This made my time on Maui absolutely unforgettable. From the minute we were picked up at the…read moreairport to the minute we were dropped off, I was happy, comfortable, and excited about van life.
We got the light blue van with automatic transmission (road to Hana with a manual trans-no thanks!) and Noelle went through the van's features thoroughly before giving us a map of the island and circling all the camping spots available to us and our van baby. After giving us our camping chairs and wishing us a great time, we were off!
We drove the road to Hana with no issues, camped in the rain, camped in the wind, by the beach, under streetlights and in the middle of nowhere. This van trip was so much more than accommodations and transportation; it was a literal and figurative vehicle for the kind of life I want to live.
Staying in a hotel on a tropical island is nice; you can sleep in AC, lounge by the pool. shower and change in privacy, eat 5 star food and never ever feel out of your element.
Staying in a camper van is awesome; you can sleep under the stars next to the ocean, lounge on a remote beach and then nap there, cook inventive, delicious meals with your camping partner, enjoy their company, and be bored enough to do things you wouldn't normally do (talk story for hours, play cards, snuggle up and watch the sun set for an afternoon). It was pretty incredible to actually spend multiple days worth of quality time with my husband, not just occupy the same space while looking at separate screens.
You meet so many people who love "your" van, who want to tell you all about the van they used to have, and who embody the elusive aloha spirit that makes human interaction worthwhile and meaningful. We made several friends who dined with us on my glamorous one burner concoctions, or who entertained us with their stories from so many various walks of life over beers shared in camp chairs around the van's "living room".
The van isn't perfect- it's 30 years old, and obviously is not a rolling Hilton. If you're creative, adventurous, and willing to see the bright side of any situation, you will LOVE Aloha Campers. Sure, we had to pull over a few times so Bluebell could cool down, and the E-brake light stayed on the entire trip. The back door flew open once in transit, and one morning I woke up with wet toes after some heavy sideways rain. The fridge never worked, and the cooler only kept our beer cold for three days. But those experiences just didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
We lived in a VW van, courtesy of Aloha Campers, on freaking Maui. Plain and simple.
We cannot wait until we have a van of our own, and it was all because of this trip. MAHALO NUI LOA!!!!