Maui Valentine's Day Fondue at The Melting Pot

Valentine's Day is almost here and it's the perfect time to make plans for a romantic evening on your Maui vacation. The Melting Pot in Lahaina will be featuring a special menu for the holiday of love. The Valentine's Day menu options will be available from February 10 to 15, so there's plenty of time to treat yourself and your other half to a delectable meal between your vacation activities.

The Melting Pot is a popular fondue restaurant that serves delicious combinations of savory foods to be dipped in cheese fondue, decadent deserts for dipping in exquisite melted chocolates, and an assortment of fine entrees and salads. Court Bouillon, Bourguignonne, Mojo, and Coq au Vin cooking styles are also available.

The Valentine's Day menu will include Garlic and Herb Cheddar and Champagne Swiss cheese fondues, Strawberry Almond salad, Cold Water Lobster Tail, Garlic and Wine Sirloin, Succulent White Shrimp, Breast of Duck, Herb-Crusted Chicken, and Wild Mushroom Sacchetti. For fondue lovers with a sweet tooth, there will be a Raspberry Frangelico Dark Chocolate Fondue, served with cheesecake, strawberries, Maui Gold Pineapple, brownies and pound cake.

A number of sparkling spirits will be available at special prices, including Kenwood Vineyards "Yulupa Cuvee" Brut California, Zonin Prosecco Brut Veneto Italy, Coppola Blanc de Blans "Sofia" Monterey County California, and Champagne Brut Veuve Clicquot "Yellow Label" France.

Four course fondue meals are $130 per couple on Valentines Day, and Lover's Lane seating is optional while tables are available. Groups of 5 or more will receive a $5 per person discount and parties of 8 or more will receive $10 off per person. To make your Valentine's Day dinner even more special, The Melting Pot will allow you to order flowers to be placed on your table. A single rose is $5, a dozen roses is $50, and a Hawaiian flower lei is $20.

You can find The Melting Pot in the Lahaina Gateway Shopping Center at 325 Keawe St. Suite A202, Lahaina. If you have any questions about this 5 day event, call 661-6181. We hope you have a wonderfully romantic Valentine's Day. What better place to spend it than Maui? If you haven't decided where to stay, we'd like to recommend our Maui vacation rental specials, where you can find excellent deals. If you know when you will be here, you can book Maui accommodations online. If you're interested in a more permanent arrangement, see our Maui real estate website. If you need our assistance, you'll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!

Tours with Maui's Famous Surfing Goat Dairy

If you're planning on exploring around the bend of the West Maui mountains and up the majestic slopes of Haleakala during your vacation, you may be interested in stopping by Surfing Goat Dairy. This family run operation is a point of pride for Maui as it supplies many of our hotels and restaurants with its fantastic, award-winning cheeses. The Dairy stretches out over 40 acres of pasture land, to ensure the goats have plenty of space to graze and enjoy their lives. Guests can stop by for a tour and check out the shop to pick up a gift basket or some delectables to bring back to your Maui vacation rental. 

Surfing Goat Dairy does not use hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, or artificial colors.

Daily Casual Tours are run every 30 minutes between 10:00am and 3:00pm (or 10:00am to 1:00pm on Sundays). The Casual Tour will lead you through the dairy and farm, where you will meet the happy, working dairy goats, and the farm's dogs, cats and even a pot belly pig named "Charlie." This tour is $10 for adults and $7 for children.

The Evening Chores & Milking tour begins daily at 3:15 sharp, Monday through Saturday. Learn about the feed given to the dairy goats, the history of the dairy, and get a hands-on lesson in goat milking. This tour is $15 for adults and $12 for children. The Grand Dairy Tour is every Saturday at 9:00am. This is a 2 hour Reservations are required for this tour and they tend to sell out quickly. 

A fun, follow up activity after you've taken a tour is Tea Time. Enjoy a hot pot of fresh tea from Surfing Goat Dairy's Samovar, or choose an imported tea to brew yourself. There are plenty of delicious treats to pair with your tea, including Surfing Goat's Lilikoi Cheesecake or gourmet Goat Cheese Truffles. Tea Time can take place any time Monday through Saturday between 9:00am and 5:00pm or Sunday between 9:00am and 2:00pm. It is recommended to call in advance to see if Tea Time is being hosted on the day you're visiting. 

