Live it up
DOING
A snorkel and sailing trip on the Trilogy III is a popular activity at Ka’anapali.
My wife and I did this two weeks ago, taking a sleek, new catamaran north to a couple of quiet, beautiful bays for fine snorkelling.
Our group spotted black and yellow and white striped Moorish Idols, as well as turtles and wildly colourful triggerfish, including the humuhumunukunukuapua’a: Hawaii’s state fish.
The ship provided us with excellent masks, snorkels and fins. We also were served a grilled chicken lunch, snacks and trays of fresh fruit.
There was coffee, pop and juice, as well as (on the way back) Molokai Mules (a take on the Moscow Mule) and Lanai Mai Tai’s.
A five-hour trip is US$129 for adults, with discounts for teens and children. sailtrilogy.com/tour/kaanapali.
Spa Helani at the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas offers up a variety of spa treatments. My wife and I had a tremendous couples massage with a sea salt scrub that left our skin fresh and clean, plus a relaxing massage where they pressed warm pouches of sand shipped in from Tahiti onto our tired muscles.
The Couples Ritual 80-minute massage is listed at US$375 for two people. westinkaanapali.com/spa/overview
DINING AND DRINKING
Japengo at the Hyatt Regency has a stunning outdoor terrace overlooking Ka’anapali Beach, and the food is out of this world good.
The grilled mahi mahi (US$43) is topped with tasty lemon grass beurre blanc and comes with a tasty salad featuring young coconut.
Try the Kung Pao duck meatballs (five plump ones for $16) as an appetizer, or the Hamachi tuna sashimi with watermelon ($20). hyatthotels.hyatt.com/corporate/ restaurants/japengo/en.html
Mauka Makai is a lovely poolside restaurant at the Westin Nanea.
Try the perfectly cooked swordfish or, for something different, the tasty, moist fried chicken confit. Mains from around US$34. They also make a great Mai Tai and wonderful Portuguese-style brioche French toast with macadamia nuts at breakfast. westinnanea.com/dining
Roy’s Ka’anapali is run by famed Hawaiian chef Roy Yamaguchi. Try the sizable dim sum canoe appetizer sample for two for $37, with wonderful marinated ahi tuna poke, shrimp sticks, chicken pot stickers, pork and shrimp lumpia and meaty Hawaiian baby back ribs. royshawaii.com/roys-kaanapali.html
STAYING
The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas on quiet north Ka’anapali Beach opened just this month, with modern and spacious units.
It’s a wonderful family spot with shallow kiddie pools, tons of colourful spray guns and a small slide. There’s also an adult pool.
Units have full kitchens and there are poolside barbecues so you can cook your own dinner or lunch.
We got to try a poolside cabana for the day, which allowed me to watch the Senators beat the Rangers in game six of their NHL playoff series.
The views of the ocean and the nearby islands of Lana’i and Moloka’i are to die for. They have lagoons surrounded by palm trees and white and deep red plumeria.
One-bedroom villas of 840 square feet with a king bed and queen sofa bed from around $379. westinnanea.com