Maui planning, tips, and trip reports

[twodogs]

Just back form 7 nights at the Hyatt Maui Ka’anapali. I appreciate all of the tips on here!! I will add a few:
-did private chartered snorkeling trip with Kainani Sails. We sailed with Austin and Phil, who gave us a great history and tour of the island from the water as we motored from the Whaler’s Village area to our snorkeling spot at Honalua. Phil snorkeled with us, pointing out all the different species of fish and turtles!
-did Discovery Dive trip with Extended Horizons Diving. Gu (Gustavo) was our wonderful dive master. Our teens have never been diving, and he was an amazing teacher for them. We had just our family of 4 on the dive with him, and we did the extra tank so we got to do two dives with him. Super safety oriented and very good with first time divers. Great equipment and very organized. Shop is just in Lahaina, and we dove off the beach at Airport Beach (just north of Black Rock).
-Kapalua zip lining which was so fun! Very safe and the ATV ride up was a lot of fun!!
-Hiked the Kapalua coastal trail, gorgeous and WINDY but so fun. Did this prior to zip lining since we were right there.

Breaking this up because the site keeps refreshing and eating my work.

 

[twodogs]

-Parasailing with UFO at Whaler’s village, tried to book with West Maui but could not get enough times; UFO were very nice and had a great view. Did this instead of Trilogy Sunset Sail because we had a sea sick kid.
-Spa at Westin. No rooms open like steam room, etc, but the private lanai and pool for the spa overlooking Whaler’s village beach was divine!

 

[twodogs]

-Ate at Monkeypod once for dinner and once for late lunch. Did NOT disappoint; everything was wonderful and drinks were great. They aren’t taking reservations, and the dinner wait list needs to be signed up for by 4:30pm if you want to eat any time prior to 7pm. They close the sign up at 4:45, and then reopen the list for sign ups at 6:30pm. By then the line may be 40 minutes just to get on the list, then 1+ hour on the list, so you would not be eating until well after 8pm. You have to be within 5 minutes when they text you that the table is ready, so we got on the list at 430pm, shopped at Whaler’s for an hour and then got our table a little before 6pm. Late lunch was just walk in at 1:45pm yesterday.

 

[twodogs]

-Dinner at Roy’s was somewhat disappointing, just did not WOW us like the Roy’s at Aulani area that we had about 4 years ago. Service was good but food was just so so.
-Maui Brewing Tour in Kihei was a lot of fun, with lots of samples after the tour. We stayed there and ate dinner as well that night. We also visited their location north of Ka’anapali (smaller location, no brewing done here), and the menu was completely different and cocktails also different. This was a fun lunch spot after our diving morning.
_Kohola brewing one evening where our dive master, Gu, was the live musical entertainment! So fun! They have pretzels and cookies to buy at the bar, as well as a full bar (a little limited but since I don’t drink beer, I was happy to have options!). There are food trucks nearby but you will need to stop on the way to the brewery to pick up food.

 

[twodogs]

-rented a Jeep ultimately from Costco. The price eventually dropped by over 50% by the date of our trip, but then started to go back up about a week prior to trip. Discount Hawaii car rental could never beat Costco any time I checked. Process to rent from Budget was super easy. We are part of Fast Break (the free program), and we ”checked in” on the Budget app before leaving Dallas that morning, and when we got to Budget, we skipped the huge line at the counter, went straight downstairs and they handed us the rental agreement and we went right to Jeep and right on our way. Super easy and saved a lot of time.

 

[twodogs]

-we really enjoyed the Hyatt Maui. We chose it somewhat because my DH is Globalist (highest status) so we got waived resort fees, free Club Level access and other benefits. Had an Ocean Front room and it was gorgeous. Wonderful daily housekeeping that was amazing! Beach had waves and pretty good snorkeling right at the beach. Rented covered beach bed on our resort days; well worth it. Great access to everything we wanted to do, and we could walk about 10-15 minute to Whaler’s Village. It was nice being close to it but not in the hustle and bustle.

