Things to do in Maui...
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Been there 3 times...here are my fav's....
1) Snorkeling = the "Aquarium" down my LaPerouse Bay. Nobody ever goes there either because it's tricky to find. Awesome visibility, awesome fish count, secluded. Must traverse a lava field to get there.
2) Hiking = The trail that goes above the 7 sacred pools. Several waterfalls, deep valley/jungle overlooks, bridges to crossover, badass bamboo forest, ending with a 180 foot waterfall.
3) Beach = Kaanapali (crowded) or the one other one on the otherside of Blackrock (much less crowded)
4) The summit on the top of Haleakela. Make sure you go on a clear day. If not, you won't see **** up there.
5) Red Sand beach in Hana = awesome.
6) Road to Hana. Go early, early in the morning before the tourist buses get going.
There are about 10000 other things to do. Make sure you also buy the Ultimate Maui Guidebook. Only a fool would go without it.
1) Snorkeling = the "Aquarium" down my LaPerouse Bay. Nobody ever goes there either because it's tricky to find. Awesome visibility, awesome fish count, secluded. Must traverse a lava field to get there.
2) Hiking = The trail that goes above the 7 sacred pools. Several waterfalls, deep valley/jungle overlooks, bridges to crossover, badass bamboo forest, ending with a 180 foot waterfall.
3) Beach = Kaanapali (crowded) or the one other one on the otherside of Blackrock (much less crowded)
4) The summit on the top of Haleakela. Make sure you go on a clear day. If not, you won't see **** up there.
5) Red Sand beach in Hana = awesome.
6) Road to Hana. Go early, early in the morning before the tourist buses get going.
There are about 10000 other things to do. Make sure you also buy the Ultimate Maui Guidebook. Only a fool would go without it.
Went there a few years back for my honeymoon. Great place to spend with the wife. Here are my suggestions and opinions on the stuff we did:
1) Snorkeling: We did a tour to Molokini crater. It was a blast and it's fairly close from the island. It's a half day adventure and the tour we did provided us lunch on the boat as well.
2) Summit of Haleakala: We did a tour that picked us up from the hotel, took us to the summit, served some breakfast, watched the sunrise and then we biked down the entire mountain. We stopped for lunch along the way and finished on the beach. It was very very cool. My wife was scared as **** about doing it because you don't really bike at all, you cruise down the mountain. You only have to pedal at most 100 yards and it's towards the end before you hit the beach. For being scared doing it at first, she said it was the best thing we did on the island. Not very often you can bike down a mountain that is almost 2 miles up. Although I must say if we had just gone up for the sunrise we would've been disappointed. It was cool, but it's freezing up there and we waited forever it seemed like to see the sun come up.
3) Road to Hana: Very cool but go early. It gets packed.
4) Luau: We went to a tradition Maui Luau and it was pretty cool. I believe some of the bigger hotels put them on nightly and we went to the one in Grand Wailea resort. You pay like $60/each or so and you get all the free drinks, food, and your picture taken on the beach. It was a good time, but pricey.
Thats about all I can remember doing, plus we went into the tourist part where all the shops are in Kaanapali and ate at some of the restaurants off the beach.
1) Snorkeling: We did a tour to Molokini crater. It was a blast and it's fairly close from the island. It's a half day adventure and the tour we did provided us lunch on the boat as well.
2) Summit of Haleakala: We did a tour that picked us up from the hotel, took us to the summit, served some breakfast, watched the sunrise and then we biked down the entire mountain. We stopped for lunch along the way and finished on the beach. It was very very cool. My wife was scared as **** about doing it because you don't really bike at all, you cruise down the mountain. You only have to pedal at most 100 yards and it's towards the end before you hit the beach. For being scared doing it at first, she said it was the best thing we did on the island. Not very often you can bike down a mountain that is almost 2 miles up. Although I must say if we had just gone up for the sunrise we would've been disappointed. It was cool, but it's freezing up there and we waited forever it seemed like to see the sun come up.
3) Road to Hana: Very cool but go early. It gets packed.
4) Luau: We went to a tradition Maui Luau and it was pretty cool. I believe some of the bigger hotels put them on nightly and we went to the one in Grand Wailea resort. You pay like $60/each or so and you get all the free drinks, food, and your picture taken on the beach. It was a good time, but pricey.
