Maui Trip Report
Apr 18th, 2007, 11:54 AM
#1
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Maui Trip Report
The real icee and I were fortunate to spend 5 nights on Maui during our recent Hawaiian vacation. Since I tend to tell to much and go on and on with too many details I will just touch upon a few things for your enticement.
Car Rental
We rented our car through Costco and used Alamo. I had reserved a mid size car, but when we got to the Alamo counter we were persuaded to rent a convertible. This is one time, I am so glad we upgraded. The only way to do The Road to Hana is in a shiny Mustang convertible. It was too much fun.
Accommodations
We stayed the first three nights in Heavenly Hana, at a place called Hanas Heaven. It was wonderful and could not have been named more appropriately. I had found a great 2 br home on vrbo about 3 miles outside of Hana town. It had the most majestic view of the ocean. Great sunrise location and just above Venus Pool. The home was solar powered and the gardens were beautiful. We were both a bit skeptical about not having a/c, but the ceiling fans and winds not only kept us plenty cool, but just about chilled during the early morning hours. There was one drawback...........the mosquitos will eat you for lunch! I learned from the very beginning to apply insect repellant frequently and generously. The website has lots of photos of the inside and outside of the house. Beautiful artwork is all throughout the home. Yes, this place was more than a rental house, it was a beautifully furnished "home". Before our arrival, the caretaker had put plumeria blooms in various dishes throughout the house. Hanas Heaven smelled Heavenly! What a nice welcome. I would recommend this place very highly. The owners were not there, but the caretakers were around all of the time. We never locked the door the entire time we were there, not even when we left during the day. To see just how beautiful this place is go to hanasheaven.com
The next two nights we spent at the Wailea Marriott. We had never been in this part of Maui and loved this beautiful resort area. Room was very large, nice large lanai and a pretty decent ocean view. If you get a chance to look at one of the rooms online, check out how low the beds are to the floor. It would never hurt you if you rolled off the bed to the floor since it's almost on the floor already!! However, if you are a tall person, it's a long way from your head to lie down on the bed!! There's a nice long path to walk, jog or stroll along the ocean and the beautiful Wailea resorts. Once in a while the real icee can have a sense of humour....we were walking through the Grand Wailea and he asked me if I knew why they had chairs for you to sit in at check in/out? He said it was so you didn't get hurt so badly when you fell to the floor upon presentation of your bill!!! At that point, I didn't dare to suggest we have a drink there!!
Sights
I'm not sure we did any sightseeing different than what others have described on their trips to Maui. Before we left, OSB had sent us her Hana Audio Tour CD. This was a definite plus for driving the Road to Hana. The one she sent was "On The Road Again" and narrated by Captain Aloha and Uncle Boy Kanai. Comical and informative with good music. This is one thing I would recommend to anyone who has never done the road to Hana. We didn't stop a great deal on the way, but we did take our time and enjoy the road. And, we were respectful of the locals who had no desire to sight see. It's pretty cool to get the shaka sign....I love it.
In Hana we went to all of the places you should, even Lindberg's grave. We also had our obligatory drink at the Hotel Hana and stopped and shopped at the Hasegawa General Store!
In West Maui, we did our long stroll in Lahaina. Just a few little trinket purchases, but I did find and browse in the art gallery where the real icee had purchased me a Red Skelton reproduction on canvas when we honeymooned there 19 years ago. I have forgotten the name of the gallery today, but then it was Addi Galleries. Steven Addi must have learned a lot during his days days of owning the galleries because there was stunning glass work of his in this gallery.
We also drove up to Ka'anapali area and spent some fun time at Whalers Village and along Ka'anapali Beach. The Rusty Harpoon had the NCAA basketball tournament on lots of the tv's, so that was a fun place to watch the game while sucking down some beer for the real icee and mai tai's for me. Great happy hour prices.
We did a lot of driving and sightseeing and Maui was still beautiful.
Activities
The only planned and paid activity on Maui was when the real icee flew in a powered hang glider (trike) over Hana. I'm not sure I have seen a bigger smile and grin on his face since he caught his first salmon!! The company is Hang Gliding Maui and the pilot is the warmest, happiest person I have become acquainted with. His name is Armin and he flys from the Hana airport. While the boys flew, I stayed around for a few minutes in Armin's hanger and visited with Bear, his pup. Charlie was really excited upon their return and talked endlessly of the sights and the thrills and the clouds and the rainbows....and on and on an on. They saw a whale that was still the light gray color, swimming with the mother. Armin said the baby was probably only about 3-4 days old. This might be termed to some as a very expensive excursion......The total cost for this excursion was $300. The flight was for one hour. Armin has a still camera mounted and also a movie camera. So we have about 24 still shots of a 1/2 hour dvd. Charlie showed me the dvd again last night! Oh, he also got a great tee shirt with the Hang Gliding Maui Logo on the back. I think for just 1 hour for the flight only is $220. Memories to last a lifetime. I'm so happy that sistahlou persuaded me to surprise my DH with this excursion. Thanks sistah!
