Montage Kapalua Bay, an intimate resort set atop 24 acres overlooking picturesque Kapalua Bay on Maui, wants to help its guests plan an island adventure they’ll never forget. By Stacey Leasca
The resort recently announced its partnership with Adventure IO, a platform connecting travellers with exclusive experiences led by professional athletes and local experts.
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“This partnership is awesome for travellers because it presents them with an easy button to the highest quality Adventures and stays,” Jeff McKee, co-founder of Adventure IO, told Travel + Leisure. “Guests of Montage Kapalua Bay can truly relax knowing that when they do decide to leave the property, it will be time extremely well spent.”
According to McKee, these experiences are anything but cookie-cutter. “[Our] adventures are known for their wow factor and typically leave the family asking mom or dad: ‘Wow, how did you pull this off?'”
The Adventure IO experiences at Montage Kapalua Bay include a host of options, but the coolest may be its Sail from Maui to Lanai experience, which provides guests the chance to hop aboard a fully crewed, luxuriously appointed 51-foot yacht.
The nine-hour trip aboard the boat (which begins at $17,500) is perhaps best experienced between December and March, when it takes guests to the ‘Au’au channel, which boasts the highest concentrations of Pacific humpback whales in all of the Hawaiian Islands.
“Officially, whale season in Hawaii runs from Dec. 15 to May 15, although the first whale of the season is usually spotted sometime in early October,” Hawaii.com explains. “By the week after Thanksgiving, it’s common to find whales off Maui or Lanai as they breach and leap from the water.”
And guests shouldn’t have a tough time spotting the ocean creatures, especially considering Pacific humpback whales are the fifth-largest whale species on the planet, Hawaii Ocean Project noted, and can grow up to 60 feet long and weigh up to 40 tons.
The yacht comes fully loaded with every amenity guests would need to enjoy the experience, including paddleboards, snorkel gear, and dive kits. All guests need to do is pack a camera to capture every moment.
Then, upon arrival to Lanai, guests onboard can explore the rugged coastline of the Southern and Western shores by either lazing about on the ship’s deck or by hopping in the water for a quick paddleboard with world champion Connor Baxter as their guide. Those wanting to go even deeper can dip beneath the surface with the onboard certified dive instructor.
“Guests can expect to be treated like true family,” McKee said. “Our guides are known for going the extra mile to make AIO Adventures one of a kind so that guests don’t just leave the island with great experiences but with new friends — who just so happen to be some of the most accomplished watermen and women in the world.”
And, just in case that isn’t enough adventure, guests to the resort can also book kiteboarding with the “King of Air” experience, a half-day kiteboarding excursion with professional kiteboarder Jesse Richman; plan a private paddleboarding session with Baxter; or hop onto the yacht for a faster four-hour whale watching trip to get straight to the point. See more about the experiences and book your getaway here.
This story first appeared on www.travelandleisure.com
Main and Feature Image Credit: Courtesy of Montage Kapalua Bay