 

[Jellybean9]

Here for this thread! My extended family (group of 11) will be doing a week in Maui in early August followed by 4 nights at Aulani.
We were originally considering a vrbo/Airbnb house/condo situation for Maui but am now thinking getting 3-4 rooms at either the Hyatt Regency resort or the Marriott Wailea Beach resort.

 

[cgattis]

@twodogs that sounds like an amazing trip!!!

I missed out on the Kona Brewing Company tour on my last trip (my second instance that trip of “no brah, no need to make a ressie” only to show up and they’re full —no outrigger canoe trip for the same reason). So we’ll definitely try the Maui Brewing tour! Could the kids go too, just obviously not sample? Hoping we can catch some live music there too.

Also, I didn’t realize there was a “jump worthy” Rick at Airport Beach, so we’ll have to check that out. May stop there on our arrival evening.

Thanks for all the great info!!

 

[cgattis]

https://hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/6860/hta-maui-action-plan.pdf
There is an Oahu version too, for those interested.

 

[cgattis]

The mayor apparently has Covid. I feel like we’ll definitely see new requirements for boosters for travel now, just hope they’re specific enough to not allow any room for interpretation.

https://www.mauicounty.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=11415

 

[Lew]

We're currently at Aston at The Whaler on Kaanapali Beach until February 23rd. The resort is beautiful and our view is fantastic!!

For foodies, we've found the coconut shrimp is best at Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar on Front Street in Lahaina and Leilani's on the Beach at The Whaler. Fish tacos at Leilani's are over the top...see below.

 

[cgattis]

We're currently at Aston at The Whaler on Kaanapali Beach until February 23rd. The resort is beautiful and our view is fantastic!!

For foodies, we've found the coconut shrimp is best at Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar on Front Street in Lahaina and Leilani's on the Beach at The Whaler. Fish tacos at Leilani's are over the top...see below.

View attachment 642479

We need a full food report!! I mean, trip report….(sorry not sorry)

We’re considering spending a day in Lahaina. Interested in your recommendation for best evening plan to include seeing the ceremony at Black Rock, dinner, and seeing the banyan tree lit up.

 

[DLgeeks]

If you get up towards Paia (cute little town with lots of fun shops) - don't miss eating at the Paia Fish Market, some of the best fish I've ever eaten (and a casual, inexpensive place).

 

[cgattis]

If you get up towards Paia (cute little town with lots of fun shops) - don't miss eating at the Paia Fish Market, some of the best fish I've ever eaten (and a casual, inexpensive place).

We’re passing thru Paia on the way to Hana, but probably at breakfast time. Had considered going there on arrival night but our flight got moved two hours later……with no compensation of course

 

[Lew]

We’re considering spending a day in Lahaina. Interested in your recommendation for best evening plan to include seeing the ceremony at Black Rock, dinner, and seeing the banyan tree lit up.

Are you thinking of visiting Lahaina on a day trip from Hana? Google Maps shows its a 2:45 drive each way of which you're likely aware. 5½ hours out of your day doesn't leave much time in Lahaina.

Have you given any thought of doing Lahaina for a couple of days before or after Hana? That way you could comfortably do all you mentioned above.

 

[cgattis]

Are you thinking of visiting Lahaina on a day trip from Hana? Google Maps shows its a 2:45 drive each way of which you're likely aware. 5½ hours out of your day doesn't leave much time in Lahaina.

Have you given any thought of doing Lahaina for a couple of days before or after Hana? That way you could comfortably do all you mentioned above.

Oh no. It would be a day trip from Wailea. We’re splitting our stay between Hana and Wailea. I’m not dead-set on even going to Lahaina but I think my son kinda wants to jump off Black Rock but doesn’t want to make a big deal about it in case he chickens out!