Thats about all I can remember doing, plus we went into the tourist part where all the shops are in Kaanapali and ate at some of the restaurants off the beach.
I started a thread like this last year that got a lot of responses. I cant find it though. I went out to Maui and got married on the beach. Our first anniversery is on the 31st. I cant believe that it has been a year already. There have already beena lot of good suggestions on this thread. Of the things that we did on our honeymoon I enjoyed, Haleakala sunrise, snorkeling (there are many options), and the Hana Road. Of course just hanging on the beach is great there. Leave plenty of time for that. Here is a place that I booked alot of my activites through. It may give you some ideas:
www.hawaiiactivityworld.com/maui/
www.hawaiiactivityworld.com/maui/
If you are going to go the luau route, I highly recommend skipping the hotels and going to Old Lahaina. It is the only completely traditional Hawaiian luau on Maui. If you prefer a hokey semi/kitschy experience with lots of audience participation (how's your hula?), then by all means go to a hotel luau.
A
austintexas
Guest
all of the recs involve the west side of the island. Get down to Wailea. Great beach. South of there is Big Beach. Beautiful.
buy the book "Maui Revealed" and study it.
buy the book "Maui Revealed" and study it.
My few thoughts:
1. I can't recommend "Maui Revelaed" enough. It was our bible.
2. We ate at Sansei about 4 times and could have eaten there more.
3. I actually thought the road to Hana was a little overrated. Sure it's pretty, but the whole island is pretty. If you do it (and everybody seems to), Maui Revelaed has some cool, out of the way stops on the road.
4. We did an ocean kayaking excursion through Maui Eco Tours. Very cool.
1. I can't recommend "Maui Revelaed" enough. It was our bible.
2. We ate at Sansei about 4 times and could have eaten there more.
3. I actually thought the road to Hana was a little overrated. Sure it's pretty, but the whole island is pretty. If you do it (and everybody seems to), Maui Revelaed has some cool, out of the way stops on the road.
4. We did an ocean kayaking excursion through Maui Eco Tours. Very cool.
soonerinatlanta
100+ Posts
Big beach is the best. Seriously. I pity your experience in Maui if you don't enjoy this slice of heaven.
Grasshopper
100+ Posts
Hey,
Mrs. Grasshopper and I just returned from 10 days in Maui yesterday.
Some thoughts:
* We used "Maui Revealed" as our guidebook. While it is good, do NOT show it to the locals. Apparently the guys who wrote it are causing big trouble bc a lot of their "gems" go over private land. One B&B owner we talked with said they had them on the news over there, but had to black out their faces/distort their voices bc they've recieved death threats. We were sternly warned not to have that book out in public bc it is not welcome. Heck, the National Park Service had to remove the book from their shelves bc of the trouble it has caused. That being said, they are detailed with their directions to certian places.
* We were up at Haleakala for sunrise and sunset. Pretty cool. For sunrise, we dressed like we do for Colorado and were still cold. the wind was blowing literally ~ 50 miles per hour.... enough that my sturdy tripod had no chance of taking a slower exposure picture. Sunset was much more pleasant as far as weather is concerned. Still, Sunrise was a remarkable and memorable experience. We got up at 330am to get there - and it was worth it. Hike into the crater if you get a chance - even if you only go a few miles.
* We hiked across the lava fields to the "fish bowl" south of Kihei to snorkel, but it wasn't really very good.... possible bc of low tide. the water was a bit murky and it was really shallow. I'd go somewhere else or at least go during higher waters.
* Mama's Fish House is the bomb - delicious - but $$. We spent over 100 bucks on two entrees - no drinks/appetizers, etc.
* Maui Tacos = taco bell =- blech! no way.
* Alexander's in Kihei was ok... but the fish and chips was really greasy.
* the Fish House in Paia is really good. We went there twice.
* Road to Hana is cool. We stayed a night in Hana and hiked up to some falls at the Oheo Gulch. Walking through the Bamboo forest is really cool... and when we got to the falls (~ 2.41 miles accorinding to the GPS) we had it to ourselves. It was evening and most of the daytrippers had returned to civilization.
I was expecting the road to Hana to be really hard to drive, but it wasn't... just a lot of curves. The road going north from Lahaina over the north end of the island was much scarier.
* try some banana bread on the drive to Hana. It was great if you like stuff like that.