Food
Always my favorite part of the trip. However, we didn't do any fine dining this time.
Get your banana bread right at the Hana city limits. Going into Hana they are on the right hand side of the road with canopies set up. A nice parking area so you don't have to park on the side of the road. We bought banana/guava bread that was still warm!!!! Heaven...no wonder they call the place Heavenly Hana.
Now, for the best plate lunch in all of Maui, you must stop and eat with Todd and his family. They are set up just outside of Hana Town...maybe, a mile and have the best food of all. I think the day we stopped they had ribs, chicken, salmon and mahimahi. We had chicken and mahimahi. Served with rice and macaroni salad. He also had some killer chili sauce that he has made and is now marketing. Charlie had his bottle confiscated at the airport! He forgot that he had stuck it in his carry on bag........so, wala, it got swooped up and thrown away. The TSA agent was very nice and did write down all the info off the label (couldn't get the label off) so we can call and order some. We sat at the table with two very interesting locals and listened to them talk story. They were guides for the horseback riding tours.
And for the very best macadamia nut french toast you must go to Hana Ranch Restuarant. It is heavenly again....lots of it and only $5. Great coffee. Charlie had loco moco and said it was very good also. You must know that I am a sweet freak and hardly ever leave a crumb of sweet offerings, but the french toast was so much that I couldn't eat all of it, even with Charlie's help. I think our total breakfast was $13 and some change! ONO
We enjoyed fish tacos and a fish sandwich one day at Pa'ia Fish Market. The food was great. I love eating in these kinds of places because you always get to sit with others and chat and find out where they live and they know where you live and a friend told them to eat here and eat there.....Good food and good fun.
Another place we enjoyed was Hali'imaile General Store. We went there for lunch after leaving Hana and before arriving in Wailea. The food here is worth the drive. It's a bit cramped and was very crowded and noisy. We got the worst table in the entire restaurant. It was right beside the waitress station and they were buzzing around us the entire time. That's ok, I would rather be in a noisy place than in a quiet place that people can hear everything you say. We were sitting right across from the food prep, so we got to see all of the wonderful offerings. Charlie and I shared their Shashimi Napolean and loved it! He had a fish special and I had duck quesidilla, I think it was. We also shared dessert.........pineapple upside down cake! Should have taken our servers advice and had vanilla ice cream with it. They serve it hot!!!!!!!!! Oh, my my....oh yes, yes!!!
Aloha, my friends...........well, I looked back and yes, I did go into overkill.....again.
Car Rental
We rented our car through Costco and used Alamo. I had reserved a mid size car, but when we got to the Alamo counter we were persuaded to rent a convertible. This is one time, I am so glad we upgraded. The only way to do The Road to Hana is in a shiny Mustang convertible. It was too much fun.
Accommodations
We stayed the first three nights in Heavenly Hana, at a place called Hanas Heaven. It was wonderful and could not have been named more appropriately. I had found a great 2 br home on vrbo about 3 miles outside of Hana town. It had the most majestic view of the ocean. Great sunrise location and just above Venus Pool. The home was solar powered and the gardens were beautiful. We were both a bit skeptical about not having a/c, but the ceiling fans and winds not only kept us plenty cool, but just about chilled during the early morning hours. There was one drawback...........the mosquitos will eat you for lunch! I learned from the very beginning to apply insect repellant frequently and generously. The website has lots of photos of the inside and outside of the house. Beautiful artwork is all throughout the home. Yes, this place was more than a rental house, it was a beautifully furnished "home". Before our arrival, the caretaker had put plumeria blooms in various dishes throughout the house. Hanas Heaven smelled Heavenly! What a nice welcome. I would recommend this place very highly. The owners were not there, but the caretakers were around all of the time. We never locked the door the entire time we were there, not even when we left during the day. To see just how beautiful this place is go to hanasheaven.com
The next two nights we spent at the Wailea Marriott. We had never been in this part of Maui and loved this beautiful resort area. Room was very large, nice large lanai and a pretty decent ocean view. If you get a chance to look at one of the rooms online, check out how low the beds are to the floor. It would never hurt you if you rolled off the bed to the floor since it's almost on the floor already!! However, if you are a tall person, it's a long way from your head to lie down on the bed!! There's a nice long path to walk, jog or stroll along the ocean and the beautiful Wailea resorts. Once in a while the real icee can have a sense of humour....we were walking through the Grand Wailea and he asked me if I knew why they had chairs for you to sit in at check in/out? He said it was so you didn't get hurt so badly when you fell to the floor upon presentation of your bill!!! At that point, I didn't dare to suggest we have a drink there!!