 

[GenGen22]

As you can tell from my user name, I'm all about the food so any info I have about Maui is mostly food advice. I'm an Oahu resident that visits Maui every so many years, but my mom & sister go annually. PP mentioned food trucks so here's a few that we visit: Ogo, Thai Mee Up, Maui Fresh Streatery, Peace Love Shave Ice, Gus Hawaiian Shave Ice. Restaurants: Pita Paradise, 808 Deli, Humble Market Kitchin, Poi By the Pound, Tin Roof Maui, Paia Fish Market, Cafe O'Lei, Leoda's, Ulupalakua Ranch Store & Grill. Favorite snacks/take home goodies: Tasaka Guri Guri, Stillwell's Bakery (cream horns!!), Hula Cookies & Ice Cream, Maui Pie, Maui Bread, Surfing Goat Dairy, Maui Specialty Chocolates, Sweet Paradise Chocolatier.
I also feel that Maui Ocean Center is the best aquarium in the state.
We also enjoy the Maui Swap Meet on Saturdays that is scheduled to restart on June 12, per their FB page. Lots of vendors featuring locally made products.
We'll be there in July & hopefully have more info.

Any recommendations for Easter brunch on Oahu? We're leaving Oahu to go to Maui on Easter and would like to go to a Easter brunch.

 

[GenGen22]

Thanks for this post. I booked my snorkeling tour with Trilogy and I'm still deciding on which Luau to book. I can't wait for spring break!

 

[princesscinderella]

Thanks for this post. I booked my snorkeling tour with Trilogy and I'm still deciding on which Luau to book. I can't wait for spring break!

Thanks for all the great information so far! We are going to Hawaii in July with stays at Aulani, Kauai and Maui. I just booked the Old Lahaina Lu'au and the floor seats were already sold out for our dates in July. I loved how the “theater” looked like it had good view from wherever you were seated. It also had a lot of GF options for us. I have also booked the Road to Hana with a tour driver (temptation tours) because I want to be able to relax and see everything not white knuckle drive it. It’s flat in Florida so we don’t have experience mountain driving and it’s way to winding for my comfort. I’m also going to try to get the sunrise tickets for the volcano crater peak when my window opens. I booked the residence inn Maui because it was rated well and it’s free with my Marriott points. We are a family of 5 and besides aulani and a few of the timeshare resorts most of the hotel have only double occupancy with king beds (honeymooners paradise I guess) so I struggled to find rooms that were less than $2k a night or they are all sold out. We were originally booked on the NCL Pride of America but decided we didn’t want to take our chances to get denied boarding due to pcr testing and be stuck in Hawaii with no place to go with their strict quarantine rules. We are all vaxed so and land vacation will be so much easier and way cheaper too .

 

[cgattis]

Thanks for all the great information so far! We are going to Hawaii in July with stays at Aulani, Kauai and Maui. I just booked the Old Lahaina Lu'au and the floor seats were already sold out for our dates in July. I loved how the “theater” looked like it had good view from wherever you were seated. It also had a lot of GF options for us. I have also booked the Road to Hana with a tour driver (temptation tours) because I want to be able to relax and see everything not white knuckle drive it. It’s flat in Florida so we don’t have experience mountain driving and it’s way to winding for my comfort. I’m also going to try to get the sunrise tickets for the volcano crater peak when my window opens. I booked the residence inn Maui because it was rated well and it’s free with my Marriott points. We are a family of 5 and besides aulani and a few of the timeshare resorts most of the hotel have only double occupancy with king beds (honeymooners paradise I guess) so I struggled to find rooms that were less than $2k a night or they are all sold out. We were originally booked on the NCL Pride of America but decided we didn’t want to take our chances to get denied boarding due to pcr testing and be stuck in Hawaii with no place to go with their strict quarantine rules. We are all vaxed so and land vacation will be so much easier and way cheaper too .

We’re staying at the Residence in June so I’ll let you know! You can’t beat FREE nights—same here!! I really liked the seating and the looks of the food at Old Lahaina, but I think we’re going to do Te Au Moana just because a) it’s right there and b) the fire life dancers are my fave. The food looks kinda meh but we’ll be fine. If anything goes south with your tour, the drive to Hana is a little hairy but (cue my Waterboy impression) “you can do it!” But having a driver definitely has its pros. Also don’t forget Wai’anapanapa now requires reservations too…… I can’t wait!