* We tried to hike the redwood forest but there was a forest fire so the road was blocked.
* ate at Cheeseburgers in Paradise in Lahaina - good burgers but way overpriced. (45 bucks for burger/fries/drink). Better burgers in Austin, but the view of the ocean is better than anything in Austin.
We are not beach people, so we kept entertained with lots of other things - hiking/snorkerling/driving/exploring all over - even the southeast part of the island/the Tedischi winery, etc...
It was hot and humid... much like Austin.
I can post pictures in a month or so (when we finally make our way back to Austin).
Have fun. PM if you have any questions. We don't know much about Maui, but can tell you our experiences.
I can say that we've traveled extensively throughout western and central europe, and the people in Hawaii (locals) were by far the most unfriendly/unwelcoming we've ever encountered. And we are pretty low-key, friendly travelers - very much the opposite of the ugly americans. The nicest folks were the transplants from California and even Switzerland and Germany.
Have fun!
Grasshopper.
Mrs. Grasshopper and I just returned from 10 days in Maui yesterday.
Some thoughts:
* We used "Maui Revealed" as our guidebook. While it is good, do NOT show it to the locals. Apparently the guys who wrote it are causing big trouble bc a lot of their "gems" go over private land. One B&B owner we talked with said they had them on the news over there, but had to black out their faces/distort their voices bc they've recieved death threats. We were sternly warned not to have that book out in public bc it is not welcome. Heck, the National Park Service had to remove the book from their shelves bc of the trouble it has caused. That being said, they are detailed with their directions to certian places.
* We were up at Haleakala for sunrise and sunset. Pretty cool. For sunrise, we dressed like we do for Colorado and were still cold. the wind was blowing literally ~ 50 miles per hour.... enough that my sturdy tripod had no chance of taking a slower exposure picture. Sunset was much more pleasant as far as weather is concerned. Still, Sunrise was a remarkable and memorable experience. We got up at 330am to get there - and it was worth it. Hike into the crater if you get a chance - even if you only go a few miles.
* We hiked across the lava fields to the "fish bowl" south of Kihei to snorkel, but it wasn't really very good.... possible bc of low tide. the water was a bit murky and it was really shallow. I'd go somewhere else or at least go during higher waters.
* Mama's Fish House is the bomb - delicious - but $$. We spent over 100 bucks on two entrees - no drinks/appetizers, etc.
* Maui Tacos = taco bell =- blech! no way.
* Alexander's in Kihei was ok... but the fish and chips was really greasy.
* the Fish House in Paia is really good. We went there twice.
* Road to Hana is cool. We stayed a night in Hana and hiked up to some falls at the Oheo Gulch. Walking through the Bamboo forest is really cool... and when we got to the falls (~ 2.41 miles accorinding to the GPS) we had it to ourselves. It was evening and most of the daytrippers had returned to civilization.
I was expecting the road to Hana to be really hard to drive, but it wasn't... just a lot of curves. The road going north from Lahaina over the north end of the island was much scarier.
* try some banana bread on the drive to Hana. It was great if you like stuff like that.
* We tried to hike the redwood forest but there was a forest fire so the road was blocked.
* ate at Cheeseburgers in Paradise in Lahaina - good burgers but way overpriced. (45 bucks for burger/fries/drink). Better burgers in Austin, but the view of the ocean is better than anything in Austin.
We are not beach people, so we kept entertained with lots of other things - hiking/snorkerling/driving/exploring all over - even the southeast part of the island/the Tedischi winery, etc...
It was hot and humid... much like Austin.
I can post pictures in a month or so (when we finally make our way back to Austin).
Have fun. PM if you have any questions. We don't know much about Maui, but can tell you our experiences.
I can say that we've traveled extensively throughout western and central europe, and the people in Hawaii (locals) were by far the most unfriendly/unwelcoming we've ever encountered. And we are pretty low-key, friendly travelers - very much the opposite of the ugly americans. The nicest folks were the transplants from California and even Switzerland and Germany.
Have fun!
Grasshopper.
Me and the wife did Feast at Lele instead of the Old Lahaina Luau. It was outstanding, check it out. I've heard great things about both of them, though. I will also second Maui Revealed, and we realy enjoyed the 7 sacred pools. Snorkeling is very good, and we liked the road to Hana and the banana bread on the way.
