Need advice on Maui, Hawaii
 

Heading there in 2 weeks with the gf, booked the flight (7 nights), but not the hotels.

We are pretty newbie regards to travelling :p

Need advice on activities/eats/hotels

We plan on staying 2 different hotels/resort and should be depended on the activities so we don't have to drive far.

So far, in a general search, hotels seems quite expensive :(

It's nicer usually to do the condo renting over a hotel. I stayed at sugar beach earlier this summer.

Things to do?
- rent scooters and do the road to Hanna
- go to the top of whatever mountain that is for sunrise or sunset (beware it's cold up top)
- snorkeling at the crescent shaped island (take a sail boat out there for added fun)
- drink and relax!

Condos are cheaper over hotels?

We do want a kitchen so we can cook ourselves.

^ yes, check out vrbo.com

I stayed in South Kihei and the location was great. Right across from Kamaole Beach I, short walking distance to great food at 808 Bistro (BYOB allowed), Moose McGillycuddy's for pub fare, Fred's Mexican.. Taquiria Cruz for late night tacos and live music. I believe that was BYOB as well.. Koiso Sushi is right there.. great but pricy.

Rented scoots from Maui Boy, trick is to rent for a day then the lady lets you top up for $20 a day cash which is awesome. Go to a luau, we went to one in Wailea which is a short scoot away.. take a trip up to Lahaina, a bit further to Kanaapali.. so much to do, such a great place, you're going to have a blast.

vrbo is a great site.

We stay by Kameole Beach II.

You're going to need a rental car. I suggest joining the Alamo Club to check out discounts. Entertainment book discounts can also be applied. I usually reserve at the lowest rate I can find at the time and check back to see if the price has dropped - if so, cancel and reserve at the lower rate. Last trip cost us $160/10 days. Alamo's cool cause they let you take whatever size car when you get out to the lot. We usually stick to the smallest import that suits our needs.

After you leave the car rental place at the airport, go to Costco and/or Kmart for food and booze supplies, as they're both on the way and cheaper than the local grocery stores (Safeway and Foodland).

If you decide to go up to Haleakala, remember to leave dead ass early and bring blankets - it's cold as fuck and windy.

I'll add more later but I gotta run.

Thanks ICE BOY, await for your more info.

For car rental - rent a convertible. The choices are usually a mustang or a camaro. It was the best part of my trip just cruising with the top down. My the gf (now fiance) and I went this time 2 years ago. Perfect weather in combination with the cheaper prices.

Up on top at Halakaela, it's around 5 degrees celsius.

Don't forget to visit Little Beach!

kanapoli resorts by black rock- inexpensive, have kitchens, outdoor bbq area (always cleaned) stainless units, easy to get trolly to local old town area or resort areas. If you have a costco you can book rental cars online far cheaper with more choices. In old city centre you can rent mopeds and cruise around. local beaches beside Kanapoli have sea turtles right up to shore. You can book day snorkelling cruises and they supply all equipment very cheap and they serve food on board. Its a good day experience. You can also take scuba lessons really cheap if you have a few days avail. and get certified. The whale watching institute is best place to book, clean boats, good staff, they even educate on stuff you'll encounter before you dive in. If you go on a dinner cruise and it starts to get really choppy out you can call in and move your appointment to another day before you try to eat and have to chase your plate. Just came back in April- was there for 2 weeks. Learned a lot from the locals.

At some point, you guys are going to want to check out Lahaina/West Maui/Napili.

Walking around Front St. is kind of touristy but it's still worth it if you're on that side of the island.

I always drop by Breakwall for shave ice when I'm there:
BREAKWALL SHAVE ICE: MAUI'S HOME TO EPIC SHAVE ICE, ORGANIC VEGAN ICE CREAMS, FRESH SMOOTHIES AND ACAI BOWLS, SANDWICHES, SALADS AND LOCAL KOMBUCHA

If you've never been to a luau and want to check it out, Old Lahaina Luau is, IMO, the best one on the island. Personally, I'd never go to a luau setup for tourists again though.
MAUI RESTAURANTS , HAWAII LUAU , MAUI ACTIVITIES, MAUI THINGS TO DO, LAHAINA WEBCAMS

If you or your GF are interested in going horseback riding, check out Ironwood Ranch in Napili:
Ironwood Ranch | Best Horseback rides in Maui Hawaii

Last trip, we drove all the way around West Maui on Highway30, back to Kahului. Do some research before attempting. It's absolutely fine as long as you use some common sense.
North Loop Coastline Road Hwy 30 Reviews - Maui, HI Attractions - TripAdvisor


There's only one decent shrimp truck on the island as far as I'm concerned. It's not as good as what you can get on the North Shore of Oahu but it's still pretty decent.
Geste Shrimp Truck - Kahului, HI, United States | Yelp

For regular shopping mall, I'd suggest:
Queen Ka'ahumanu Center - Shopping Center in Kahului, Hawaii
Higher end:
The Shops at Wailea

Favourite shave ice joint:
Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice
S. Kihei Rd/Uwapo Rd location

I forgot which boat we took but a day trip out to Molokini is a definite must.
Molokini Crater Reviews - Maui, HI Attractions - TripAdvisor

I never went to the Maui Ocean Center cause everyone I talked to said it was overpriced and crowded.

Any one have more recent updates?

Looking to go mid sept 2018.