Sights
I'm not sure we did any sightseeing different than what others have described on their trips to Maui. Before we left, OSB had sent us her Hana Audio Tour CD. This was a definite plus for driving the Road to Hana. The one she sent was "On The Road Again" and narrated by Captain Aloha and Uncle Boy Kanai. Comical and informative with good music. This is one thing I would recommend to anyone who has never done the road to Hana. We didn't stop a great deal on the way, but we did take our time and enjoy the road. And, we were respectful of the locals who had no desire to sight see. It's pretty cool to get the shaka sign....I love it.
In Hana we went to all of the places you should, even Lindberg's grave. We also had our obligatory drink at the Hotel Hana and stopped and shopped at the Hasegawa General Store!
In West Maui, we did our long stroll in Lahaina. Just a few little trinket purchases, but I did find and browse in the art gallery where the real icee had purchased me a Red Skelton reproduction on canvas when we honeymooned there 19 years ago. I have forgotten the name of the gallery today, but then it was Addi Galleries. Steven Addi must have learned a lot during his days days of owning the galleries because there was stunning glass work of his in this gallery.
We also drove up to Ka'anapali area and spent some fun time at Whalers Village and along Ka'anapali Beach. The Rusty Harpoon had the NCAA basketball tournament on lots of the tv's, so that was a fun place to watch the game while sucking down some beer for the real icee and mai tai's for me. Great happy hour prices.
We did a lot of driving and sightseeing and Maui was still beautiful.
Activities
The only planned and paid activity on Maui was when the real icee flew in a powered hang glider (trike) over Hana. I'm not sure I have seen a bigger smile and grin on his face since he caught his first salmon!! The company is Hang Gliding Maui and the pilot is the warmest, happiest person I have become acquainted with. His name is Armin and he flys from the Hana airport. While the boys flew, I stayed around for a few minutes in Armin's hanger and visited with Bear, his pup. Charlie was really excited upon their return and talked endlessly of the sights and the thrills and the clouds and the rainbows....and on and on an on. They saw a whale that was still the light gray color, swimming with the mother. Armin said the baby was probably only about 3-4 days old. This might be termed to some as a very expensive excursion......The total cost for this excursion was $300. The flight was for one hour. Armin has a still camera mounted and also a movie camera. So we have about 24 still shots of a 1/2 hour dvd. Charlie showed me the dvd again last night! Oh, he also got a great tee shirt with the Hang Gliding Maui Logo on the back. I think for just 1 hour for the flight only is $220. Memories to last a lifetime. I'm so happy that sistahlou persuaded me to surprise my DH with this excursion. Thanks sistah!
Food
Always my favorite part of the trip. However, we didn't do any fine dining this time.
Get your banana bread right at the Hana city limits. Going into Hana they are on the right hand side of the road with canopies set up. A nice parking area so you don't have to park on the side of the road. We bought banana/guava bread that was still warm!!!! Heaven...no wonder they call the place Heavenly Hana.
Now, for the best plate lunch in all of Maui, you must stop and eat with Todd and his family. They are set up just outside of Hana Town...maybe, a mile and have the best food of all. I think the day we stopped they had ribs, chicken, salmon and mahimahi. We had chicken and mahimahi. Served with rice and macaroni salad. He also had some killer chili sauce that he has made and is now marketing. Charlie had his bottle confiscated at the airport! He forgot that he had stuck it in his carry on bag........so, wala, it got swooped up and thrown away. The TSA agent was very nice and did write down all the info off the label (couldn't get the label off) so we can call and order some. We sat at the table with two very interesting locals and listened to them talk story. They were guides for the horseback riding tours.
And for the very best macadamia nut french toast you must go to Hana Ranch Restuarant. It is heavenly again....lots of it and only $5. Great coffee. Charlie had loco moco and said it was very good also. You must know that I am a sweet freak and hardly ever leave a crumb of sweet offerings, but the french toast was so much that I couldn't eat all of it, even with Charlie's help. I think our total breakfast was $13 and some change! ONO
We enjoyed fish tacos and a fish sandwich one day at Pa'ia Fish Market. The food was great. I love eating in these kinds of places because you always get to sit with others and chat and find out where they live and they know where you live and a friend told them to eat here and eat there.....Good food and good fun.
