The Hawaiian Luau is a cultural experience that encompasses the two popular things people enjoy while on vacation, food and entertainment. For this reason, finding a Luau to attend is super easy. However, finding a great Luau to experience can be challenging. There are so many to choose from and they all market themselves as “the best”. The Old Lahaina Luau was recommended to me from a Hawaiian co-worker as the “culturally authentic” Luau. However, the location was not the closest to us and their setting was not as attractive. The Te Ah Moana Luau was recommended by my sister’s friends as a good Luau in a beautiful setting. This one was more expensive but more conveniently located for us and was said to have good food, so, we decided to attend this one. 

Our Te Ah Moana Luau experience took place on a beautiful stretch of grassy cliff-top coast in Wailea, just before sunset. It started with the placement of a fresh flower lei around our necks and fruity cocktails in our hands. The menu consisted of many traditional Hawaiian foods including Kalua pork and the entertainment lineup of hula dancers and fire spinners did not disappoint. 

The Kalua pork was cooked in the traditional way where the whole pig is wrapped in banana leaves and roasted all day in a pit under the earth. We saw the pit where the pig had been cooking all day before taking our assigned seats around a table covered with a white tablecloth. When the food was all prepped and ready we dined buffet style with one table being called to fill their plates at a time. Kalua pork topped my plate beside the macaroni salad, mahi mahi, Hawaiian rice, and a bunch of unidentifiable desserts. Everything was pretty mild or tropical in flavor, which is good in my book. 

We were not quite done dining when the show began to start, taking place on a small open stage on the edge of the coast. The sing song voice of a Hawaiian lady recounted native Hawaiian stories about the formation of the islands while dancers interpreted the stories through, well, dance. The lady hula dancers were beautiful, colorful, and had flamboyant outfits and the men were tanned, tattooed, and playing with fire. The energy of each tale was emphasized by the dancers, sometimes accompanied by simple drum beats. The whole experience seemed cultural yet commercialized. The finale was easily the most impressive show of the night involving two very talented fire-spinning, fire-breathing men who worked as a team to make the audience hold their breath, gasp, and applaud all in the same minute. 

The setting was beautiful, the food was filling, and the entertainment was unique. At the end of the day my advice is this, experience the Luau at least once, pick one and go with, and then go there to enjoy yourself. The cost is high (about $130 per person), but this is a unique cultural experience that I think any traveller would appreciate.