If you're interested in making a reservation for a tour, or calling for more information, you can reach Surfing Goat Dairy at (808) 878-2870 or visit www.surfinggoatdairy.com. You can find Surfing Goat Dairy at 3651 Omaopio Road, in Lower Kula. In the meantime, if you need assistance with your West Maui accommodations or Maui car rental, we can help. You'll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!

Maui's Iao Valley State Park

You don't need to drive as far as Hana to see an awe-inspiring, verdant landscape on your Maui vacation. Nestled within the protective peaks of the West Maui Mountains is Iao Valley, a misty paradise of forest, streams, rainbows and cascading waterfalls. Encircled by the sheer, green walls of Iao's Pu'u Kukui Crater you will find the Iao Needle. This natural rock formation juts 2,250 feet from the valley floor, like a pillar to the sky. The 'Iao Needle has always been a sacred place in native Hawaiian culture and was once used as a natural altar to the gods.

Iao Valley was also the very ground on which King Kamehameha the Great, the first man to unite the Hawaiian islands, defeated Maui's army in 1790 and claimed the island as part of his unified kingdom. Now the area is preserved and protected as one of Maui's state parks.

If you plan to visit Iao Valley, it's best to arrive in the morning, as clouds frequently huddle around Iao Needle in the afternoons. There are beautiful Chinese and Japanese gardens and a few easy hiking trails around the area, if you're interested in exploring. While the park does have restroom facilities, it does not have drinking fountains, so we recommend bringing a bottle of water along. Like Hana, Iao Valley is a lush, rainy environment, so it's always a good idea to bring mosquito repellant.

Visiting Iao Valley is a beautiful excursion that won't take up your entire day. Since the main areas of the park are well paved, access and parking is easy, and it's a safe, fun place to bring children. The valley's striking natural scenery, combined with the cultural designs of the Chinese and Japanese gardens, make it a wonderful place for photo opportunities.

You can find Iao Valley State Park by taking Highway 32 (Ka'ahumanu Road) West out of Wailuku. Highway 32 becomes Highway 320, which leads directly to the park, at the end of the road. Like most of Maui's natural places, Iao Valley State Park is free to visit.

We hope you have a fabulous time on your Maui vacation. If you need any assistance with your vacation rental accommodations, you'll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!

Maui Scuba Diving with Lahaina Divers

Just below the perfect blue surface of Maui's surrounding waters is a vast undersea landscape teeming with marine life. Light beams shine down through the water, illuminating towers of coral and brightly colored tropical fish. To explore this beautiful and mysterious realm up close, we recommend a scuba diving trip with Lahaina Divers.

A great many charters and packages are offered by Lahaina Divers, as well as dive locations on all four islands in Maui County, including sites like Molokini Crater, the Cathedrals of Lanai and Turtle Reef. This company offers diving lessons for ages 10 and up, open water certification, and provides charters that do not require experience. Lahaina Divers offers special night and moonlit night dives for certified divers. All scuba outings include snacks and beverages, while many offer breakfast and lunch as well. If you'd rather skim the top of the water, they also provide snorkeling trips at some of Maui's loveliest reefs.

Depending on your dive location, you may see gentle sea turtles, spinner dolphins, graceful manta rays, and perhaps even a humpback whale in the distance. We recommend picking up a guide to Hawaiian fish and coral types, so that once you're in the water, you'll be able to match the names with the faces of the brilliant organisms you will see.

Prices vary depending on the charter package, with Two-Dive Charters starting at $109 and lengthy Four-Dive All-day Charters for certified divers at $209. Lahaina Divers is the only dive charter operating out of Lahaina Harbor, so it's right in the neighborhood if you're staying at one of our West Maui Vacation Rentals. Reservations are required for all training dives and you can make them by calling (808) 667-7496. For more information on the different charters and packages, visit www.lahainadivers.com. If you need assistance with your Maui vacation accommodations or Maui car rental, that's where we can help. You'll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!