Table Of Content
So you’ll most definitely want a rental car for your stay even if you’re staying in a resort area. I always book through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. I’ll be honest…there aren’t a ton of permitted short term vacation rentals on each island (outside of tourist areas where they’re mostly condos) so the ones you will find tend to be not super cheap. It’s still illegal and it’s uncertain how it’s going to be handled.
Oahu vs Maui (from someone who has lived on both)
The winds in these latitudes blew in the opposite direction of the tradewinds and Floyd decided to use these contrary winds to sail all the way back to Rarotonga. Doris, who was 23, became friends with many of the girls in Papeete and as she grew bigger, the girls began calling her “Mama Doris”. Three days after Karen was born, they both returned to Marinero. Baby Karen slept on a floor cushion in the aft cabin, between Floyd and Doris’ bunk. On dark moonless nights they would catch fresh water prawns using flashlights to illuminate their eyes, spearing them with sharpened nails tied to the end of sticks.
While you’re in Paia…
There’s also usually at least one off-menu special available, so be sure to check with your waiter before making a final decision. I won’t deny that Mama’s attracts a TON of tourists, but I personally know local Maui residents who enjoy a night out at Mama’s, too. How much does the food cost at Mama’s Fish House? Entrees hover around the $60 to $80 range, while appetizers tend to stay around $20 to $30.
Lunch & Dinner
While many native Hawaiians feel that their land (and to some extent their culture) has been stolen from them, they’re largely VERY welcoming to visitors. But that’s what you are…a visitor in someone’s home. If you get that and behave accordingly, Hawaii is the greatest place on earth you’ll ever visit. Yes, it’s very beautiful, but there are a lot of beautiful places. The people and the way that they share their culture is what makes it special.
Checking in
It came with a side of coconut rice, which was delicious as well. I'd never had anything like it before, and loved that it was topped with chopped whole macadamia nuts and had the best crunch. Because the restaurant tends to be booked months in advance, we highly recommend booking early as you plan for your special day. Popular luaus and activities (helicopter tours, snorkel trips, etc.) often book up months in advance so I prefer to make these reservations once I know my dates.
Tips for Visiting Mama’s Fish House Maui
Reef safe sunscreens (all that are sold on Maui now) are sunscreens that are mineral based (the white Zinc based ones that have to be rubbed in). Maui County took notice (maybe with other islands to follow soon) and just decided to go ahead and ban ALL the bad ingredients. In October 2022, Maui County (Maui, Lanai & Molokai) banned the sale, distribution and use of non-mineral sunscreens. That means the only kind of sunscreen you can buy on Maui (and technically the only kind you’re supposed to use) is the white zinc based kind.
In Rarotonga Floyd worked for four months as the Captain/navigator of a 95 ft. cargo ship. The ship had a crew of 19 and carried copra, oranges, cattle, turtles and 20 seasick passengers between Rarotonga and the remote Cook Islands. Then the Christensons sailed back to Papeete and tied up at their old spot on the quay across from Café Vaima. Marinero was blown 400 miles off course and finally emerged from the storm eight days later in the “horse latitudes” between the equator and the Southern tradewinds, too far off course to sail to New Caledonia.
The search for a boat
99% of these properties are legitimate homes, apartments, ohanas (a separate dwelling on somebody’s property) either rented out by the owners or a property manager. They range in price, size, location, and amenities. But they don’t have permits to be operating as short term vacation rentals and they’re located in areas of the island that are considered residential (we’re not talking about condos). Hawaii’s peak season is summer and the winter holidays. And the end of August (when the kids go back to school) up through the start of the holidays is slower as well. In the past few days, she and her staff have noticed an uptick in business and that more locals are coming into her restaurant.
Visit locally owned Maui hotels as Hawaii promotes responsible tourism - USA TODAY
Visit locally owned Maui hotels as Hawaii promotes responsible tourism.
Posted: Sun, 19 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The cafes and dance halls were famous throughout the South Pacific. The biggest, Quinn’s, was filled every night with locals and seaman from the cargo and passenger ships that stopped in Papeete and it stayed well past midnight. “Quinn’s Girls” performed traditional dances on a stage high above the crowd. At sunset the family would sometimes build a small campfire on the beach and cook their dinner. A whole breadfruit would be baked in the fire and then eaten with canned butter. Dessert was fresh or canned fruit (Isaac loved canned peaches).
A Maui itinerary isn’t complete without visiting this famous fish house, featuring locally caught Hawaiian fish served to perfection. My meal is over and I’m feeling more stuffed than the kanpachi I’d just eaten. Waiting for my check, once again I gaze out toward the restaurant’s up-close and personal ocean view, and I realize why Mama’s Fish House is so highly regarded. From the food to the service to the very view I’m looking at now, every aspect of my meal couldn’t have been better. Any doubts I have about this switch are immediately rectified as the meal lands on my table.
As Marinero approached the equator and the windless doldrums, it became unbearably hot and steamy. At night the entire boat would be lit by explosions of phosphorescent light from deep in the ocean. Vague outlines of huge animals could be seen in the deep. Yes, Mama’s Fish House dessert gets its own section. Honestly, dinners here are fine – probably worth the price, but nothing I dream about. Once you’re seated, you receive a basket of bread and a small cup of soup, which is a lovely welcome and a tasty way to begin your meal.
You can buy Project Reef online here, but it’s available in pretty much every hotel and resort gift shop I’ve been in on Maui lately plus most resorts also have it available for free on the pool deck. The prices throughout the month can fluctuate a LOT so if you cherry pick the exact dates of your stay it may be the difference between being able to afford staying at that particular hotel or not. Now, this is mostly relevant if you’re flying economy in the main cabin. If you’re flying first class, I’m sure there are amazing experiences to be had. But I like to stretch my dollars as far as possible so I try to find a sweet spot between saving money on BOTH airfare and the room and book everything at the same time.
Kids have just started back to school (an end to the busy summer travel season) and holiday travel hasn’t started yet so it’s a nice little lull. But the VERY best time to go to Hawaii is during shoulder season in the fall. Fine dining is best enjoyed during the biggest meal of the day, dinner. After lunch, visit Kaulahao Beach (4-minutes south of Mama’s to view the sleeping sea turtles on the beach and then walk off lunch in Paia before you head home.
And while hurricane season in Hawaii is technically June-November, hurricanes are pretty rare. Maui and the Big Island are the only islands where you’ll find the dramatic black sand beaches (formed when lava meets the ocean) because they’re still relatively young. Oahu and Kauai are the islands with the most dramatic green jagged mountains because they’re older and have suffered more erosion. The restaurant sits in the sand, with table views of the ocean framed by coconut trees.
At Balai Pata, a new Filipino restaurant in Kahului, a celebration of the flavors that the chef and owner Joey Macadangdang grew up with is a welcome addition to Maui’s restaurant scene. Plump Kauai prawns sauteed in garlicky fish sauce ($17) set the stage for savory sinigang ($30) — tamarind broth loaded with long beans, okra and fish. For dessert, two can share the halo-halo ($18) — crushed ice topped with avocado, ube ice cream, coconut cream and fruit jellies, served in a coconut shell. The décor reflects a bright, homespun aesthetic, and once a month, local families fill the restaurant for late-night happy hour and karaoke battles — check Instagram for dates. Just because you read about a hike to a waterfall in a guidebook doesn’t mean you can go there if it’s on private property. This is particularly a big problem along the Road to Hana on Maui.