Grasshopper
100+ Posts
Wow, IDig,
We were told only to drive clockwise from Lahaina to Kahalui... I cannot imagine coming the way you did. Good thing it was dark for your guests!
I was a little nervous going clockwise on the road and I was on the inside of the mountain/cliff... and it was a long way down. And those one lane roads..... yikes.
glad you lived to tell the tale. That is some feat.
It was a cool drive. I wonder what life is like back in some of those villages that are not affected by tourism. I heard you get the stink-eye if you are white and hang around there too long.
Hookem!
We were told only to drive clockwise from Lahaina to Kahalui... I cannot imagine coming the way you did. Good thing it was dark for your guests!
I was a little nervous going clockwise on the road and I was on the inside of the mountain/cliff... and it was a long way down. And those one lane roads..... yikes.
glad you lived to tell the tale. That is some feat.
It was a cool drive. I wonder what life is like back in some of those villages that are not affected by tourism. I heard you get the stink-eye if you are white and hang around there too long.
Hookem!
BoogityBoy
250+ Posts
Going in 3 weeks. Has anyone done a day trip to Lanai or Molokai from Maui? If so, do you recommend?
MustangOrange
100+ Posts
We're leaving in 11 days for the honeymoon and cannot wait. Staying in Wailea. We're doing the luau at the Grand Wailea resort - how was it? I didn't really want to drive 45 minutes back from Lahaina after the fun of a luau.
If we're staying in Wailea, is there any reason to even go to Lahaina?
If we're staying in Wailea, is there any reason to even go to Lahaina?
A
austintexas
Guest
Wailea buries Lahaina, but it would say it's worth the drive as it's different, old Hawaii. Lahaina is an old Whaler's village. Tourist trap, but beautiful views from the bars/restaurants right on the water. Plus it's a pretty drive. If you surf, the parks along the way to Lahaina are good spots.
Where you staying in Wailea? Make sure you go have a drink at the Four Seasons. Better yet, dinner at Wolfgang Puck's. Great snorkeling right in front of the Four Seasons. Seriously, no need to pay for a charter. The charters drop you off in front of FS.
Shops at Wailea are nice. $$$ Not many good restaurants there, but there' s a burger joint that's great.
Grand Wailea has a pretty good sushi spot.
If you play golf, hit Makena South or Wailea Gold.
Where you staying in Wailea? Make sure you go have a drink at the Four Seasons. Better yet, dinner at Wolfgang Puck's. Great snorkeling right in front of the Four Seasons. Seriously, no need to pay for a charter. The charters drop you off in front of FS.
Shops at Wailea are nice. $$$ Not many good restaurants there, but there' s a burger joint that's great.
Grand Wailea has a pretty good sushi spot.
If you play golf, hit Makena South or Wailea Gold.
LAktownhorn
250+ Posts
just got back a few days ago.
all in all it was a great trip with a few ****** up moments. we stayed at the maui prince in wailea. the beach there is really nice and seems more secluded than some of the other wailea beaches. everyone said the snorkelling was really good, i would say it was pretty decent. i saw 2 giant turtles right off the bat chowing down on algae. and of course lots of fish and some eel.
the service at the hotel was beyond awesome. everyone was so nice and genuinely wanted you to have a good time. my only complaint about the hotel was that the room felt wet the whole time. i would sit on the bed and it would feel like my butt was getting wet, but it really wouldn't, just sorta weird.
one ****** up part was that i cut the **** out of my leg going to la perouse to snorkel. i sliced it open on a lava rock and had to get 8 stiches. happened on the second day so no more going in the ocean for me. it got me reallly down and i almost felt like i could cry b/c i was so frustrated. (first real vacation in 7 years, that's why i was so pissed)
so we went to the road to hana and pulled over to see a waterfall, when we came back the car had been broken into and a bunch of **** stolen. ******* sucked.
other than that everything was great.
all in all it was a great trip with a few ****** up moments. we stayed at the maui prince in wailea. the beach there is really nice and seems more secluded than some of the other wailea beaches. everyone said the snorkelling was really good, i would say it was pretty decent. i saw 2 giant turtles right off the bat chowing down on algae. and of course lots of fish and some eel.
the service at the hotel was beyond awesome. everyone was so nice and genuinely wanted you to have a good time. my only complaint about the hotel was that the room felt wet the whole time. i would sit on the bed and it would feel like my butt was getting wet, but it really wouldn't, just sorta weird.
one ****** up part was that i cut the **** out of my leg going to la perouse to snorkel. i sliced it open on a lava rock and had to get 8 stiches. happened on the second day so no more going in the ocean for me. it got me reallly down and i almost felt like i could cry b/c i was so frustrated. (first real vacation in 7 years, that's why i was so pissed)
so we went to the road to hana and pulled over to see a waterfall, when we came back the car had been broken into and a bunch of **** stolen. ******* sucked.
other than that everything was great.