Another place we enjoyed was Hali'imaile General Store. We went there for lunch after leaving Hana and before arriving in Wailea. The food here is worth the drive. It's a bit cramped and was very crowded and noisy. We got the worst table in the entire restaurant. It was right beside the waitress station and they were buzzing around us the entire time. That's ok, I would rather be in a noisy place than in a quiet place that people can hear everything you say. We were sitting right across from the food prep, so we got to see all of the wonderful offerings. Charlie and I shared their Shashimi Napolean and loved it! He had a fish special and I had duck quesidilla, I think it was. We also shared dessert.........pineapple upside down cake! Should have taken our servers advice and had vanilla ice cream with it. They serve it hot!!!!!!!!! Oh, my my....oh yes, yes!!!
Aloha, my friends...........well, I looked back and yes, I did go into overkill.....again.
Apr 18th, 2007, 12:28 PM
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great report iceeu2.....your report on Hana brings back memories to me.
I really love the place for complete relaxation.
I first went there in the early sixties as a kid(you should have seen Hasegawa store then)as my aunt had a friend who lived in Hana that we used to visit. Your post brought back pleasant memories of a special place.
Aloha!
I really love the place for complete relaxation.
I first went there in the early sixties as a kid(you should have seen Hasegawa store then)as my aunt had a friend who lived in Hana that we used to visit. Your post brought back pleasant memories of a special place.
Aloha!
Apr 18th, 2007, 04:22 PM
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Thanks for taking me away i'2! We love the atmosphere at Paia Fish Market too! So glad you met Armin - isn't he the sweetest thaaaang?! Flying with him is like one of the Master Card commercials "Hugging a cloud with Armin - Priiceless!"
Thanks again for all the wonderful details. My you were busy after you left Hana!
Thanks again for all the wonderful details. My you were busy after you left Hana!
Apr 18th, 2007, 06:17 PM
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Yes, iceeu2, I remember the freshly painted pavement from Paia to Kahalui being all squiggly - not at all straight...we joked that some of the road workers must be enjoying some of that Maui wowie on the job!
Apr 19th, 2007, 05:56 AM
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Apr 19th, 2007, 06:45 AM
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JohnD, the waterfalls were not as full and flowing as I had anticipated. Beautiful, nonetheless. It rained during the night before we went to 'Ohe'o Gulch and the 7 Sacred Pools were pretty muddy. The falls right on the road at the bridge was great that morning. Charlie has some great photos and saw some lots of falls from the air.
, thanks for reminding. 
Sep 28th, 2007, 12:22 PM
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Just happened upon your wonderful trip report iceeu2, thanks!! It's great to hear about your experiences at the more "local"-type restaurants and food stands!
One question: Where is that fabulous place just outside of Hana Town with the best plate lunches run by Todd and his family? Is it on the way into Hana from Paia or from Oheo Gulch? We're planning our first trip to Maui (and Hawaii in general) in December and it sounds like a nice place to stop for lunch on our "Road to Hana" day!
Thanks so much! -ronna
One question: Where is that fabulous place just outside of Hana Town with the best plate lunches run by Todd and his family? Is it on the way into Hana from Paia or from Oheo Gulch? We're planning our first trip to Maui (and Hawaii in general) in December and it sounds like a nice place to stop for lunch on our "Road to Hana" day!
Thanks so much! -ronna
Sep 28th, 2007, 12:55 PM
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rdlao7, Todd and his family are on the left hand side of the road past Hana(about a mile, maybe) on your way to the 7 Sacred Pools. They aren't there every day of the week, and I believe we ate with them on a Thursday.
Thanks for searching this out and topping it. I enjoyed my vacation all over again!!
i'2
Thanks for searching this out and topping it. I enjoyed my vacation all over again!!
i'2
Oct 1st, 2007, 09:35 PM
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Anyone considering a non-resort rental like Hanas Heaven might want to consider recent local government events regarding non-resort rentals on Maui from Jan 1 2008, see my thread today:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35076039
I checked directly with them, they confirm that post-Jan 1 '08 rentals are technically illegal at present.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35076039
I checked directly with them, they confirm that post-Jan 1 '08 rentals are technically illegal at present.
Oct 3rd, 2007, 10:48 AM
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iceeu2
Yes I did, they said "aloha at present all tvr in the entire hana area will be illegal after jan.1st ---so i would be very careful trying to rent--you likely would not have a place when you arrive---please go to www.mvra.net and sign the petition mahalo john"
Yes I did, they said "aloha at present all tvr in the entire hana area will be illegal after jan.1st ---so i would be very careful trying to rent--you likely would not have a place when you arrive---please go to www.mvra.net and sign the petition mahalo john"
