Hawaii January 2019 | FindPenguins

Traveler Hawaii January 2019

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January 8, 2019 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 2 °C

I started my journey to Maui on January 8 in Munich.

Traveler Hawaii January 2019

Journey and Arrival

January 8, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

A journey to Maui from Germany takes time - especially in my case. Because I wanted to travel on a budget, I only paid 550€ for a round flight - the normal price you gotta pay starts at around 800€. But if you book cheap flights, be aware that the journey may take longer and you will have more stops.

That was my journey:
- bus from Munich to Frankfurt Airport FRA (stop for 6 hours)
- flight from Frankfurt to Dallas DFW (2 hours stop)
- flight from DFW to Los Angeles LAX (stopover the whole night)
- flight from LAX to Kahului OGG

I started at the bus station in Munich on January 8, about 11 p.m. EST and arrived at Kahului Airport on January 11, 12 a.m. EST. So the way to Maui took me nearly 50 hours.

It was hard, it was my first long-distance flight ever, but I made it, and it could have been worse. I had an interesting night at an UCLA sorority house and I was even happier to arrive at the hostel on January 11.Read more

Traveler Hawaii January 2019

Day 3

The Hostel

January 11, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

I stayed at the Banana Bungalow in Wailuku and I guess that was the best choice I made for this trip. I found the hostel at hostelworld.com (I can recommend this app) but then booked my stay on the official website of the Bungalow (http://www.bananabungalows.com/maui-hostel/).

I am beyond happy that I found this Hostel, which offers free tours everyday (!) and is super familiar and cozy. Everyone is super nice and nobody ends up being lonely there. Perfect for solo-travelers like me. I met so many nice people from all over this planet and I will never forget that time!

The Hostel life:

Rooms:
They have dorms and also double rooms - so if you travel as a couple or two friends, maybe consider taking that double room. But if not - also okay, they have a quiet time starting at 10 and it works quite good. The dorms are not very big, but okay, you don't really spend a lot of time in your room. Everything is clean, but it's an old house, and it's a tropical island: After a few days I had those tinyyy tiny bugs in my bed and we had geckos in our room. But, whatever, that's how it is.

Restrooms:
The bathrooms are mostly clean and they definitely have enough - I didn't have to wait to get one very often. Pro Tip: The one's upstairs have been cleaner when I was there (they probably weren't used so frequently).

Food:
There's enough space in the kitchen to cook, the also offer free Pancake dough every morning and sometimes you meet nice people making some pancakes for you too (thanks Bill!)
There's the Takamiya Market, a little grocery store down the street. It's a two-minute walk and they have the most important things. But don't worry, after every day tour (I will come to that in the next paragraph), they will make a stop at Safeway, a big supermarket, before going back to the Hostel.
Also I heard that there are tasty food trucks just around the corner - I sadly didn't made it there. But the Asian Kitchen just next to the Bungalow (the first house on the right side when you head to Takamiya Market) is delicious too.

Tours:
The Banana Bungalow offers free tours daily (seven different tours). What I want to mention first: They will start at the Hostel, take you with the Van and bring you back in the evening - all for free. The staff don't earn any money with taking you on a trip, so please be kind and leave them a tip (10-20$ depending on the tour).
The staff are also backpackers from all over the world, making a longer stop at Maui. They can live in the Hostel for free and earn a little bit of money for their work at the Hostel. I will always remember Steven, who was always very thankful for the tips, because he wanted to go to Australia to bad. A few months after my stay on the island, I heard that he made it Down Under. So, again, be kind, tip them. :)

Further:
The hostel has a garden, hammocks, a laundry, a BBQ, a Jacuzzi, a pool table, TV, computers etc... everything you would need. Couldn't ask for more, honestly.

On the pic you can see my favorite view when having breakfast.Read more