MustangOrange
100+ Posts
I also just got back from my honeymoon in Maui. We stayed at the Grand Wailea Resort and it was incredible. I can't recommend this place enough - lots of good restaurants, seven pools (including some for kids with water slides, rapids and then adult only pools) and a great beach. It's also walking distance to the Four Seasons and the Fairmont Kea Lani, which also have kick *** restaurants (there's a beach path that runs between these resorts).
We did the snorkel trip to Molokini on the Four Winds 2 and it was a lot of fun, but it was crowded and there were a ton of kids on the boat. Plus Molokini is crowded with snorkel boats - it was worth the price because they served food and had an open bar. The next day we did a kayak tour from the Grand Wailea and it was MUCH better snorkeling. We kayaked about a mile and a half south of the resort to this mostly private beach and beached the 'yaks. We then swam out about 500 yards to this reef to see turtles and the turtles outnumber the humans and were within one to two feet of us (we saw over a dozen on the kayak trip). It was $75/person for 3 hour tour out of the Grand Wailea.
We ate at Mama's Fish House on the Hana Highway, but didn't go any further than that mainly because we felt there was no reason to waste a day in the car. Mama's was great - the wife had macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi stuffed with lobster and crab. I had ono (wahoo) cooked upcountry style with spices and onions.
FYI, fishing is not that good out of Maui, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you're going to visit the big island and Kona. I don't golf, but people that we met there enjoyed the course at Kapalua better than Wailea.
We did the snorkel trip to Molokini on the Four Winds 2 and it was a lot of fun, but it was crowded and there were a ton of kids on the boat. Plus Molokini is crowded with snorkel boats - it was worth the price because they served food and had an open bar. The next day we did a kayak tour from the Grand Wailea and it was MUCH better snorkeling. We kayaked about a mile and a half south of the resort to this mostly private beach and beached the 'yaks. We then swam out about 500 yards to this reef to see turtles and the turtles outnumber the humans and were within one to two feet of us (we saw over a dozen on the kayak trip). It was $75/person for 3 hour tour out of the Grand Wailea.
We ate at Mama's Fish House on the Hana Highway, but didn't go any further than that mainly because we felt there was no reason to waste a day in the car. Mama's was great - the wife had macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi stuffed with lobster and crab. I had ono (wahoo) cooked upcountry style with spices and onions.
FYI, fishing is not that good out of Maui, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you're going to visit the big island and Kona. I don't golf, but people that we met there enjoyed the course at Kapalua better than Wailea.
ousuxndallas
500+ Posts
We stayed in Lanai for 2 nights...really awesome place! Four Seasons, though, so be prepared to pay. The dolphins come into the bay sometimes. The first morning we swam out there and were surrounded by at least 100 of them! Pretty awesome...
The golf on Lanai is really great too. Either course...both are great!
In Maui, definitely go to Hana and see the black sand beach and red sand beach. The waterfalls are good, but not great...once you've seen one you've seen them all.
One thing we did that was great was drive around the north side, past Kapalua. The road is like Hana, with 1/10 the traffic. And there's some really cool sights as well.
Oh, and Kapalua...a must stop/play if you're a golfer! The beaches in Maui tend to be really crowded...I'm not much of a beach person, though.
The golf on Lanai is really great too. Either course...both are great!
In Maui, definitely go to Hana and see the black sand beach and red sand beach. The waterfalls are good, but not great...once you've seen one you've seen them all.
One thing we did that was great was drive around the north side, past Kapalua. The road is like Hana, with 1/10 the traffic. And there's some really cool sights as well.
Oh, and Kapalua...a must stop/play if you're a golfer! The beaches in Maui tend to be really crowded...I'm not much of a beach person, though.
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