Hawaii has always been a bucket list destination for me. When I was young I pictured getting to dance with hula dancers, drinking out of a coconut with a tiny umbrella in it, while wearing a lei- and yes I would still definitely love to do these- but I have realized Hawaii has so much more to offer than just these stereotypical Hawaiian things. I have chosen Maui- no, not the character from Moana- to focus on as this is the second largest of the Hawaiian islands and my parents have been on a work trip without my sister and me here. Maui has so much to offer with world-famous beaches, mountains, whale-watching, breathtaking sunsets and sunrises, and volcanoes!
I would love to get to see a volcano with my own eyes as I have been taught about them for my whole life but have no perception of how large they actually are. I would love to hike up one of Maui’s five volcanoes for sunrise or sunset to witness two amazing things at once, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I know I could never forget. My parents took a bus up to the top of Haleakala (a volcano) for sunrise which my mom described as “an emotional experience”, so I will definitely have to experience this for myself.
While in Maui, I also intend to go whale watching as I have also been fascinated with these creatures for my whole life. I could go on and on about why these animals are amazing-but I will spare you this time. I genuinely believe everyone needs to witness whales up close at least once in their lives to just earn newfound respect for them. There are many boat companies where individuals can buy tickets to get to experience this and even see a pod breaching the surface.
Another reason why Maui is a bucket list destination is Molokini, which is a small uninhabited island that provides a fabulous snorkeling destination for beginners with the opportunity to get up close and personal with Hawaiian wildlife. This trip would definitely be heavy in nature and engaging with the wild, so I understand being a tourist in Hawaii and other tropical islands can have unintended consequences on their ecosystems. A trip to Hawaii from the mainland can be tolling financially, and environmentally, whilst being extremely time-consuming as there are no direct flights from Pennsylvania to Maui. This trip would be extremely costly as most items in Hawaii have to be imported, making a pretty steep price tag on non-native goods and due to the required flights to actually reach the destination. I would say with the activities listed, I plan on visiting this destination in my mid-adulthood when my kids are old enough to actually enjoy and remember this trip whilst also enjoying the activities myself. Environmentally, a trip to Hawaii is not currently in the best interest due to the many hours of air travel and pollution, but hopefully, when it is finally time for my trip society has found more environmentally friendly alternatives to these polluting activities. From Philadelphia, this would be a 12+ hour flight, so I definitely would also need plenty of years to plan which movies to watch during this flight as you may only get to fly to Hawaii once in your life.