MAUI, HAWAII SOCIAL MEDIA PRESS TRIP: WAILEA BEACHES, LAHAINA BANYAN TREE, HAWAIIAN SAILING CANOE & SUSHI.
“Still my favorite person in this whole wide world
Is the woman who can understand every word
And when she speaks to me she makes me see the whole world
As my favorite place: Hawaii.”
– The Strokes
And that’s a feeling I understand, after a week in Maui. The Convention Visitor’s Bureau generously invited me on a social media press trip.
My filmmakers and I made travel videos about the culture, fashion and food, especially when influenced by Japan. Here’s a visual overview of my Maui journey, with much more to come.
On the first day, we rode on a traditional and eco-friendly Hawaiian sailing canoe.
The Captain and First Mate mesmerized us with tales of Hawaii’s history, while we lounged on the sails.
Photo of my filmmaker Melissa and me, by Jason Travels (a fellow travel blogger on the press trip). I’m wearing a Hyoma top from Hong Kong that Sebastiano gave me.
We’re not the snorkeling types, but we dipped our toes in the ocean and attempted a hula dance.
The beach at Wailea. The black cat is by Blablahospital; I stole it from Seba.
Words and photos fail to describe a Maui sunset.
After dark, I could stare at the constellations for hours.
The Banyan Tree in Lahaina, planted in 1873. My filmmaker hugged it — wouldn’t you?
The branches come down and take root, forming one of the largest banyans in the US.
Since we made travel videos about Japan-influenced food, we got to eat like kings at Japengo (Hyatt Regency Maui). I’m salivating at the grilled mahi-mahi and black coconut forbidden rice, and world-class sushi and sashimi.
Hamachi with lychee bubbles made using molecular gastronomy, an elegant Korean seafood pancake, coconut creme brule and acai cheesecake. After the meal, my filmmaker groaned, “I’m about to give birth to a food baby!”
I’m obsessed with fresh local fish. While in Maui, I dined on butterfish, mahi-mahi, and mong chong. At the top-rated Nick’s Fishmarket, I tried flaming strawberries and snapper. Highly recommended.
I visited Honolulu when I was about 13 years old, and I’d say Maui is more my style. It’s smaller and laid-back, yet there’s enough on the island to keep you engaged. I felt the genuine warmth of the locals, everywhere I stopped. As The Strokes put it,
“Still my favorite attitude in this world so far
Is the friendly spirit of an iron heart
Like the way folks are in this most special place
I don’t care what happens, I’m taking a plane.”
Coming up: flowers in my hair, and ahi tuna on a stick! If you’d like to see previews of my Hawaii journey, add me on Instagram (lacarmina) and Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube, as I’ll be posting videos from the trip.
Have you been to Maui, or anywhere in Hawaii? What were your favorite memories?
PS: Thanks to Beauty Bender for interviewing me about my makeup and skincare routine. My tips for staying young: “Sleep a lot (I can do 12-14 hours), have daily fish oil and take time to relax. Those are the secrets of my Buddha-like Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow!”
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LA CARMINA
17 Comments
You look very summer this time on your blog! so pretty as usual
I loved Hawaii far more than I imagined. Went last month and miss it ever since.
I live in Hawaii. Work in Waikiki :’)
Awww… Maui – can’t wait to go back! Love the music quotes in this post. :)
It was wonderful meeting you and the crew! Love the post:)
love!!
I went last October to Oahu and the Big Island, it was awesome and the food was amazing! :)
Mahalo! We hope you come visit us again soon!
Backpack cute Very beautiful landscape and people
I want to go to Maui next time! I hear the beaches are a lot less crowded than Oahu
The food looks delish. Looking forward to more photos from Maui!
Thanks dear!!
Looks great and like a wonderfull time :-) I think once I also need fly to Maui… Never visited till now :-/
I went to Hawaii with my family once to visit my dad’s cousin who lived on Oahu. It was so beautiful there. My favorite part was ocean kayaking (despite getting badly sunburned) and visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Hah I went to the Cultural Center too, when I was first went to Honolulu !
Spent a week in Honolulu, one of the best vacations I ever took.
Maui is actually bigger. Just less populated