Today we began part two of our honeymoon adventure! This time around we plan on renting a campervan and spending a week on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawai’i. We rented a Hymer van (an upgraded Dodge Ram platform) through Campervan Hawai’i. This van is a home on wheels…with all the perks you could ever need to live off the grid…including a kitchen (two-burner gas stove, refrigerator, microwave, sink), toilet, and even a shower! She was called Maui Wowie in case you’re interested.
Our adventure began as we flew out of New York City (JFK) and connected in Seattle (SEA). Before we boarded our flight to Hawai’i, the Alaska airline crew checked our COVID clearance at the gate and provided us with “Pre-Clear” bracelets. These are what we would need to wear until we left the airport in Hawaii. As of August 2021, visitors to the Hawaiian Islands must provide a negative COVID test from an accepted lab at their last departing city (within 72 hours) OR have proof of vaccination. Either way, you have to create a profile on https://travel.hawaii.gov and upload the required information. It’s worth noting that if you arrive with neither, visitors must undergo a 10-day quarantine upon arrival.
From Seattle we flew into Kahului Airport in Maui (OGG) where the airport staff checked for our bracelets. There was an expedited line for those with bracelets and a separate line for those without. Once we got out of the airport, we grabbed a quick Uber to the nearby campervan shop where we picked up our home on wheels!
When we pulled into the parking lot, we immediately spotted “Maui Wowie” sitting pretty in the parking lot. She was the biggest van in the lot and was pretty hard to miss. We got even more excited for our upcoming adventure, but at the same time began to realize just how big this van was. Now we have done campervan traveling before in Iceland, but the van was not nearly as big as Maui Wowie (it was a Ford Transit Connect)…but we’re always up for an adventure!
Nate from Campervan Hawai’I was super helpful with the ins and outs of our new home. He briefed us about the electrical system, some tips and tricks, and even information about the water tanks (clean water, gray water, black water). Once we felt comfortable, we were off! Since this is our home for the next week, we decided our first stop should be to a grocery store to pick up the staples. We stopped at Foodland for some breakfast food, fresh fruits, snacks, water, and of course some local beers.
Once we filled up our mini fridge, it was time to head to our first campsite of the trip, Camp Olowalu, located in the historic town of Olowalu. The campground is privately owned (the only private campsite we’ll be staying at on this trip) and has many different options…from tent camping to car camping, and even glamping tents!
Olowalu is a pretty quiet town, but the campsite had pretty amazing views of extinct volcanoes and is conveniently located right across from Leoda’s Kitchen. When we pulled up, it was pretty busy with what seemed like locals, which is always a good sign. We ordered a Lāhainā dog, mac ‘n cheese, and a banana cream pie and brought it back to camp.
We were feeling pretty jetlagged and exhausted after a long day of travel, so we wandered around the campgrounds a bit and turned in for an early night. Besides, tomorrow we’ll be exploring the beautiful west side Maui…so stay posted!
