hotel operator Aqua Resorts will be taking over management of the Diamond Resort in Wailea. This is a major coup for Aqua -- Diamond is off-beach but still perfectly fine and a much better…

I did the Molokai Mule Ride almost a decade ago on assignment for a travel publication (This video gives you a great flavor for it). The ride was spectacular. The views from the trail as it zigzags down the…

Flemings on Maui is one of those beaches locals love but tourists rarely hit -- not a lot of hotels nearby. This video does it justice as its a beach that has everything. Left section is great for kids…

LOL. ROTFL. This is your view on a typical afternoon at lunch at Mama's Fish House on Maui. The lunch will set you back a bit. But what's the view worth to you at this point? I thought so.…

It's hard to get a bad view in Wailea and, set right on Polo Beach, the Kea Lani has as nice a view as any place else. What's to like about this resort? Rooms are suites so its better…

Sure, you've got shave ice all over the islands. But Hawaii, despite its increasingly cosmopolitan nature, hasn't yet caught up with the gelato mania sweeping the Mainland. Shops purveying these lighter versions of ice cream in the true Italian…

Roughly 10,000 Maui readers voted for the annual Best of Maui Dining issue put out by the Maui News (which, sadly, forces you to download a PDF if you want to read the lists online). Some of the big winners?…

According to Web travel search engine Kayak.com, fares out of LAX to Maui are going to be very stable for the next year, in the $500 rt range. Consider that a proxy for most fares out of LAX to…

So this is why you pay a lot of money to ride in a helicopter in Hawaii. Amazing, untouched waterfalls, green mountains, no hotels in sight. Aaaah.…

Stay five nights, get two free -- that's a hefty discount. Napili Kai, which is on one of my favorite bays in West Maui, rarely puts on such good offers. I love the place and its a great family spot.…

So now you can see why Maui is the epicenter of the kiteboarding universe.…

Hawaii has a lot of coral but its not as bright and showy as what you might find in Belize or Australia. However, it has plenty of large, visible marine animals and some spectacular formations with coral growing around…

A very nice left off the beaten path past Makena on Maui. Somewhat hairy sharp lava bottom. Gerry Lopez is apparently partial to this wave. Enjoy.…

The next best thing to being there -- in 10 minutes or less.…

Love this tour. Hope this lady gets very lucky on her honeymoon. This gives you a great idea of what the renovated rooms look like. Also love this hotel -- probably a top honeymoon choice for those who want…

Turn down soundtrack on this and ignore the people pics but this is the best photomontage I've seen yet of Grand Wailea. It gives you insights as to why Hawaii's resort properties are looking dated, in many cases. The…

One o the primo destinos in all of Hawaii for camping has long been Haleakala Crater on the island of Maui. Alas, the hadnful of cabins operated by the National Park Service have long been next to impossible to nail…

The dearth of classy, contemporary boites in Lahaina, Maui has long been a sore spot. You could belly up to the bar at a nice restaurant (Lahaina Grill, Pacific'O, Mala) but tipplers seeking appropriate launching pads for evening libations faced…

Chef Jojo Vasquez who kicked the kitchen of the Banyan Tree on Maui in Kapalua Resort up several notches left over a month ago to open a new resto on Oahu with a famous Iron Chef competition winner. Sayonara, Jojo.…

Here's the caveat. I eat at a lot of places around Hawaii and had not eaten at the Pineapple Grill so last time I was on Maui I jumped at the chance. ate at the Pineapple Grill for lunch and…

This is a pretty good slide. I wouldn't recommend for kids -- kinda dark. But the Hyatts all have great pools in Hawaii. Enjoy the lad behavior, as well..…

I love Napili Beach. It's not a secret but its not totally blown, either. There are no major hotels on this gem of a bay, just south of Kapalua Resort. It's ringed by condos but none are taller than…

This place looks a lot like Pipeline but its actually a locally famous break in Northwest Maui called Windmills. It's pretty hairy. Check it out.…

The good folks over at Maui Time Weekly lay out the top 5 plate lunch palaces on the Valley Isle. I have been to Hana Hou in Haiku and can tell you its a superb plate. For the uninitiated, plate…

So some people know that Maui onions rival Vidalias from Georgia fot the crown of sweetest on Earth. So sweet you can eat them raw and kiss your sweetheart. Witness the Maui Onion Festival raw onion contest, pictured here. This…

Curator Julie Cline has turned the Four Seasons in Wailea into perhaps the leading showspace for contemporary art in Maui and possibly in Hawaii overall. She has a beautiful whitewashed canvas. What's more, she regularly runs tours of the…

Hulopoe Beach on Lanai is one of the best places in the islands to swim with spinner dolphins. It's also got a fun surf break, excellent snorkeling, and you can camp there if you don't feel like paying Four…

This is the best hotel pool in Hawaii and among the best in the world. It's almost a water park. Kids force their parents to spend exorbitant sums to stay at this hotel primarily to have easy access to…

Aloha again from the Valley Isle. This trip, as by now you realized, is underwritten by Steve Balmer and the folks at Microsoft. Thanks! So, an easy walk from the center of Lahaina town, the whaling village turned charming…

This is one of the last Microsoft Mobile Posts. You see this logo and it means I'm posting on the go. Again, thanks to Microsoft for underwriting this Maui trip (indirectly, of course). So here we have a picture…

A post on the go from Iao Valley on Maui. We stopped at the phenomenal little cafe in the back of the Hawaii Nature Center in the valley and sucked down an insanely delish mango smoothie (I also wolfed…

Like most big kids, I dig aquariums. I spend a lot of my spare time in the water so any chance I get to learn about or see up close the sea life native to my nautical haunts is…

This post is brought to you by Microsoft, which generously sponsored my trip to Maui (indirectly, of course). When you see the Mobile Post icon, you know I'm posting somewhere in Hawaii. Look closely. Here's a picture of Wailea…

Aloha from Maui. Here's another Microsoft Mobile Post, on the go from the most beautiful island in the world and underwritten by Microsoft (literally). Thanks, Steve! Three years ago our neighbor's son Sage Spalding moved to Maui with a…

Microsoft is sponsoring this blog which, in turn, underwrote my recent trip to Maui with my son. Thank's, Microsoft and when you see this icon, you are seeing a post on the go. I am on Maui for three…

The Valley Isle has the dubious distinction of the highest gas prices in the country and the first place regularly eclipsing the $4 mark. Kauai is following right there behind them. Gas in Hawaii has always been pricey and its…

The Maui News brings good tidings of the spectacular Kula Forest Preserve, a pristine swatch of land in Upcountry Maui on the slopes of Haleakala. The Preserve has been closed after horrific fires destroyed trees and trails and floods ravaged…

After my post earlier this week, these nice folks dropped me a line to say, hey, come stay on the Friendly Isle -- we got your back. Not endorsing this service but good to know. One question to ask them,…

After losing money for several decades, the Molokai Ranch announced it would close, laying off 120 workers and effectively boosting the Friendly Isle's unemployment rate to 12%. The Ranch was one of the largest employers on the island. It also…

Word in the blogosphere is that Alan Wong is in the running for Outstanding Chef (we had already reported as Best Chef in the Northwest -- We were wrong).. He won it in 1996. Would be nice to get a…