Also are there early arrival late dep flights. All flight options seem late arrival and late dep(some arriving back in YVR on +1).

I went in November 2016 and stayed at Maalaea which is between Kihei and Lahaina which are the two preferred (and busiest spots). Kihei is more of the middle class beach town while Lahaina is more pricey and touristy. Maalaea is more convenient for getting around as it's in the middle of the island but there's basically nothing there besides the aquarium - as we were going all around the island it worked out really well for us.

The food trucks by the Costco are terrific - I wish we had time to go more than once. The Old Lahaina Luau is still the best in town and worth it, it's fun though the food is taken away rather quickly so go back and get your seconds fast. Can't go wrong with any of the poke that is served but I really liked the stuff from Tamura Fine Wine - lots of variety and cheap.

-Go to Maluaka beach in the morning to swim with a creep of tortoises (if you're lucky!).
-Be sure to check out Haleakala for the sunrise. As of last year, they have started a ticket reservation system to be up there during sunrise. When I went in late August 2017, we didn't catch the sunrise due to these tickets, so we caught the sunset instead which was also well worth the trip.
-Ululani's Shave Ice. :sweetjesus: We were there almost every day.
-Road to Hana. If you do this (and you probably will), there will be no cellular reception along the route, so don't buy a cd guide. Purchase the Road to Hana Gypsy app (https://gypsyguide.com/tour/road-to-hana-maui/). It's a little pricey, but well worth it. It gives you a tour and some excellent information for your trip, complete with prompts and landmarks if you'd like to stop by other places.
-808 Grindz cafe for breakfast. Their macnilla sauce pancakes are #fire
+1 for Old Lahaina Luau. They're definitely the best!

Is the Road to Hana even worth it? Read it was pretty bleh from multiple sites. Apparently it's better to visit view spots of interest rather than the whole spot.

Any good areas to stay? we are looking at airbnb - any recommendations on airbnb/vrbo/etc?

Any good car rentals? So far I found ford focus for Cad $300 (all in, 8 days)

^
Not sure what those sites mean... you can't visit them without driving the road lol

I’ve rented this place: https://www.vrbo.com/498990

I’d recommend it to anyone. Super clean. Convenient location. Owners are great people to deal with and they’re actually locals from Burnaby.

Re: Road to Hana, it is indeed a beautiful drive but not for everyone. It's a "fun" road to drive if you're looking for twisty, tight roads and the banana bread, the black sand beaches are pretty cool but I wouldn't put it on your top 2-3 things to do in Maui. I'd probably drive about half way and turn around.

Re: Car rental - Maui is convertible country. I had a Mustang convertible and it was the perfect place to have one. I loved having it and it was worth every penny.

i get this from time to time and the answer is no.

Wiki says this (below) and if I read this before I would have never went. 2.5 hrs in a car is NOT fun esp with 620 curves. what does this mean; passengers get sea sick.

The view is MEH at best; we had 2 cars and 9 people. We had a pick up and some of us just lay in the trunk (yes it's legal). It wasn't that epic at all to say the least.

Hāna is only about 52 miles (84 km) from Kahului, it takes about 2.5 hours to drive when no stops are made as the highway is very winding and narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one lane wide. There are approximately 620 curves along Route 360 from just east of Kahului to Hāna, almost all of it through lush, tropical rainforest.

It really depends on what you'd like to do. At first I didn't think that the road would've been worth it, but with the app I mentioned it was like having my own tour guide in the car. If you do it, leave as early as possible and bring bug spray.
Last year we actually drove the road twice in the same trip because the first time we left after lunch and stopped by multiple landmarks-- by the time we reached Hana, it was already dark.

Notable stops on the road:
-Wai'anapanapa State Park (black sand beach)
-Kaihalulu Bay (red sand beach). This beach has a nice little private bay you can "hike" to that's worth the visit while you're there
-Pools of ‘Ohe’o (aka Seven Sacred Pools). This would be near the end of your trip to Hana. Not really worth it depending on if there's water in these pools, but if you plan to go to Haleakala while you're on Maui, you would only have to pay once to visit both places.
-Island Style Tacos stand. Eat the goddamn Kalua Pig bowl!
-Garden of Eden (not free). If you're a Jurassic park fan, of if you have a botany fetish, go here. If not, just avoid this place.

Which rental agency did you use? and do you recall how much in CAD and for how many days?

Been to Maui a few times and going back in July. Usually stay in Wailea because of the wife(snorkeling is better in Wailea than Kihei) but Kihei has more around it. Recommend Ululani's Shaved Ice. I nice but pricey spot for dinner is Mama's Fish House, can be a bit of a drive to get to but the family loved it.

Wife already booked our SUV for the next trip at around 400, she just keeps checking expedia and cancelling the old reservation whenever prices drop.

There's a Ruth's Chris in Wailea

When we went to the Costco there they have gift certificates for Ruth's, think it was 75 or 80 for 100.

I rented from National (I'm a member so I can skip the desk which I love - membership is free) and it came out to nearly $100CAD/day I think after taxes. I think the dollar was trading around .80 or so and I also booked fairly late (a month ahead) so prices were on the higher side.

I got a Mustang with the Ecoboost 4 cylinder which meant it came with ventilated seats which are a godsend on the hotter days. By the time you rent that may be the only option (2018s).

Are your flights late night dept and red eye return?

Seems this is all i can find.